Monthly Archives: December 2011

Drink of the Week: Apricot Lady Sour

Posted on December 16, 2011 | 1 comment
Sours have been on my radar lately. Whiskey, tequila, and now this delish apricot sour using rum as its base. I love sours because they’re tart and because I love the way the egg white renders them foamy and smooth.
 

This sophisticated cocktail shakes rum with lemon juice and apricot liqueur.

 I came across the recipe for this Apricot Lady Sour while paging through Cocktails Made Easy by Simon Difford. The ingredients looked like they would shake up nicely and they did. Difford uses Bacardi Superior rum, but since my husband just came back from Cuba I subbed in Havana Club rum. I also used North American-style simple syrup (1:1 ratio sugar to water) instead of the sweeter U.K. style.

This drink’s subtle apricot flavour is complemented by the rum, and the lemon’s pucker is lessened by the simple syrup. It’s nicely balanced, and light, but substantial enough — thanks to the egg white and apricot brandy — to drink on a December night close to Christmas. Enjoy.
 
Apricot Lady Sour
 
1-1/2 oz Havana Club light rum
 
1 oz Bols apricot brandy liqueur
 
1 oz fresh-squeezed lemon juice
 
1/2 oz simple syrup (1 sugar to 1 water)
 
1 fresh egg white
 
Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into an ice-filled rocks glass.
 
— Recipe modified from Cocktails Made Easy
 

Grab some rum, apricot liqueur and lemon juice and get ready to pucker those lips.

 

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The family ski holiday

Posted on December 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

We are a skiing family. Rephrase: my husband and I love to ski, and are therefore making our children learn the sport. Our daughter likes it:

Avery and I tackle a nice green cruiser at Sunshine Village.

Our son? Not quite ready to embrace slick planks on slippery snow. Maybe next year. At least he likes the gondola:

A cry-free moment during the family ski trip.

Our early forays as a skiing family rated high on hassle and low on satisfaction. On one incredibly long, New Year’s Eve afternoon drive to Fernie, hubby and I contemplated opening the 12-pack of Heineken to help us cope with the crying and whining (and the blaring Barney DVD) coming from the back seat. On another trip, to Sunshine Village, we almost left after one night on the mountain because our son woke up hourly throughout the night and cried inconsolably when we dropped him off at the on-hill daycare. I wrote about the experience, good and bad, for the Calgary Herald. 

Yes, it takes dedication, sweat and many, many tears to make the family ski trip a reality, especially during the early years. In this humorous New York Times Travel story, writer David Carr outlines the numerous obstacles: the gear, the drive, the painful learning curve when young children try new things. He also points out the main benefits: the unbeatable feeling of flying down a mountain on skis and watching your kids do the same with huge smiles. Skiing with kids is a thrill.

There’s also the bonding that takes place over hot chocolate in the day lodge to warm up frozen fingers, and the anticipation of taking off the ski boots and stepping into a hot tub at the end of the day. And of course, there’s the apres ski to ease the pain of sore muscles and the guilt over dumping the bawling son at daycare — and to forget that tomorrow brings a three-hour drive back home.

A bit of apres-ski, Fernie-style.

 We’re already planning a couple of this year’s ski trips, to Fernie over New Year’s and to Marmot Basin in Jasper National Park a week later. Wish us luck, patience, success on the slopes and a happy apres ski. We’ll need it, and a really, really long Barney DVD for both drives.

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Christmas gift for sleep-deprived parents: Go the F**k to Sleep book

Posted on December 9, 2011 | Leave a comment

Last night my son woke up crying seven times in the night. Seven! How I wished I had a copy of Adam Mansbach’s best-selling, expletive-laced bedtime story on hand: Go the F**k to Sleep. 

Parents can relate to this eloquent bedtime rhyme of F-bombs, by Adam Mansbach.

 
Though at age four Bennett is a little old for nursery rhymes, at 3 a.m. (wake-up No. 5), my inner mean-mommy would have relished reading him these lines:
 
“The eagles who soar through the sky are at rest / And the creatures who crawl, run and creep. / I know you’re not thirsty. That’s bullshit. Stop lying. / Lie the fuck down, my darling, and sleep.”
 
Instead I sternly admonished Bennett for his repeated wake-ups, told him it was the middle of the night and to go (the f**k) to sleep. Except I didn’t drop the F-bomb, I just said it in my head. The problem is, if I swore a lot when exasperated, pretty soon my kids would start saying things like, “Where the f**k are my snowpants?” or “I f**king hate fish sticks!” So probably best to only fantasize about a middle-of-the-night F-bomb tirade.
 
Still, if you know some new parent zombies who can’t get their baby to sleep, give the gift of humour this year. And if you need a laugh, listen to Samuel L. Jackson reading the book on YouTube.

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