What's to Drink? The Pimm's Cup!

I've recently joined a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program with several of my office mates. (We are blogging about the organic fruit and veggie experience at OneBoxaWeek.com but I don't know if they would appreciate me posting about a cocktail over there!) The sometime result of the program is that I have a few organic odds and ends left over that don't get sauted, baked, or otherwise put in salads during the week. Staring at a few of these items last night reminded me of one of my favorite summer 'light cocktails', The Pimm's Cup. Its known for its distinctive abundance of garnish including cucumber which is one of the only uses for the regular cucumber I like. Its called a 'No 1. Cup' because back in the day (18 somthingoranother) it was served in a small bar tankard called a number one cup.

Pimm's Cup has the distinction of being the official drink of Wimbledon and its somewhat low alcohol content makes it the perfect drink for daytime imbibing as you can have two (or more?) and not get smashed. I remember as a kid I could always find a curious dusty bottle of Pimm's in the liquor cabinet but it wasn't until I became a devoted Anglophile in my teens that I learned the joys of this particular bottle. There seems to be as many varieties of the drink recipe as there are places that serve it. Most are just variants of the preferred mixer. I like it made with ginger ale but lemon soda or bitter lemon is good too and in a pinch 7-Up will get the job done (some even prefer it but but it seems inauthentic to me.) The "No. 1" on the bottle refers to the original recipe which is gin based. There used to be Nos. 2 through 6 which were based on other liquors like scotch and rum but they were not as good and have since been discontinued. I think I've seen a "Winter Cup" variety once in awhile but the original has alway been the best.

The Pimm's Cup:

Fill up your glass with ice and then fill 1/3 to 1/2 with Pimms. Top off with the ginger ale. Squeeze an orange slice into the cup and leave the rind in the glass, garnish with cucumber and a sprig of mint if you have it (or whatever you have in your crisper!) Strawberries, apples, anything that says 'cool'. I've seen these drinks look like salad bowls so go for it and enjoy!

What Do I Do with All This *%&$#@ Zucchini?

If it is summer, it is zucchini time. It wouldn't really make a difference if I were in a CSA or not, when it is summer, there is a constant stream of zucchini coming into our house. It seems that everyone plants this in their summer gardens and everyone gets a bumper crop. My favorite way to eat zucchini is to just grate it and saute it quickly with some shallots or just salt and pepper. On Sunday I still had last week's CSA zucchini (still quite fresh) and this week's. Six was just enough to make one of my favorite recipes Mom used to make when she had her bumper crop of zucchini: Stuffed Zucchini (she used to call it "Zucchini Boats" thinking that would make vegetables sound more exciting to kids I think.) Anyway, these are great with hamburgers or any grilled meat and especially good for Sunday bbq's because they can be made ahead of time and popped into the oven while you are getting everything else readys

Zucchini Boats

• 6 zucchini (medium sized)
• 1/3 mayonaise, low fat will work.
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/2 tomato, peeded, diced, and drained. (I never peel 'em really. . . )
• 1/2 onion, diced.
• Salt and pepper to taste

Parboil in salted water the zucchini until barely tender, 7 minutes. Let cool a minute or two ands slice them lengthwise. Scoop out the center with a small spoon, reserving the pulp. Remove water from pulp by draining over sieve, cheesecloth, or even blotting with paper towel.

Chop pulp and stir in remaining ingredients. Fill shells and place in shallow pan. Salt and pepper to taste nd bake at 425 until filling mixture begins to puff and turn golden. About 20-25 minutes.

Top 10 Pet Dangers

Being the owner (or rather custodian) of a new kitten I have been wanting to look up what the potential dangers are around the house. I have enough common sense to realize I can't leave an Ambien sitting out on my nightstand any longer, but are there any other dangers I wouldn't ordinarily know about? Turns out Good Housekeeping did a story on this not very long ago.

Who knew that cats can't eat lillies? Most of their warnings have to do with dogs ingesting foods they shouldn't like macadamia nuts, pennies, and even grapes and raisins. Definitly worth taking a look at if you are a pet owner.

Also know that should you find yourself in the horrible position of finding out that your pet has ingested something on this list, keep the Pet Poison Helpline number handy. There is a fee (they aren't federally or state funded like human poison control) for this service (it includes the initial call and any followup) but it is sure worth it. So go get a pen and write down the number: 800-213-6680.

What's a Maven Anyway?

Malcom Gladwell defines a "Maven" as an "information specialist". Furthermore, mavens are "people we rely upon to connect us with new information." By collecting information and sharing it with others people are influenced to act. As soon as I read this in his now famous book, "The Tipping Point", I knew he was describing me. Mavens tend to be viewed as experts but they are really just people who solve other people's problems by solving their own and while everyone solves the various problems in their lives, mavens just talk a lot about what they are doing. That has always been me. Mavens don't set out to be mavens. We can't help it if others seem to be influenced, or at very least, interested!

This blog is about discovering and sharing the small, everyday things that make some sort of difference in my life. While many of mavens have specialties (for instance, Davd Pogue is a personal technology maven who writes for the New York Times, he's great!) I am just your ordnary general purpose maven. (Althought I am quite passionate about personal technology so you will read about it here a lot!) My information tends to be about the ordinary and mundane things that punctuate each of our lives. Small things. Healthy living, relationships, friendships, politics (office and otherwise), work, whatever I find that solves a problem or simplifies my life will be open for topic this blog. Be warned however, if it is a big complicated proposition or an otherwise huge undertaking, (or expensive!), you won't read about it here! This Maven doesn't have a lot of spare time.

So, if you are interested, great. If you are influenced, WONDERFUL! In the past, my "maven network" has been limited to the handful of close friends I share information with while having a cocktail after work on a Friday night. Blogging gives me a chance to see just how influencial one can be.

I hope you enjoy!

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