SOMETHING FOR THE KIDS!

In more than one way, Cherry Tea Cakes ( a DC based baking blog) has dedicated her blog to helping feed the hungry children, and other charities. Check out this post on how to make 
BUBBLE GUM SODA!

REFRESHING SUMMER PUNCHES

In summertime punch, light, pretty, and sparkling cool, is the perfect drink  on a hot day. It can be a mini-punch-just enough to fill up one or two tall glasses or two tall glasses or a grand punch bowl full to serve a party. A careful melange of fruit flavors, laced with wines, spirits, spices,and aromatic bitters, punches make a fragrant refreshing drink that delight the eye and the palatte. they can contain nothing stronger that soda or a deceptively powerful combination of wines and spirits. They can be garnished with a variety of sliced fruits or every kind of mint leaf.

EASY MINI PUNCHES FOR TWO

Mix a Rhine or domestic dry white wine with chilled soda, equal parts.Chill with ice cubes (to which you've added a sprig of watercress before freezing.)
CRANBERRY COOLER
Pour 1-1/2jiggers of tequila over ice.
fill with cranberry juice.


PUNCH LA GRANDE
Fill a goblet with 2 ounces of Gin and the juice of a half lemon and an orange. Tint with 3 dashes of green chartreuse and green creme de menthe. Dilute it with a little soda, and add ice and a sprig of mint.


FLORIDA FRUIT PUNCH
2-6 ounces each of orange juice concentrate, thawed undiluted and 
1 can frozen grapefruit juice concentrate thawed undiluted. 
4-1/2 cups of water 1 can (12 ounces)of apricot nectar and 
1 can (18 ounce)pineapple juice.
1 qt gingerale 
Chill. Pour over ice in punch bowl. 
Add  ginger ale. 
Serves 30 punch cups.

DAVIDS ICE TEA

In a large saucepan pour 2 quarts boiling water over 5 tea bags, add 9 tbs of sugar,juice of 2 oranges and 2 lemons. Chill. serve in a tall glass over ice with a slice of orange for garnish.

ANYTHING GOES

AT A LUAU....(from the FullerBrush magazine by Ruth Brent 1963)
I found this great 60's era photo and party plan, what a contrast to the extravagant parties you can see at P is for Party or Celebrations at Home
...from The Twist to the exciting best Hawaiian War Chants ( and don't forget the limbo stick). In the absence of a guitarist, use long playing Hawaiian records readily available at most music stores or through mail order catalogues. Music is of prime importance in creating the right mood.  Young guests are gaily attired in beachcomber hats, vivid leis and moomoos, bright shirts and flowered sarongs. The crepe paper PALM TREE adds a touch of the islands and againnettingis used as a background.
Here is a Party Pink Pineapple Punch recipe:
combine 5-3/4 cup pineapple juice
1 cup lemon juice
1 cup sugar
1 pt cranberry juice
2 quart bottles of gingerale
Stir, add gingerale slowly
makes 4 quarts
I love the innocence of this era and the simplicity, what about you?

RHUBARB LEMONADE PUNCH

No last minute fuss here. the rhubarb lemonade base is made ahead of party time!
2  12 ounce packages frozen rhubarb
1/4 to 1/2 cup sugar
1  6- ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate
3 cups water
2  7-ounce bottlee of lemon-lime carbonated beverage chilled.
In saucepan combine the frozen rhubarb, sugar, frozen lemonade concentrate and water. Cover and cook about 20 minutes. Strain to remove pulp, chill the liquid. Just before serving pour rhubarb lemonade mixture over ice cubes in a punch bowl. Resting bottle on rim of punch bowl carefully pour in lemon-lime beverage. Yields 12 servings

How rhubarb is linked to baseball

Thanks to the Romans, the word "rhubarb" takes its name from the Latin rha barbarum. Rhubarb grew along the banks of the river Rha, the ancient name of the Volga. Back then, the region was considered foreign, or barbarian territory. Thus, rhubarb literally means "from the barbarian, Rha."

The use of the word "rhubarb" dates back to the early days of Shakespearean theater, a use that carried forward to present day. Dictionaries first define rhubarb as the lovable, edible plant that it is. Then the slang definition follows. To prepare you, let's get the feeling behind it. Say RHU-barb with attitude. Now you can see how the word became synonymous with a heated argument or squabble. One dictionary even went so far as to link rhubarb to baseball, where a rhubarb meant sparks were flying between the umpire and the pitcher.

BATTER UP!

sorry I don't know how to flip it!

I have driven past this mailbox for the past 16 years located on a back country road that eventually leads to my home. Over the years it has changed colors, from white to yellow and now to this patriotic red white and blue! This year I was fortunate enough to meet the owners and they told me a most charming story. The woman of the house made cakes for a living. Their home was not zoned for business, so her husband devised the mailbox "sign" to let people know where they were located. Her shop is a quaint little cottage built behind their main home. She told me this is the third mailbox that her husband made. the other two were destroyed by young vandals. I guess over the years, it became a sort of rite of passage that the youths would drive by and take a swing at it with a baseball bat. The current patriotic version, is made of solid steel and weighs over 360 pounds. The owners definately get the last laugh as they listen at night when would be vandals attempt to smash the box! I can only imagine it being like a road runner cartoon, and the box is not moved but the assailant is vibrating in mid air! Happy 4th of July!

Be sure to check out the tutorial on this 4th of July Cake at Cup of Jo!

 What's more American than an exciting baseball game( G Newman Lowrance) and heres a local pic of  my favorite Hoopsfest teams, WAKE THE RESIDENT!
Check out  Icebox ready to make his famous 3 pointer shot to win the game.
I love how the color of his hair makes this shot very 4th of July, thanks Timo!
ps. I am featured in a cameo in this pic...guess who?

click on picture to see video of the game

SOME LIKE IT HOT

Marilyn and Arthur Miller

FLAMING RUM PUNCH
1/2 ounce tea
1 quart water
1 pound sugar
1 1/2 pints of rum
16 lemon slices
Combine tea with water, simmer 10 minutes. Stir in sugar, rmove from heat. Strain mixture . Pour into punch bowl. Mix in rum. Ignite carefully. Place lemon slice in bottom of punch cup. With metal ladle, pour carefully into each cup.

the white shed cake

Serves 16

SA...WEEEET!

FRUIT PUNCH WITH MINT

from I am baker

2/3 pounds of tea (black)
4-1/2 gallon water
1 qt pineapple juice
the juice of 24 lemons
the juice of 16 oranges
5 pounds of sugar...WOW!
1/2 cup mint leaves

make tea with 2 and 1/2 gallons of water. Mix all juices and tea,(after it has cooled to room temperature)
Use remaining 2 gallons of water and sugar to make a syrup.Heat in sauce pan on low heat until sugar is dissolved.  While syrup is cooling add mint leaves to sugar mixture. Add cooled syrup to fruit mixture. Chill and strain and serve. serves: 100

be sure to check out the tutorial on this cake! (click on caption)

A BUBBLY PUNCH...A FRILLY CAKE...

   GOLDEN WINE PUNCH

2 bottles (1quart each)sparkling water
2 bottle (4/5 quart each) Chenin Blanc or Gewurztraminer
3/4 cup curacao or other orange flavored liquer
1 large orange

Pour 1 quart of sparkling water into ice mold, and freeze
One to four hours before serving, combine wine and curacao and chill. Cut long thin spirals from the oranges outer peel. ream the orange and add to punch along with the spirals. to serve: unmold the sparkling water ice mold into punch bowl, stir in the chilled punch and the rest of the sparkling water. Yields: 25 servings

http://dreamlifeinthecity.blogspot.com/http://dreamlifeincity.blogspot.com/

TOAST THE NEWLYWEDS

with sparkling punch as they cut the first slice of wedding cake. Here are three resfreshing fruit punches that we highly recommend. These recipes can be doubled or tripled if the reception is large. In estimating the amount you'll need, plan on 2 1/2 servings (3 ounce) per person.

Priscilla and the King

RECEPTION PUNCH
2 cups orange juice
2 cups grapefruit juice
2 cups pineapple juice
1 6 ounce frozen lemonade concentrate
3 1/2  cups cold water
2  tall bottles of ginger ale (chilled)
Ice  block
combine orange, grapefruit, and pineapple juice. (You may use fresh, canned or frozen juices)
Stir in lemonade concentrate and water. Chill. At serving time pour over ice in punchbowl. Gradually add ginger ale.  Yields: 60 servings

FROSTY FRUIT PUNCH


1 quart pineapple juice
1 quart orange juice
1 quart apple juice
2 tall bottles ginger ale
2 quarts lemon lime or orange sherbet.
chill juice and ginger ale. At serving time, pour into punch bowl,stir, add sherbet by spoonfuls.NO ICE NEEDED!   Yields: 50 servings

GOLDEN GLOW PUNCH
1 package tangerine soft drink powder
1 cup sugar
2 quarts water
1  6-ounce can frozen leonade concentrate.
1  6-ounce grozen orange juice concentrate
1 No. 2 can pineapple juice
1 tall bottle ginger ale
Ice block
Dissolve soft drink powder and sugar in water. Stir in undiluted fruit juice concentrates and pineapple juice. Chill. At serving time. pour over ice in punch bowl. slowly add ginger ale. Yields: 50 servingshttp://dreamlifeincity.blogspot.com/

NOW FOR A REALLY REALLY BIG PUNCH!

If you are planning a big reception heres an idea of how to make punch to serve 250.

Tropical Wedding Punch

use fresh frozen fruit juices diluted according to directions on can.

I'm sorry I can't remember where:(

3 gallon  orange juice
3 gallon grapefruit juice
3 gallon pineapple juice
1 gallon papya juice
1 1/2 gallon of carbonated beverage
1/2 gallon of finely dice marashino cherries
12 pared and dice oranges
8 pared and diced lemons
8 pared and diced grapefruit
?2 gallons of sugar? perhaps it is pounds..this was a hand written recipe.

Blend together first 4 ingredients stir in sugar to dissolve. Pour in carbonated beverage. Put in remaining ingredients chill and serve

Thats 13 plus gallons of PUNCH! WOW....I'm thinking garbage can for a container.... new of course.