Tag Archives: Liquid Friday

Liquid Friday with Eden Freed

Sazerac Recipe for Mardi Gras

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It’s officially February, and with 18 days left to go before Fat Tuesday and a freezing cold front moving into NJ, you know I had to give you a fantastic cocktail from New Orleans. It’s the perfect little something to make you feel warm and toasty inside and end Dry January ( For ages 21 and over. Don’t drink and drive)

There is something special about the history and charm of New Orleans and I hope you make that trip in time to see the gayety of Mardi Gras Parade floats going by. For now, let’s warm up with a nice cocktail.

Sazerac-

Ingredients-

  • Absinthe rinsed glass
  • 2 parts(1.5 oz.) rye whisky
  • 3 dashes Peychaud
  • 2 dashes Angostura bitters
  • Splash of sugar, simple syrup, or Sugar cube(my favorite)
  • Lemon twist

How to:

  • Start by chilling a glass with ice cubes(or sticking in the freezer for a few minutes). The end product won’t be diluted with ice.
  • Once your glass is chilled rinse it with the absinthe of your choice and discard excess(or use it to rinse a few more glasses for company). This will leave a delicious flavor on the rim of the glass as well as a hint of the taste in the beverage.
  • Add 1.5 ounces rye whisky to your chilled and rinsed glass and in a second glass muddle a sugar cube with 2 dashes angostura bitters and 3 dashes Peychaud.
  • Add the sugar solution to your glass of rye whiskey and serve with a lemon twist. It’s the perfect cocktail and if you haven’t tried one yet, you’re missing out.
  • Enjoy! Let the good times roll.

Visit our other recipes for your cocktail parties and read some of our visiting authors.

Thanks for your support!

Liquid Friday with Eden Freed

Virgin Hurricanes and Mardi Gras Happenings

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We’re past the middle of Dry January 2023 and two weeks into Mardi Gras parades in New Orleans. What better time to mix up a batch of Virgin Hurricanes and check out the parade?

To see this year’s parade route, click on the link below. Recipe to follow.

https://www.mardigrasneworleans.com/parades/

Virgin Hurricane Recipe-

Ingredients-

  • 2 cups Passion Fruit Juice
  • 1 cup Orange Juice
  • 1 cup Pineapple Juice
  • 1/2 lime to 1 lime depending on taste
  • A generous pour of Grenadine syrup for that lovely color
  • Lemon lime soda of your choice- diet is ok, but remember that fruit juice has lots of carbs
  • Ice
  • Garnish: orange slice and cherry, lime if you like it tart

Directions

  • Mix fruit juice in pitcher (recipe can be doubled) add half the lime and more if needed
  • Add grenadine syrup for taste, sweetness, and color
  • Set mix aside- grenadine will settle so make sure you mix just before pouring into glasses
  • Fill Hurricane glasses with ice
  • Pour glasses 2/3 to 3/4 full with fruit juice mixture
  • Add lemon lime soda to thin juice, stir, garnish, and serve

Your guests will have so much fun watching the parade with these mock-tails they might even forget there’s no alcohol in them.

Don’t forget to read King of the Mardi Gras: A Short Story From Eden’s Garden and Laissez Les Bon Temps Rouler (let the good times roll).

King of the Mardi Gras: A Short Story From Eden’s Garden https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079WJGTC7?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_0C3FZZN11XBYTYARGCXJ

Liquid Friday with Eden Freed, soccer mom updates

Thinking of Her Majesty with a Dubonnet and Gin

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Dubonnet and Gin, one a little stronger than the other

As a young girl my thoughts were on knights, princesses, castles, and unicorns. With news of the Royal wedding, it seemed everyone was buzzing about Prince Charles III and Lady Diane. There have been more weddings since then and one can’t help but admire how her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II managed to handle all the excitement.

As a mother myself, I strive to be part of all my children’s celebrations but I have to admit they can be exhausting. I don’t ever recall seeing the late queen waiver. Though her duties were always many, she seldom was seen without a welcoming smile.

When I sit this evening I’ll have one her of her favorite aperitifs(a cocktail meant to stimulate the appetite), a Dubonnet and Gin, and think fond thoughts.

For ages 21 and over- Dubonnet and Gin recipe:

1 part gin

2 parts Dubonnet

Mix well and we’ve in a wine glass. Drink safely and responsibly.

Liquid Friday with Eden Freed

Rainy Day Blues- well, Blue Curacao anyway

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After a too brief beach visit to the Jersey shore on Wednesday(long story), this Jersey girl is missing ocean breezes and the feeling of sand under her toes. Knowing the beach season is coming to an end has me feeling blue and maybe I’ll just have a fun blue cocktail with Blue Curacao to perk me up.

Butler, the perpetual puppy, sits guard over a pair of my beach flip flops expectantly because he knows when I leave him with a sitter there will be many treats. Let’s face it, anytime is a good time for treats when you’re an impish Chinese Crested dog that’s too busy learning circus style tricks to figure out how to chase his own tail. There will be treats, that much we can be sure of.

As for the cocktail while I find a good book to sink my bookworm teeth into, lets make a Blue Lagoon.

Blue Lagoon Recipe:

1 fl. oz. Vodka- Belvedere if you got it

1 fl. oz. Blue Curacao

1/3 fl. oz. lemon juice

1/3 fl. oz. lime juice

Add 7-Up or other lemon lime soda to fill glass and garnish with starfruit slice and a green cherry. Have it with your favorite beach snacks and great book.

Here’s the reminder- Please use caution when drinking any alcohol beverage. We want to keep you partying and living life, so don’t drink and drive and don’t engage in any risky behavior. Save the SSC or RISK for a sober moment 😉

Liquid Friday with Eden Freed, soccer mom updates

Butler the Perpetual Puppy

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Some days Autoimmune Disease can make life unbearable. You make and change social plans and find yourself unmotivated to do anything else. Changes in weather, fluctuating hormones, stress(even excitement), and so many other factors can be a game changer before you have time to realize what happened.

Fortunately for me, a cute doggie comes and looks at me with a pair of soulful eyes. He brings me a squeaky toy or his favorite toy, knotted rope, and changes my day for the better. On the days I can’t do much more than sit on the couch, he’ll curl around my back keeping my lumbar region warmer than a heating pad.

Sometimes I think I waited too long to bring a dog home to live with me and my family, but most of the time I think I was just waiting for Butler.

For tonight, Butler will be drinking spring water and so will I. Work on the bod and the mind whenever you can.

Books worth checking out, Liquid Friday with Eden Freed, My Book

Knot A Criminal

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Tonight’s featured book is Knot A Criminal from Eden Freed’s All Tied Up In Knots Series. Scroll down to see tonight’s cocktail and a note from the author, herself.

Holly is on the run from the past that involves a double homicide. She has no recollection of the events and wants to keep it in the past for a reason, she might just be the killer.
Focusing on the future has Holly hopeful to learn pyrotechnics from a master of more than one skill. As she begins to fall for him, her past starts catching with her. Now, she is torn between her desire for love and the fear of what she might be capable of.

From Eden-

I’ve always considered myself to be a people watcher., but at best you only observe a small piece of their story. Imagination has to fill in the gaps. Could the people a few feet away from you in a shopping center be a couple in love, people going about their daily routine, spies, or aliens… whatever they are is left up to the flights of fancy your mind wants to take you on, no basis in reality required. Often we draw our own conclusions based on our own real world scenarios, hopefully none of them involve aliens, but I won’t judge either way.

The hardest thing to do is get people to stick to each other like magnets and if you’ve ever tried to fix up two of your friends or associates, you know what I’m talking about. You might push them in the right direction and find out their poles didn’t align and they just bounce off of each other. I do the same thing when I write, seek out the couples that need to flip around until they just fit right and connect in a way that is meaningful and lasting.

Knot A Criminal is the second full length BDSM novel in the All Tied Up In Knots Series. A little mystery, a lot of kink, and some New York excitement all go into making this book an interesting read. I hope you enjoy Holly and Johnathon’s adventure as much I did writing their story for you.

Excerpt from Knot A Criminal

“It was my fault. I shouldn’t have bragged that I could do it blindfolded with my hands behind my back. I didn’t expect him to take me up on it.” From a distance DJ Sean smiled at Crystal and gave a little thumbs up while picking up the coffee.

“Do exactly what blindfolded?” Crystal stood up. Her expression changed from one of curiosity to vexation. The sound of her knuckles cracking told me everything. She was getting ready to stomp over to Mr. Riley’s and let all hell break loose.

“Calm down, just the balloons,” I said and motioned for her to sit. “I made a death’s head moth and an owl.”

“Next time tell me that first. I was about to go open up a can of whoop-ass on him, boss or no boss. To think of everything that I went through to set it up so Johnathon would play you right after the interview, I’d have to go over there and stomp him into next week if this didn’t work out,” Crystal said.

“You didn’t!” I exclaimed.

“The hell I didn’t,” she laughed. “Remember when you were with Paul, how you said that you submitted an application for an interview with Johnathon Riley. I nearly pissed myself. Johnathon and I had a nice conversation about you. I never gave him your last name, so he wouldn’t know you from any other Holly on the street. Then, I made him wait until I was certain you had an interview for the job. No harm in keeping a man waiting.”

“That’s illegal at the very least, isn’t it?”

“Where you see legal issues, I see opportunity…”

Hypnotic and Absinthe make this cocktail dazzling

Tonight’s Steampunk Themed Cocktail: Blue Skies Ahead

Ingredients:

1 ounce Absinthe

2 ounces Hypnotic- one of my absolute favorite’s to mix cocktails with

1/2 ounce sour mix

2 ounces 7-up

slice of starfruit and green cherry garnish

Fill half a glass with ice and pour in the ingredients (add the soda last for a little fizz), garnish with slice of starfruit and green cocktail cherry. It’s a simple drink with a great presentation. Remember: Drink responsibly and don’t drink and drive. Be safe and have fun.

Books worth checking out, Liquid Friday with Eden Freed, Short Stories from Eden's Garden

Short Knots in a Twisted World

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Hello my friends, welcome back to my Liquid Friday.

Before we jump into a book, we need to grab something strong enough to handle this kind of excitement. so how about:

A Painkiller

Painkiller

Ingredients: 4oz Rum, 3oz pineapple-orange juice, 1oz crème de coconut, ice, nutmeg and toasted coconut for garnish (optional) Directions: In a cocktail shaker, combine the rum, juice and coconut with ice. Shake vigorously to mix, then pour into a cocktail class. Sprinkle with nutmeg and serve.

You got it! Great!!! As you start slowly sipping it, begin to feel its effect spreading throughout your body, But wait, before you give yourself entirely to its delight, lets talk about our book.

In the All Tied Up In Knots series we have a few short reads, ideal for brief interludes with books or the Kindle app.

#2. Knot A Geek is a flirty little quick read about two geeks working in a high power Electrical Engineering lab.

#3. Knot His Superior is a quick read with kinky love triangle where rank has nothing to do with a uniform.

Next week we’ll be talking about the second full length novel in the series – a little mystery, a little kink, and a lot of sexy romance.

Liquid Friday with Eden Freed, Short Stories from Eden's Garden

Eat Dessert First is Free on Amazon Kindle

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This wonderful short story or love, friendship and coming out, from Eden Freed is available free on Kindle , but only for a very limited time.  Get it today or this Saturday  December 8th or miss all the fun.

Don’t miss it: click here.

Oh, and I almost forgot the cocktail, with all the excitement promoting my short story.  Silly me.

In the story, Lelo and Sasha seem to be more of teatotalers, so for tonight we will respect their choice and go with a nice cup of hot Earl Gray tea. Earl Grey is a flavored tea with probably the most known distinct flavor. It is a black tea base, flavored with bergamot orange rind oil. Bergamot orange is  a citrus fruit with the appearance and flavor somewhere between an orange and a lemon with a little grapefruit and lime thrown in.

So brew yourself a nice cup of this delicious tea, and kick back with the free copy of Eat Dessert First.

Enjoy!

Blurb:

Lelo has the ultimate friendship in Sasha. A person that cares for her, supports her, makes her laugh and enjoy life. Will she risk it all and follow her heart for a chance at romance? What if Sasha doesn’t share her feelings, doesn’t understand and walks away? Is it worth risking the friendship?

Excerpt:

My pulse quickened as Sasha took my hand and led me into her freshly decorated bedroom. Libraries had only slightly larger collections of history books than she had amassed. Every wall of the room from the floor to the ceiling was lined with them. I felt EatDessertFirstCoverJPGunworthy and stood there in a sort of rapturous awe akin to a religious experience.

“When I move, I’m giving these to you, Lelo,” she laughed but her cheeks didn’t light up the way they used to.

“Don’t you want to read them again?” My question made her look up at the ceiling. As familiar as I was with the gesture, I didn’t understand her tears. We shared everything, even embarrassing things like our first dates and the first time we had our hearts broken. Silent tears were strange creatures that kept the distance between us, but they had become increasingly familiar over the years.

When I first moved to Somerville, in second grade, Sasha was my first friend. I was her only friend. We painted each other’s nails and shared the same stick of bubble gum. There was a certain shyness in her soul that beckoned me like a moth to a flame. The fire in her made me burn with a curiosity to know everything. We began our kindred search with history books.

Twenty years and seven address changes later we were still best friends. We posted book reviews and critiques, sent countless emails, and spoke on the phone daily, though seldom saw each other. Her father was stationed in Los Alamos and we were both finished with college. She wanted to be closer, so I found an apartment for her. With my best pair of Keds on, I helped move carefully sealed boxes out of the van and into the freshly painted apartment. We sat on the floor and ate Chinese food unfolding the food containers into plates.

“You want me to help you unpack?”

“I’ll drive you nuts with my library OCD. Everything has to be in the correct order or I’ll spend hours fixing it,” she laughed pointing to numbers on the boxes. I knew all of her nuances. There was nothing more I wanted than to tell her everything I felt in my heart, but the fear of losing our friendship stopped me.

“You sure? I can count, you know.”

“No, I’m good. It will wait until tomorrow,” she said, laying her head against my shoulder. Her silken tresses brushed against my neck and I wrapped my arm around her waist, holding her so close that I could feel her heart beating like a hummingbird’s. My gut told me something was wrong, but I was too afraid to find out what it was. Silently, I prayed that she would confide the torment of her soul, but the hush only grew between us until I said goodnight.

Liquid Friday with Eden Freed

Liquid Friday with Joseph R Kennedy

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This week we are featuring author, Joseph R Kennedy and his new book: Nanecdotes: Confessions of a Thirty-Day Novelist  , a must read for any one who has been involved with NaNoWriMo.  By the way, Nanecdotes is available for free only today November 16th and next Friday November 30th, so do not miss this opportunity to get your laughs and a cocktail (sorry that one is not free) for your Liquid Friday.

Before we test our sense of humor, let’s hear from Joseph R Kennedy about his favorite cocktail for tonight:

I usually have whisky neat, but one of my favorites is the Irish coffee recipe from the Dead Rabbit in NYC, which is across the street from my job. Once the weather turns to winter, I look for having these, and I always get on New Year’s Eve on my way home from work.
INGREDIENTS
3 ounces freshly brewed coffee (I prefer Sumatra)
1¼ ounces Clontarf or Bushmill’s Irish whiskey
Bushmill
½ ounce demerara syrup
Runny whipped cream, for garnish
DIRECTIONS
In a 6-ounce tempered glass, stir together the coffee, whiskey and demerara syrup. Top with runny whipped cream and serve.
Ok, so lets grab a glass of this delicious sounding cocktail, kick our legs up and relax with Joseph R. Kennedy’s book:
My book Nanecdotes: Confessions of a Thirty-Day Novelist is out on Amazon as an eBook, and the paperback will be available soon. I wrote a number of humorous quips about NaNoWriMo, and other writers told me if I put it in a collection, they would buy it.  I included one in the blurb related to wine.
Blurb:
In a world where authors pledge to write a 50,000 word novel in the month of November, what could go wrong? Everything!
Characters who argue with their creators. Midnight desperation libations. Muses that inspire folly and fear. All are included in this collection of anecdotes … and a song!
Discover the wackiness of authors trying to write 1,667 words every day for a month.

nanecdotesRecycling: Most of the year.
“Honey, can you please put all the empty wine in the recycling. There’s like five of them just this week. They are picking up glass tomorrow.”

“Okay. I am a writer you know!”

Recycling: November
“Honey, can you please put all the empty wine in the recycling. There’s like fifteen of them just this week. They are picking up cardboard tomorrow.”

“Okay. I am a NaNo writer, you know!”

Nanecdotes: Confessions of a Thirty-Day Novelist is a collection of humorous quips inspired by National Novel Writing Month and thirty days of writing madness. All profits will be donated to support NaNoWriMo.
About the Author:

Joseph R. Kennedy is a long time I.T. Professional who is a part-time writer, and genealogy enthusiast. His current projects include a collection of quips, usually involving Josephwriting and anything involving literature, with an occasional nod to sports, genealogy, and the horror that is NJ Transit.

He is also an advisory board member for the New York Nineteenth Century Society, and a history enthusiast.

When not writing or reading, he can be found in various libraries or archives looking for Dead Kennedys, or doing steampunk related activities, like making a rocket jet pack.

He is a father of two adult children, lives in Northern New Jersey, and works in New York City.

Contacts:
website: https://www.josephrkennedy.com
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roughhead/ (plenty of quips on here)
twitter: https://twitter.com/roughhead66
Liquid Friday with Eden Freed

Liquid Friday with author Chris Redding

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This week we are featuring author, ghost writer and coach Chris Redding and her new paranormal romance shape shifter novel Destiny of a Gargoyle: Book One When Gargoyles Love.

But before we immerse  ourselves in the magic of her novel, we must hear from Chris Redding about her favorite cocktail for tonight:

Long Island Iced Tea is my favorite! Why that drink? Because when I was a bartender it was my signature drink. People came to the bar to ask me to make it because they’d heard mine was good.

Recipe:

 

  • Shot of Vodka
  • Shot of Gin
  • Shot of Triple Sec
  • Ice

Fill the rest of the glass with sour mix then a splash of cola.

 

 

Blurb:

Donal Foley was born in a time when magic ruled the Earth.

Gargoyles protected fairies from goblins. His family was a group of elite gargoyles who were assigned to protect a specific fairy. His father’s dereliction of that duty cursed his sons to become stone and wait.

Now reawakened in the twenty first century where no one believes in magic how is he going to convince his fairy that she is one and that she is in danger from a goblin?

He must do that without falling in love with her.

 

Excerpt:

The next morning, Meg was still wondering what mistake she’d made. What had she said that sent Donal running out of the bar?

She ended up taking the day off and now she was doing things that she normally had to attend to on weekends. Picking up dry cleaning and shopping for underwear were so much more pleasant when everyone else was at work.

Since she lived by the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University, students streamed past her with backpacks and cups of coffee. Ah, to be young again.

Her first stop was to the supermarket for some food. With her canvas bags in hand, she entered the doors of the local supermarket, but something made her look behind her. She had the feeling someone was watching her.

 

She didn’t see anyone, except a young man who seemed out of place. And he looked like Donal. She blinked, but he was gone.

 

About Chris:

Chris Redding lives in New Jersey creating otherworldly stories. When she isn’t writing, she walks and does yoga. She is also a ghostwriter and a writing coach.