It's fall, dammit.

I can no longer wait for the weather to catch up. I'm ready for autumn--the season of pumpkins and pot roast and apple pie. However, with the 90 degree weather (seriously, weather.com? 90? That's just for shock value, right?) my oven remains empty. I have found a pretty good substitute that I like to call "fall in a bottle". Pumpkin ale!



I believe it's a brown ale (hence the slightly bitter, ale-y taste. Sorry, I'm usually more of a Hefeweizen/wheat ale girl!) brewed with real pumpkin and spices. Although a lot of beers have pumpkin flavor, I really love the spices in this version. You all know that I'm a huge fan of Blue Moon in general, but I have to say that this pumpkin ale puts theirs to shame.

Oh, hey! The Washington Post just wrote about pumpkin ale!

My 'Tini Matches my Screen-y

Interesting. Did you know a Raspberry Melon Martini perfectly matches the Food Network's home page? Coincidence?


Raspberry Melon Martini

Ingredients:

• One part raspberry flavored vodka (like Smirnoff Twisted)
  
• One part melon liqueur (like Midori)
• Ice
• Fresh raspberries for garnish
  

Directions:

• Combined vodka, liqueur and ice in martini shaker. Shake your heart out. Strain and pour into martini glass.
• Throw in your pretty raspberries for garnish. Or not, if you're like me and ain't got none.