Burritos, Blueberries and Spiked Punch...Oh My!

I hope everyone had a fun/relaxing weekend. Sorry it took me so long to post, I wasn't feeling too peachy yesterday...my brain wasn't up for posting. Anyway, onto the weekend which was fun and not entirely relaxing.

Friday night Antoine and I went to Habits Cafe. We've been there a number of times, for food, drinks and pool. I used to have an apartment in Oakley, so Habits was a convenient and tasty place to get a burger or a sandwich and maybe play a game of pool. A couple years ago I made the mistake of taking my mom and dad there when they were in town visiting. My dad got the fish and chips...and he's been hooked ever since! He loves their fish and chips and now every time they come into town he's begging to go to the "fish and chips place", as he calls it. Anyway, I've been to Habits a billion times (not really, but I've been there a lot), but I'd never had one of their burritos! It's a pub...what are they doing serving burritos anyway? They can't be that good, right? WRONG! (Sidenote: I've recently discovered that sometimes the menu items that seem really out of place at a pub are often the best items they have. For instance, Molly Malones in Pleasant Ridge makes a mean calzone...and they're an Irish pub!) After reading Veggie Option's recent post on Habits and their burritos I just had to give it a try! I decided to try the Fajita burrito with chicken (no sour cream, add lettuce). It was so delicious! Unlike many fast food burritos nowadays where you feel like you've got a rock in your stomach and you want to die after eating one, this burrito was super filling yet light! It didn't have rice like the burritos you find at Chipotle or Qdoba, making it far less dense and overwhelming. And it was filled with fresh tasty ingredients! Plus you get your choice of side item and some chips along with your burrito (I opted for the sweet potato fries, which are always delicious)! The only downside is that ever since Friday I've been craving another burrito!! Perhaps I can convince Antoine into going to Habits again this week!? Mmm!

Saturday I had to work at Sbux for a couple hours in the early morning, which wasn't that bad. Then Antoine, my sister and I went to Rouster's Apple House in Milford to go blueberry picking. I love blueberries and I love blueberry picking! It's so much easier than raspberry picking where you generally have to crouch down low to find berries, while also trying to stay clear of the numerous prickly thorns! In blueberry picking there are no thorns and at Rouster's most of their blueberry bushes are quite tall, so they are convenient for all sizes of people. Antoine and I ended up picking almost 10 pounds of blueberries! We're planning to freeze most of them and save them for future baking endeavors.

Later that night we went over to my sister and bro-in-laws house for a little barbecue party! Seeing as how we now had so many blueberries, we decided it was fitting to make some blueberry cobbler for the party. It was a recipe we had never used before but it went over very well, and we ended up taking home an empty pan! Since the party was byob...I decided to make a little spiked punch with some of the leftover liquor we had at home (and no, we're not boozers...that's why we always have random half empty bottles!). Anyway, I've never made spiked punch before so I was a little nervous that it might taste like crap, especially since I wasn't using a recipe or anything. We had some strawberry vodka and light rum chilling in our fridge, so while we were at the grocery store I picked up a can of concentrated fruit punch and a can of pink lemonade. Once we got to the party I threw everything together and voila...

I was very pleased with how tasty (and easy) this punch was! I would definitely make it again!

Recipe for spiked punch:

1 can of fruit punch concentrate
1 can of pink lemonade concentrate
1 can of Smirnoff strawberry vodka (or any fruity vodka you prefer)
1/2 can of Bicardi light rum
4 1/2 cans of water
frozen/fresh berries

In a relatively large pitcher mix together the punch and lemonade concentrate. Using the concentrate can add the vodka, rum and water. Stir until dissolved. Then garnish with fresh/frozen berries and serve. (Feel free to adjust the amount of alcohol to taste. With this ratio I found that the punch didn't have an overwhelming alcohol taste, yet was quite potent).

I will admit to you and only you, my fair readers, that I was the person who primarily reaped the benefits of this yummy punch. I couldn't stop myself, it was so tasty! Although, my sister-friend (that's what I call my big sis) had enjoyed a couple of glasses (along with some whiskey slushes) by the end of the night, thus leaving her a little slightly sloshed! My brother-in-law grilled up some mighty tasty burgers (and veggie burgers for the veg-heads among us) and we sat around enjoying the good company of friends and some delicious mac 'n cheese from BBQ Revue (brought by another guest)...YUM! I even played my first game of cornhole! I know, it's shocking that I've never played before seeing as how it is a Cincinnati tradition. I just never really had the opportunity before now. And now I know, it was probably for the best that I had never played before. I stink at cornhole! I could blame it on the fact that I was slightly tipsy while playing...but I think everyone is at least a little inebriated when they play cornhole! No, I chalk it up to a complete lack of skill and depth perception (ex. I chucked a couple of bags into the neighbor's yard)! But somehow Antoine and I still managed to win against my best bud Amanda and her boyfriend Adam. Obviously our win was all thanks to Antoine (who used to play baseball in junior high and high school). Even with me lodging cornhole bags at him (and at Adam for that matter) Antoine was able to get quite a few bags in the hole and on the board. Impressive, I know!

Also, just before the party I attempted to get a picture of Antoine and I since we were looking kind of cute! Instead, I got this...

When I looked at the camera, Antoine got such a kick out of seeing my reaction to this picture!

Then I managed to snag a relatively good one (without any hideous expressions!)

Sunday was kind of a wind down day from the fun of Saturday! Antoine had to work a mid shift at his part time job and then I closed at Sbux. But Antoine was super sweet and brought me my favorite salad from Dewey's Pizza for dinner, which made my night! All in all, it was a pretty successful weekend!