Tag Archives: lake trip

Lake favorites

Okay, okay, Ms. S&C promises this will be the last of the lake-related blog posts, Twitter posts, and Facebook posts. But, she couldn’t wrap up this year’s lake trip without sharing more of her favorites.

Drink favorites
Bloody Mary’s, Grapefruit Crushes, Pimm’s, Champagne cocktails, red wine, beer, beer, and more beer: there are lots of drink options at the lake. (You saw this picture from last year, right?) Thankfully, Ms. S&C is not charge of them all. Last year, a friend (we’ll call her Mrs. Smith) introduced us to Banks Rum and the Five Island Watermelon Punch. This year, Mrs. Smith, prepared for us a traditional Bajan Rum Punch. We didn’t keep score, but it was likely this year’s winning cocktail.

When Ms. S&C inquired about the recipe, Mrs. Smith shared the traditional (and delightful) saying to help one remember: 

One of Sour
Two of Sweet
Three of Strong

And Four of Weak

It translates into this:

  • 1 cup lime juice
  • 2 cups simple syrup
  • 3 cups white rum, preferably Banks Five Island White Rum
  • 2 cups of ice and 2 cups of cold water

Directions:

Stir all ingredients together in a large pitcher. To serve: fill a highball glass with three or four additional ice cubes. Garnish with a splash of Angostura bitters and a dash of grated nutmeg.

I want to think it is the perfect balance of sweet and sour that makes this a winning cocktail, but I really think it is the bitters and fresh grated nutmeg.

Favorite moments
Like the numerous drink selections, a lot of games are played at the lake: bocce, horseshoes, Scrabble, Mexican train dominoes, Left-Center-Right. But, it was during a competitive guys-against-girls game of Celebrity where a Coach Taylor impression (from Mr. Smith, coincidentally) will go down as my favorite charade moment of all time. With one turn of a hat, breaths were taken away. #fullhearts

Ms. S&C would consider almost any yoga session by the water a perfect moment, but her favorite yoga moment came on a rainy day — with first day jitters behind her — when she led an extensive indoor session that turned into a truly blessed experience. #namastebitches

Playlist favorites
Where there are booze and games, there is music. We marked this occasion with a collaborative playlist, in which everyone submits two song requests. Below you’ll find the complete list of songs, with notations for those currently in heavy rotation in the S&C house.

  1. Mercy — Duffy
  2. When Did Your Heart Go Missing? — Rooney
  3. Birthday — Kings of Leon
  4. Little Lion Man — Mumford & Sons
  5. Loving Cup — The Rolling Stones
  6. Jingling Baby — LL Cool J
  7. Price Tag (feat. B.o.B) — Jessie J
  8. Can I Kick It? — A Tribe Called Quest
  9. Walk On The Wild Side — Lou Reed
  10. Toob Amplifier — The Presidents of the United States of America
  11. Rolling in the Deep — ADELE
  12. Give Me Everything (feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack & Nayer) — Pitbull
  13. Otis (feat. Otis Redding) — JAY Z & Kanye West
  14. My Mistakes — Eleanor Friedberger
  15. Holdin On to Black Metal — My Morning Jacket
  16. Hold You Back — JC Brooks & The Uptown Sounds
  17. Metal Firecracker — Lucinda Williams
  18. Get Me Bodied — Beyoncé
  19. Look At Me Now (feat. Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes) — Chris Brown
  20. Am I the Only One — Dierks Bentley
  21. Cheers (Drink to That) — Rihanna
  22. S&M — Rihanna
  23. Baby Got Back — Sir Mix-A-Lot
  24. So Lucky (Eurovision 2011 – Moldova) — Zdob Si Zdub
  25. Your Touch — The Black Keys
  26. Evacuate the Dancefloor (Radio Edit) — Cascada
  27. Everybody Gets to Go to the Moon (Live) — The Three Degrees
  28. True Loves — Hooray For Earth
  29. That Way (feat. Jeremih & Rick Ross) — Wale
  30. On My Level (feat. Too $hort) — Wiz Khalifa
  31. I Gotta Get Drunk — Redbird
  32. Rehab — Amy Winehouse

Until next year!

posted by Ms. S&C

At the lake

When you’re with Ms. S&C and her perfectly awesome friends during the annual lake trip, you get things like:

Incredible water view + cute kids (plus morning yoga on that dock)

Happy dogs

Good food (two words: shrimp boil)

Drinks on the go (that’s a portable grapefruit crush you’re looking at)

Fireworks! (and, um, please notice the amusingly appropriate tee)

Ms. S&C hopes to post a longer recap, to share an excellent rum punch recipe, an excellent lake playlist, and many other excellent activities that make up her favorite.weekend.ever.

posted by Ms. S&C

Drinks at the lake

Here’s the final installment of Ms. S&C’s Seneca Lake recap. Over the course of three fun-filled days, here’s what you could find friends imbibing by the water, on a sailboat, by the grill, on the porch, on a swing, playing games, by the bonfire (did I miss anything?): Grapefruit Crush, Bloody Mary, Mai Tai (for the luau-themed dinner), Gin & Tonic, Dark ‘n’ Stormy, Pimm’s Cup (and variations of), Beer, Wine, Champagne.

One specialty cocktail (that was planned in advance): Five Island Punch.

The Five Island Punch was made with Banks Rum, a new rum on the market that is a blend of aged rums from five island distilleries. Ms. S&C doesn’t know a whole heck of a lot about rum (not like this guy), but she certainly loved it in this cocktail. And naturally, fresh watermelon this time of the year is a perfect mixer for cocktails.

The Banks Five Island Punch

Ingredients:

  • 2 oz Banks rum
  • 1 1/2 oz fresh lime juice
  • 1 oz simple syrup
  • 4 oz watermelon puree

Directions:

Shake all ingredients together, serve over ice, and garnish with mint sprig and lime wheel.

————————————————

Another specialty cocktail (that was totally random and totally awesome): Iced Double Espresso.

Coffee is probably the one beverage Ms. S&C can’t live without (actually, coffee may have to fight it out with Champagne). So, when another friend came with a surprise bottle of Van Gogh Double Espresso vodka, she couldn’t have been happier to make iced coffee drinks. Then, the drinks were paired with these amazing orange glazed cookies. The lake is like a culinary wonderland.

Iced Double Espresso

Directions:

Pretty simple stuff: fill glass with ice, pour a few ounces of coffee-flavored vodka, add a dash of cream, milk or half-and-half, and stir.

Ms. S&C’s has a three-part series covering her favorite weekend of the year. Part one: Sights of the lake. Part two: Overheard at the lake. Part three: Drinks at the lake.

posted by Ms. S&C

Overheard at the lake

For some reason there are a few little snipets of dialogue, from the recent lake trip, that really tickled Ms. S&C. Maybe because they are centered around booze, maybe because she could title them both: “Make it two,” or maybe because she thinks her friends are funny (and funnier after a few drinks).

One afternoon, Ms. S&C and a few others toured Seneca Lake on a sailboat (a 24 footer, I believe).  Upon arriving back at the dock, here’s what she overheard:

MGC (who had been sitting on the dock drinking beer with others while we were sailing) says to CA (who is about to exit the sailboat): “Was it a two Strongbow boat ride?”

CA: “It would have been if I had two Strongbows.”

(What’s really funny about this is: Strongbow ciders are a favorite of the guys at the lake. That’s who we buy them for.)

Here’s one reason the lake is Ms. S&C’s favorite summer weekend.
Another reason? Her friends are funny.

Then, one evening, at least 12 of us (almost the entire group at the lake), were sitting around a table playing the game Left-Center-Right. Those not playing were standing around watching. (If you’ve ever played the game, you know it can get kind-of intense towards the end, when you’re only down to two or three players, and there’s a large stack of dollar bills to be won.)

JS (who ultimately wins the game) says: “Is there anyone standing who knows how to make a Dark ‘n’ Stormy?”

JM perks up and adds: “Is there anyone standing who knows how to make *two* Dark ‘n’ Stormies?”

(One reason JS asked this question was because we had a conversation about how it is sometimes difficult to find people who know how to make a real Dark ‘n’ Stormy. Ms. S&C, of course, knows how to make real Dark ‘n’ Stormies — but she was playing the game.)

Ms. S&C’s has a three-part series covering her favorite weekend of the year. Part one: Sights of the lake. Part two: Overheard at the lake. Part three: Drinks at the lake.

posted by Ms. S&C

Sights of the lake

Every August, Ms. S&C takes her annual trip up to Seneca Lake. It is quite possibly her favorite weekend of the year. (She’s written about these lake trips before.) Here’s what you can expect when you’re at the lake with Ms. S&C and her funny, funny friends.

Beer

Lounging

Cute kids

Wet dogs

Cocktails

Ms. S&C’s has a three-part series covering her favorite weekend of the year. Part one: Sights of the lake. Part two: Overheard at the lake. Part three: Drinks at the lake.

posted by Ms. S&C

Lakebound

One of Ms. S&C’s favorite escapes of the year is just days away. Every August, (for the past six years or so), Ms. S&C joins some of her best friends in the world for an extended weekend getaway at Seneca Lake, Ny. Activities include: canoeing, horseshoes, lots of cooking, daytime drinking, nighttime drinking, trashy magazines, laughing, party games (Celebrity and Apples to Apples are faves), bonfires, plenty of shenanigans. Hell, it is just a lot of fun sitting on the dock or on the porch (both overlook the water).

Seneca-Lake-Bench.002

As you may expect, there is always a well-stocked bar at the lake. Last year, popular cocktails included Pimm’s Cup and S&C’s Watermelon Lemonade. Surprisingly, Ms. S&C has yet to drink a watermelon cocktail this season (though she did have a great watermelon agua fresca at Oyamel recently). So, she is going to bring back the-fruit-that-was-destined-for-cocktails (plus, a great option when serving a crowd of 10 or more), and make Watermelon Margaritas and Tequila-Soaked Watermelon Wedges.

Watermelon Margaritas
adapted from the Food Network recipe, serves four

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups seedless watermelon, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
  • 4 ounces tequila
  • 2 ounces Cointreau or Triple Sec (orange flavored liqueur)
  • 1 1/2 cups ice
  • Lime wheel or watermelon wedge, for garnish

Directions:

Combine all ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth. Garnish rim of glass with a lime wheel or a watermelon wedge and serve immediately.

Optional: For frozen margaritas, place cut watermelon in a plastic bag and freeze for a minimum of 2 hours.

Tequila-Soaked Watermelon Wedges
courtesy of Martha Stewart, serves four

Ingredients:

  • 1 small seedless watermelon, red or yellow, quartered and cut into 1-inch-thick wedges
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup tequila
  • 1/4 cup Cointreau or Triple Sec
  • 2 limes, halved or cut into wedges
  • Flaked sea salt or coarse salt

Directions:

Arrange watermelon in a single layer in two 9-by-13-inch baking dishes. Bring sugar, water, tequila, and Triple Sec to a boil in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring, until sugar dissolves, about 1 minute. Let cool slightly. Pour syrup over watermelon wedges, and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.

Remove watermelon from syrup, and arrange on a platter. Squeeze limes over melon, and season with salt.

Note: The longer the watermelon soaks, the more flavorful it becomes — one reason to save any leftover slices. Yeah right, leftover slices.

posted by Ms. S&C