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When the weather gets warmer, the cocktails get simpler. We crave the fresh bitterness of a three-ingredient Negroni or an invigorating (and not-so-boozy) punch — drinks you can linger over while at a sidewalk table or hanging out on a rooftop. If the sun is out, you want to be able to drink all day without complicated recipes or highly alcoholic beverages. Whether you like something spritzy or tropical, we have suggestions from some of New York’s best bartenders.

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So you wanna throw a surprise party? You’re a good friend! You’ll be an even better friend if you ask yourself these key questions before you get in over your head.

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It slides in the shelf sideways, due to its tall picture-book shape, but even from this reduced position, My Learn to Cook Book holds its own among the more usual suspects. Inscribed “Maria, from Grandpa & Grandma Speidel, Merry Christmas, 1969,” this Big Golden Book (as opposed to Little Golden Books like The Pokey Puppy) was my very first cookbook.

I had just turned 8 and was thrilled as I turned the pages describing wonders like baked Alaska and kebabs, which oddly called for three different types of meat. Smudges on the pages for baked bananas and chocolate mousse bear witness to my lifelong sweet tooth.

I mainly concentrated on the easily achieved lemon fizz, aka homemade sparkling lemonade, an exotic treat in the days before San Pellegrino’s Limonatas were at every Trader Joe’s. Reaming the lemons, adding the sugar, and mixing it all up was infinitely more satisfying than my other “cooking,” which consisted of huddling in the bathroom, using a Q-tip to muddle baby powder and water on a doll’s dish.

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If you’re fluent in cooking, then chances are you’ve heard of sous-vide — which literally translates to “under vacuum” in French. It’s a cooking technique conceived in the 1970s and the process entails putting ingredients in a bag, sucking the air out, and cooking the bag in a water bath at a precise temperature.

Sound fancy? It’s cause it is. But now, thanks to a company called Nomiku, sous-vide cooking is more accessible and fail-proof than it ever was before.

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Fried Cauliflower Rice

(Image credit: Emma Christensen)

If you’re about to make the swap of cauliflower rice for real rice for the first time, I want to be honest about one thing: riced cauliflower is not going to fool you as a stand-in for grains of actual rice. (Just like cauliflower pizza crust isn’t going to fool you into thinking you’re eating pizza.) It is most definitely a vegetable.

But cauliflower’s lightness and fresh flavor are pretty incredible on their own merits, and when it’s shredded or processed so the florets and stems are broken down into firm “grains,” you can use them much like you would rice. They’ve proven themselves to be a super-versatile, grain-free substitute when you want a vegetable alternative to rice.

Despite the difference in flavor, riced cauliflower can do just about everything your favorite variety of rice can do — just as long as you avoid these missteps along the way.

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If you’ve been honing your at-home mixology skills, it’s only natural that you’d want to show them off to your friends. But don’t put in a ton of effort making a classy cocktail only to serve it in a chipped glass or an old plastic cup you stole from the dining hall back in college. Serve it in a proper cocktail glass — one worthy of your creation.

It’s possible to stock up on new glasses without breaking the bank — promise! You can get four of these (sold either as a set or individually) and spend less than $50.

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One of the most common myths about protein is that we generally don’t consume enough — both omnivores and those on stricter diets, like vegetarians and vegans, are told this by family, friends, and the media. The good news is that we actually do usually get enough, if we are eating a well-balanced diet.

But what exactly is enough? Every single person on earth has different protein needs and those needs will shift over time depending on your age, weight, current activity level, and if you’re undergoing anything major, like pregnancy or illness. That makes it pretty tricky to calculate, but there are some great guidelines that can help you feel confident in the protein you are actually eating.

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Open Roundup

Some may say a classic gin martini goes best with nothing but the olives in the glass, but I believe a nibble or even a full meal is useful alongside the boozy cocktail. The fragrant aromas that waft out of gin may seem difficult to pair with, but they actually work quite well with a number of different foods. Here are just five snacks and meals that pair well with a gin martini.

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As important as coffee is to people’s morning routines, there are ways to make it even more important. For example, you can buy fair-trade, organic coffee. You can also pick up coffee and related accessories that go the extra mile to give back to the greater good.

We’ve rounded up 10 gifts that will not only keep your fellow jittery brethren caffeinated, but will also guarantee that their daily fix goes towards a good cause.

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(Image credit: Antonio Marins)

From Apartment Therapy → We Asked 8 Real New Yorkers: Is a 50/20/30 Budget Realistic?

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