(Photo credit: Steve Legato)

Happy Friday! And Happy Memorial Day Weekend! Can you believe we made it to the summer after the looong winter we had? I think we all deserve a pat on the back and a fun cocktail for surviving all that snow.

We are still in California, so this post will be short and sweet. Also, next week Cheating Vegan is moving to its new home! I can’t wait for you all to see the new site. Check back on Tuesday.

Here are this week’s links:

Looking for a perfect Memorial Day dessert? How about this Easy Ice Cream Cake? Only four ingredients–and one of them is ice cream sandwiches!

I’m reading this book right now and loving it. Somehow I forgot about Curtis Sittenfeld after Prep, but she is so good.

Tragic.

I was so incredibly lucky to have Mary Morris as my thesis advisor in graduate school. Her recent Modern Love essay in the New York Times was beautiful!

I will be making a vegan version of this dish very, very soon.

How long would it take before you realized you were watching Cruel Intentions play out in reality? A real-life GIF in Central Park.

The eternal question.

This week’s drink is another excerpt from my cookbook, Edible DIY. Have you ever had Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka? This is my fresher, homemade version made with simple, all natural ingredients. The recipe calls for up to two cups of simple syrup. Start with one cup and add more to taste. The full two cups will yield a vodka as sweet as Firefly.

This is delicious on its own over ice, but I especially like it mixed with lemonade and garnished with a sprig of mint.

To make the simple syrup, simmer 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 1 1/2 cups of water until the sugar dissolves. You may have extra, but it keeps forever in the fridge.

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Lemony Sweet Tea Vodka

Servings 20

Ingredients

• 6 cups vodka
• 6 black tea bags
• 1-2 cups simple syrup
• 2 large juicy lemons

Instructions

1. Pour 3 cups of vodka into each of two 1-quart mason jars. Add three tea bags to each jar. Screw on the lids and allow the vodka to stand undisturbed for one hour.
2. Remove the tea bags (be sure to squeeze out all the vodka and add it back to the jars!). Add 1/2 cup of simple syrup and the juice of one lemon to each jar. Screw on the lids and give the vodka a good shake. Taste, and add up to another 1/2 cup simple syrup to each jar.
3. The vodka will keep for up to a year, stored in a cool, dark place.

Recipe Notes

Makes 8 cups total