Oct 17
Oh, zucchinis. Why won’t you stop? Sigh. I look forward to the day I open my refrigerator to find that it is zucchini-free.
Well, except, in this case. Because in this case, you are DELICIOUS. Especially with a big mug of mint tea on a dreary, dark, damp, lazy Sunday morning. Oh, it’s afternoon now. I hadn’t noticed.
By the way, “garlic zucchini rotini” is a really fun thing to say. That alone is reason enough to make this recipe, especially along with reasons like: the zucchini avalanche the occurs every time I open my refrigerator, a last-minute gathering of friends for dinner and the need for a quick dinner in volume, and a need for leftovers to take us through a few days of lunches.
The one thing to warn here is the intense quantity of garlic and shallots that go into this recipe. The flavor imparted by the sheer metric ton of those two ingredients takes what would otherwise be a fairly boring pasta recipe – pasta and zucchinis alone do not a particularly exciting dinner make – into something spicy, savory, and healthy (the more flavor added, the less oil and cheese needed).
Do you like ridiculous sugary blended coffee drinks? I do. Despite how they make me feel – physically and emotionally – I find them irresistible. Especially in airports. When I worked at a Peet’s I could justify drinking them every once in a while because it really was just milk, ice, espresso, and flavor syrup whirled up in a blender. And because I could alter those ingredients at will without sounding like a fool (“half-caf, soy, 1 pump vanilla, please”). But at most places (and I’m pretty sure even at Peet’s now), blended coffee drinks are a near-lethal combination of milk powder, coffee-flavored ooze, whole milk and/or heavy cream, and flavored syrups so sugary that your innocent little Starbucks purchase is suddenly on-par with a gallon of ice cream.
I’m posting this because making new cocktails is on my Food List, but this might be the first and only time I ever post something with the explicit direction NOT to make it. Please don’t make this cocktail.
It sounded really bizarre, but we figured we might as well try it and see what happened. But it was weird and confusing in my mouth. After both the first and second sips, Brett and I stood in the kitchen at a loss for words. The sweetness of the cognac, the mint, and the sparkling water consistency were just WRONG together, in so many ways.
Cognac Stinger
- 2 oz. cognac
- 1 oz. creme de menthe
- 2 splashes sparkling water
– Shake the cognac and creme de menthe in a cocktail shaker with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass and add the sparkling water.
Please don’t make me think about this drink any more.
Oct 5
I haven’t yet gotten on the life list/bucket list train, but if I ever do, I know one of the first things on the list would be “perfect Gram’s chocolate chip cookies.” I was not raised on those meager little Tollhouse discs, no sir – only my Gram’s plate-sized chewy, caramel-y, earthy masterpiece cookies. They’re one of the most popular things she sells, and a standby for any family occasion.
My name is Bowen and I'm a cooking instructor/food writer/home cook in Seattle, WA. I'm dedicated to community-based food systems that nourish people and planet alike, and this site is an extension of my kitchen - seasonal, fresh food and cocktails made with heart (and sometimes an indecent amount of olive oil) to share with friends and loved ones.
Read more >>
Linen Theme by The Theme Foundry
Copyright © 2025 Bowen Appétit, LLC. All rights reserved.
