Valentines Day tomorrow!
I have to say that even though I love the idea of celebrating love, with the price of red roses going up 300%, every restaurant having a set menu with a set price of $100 a person, and the pressure to get a gift for your Valentine, Im not a huge supporter of the day. I don’t know about you, but I would rather get $20 flowers on a random day for no reason than $100 roses on Valentines Day because its expected to give flowers that day.   That said, I’ll still take flowers any day and love them. Even on Valentines… lol.
I would also rather stay home with my man, make us a meal and have a couple cocktails like this one rather than braving the restaurants on what’s likely their busiest day of the year!  However, as luck would have it, we are going out this year. For Kevin’s birthday I got him concert tickets for one of his favorite country artists, Dallas Smith, and the concert happens to be on V-Day. We’re double dating with our good friends Bob and Mandy and we are going to have a lot of fun! I just have no freeking clue what Im going to wear!
Debbie and Mark are maybe going to go out for dinner, but on Friday instead of crazy Saturday. Â They don’t really have plans. Â Its too bad, but they thought Mark might be working in Kelowna right now so they decided not to come with us to the concert.
Anyways, the cocktail… In honor of the day, we wanted to give you a red martini.  How awesome is it that Blood Oranges are in season right now? I love their red color and sweet juicy fruity flavor.  When mixed with the vodka and triple sec, the orange juice still tastes super fresh with the perfect amount of sweetness. If you like a sweeter cocktail, you may want to add a bit of simple syrup to this recipe.  we don’t like them too sweet.  Aren’t they so pretty?  I just love the color of these martinis.  If there are any men out there reading this, here’s a tip…  Us girls, we love pink martinis. 😉
We also topped ours off with some pink sparkling wine. You can use any kind of sparkling wine or champagne that you like, or if you like, you can also use club soda for the same affect without the extra booze.  Gotta tell ya, these martinis topped off with sparkling wine, pack a bit of a punch!
Yes, those are fresh tulips that you see in the background of these pictures! We have been having the mildest winter ever here on the west coast of BC. I heard on the news this morning that a number of our local ski hills are closing until further notice. They have no snow! Its really putting a damper on the snowmobiling season… Kevin is not very happy about it.  And with temperatures around 12 – 15 every day, the tulips are all coming up! They started poking up in the middle of January if you can believe that! I even saw some little purple crocuses blooming on my run this morning! They are a little early, but with no cold snap in the forecast, it seems like they are safe for now.
Aren’t these just gorgeous? Â They just scream “spring time”! Â I think they cost $5 too. Â Ill take those for Valentines Day. Â Screw the $100 roses.
Ingredients
- 3 oz fresh squeezed blood orange juice
- 1 1/2 oz vodka
- 1/2 oz triple sec
- 2 - 4 oz sparkling wine or club soda
Instructions
- Fill a martini shaker with ice.
- Add the blood orange juice, the vodka and the triple sec to the martini shaker. Shake it up well.
- Pour into a glass. Add some ice if you like.
- Top with sparkling wine or club soda.
- Enjoy!
Traci | Vanilla And Bean says
I hear ya! It’s all about demand, right? I bought myself some tulips last week for $6 and they’re so pretty! My favorite flower. In April, Skagit Valley holds their annual Tulip festival you can walk in field after field of tulips. It is unbelievably beautiful and colorful. Next month, the daffodils will come up too, and they are stunning fields of yellow, but they don’t quite plant as many as they do Tulips. You know where I’ll be!
Love this simple, yet beautiful martini! I’ve got everything right here…. perhaps I make one tonight! Thank you! I always love your cocktails, Julie and your photography is just gorgeous! Hope your double date is fabulous!
Julie and Debbie says
Thanks Traci! I hope you enjoyed one of these this weekend 🙂 The fields of tulips sounds beautiful. I love tulips will all the different colors. We have a daffodil festival up here in the lower mainland of BC. Beautiful too, but I prefer the tulips myself.
Maya @ Treats and Eats says
I’m a huge fan of blood oranges and this cocktail sounds delicious! And those tulips are gorgeous- I’d definitely prefer those over roses. Though it feels nothing like spring over here on the east coast!