There's a new show premiering next week and it's not about food. It's about my other favorite subject: booze! "Drinking Made Easy" combines travel, comedy and drinking for a new show on HDNet, premiering next Wednesday, October 6.

It's hosted by Zane Lamprey, whom you might recognize from his show "Three Sheets" (which is still airing new episodes, by the by) which is part travel show/part alcoholic binge fest. But fun and funny.

Photo by Melissa Schilling

So, what's the difference? In "Three Sheets," Zane and his buds travel around the world and sample exotic drinks, and dig into the subcultures behind them. "Drinking Made Easy" follows Zane and his crazy sidekicks on a 53-city national comedy tour. Zane's been on the prowl all over the U.S. for local drinks and drinking customs, and all their misadventures were captured on film and broadcast for your amusement!


You can catch a sneak peek of "Drinking Made Easy" right here on Zane's website to learn about the drinking game, see whiskey made from beer, and watch Zane visit the oldest bar in Arizona and make the most gigundo prickly pear margarita. Sounds good, yeah?

(I'll be honest. Since I don't even have a TV, I have no idea which cable companies carry this channel, but I'm sure you can do your homework!)

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While I work on getting my ducks in a row with the new site and plot and scheme new recipes for you, I thought you might like some soup. Errr, some soup recipes, that is.

Let's take a peek back at some of my favorites from past entries:

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I love breakfast. I love bagels and waffles and pancakes and English muffins and coffee cake and cinnamon rolls and donuts and... are you noticing a pattern here? I love doughy, bready, yeasty, carby things for breakfast! There, I said it. It's out there.

Now, with that off my chest, I can get down to the REAL confession of the day: I've switched up my breakfast routine big time, and I'm not sad.

This what I had for breakfast today:


The dreaded green smoothie.

Yep, that's spinach.

Really.

But it's ok. Actually, it's AMAZING. This is the chocolate-peanut-butter-green-smoothie-thing from the lovely Ashley over at (never home)maker. Ashley's a super foodie AND she's a runner so she knows a thing or two about how to get yourself going in the morning. Of her many green smoothie recipes, this one is (imho) THE bee's knees.

Yeah, I know. It looks like green mud in a glass, right? But you know what it tastes like? Dessert! It's rich and peanut buttery with just the right about of cocoa-y business to fool your taste buds into thinking this thing is really no good for you. But it is!

You want one? Here's the recipe. Be brave and take a sip!

Well, kids, it's official. Verdant Eats is now The Verdant Life. And let me tell you, the verdant life is good!

After a rough summer chok full of personal surprises, I've decided to revamp my focus and expand my blog content big time. VE was a great place to share my recipes, favorite ingredients, foodie books and other food-related miscellanea, but I felt awkward about other topics I wanted to share with you that didn't fit into the "eats" category. So, I hemmed and hawed and tossed and turned and finally began The Verdant Life... for you!


Rest assured, you'll still get all the yummy foodie goodness you've grown accustomed to (and more!), but I'll also be sharing other aspects of my whole, healthy lifestyle, including:

• Eco-friendly homemade cleaning products and household tips
• Personal care products and even maybe possibly some beauty products
• Easy ways to cut your budget (because a dollar stretched can be pretty green)
• Verdant stuff for your pets, your home, your car, and pretty much everything else!

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