Waitress

It's one of my favouritest movies ever. I remember the first time I saw it was while me and Nick were on our road trip and we stumbled upon a teeny little cinema in Key West that was showing it. It was a lovely evening and we were wandering the streets after the Sunset Celebration when we decided to go in and watch it.

Maybe it's all the food (I heart food) or Nathan Fillion or just the whole being on an amazing holiday in an amazing place like the Florida Keys but the film always makes me so happy and warm inside and brings back very fond memories.

The film is all about a waitress (funnily enough) who invents and makes pies and uses them as an escape from the unhappy life she is trapped in. Some pies that feature in the movie:

"I don't want Earl's baby pie" - Quiche of egg and brie cheese with a smoked ham centre.

"I hate my husband pie" - You make it with bittersweet chocolate and don’t sweeten it. You make it into a pudding and drown it in caramel.

"Baby screaming its head off in the middle of the night and ruining my life pie" - New York-style cheesecake, brandy brushed and topped with pecans and nutmeg.

"Pregnant miserable self-pitying loser pie" - Lumpy oatmeal with fruitcake mashed in. Flambéed of course.

The director, Adrienne Shelly, who also played Dawn in the film, was tragically murdered 3 months before the film's debut at Sundance but what a beautiful legacy she has left. After her death, the Adrienne Shelly Foundation was set up to help women fulfil their own dreams in filmmaking. Go have a look.

fresh lemonade

While me and Nick were on our road trip of the States I majorly got into fresh lemonade. It's not so much a big thing here but after watching someone make some fresh for me at Fenway Park, every so often I'll make a big jug of the stuff. It's so refreshing on a hot summer day like today.

So, start of with lots of fresh lemons, weird - I know!
I usually start with 2 and add more later if I want it stronger

and squeeze as much juice as possible into a jug

If, like me, you like pulp then you can just leave it as is, otherwise pass it through a sieve. Then add sugar - I usually start with about 2 dessertspoon-fulls but it depends on how many lemons and how much lemonade you're making. You can always add more later if it's too sour for your tastes.

Top up with water and stir lots until the sugar dissolves

Fill a glass with lots of ice

And enjoy!