Drink It. Sidecar [Thirsty Thursdays!].

The sidecar was one of the first retro/classic cocktails I got into. I quickly learned that if a bartender doesn't immediately know what you're asking for, they won't make a good one. But, they are in fact very simple once you have the right ingredients.

This recipe is very similar to my martini-style margarita recipe, but with some lemon added to the fresh lime juice (Meyer lemons when available) and brandy (Calvados apple brandy is delicious here--but regular brandy/Cognac, like Hennessy or Courvoisier, works too) rather than tequila.

3 oz. Calvados apple brandy

1 oz. fresh lemon/lime juice

1 oz. orange liqueur (such as Cointreau or Patrón Citrónge)

Shake well with ice in a cocktail shaker, and serve straight-up in a chilled martini glass. Sidecars can also be served on the rocks in a lowball glass.

-- Leslie Anne Wiggins

Photo credit: the BEAT

Do It. East Village farmer's market.

Between the hours of 9 a.m. and 2 p.m. today fresh, locally grown/made fruit, veggies, and hummus are available in Long Beach's East Village.

One of my favorite things about Long Beach is how easy it is to find fresh produce. Thursdays have the Bixby Knolls farmer's market. Fridays it's the Downtown Long Beach market. Saturdays it's the East Village farmers market. Sundays it's the one at Alamitos Bay Marina.

Really, there's no day you can't go out, forage, and find amazingly fresh food (the foraging, of course, is done by someone else).

I like the East Village one because it's the only one that's probably "walkable," but even that's a stretch. The Marina one is supposed to be the largest of the four.

So go out, soak up some sun (because, really, is it ever not sunny here?), and get some fresh food!

-- Lauren Williams

Photo credit: Everythinglongbeach.com