Limoncello Liqueur

Ahh limoncello! So easy to make, as long as you are willing to wait.

Someone gifted me a bottle of vodka and a friend had lots of gorgeous lemons, so Limoncello I made!

It is as simple as cutting off the peels of the lemon, steeping them in vodka for at least four weeks, then adding simple syrup. 

Since I am not big into sweets, my preferred way to drink it is as a spritz, either with sparking wine or sparkling water. But if you do sip it straight, make sure it is freezer cold, that's how the Italians do it!

Sweet Spicy Chai (vegan and dairy versions)

Chai - the word in Hindi for tea - is of course a lot more than just tea. It is the perfect blend of spicy, creamy, sweet liquid goodness; at least in my opinion. And each cook makes it differently.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of teaching some pretty special high school students how to make chai. And while they were very savvy about spices, cardamom had them stumped. It's one of my favorite spices in the world, and most chai recipes include it an essential element. 

This is my take on Chai, including variations for vegan Chai as well. Feel free to adjust it to your own tastes, but I highly recommend keeping in the fennel, peppercorns and cardamom for balance. Even one of the students who was very convinced that black peppercorns had no place in her sweet chai agreed that this blend was one of the best she had tasted.

While a mortar and pestal is not essential for making chai - you can grind the spices in a grinder - I prefer the traditional method that leaves them cracked and slightly whole. I also highly recommend buying a bamboo strainer if you think you might make a habit out of chai making.

The recipe below is for a single serving of 8 ounces of chai (small coffee cup), so double, triple, quadruple, etc. to tailor your needs. But please trust me on the vegan version; boiled non-dairy milks of any kind will NOT be tasty!

Homemade Almond Milk

Almonds are high on the superfood list, especially raw ones. Packed with protein and lots of other nutritional goodies like magnesium and vitamin E as well as folic acid and calcium, everyone seems to be popping them like candy. You can read more here but suffice to say, aside from their high calories, almonds are pretty healthy for you.

The almond milk you can buy in the store is often fortified with calcium and other nutrients. Why would they do that if almonds were already a natural powerhouse of nutrition? Because commercially produced nuts milks are pasteurized which destroys many of its nutrients. So make your own!

Cucumber, Lime and Mint Agua Fresca

My garden got off to a rocky start, literally. It turns out what I thought was such a gift - the empty lot next door - has topsoil that is practically impenetrable from all of the embedded concrete rubble left behind after the house that used to stand there was demolished. Deep rooted veggies - everything except tomatoes, peppers and zucchini - were not strong enough to break through the topsoil beneath their raised beds. C'est la vie! Live and learn.

I'm starting another garden (hurray for California Fall which is really another Spring!) Once again cucumbers and mint will feature in my garden because a) homemade cornichons make me feel so smug! and b) mojitos are my favorite drink, period!

So it is little wonder that this agua fresca won my heart at first sight - cucumber, mint, lime - what more could a girl ask for! Agua Fresca - literally "fresh water" is a fruity, watery puree found at taqerias everywhere. They are great thirst quenchers, with more water than fruit, so they help put out the fires in your mouth that chile-ladden tacos can start!

Hibiscus and Rosehip Sun Tea

Full Moon Feast, by Jessica Prentice, was my first introduction to the magical combination of hibiscus and rosehips. Prentice wrote of a recipe for creating homemade sodas that used dried hibiscus and rosehips, noting that both are natural sources of vitamin C. The combination, along with a sweetener, tastes distinctly of Hawaiian Punch, that ruby colored sugar treat forbidden to me as a child. Naturally, I fell head over heels in love with the combination!

Prentice's soda used yogurt whey to create natural carbonation; I didn't want to work that hard. My method was to add it to already fermented kombucha producing a gorgeous colored fizzy drink that is actually nutritious and low in sugar. But sometimes I'm lazy and impatient so I make sun tea instead.

Roasted Tomato Bloody Mary Mix

Years and years ago I used to attend and occassionally host a weekly poker party. It was penny-ante stuff, literally; the ante was a nickle and the highest you could raise was a quarter. High stakes, folks! Of course, the card playing was really just an excuse for poor grad students to get together and feast on snacks and drinks.

At my house we perfected the Bloody Mary; spicy tomato juice, worchestershire sauce, horseradish and of course all of the garnishes possible - dill pickle, green olive (stuffed with garlic or blue cheese), carrot stick, and celery. It was practically gazpacho with vodka! Always a hit with everyone, and we made them by the pitcher-full. Needless to say many risks were taken and much laundry money lost on the Bloody Mary nights!

White Sangria with Berries and Peaches

"Summer is here and the time is right, for dancing in the streets." Do you know the tune? Mick Jagger and David Bowie reprised it in the mid 1980's during my teenage years and that's the soundtrack that always runs through my mind when I make fun summer drinks, like sangria.

Most people are familiar with the traditional red sangria - made with citrus fruit and red Rioja wine. But a few years back I discovered white Sangria and found I prefer it. White sangria is lighter and, to tell the truth, since it's easier to see the fruit in your glass, I find it more appealing to serve to guests.

As with so many "country" style recipes, there is a different version depending on who's making it. I like my white with peaches and berries, but that's just my preference. Experiment with what you like and what looks good at the grocery store. Don't skimp on the sugar or the additional liquor, it does make a difference!

White Sangria with Berries and Peaches

1 bottle dry white wine (Spanish is preferred, like a Rioja or other dry white blend)
1 peach, pitted and sliced
1/4 lb strawberries, trimmed and cut
1/4 cup raspberries
1/4 cup blackberries
3 tablespoons sugar
3 shots brandy or fruity liquor (triple sec, grand marnier)
frozen grapes (optional garnish)
sparkling water or club soda (optional)

Combine all but wine in glass pitcher and toss to soak in sugar and liquor. Add wine and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours (longer is better). Either serve in chilled wine glasses or fill large drinking glass half full with sangria and top off with sparking water and add frozen grapes to keep drink chilled.

Recipes currently inspiring me:

Wine You'd Be Happy to Drink at The Perfect Pantry
Herb and Cheese Pasta Salad at Cinnamon Spice and Everything Nice

Hugs!

Kombucha - The Elixir of Life

Kombucha - just the name of it sounds mystical and healing. I can't remember the first time I drank it beginning nearly three years ago, but I know that I got hooked immediately. Not only did it feed my "sour" tooth, but I have always loved fizzy soda drinks. Not only does kombucha fit all of those categories but it provides amazing health benefits. If you read the promotional material put out by G.T. Dave's Synergy brand, it does everything from providing essential vitamins and minerals to curing cancer. For me, it has rebalanced my electrolytes, dramatically improved the quality of my skin and hair, and provides a general sense of well being. But what is this so called elixir made of, you might ask?

Kombucha is a fermented tea, made with either black or green tea and heavily sweetened. This sweet tea is then added to a "mother" kombucha culture, sometimes referred to as a kombucha "mushroom" but I think it has more of a jellyfish like consistency. The culture is actually a collection of micro-organisms which feed off of the sugar in the tea, thus "fermenting" it. Contrary to snide comments, the fact that it is fermented does not produce alcohol. But it does produce effervescence and the fermentation process serves to increase the health benefits of the green tea, extracting even more antioxidants and other essential minerals compared to drinking green tea alone.

(Kombucha mother in kombucha liquid)

While you can now purchase kombucha in most natural food stores (Whole Foods, Food Co-ops) it is usually about $3.69 for 12 oz, not exactly a soda replacement price! But the great news is that it is so easy to make kombucha at home. It is easy to google "kombucha starter" and find lots of people who will offer to sell a starter culture in liquid for less than $5. But if you can find some bottled kombucha in "original" flavor, you can use that to get started. In fact, the picture of my kombucha above was started with a 12 oz bottle of "original" style kombucha. It just takes longer to begin fermenting.

While this is a long explanation, kombucha is really simple to make. You heat water, add sugar and tea and allow steep and then cool. Then you strain out the tea and pour it into the culture and it does its job in less than a week. And Voila! You have this wonderful drink! Very little effort, very simple recipe.

Now for the Recipe. I make my batches in a 2 gallon glass dispenser that I found at a thrift store in Minneapolis (pictured below) but many people I know buy a 1 gallon ice tea dispenser which are easily found at Target, etc. If possible, find one with a metal spout as I have heard (although not witnessed) that plastic ones will get eaten away by the fermentation process, and thus begin to drip.


Half Gallon of Original Kombucha

While it appears to be made with a lot of sugar, you will not actually be drinking the sugar since it will be converted to effervescence. The standard ratio is 2:1 water to sugar and 1 teaspoon of loose leaf green tea per 2 cups water.

8 cups water
4 teaspoons loose leaf green tea (use organic since you really don't want to be fermenting tea that has been sprayed with chemicals)
4 cups sugar
12 oz original kombucha or starter with liquid

In large pot, bring water almost to boil and add sugar. Stir to dissolve and remove from heat. Add tea and allow tea to cool completely. Strain out tea leaves and combine tea and starter culture in glass container and cover with cloth, secure tightly with rubber band. Set covered container in warm, unlit space to ferment. I place it on top of the refrigerator, where it benefits from the heat of the motor. Kombucha will ferment in 5-8 days, depending upon your conditions. A shallow "mother" will begin to form on top and you will see strands of mother floating throughout the liquid. Never drink all of the liquid as you need at least 1 cup of liquid plus the mother to make another batch.

Most commercially sold kombucha combines the original recipe with fruit juices, which masks some of the sour flavor but also adds additional health benefits since the fermentation process increases the potency of whatever it is fermenting. You can flavor kombucha with most anything (to a point of course) and when adding additional flavors, such as fruit juices, it helps to let is ferment a few days longer. Also, you should always place flavored kombucha in a separate container, to prevent the original mother from being permanently flavored with whatever additions you put in.

A couple of summers ago I was selling "natural sodas" at the farmers' market in Northfield, MN and I used kombucha as the "fizz." So I developed a few recipes for flavoring kombucha. My favorite is with hibiscus and rose hips, both of which are high in vitamin C and together have a flavor akin to fruit punch, but not nearly as sweet. They produce the beautiful fruit punch colored kombucha featured at the top of this post. You can purchase dried hibiscus flowers and rose hips in the bulk herb or tea section of whole foods or a food co-op. Again, you'll want organic since this will also be fermented.

1/2 Gallon of Hibiscus and Rose Hip Kombucha
1/4 cup Hibiscus flowers
2 tablespoons rose hips
1 cup sugar
4 cups kombucha, original
water

In a 1/2 gallon mason jar, combine all of the ingredients and top off with water. Stir or shake well to combine the sugar. Cap tightly and allow to ferment in warm place for 3-5 days. Decant, strain, and place in refrigerator and enjoy.

A Word on Fermentation
Kombucha, left to ferment, will go very, very sour. If you refrigerate it, it slows the pace of fermentation. But if you leave kombucha out, especially in a warm, sunlit spot and capped, it will over ferment and go to vinegar. In addition, if you happen to bottle as I have with reusable bottles, if left in a heated space for too long, they will explode (it happened to a few of my customers from the farmers' market!) For myself, I drink it so quickly that this is not an issue, but be forewarned!

Love and hugs!