In Vino Veritas.

Day 31 of Dry January.

As it was somewhat of a special occasion, decided to try a nonalcohlic wine, if only for the ceremonial cork pop. I knew the 'chardonnay' was going to be underwhelming; didn't realize it would be so darn sweet.

Lesson learned: for the next little celebration, I am going to find a nice bottle of water and make a show of opening that. Will be less expensive, not to mention better tasting.

The pictured fish cake was very nice, by the way. Oh yes, and since January was so enjoyable, will probably continue this project into February.

Dirty.

As in a martini, though this seems more like a savory Manhattan, if you can wrap your mind around that idea. 

Smoky, with a bit of a bite. Needs a bit more tweaking - bitters, maybe? - but definitely a keeper.

It's just 1/2 iced smoked (Lapsang Souchong) tea, 1/2 club soda over ice with a healthy splash of brine from the pickled vegetables and a couple shakes of hot sauce.  

Skål!

A savory, Scandinavian concoction I came up with from tonight's dinner prep leftovers. 

Who knows? What gets imbibed over the next couple nights could be just as surprising. For now, am going to call this my favorite of the drinks. 

Aquavit would make a nice addition, but is not at all necessary. Especially if you toss some crushed juniper and caraway in, as I did.

For two:

- 1/2 c. Sauerkraut juice
- Approx 1/2 tsp. caraway seeds
- A few juniper berries
- Club Soda
- Crushed ice
- Fresh dill or fennel

Coarsely grind the caraway and juniper.  Set to soaking in sauerkraut juice for 1/2 an hour or so.

Fill glasses 1/3 of the way with crushed ice, divide the juice, top off with club soda, then mix.  Garnish with dill or fennel. 

Maybe I should treat myself to a copper mug.

Day 28 of Dry January! 

My version of a Moscow Mule, but without the vodka:  Loverly!  Does seem a bit naked in this glass, though.

Ginger Beer / Lime Juice.

Lassi.

Not quite, but close.  Actually, this could have been a meal in itself.   (Breakfast tomorrrow, maybe?)

For two:

- 1 c. chopped strawberries
- 1/2 mango, chopped
- 3/4 c. yogurt or kefir
- 1/4 - 1/2 c. milk, depending on how liquid you'd like for this to be
- splash of lime juice
- ginger, cardamom, mint, rose petals, sea salt, sweetener to taste
- seltzer

Blend fruit with kefir and lime juice.  Stir in aromatics, salt, sweetener.  Pour into glasses, top off with seltzer.  Garnish with lime slices, fruit, a sprinkle of cardamom or rose petals, if desired.

Half Measures.

Tired, in the doldrums, so kept things simple with a half-and-half.

(Just iced tea and some bitter lemon soda.)

Summertime Thing.

Melon, cucumbers, mint and berries go into just about everything we drink in the Summer, from lemonade to iced tea, to even the white wine or occasional rum drink. 

As it was a dry cold today, felt dehydrated on returning home. This felt so good going down.

Persian melon, slices and juice / lime juice / cucumber / mint leaves / lime seltzer / strawberry

Essentially, what I did was chop up a couple slices of cucumber, a couple chunks of melon, and some mint leaves.  Added a squeeze of lime juice and some of the juice from the melon.  Mixed that all up, tossed in an ice cube, then filled the glass the rest of the way with seltzer water.  Since strawberries were on sale and looked cheerful, used one for a garnish.  Easy as anything!  Pretty, too.

Strange Bedfellows?

At market once, received a gift of not quite a dozen overripe charentais melons. What to do with them? Make jam, of course. The recipe I found used anise and lime juice as foils to the melon's sweetness. Wow.

In a fit of nostalgia for that combination of perfumes, broke out another barquette of frozen Persian melon to mix with lime and Antesite (licorice / anise essence). Not perfect, but not too far off. My guinea pig found it unusual and pleasant.

For two:

- 1.5 c frozen chunks of melon
- 15-20 drops licorice essence (I used Antesite licorice-anise).
- 1 Tbs lime juice
- 1 Tbs coconut oil
- Lime seltzer

Blend melon, licorice, lime juice, coconut oil and maybe 1/2 c. lime seltzer.  Pour into glasses.  Top with more seltzer.  Garnish with mint, a sprinkle of ginger, or a lime slice, if desired.

Pina Colada.

This would be nice for breakfast.

For Two:

- One can pineapple slices in juice (four slices)
- 1/2 can coconut cream
- A couple good squeezes of lime juice
- Ginger to taste
- Seltzer
- Crushed ice

Blend pineapple, its juice, coconut cream, lime juice, and ginger until smooth.  Fill two highball glasses 1/4 - 1/3 full with crushed ice.  Divide pina colada mixture evenly between glasses, top with seltzer.

Matcha Latte.

Neat trick: if you have a French press coffee pot, all you have to do is pour your (NOT hot!) milk in, then pump the plunger a few times vigorously to make it foam. Works like a charm. Your milk will remain frothy while you heat it in the microwave.

For One:

- 1c milk
- 1.5 tsp matcha (green tea) powder
- Sweetener to taste (Am not nuts about super sweet, so used just one packet of stevia)
- a dash of ginger.

Add matcha, sweetener, ginger to warm milk, then mix powders are dissolved.  Froth / heat further if you'd like.  (I like mine just a little warmer than lukewarm, myself.)

Winter Sunrise.

Day 21 (three weeks!), Dry January: Winter Sunrise.

When I was a kid, worked in a chain restaurant known for making everything from scratch, on premises. During the school year, I was the night baker, which included both waiting on customers and playing (ahem underaged) bartender. There, the first mixed drink I learned to make was a tequila sunrise. How fascinating it was to watch the grenadine bleed down into the juice-hooch mix through the ice cubes.

Hadn't thought about that until tonight, when I poured a spoonful of the cranberry shrub over my apple soda and watched it filter its way down. Made me smile.

- 1 can Cawston Press Cloudy Apple soda
- 1-2 Tbs cranberry shrub
- Splash of Lime Juice
- 3-4 ice cubes
- 2-3 mint leaves, shredded

Just toss the ice cubes in, add your soda and splash of lime.  Stir to mix.  Pour shrub over soda, watch it slowly sink to the bottom with the same fascination as one would watch a lava lamp in action.  Garnish with mint leaves.  Enjoy.

Another Egg Cream.

Was surprised to learn that my housemate, from around NYC where they originated, didn't know what an egg cream was. 

Cooksplained it to him, then set to making a slightly more traditional take than the rose perfumed one. 

For two:

- 2 c almond milk
- 2 Tbs cocoa powder
- 1 Tbs coconut oil
- 1 tsp grated orange peel
- pinch of cinnamon, ginger
- sweetener to taste (I used 1 packet of stevia)
- seltzer
- crushed ice (5-6 cubes' worth)

Blend together almond milk, cocoa powder, coconut oil, orange peel, cinnamon, ginger and sweetener, 1/2 the crushed ice.  Fill highball glasses with remaining ice, pour in blended ingredients, top with seltzer water, garnish with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a pretty arrangement of fruit, if desired.

Caesar.

As it's Canadian Cuisine week, thought I'd celebrate with our friendly Northern neighbors' version of the Bloody Mary (my preferred one, too.)

For two servings:

- 1 14 oz. can of tomatoes
- 8 oz. clam juice
- lemon juice, hot sauce to taste
- pinches of salt, pepper, smoked paprika
- ice
- choice of garnishes.  Pictured:  skewered pickled vegetables, celery, cucumber.  Carrot sticks are nice, too.

Blend tomatoes with clam juice, and some water, to thin this, if desired.  Put 2-3 ice cubes in each of two highball glasses.  Divide juice mixture.  Add juice, sauce, seasonings to taste.  Stir.  Garnish as desired.

Bien Fruité.

This almost looks like a mojito, doesn't it?  Minty and sweet, though not saccharine.  Doesn't pack a whallop like the rum with sugar would do, either.

It's just Cawston's apple soda mixed with some muddled mint leaves, crushed blackberries, a squeeze of lime juice and crushed ice.  Very nice.

Soothing.

I'd heard of the wonders of turmeric. Put this to test on a day when I was feeling particularly irritated, cranky, annoyed at the world. 

Golden milk, or turmeric tea, is peppery, but soothing. Calming. Smells lovely, too. Think I'm going to drop right off and sleep the whole night through, thanks to this little tonic.

Here's the recipe I used.  Made enough for two, of course.  Housemate also loved it.

Smoky.

I'd been craving Lapsang Souchong, smoked black tea, for some time. Finally, the little hippie store had it in stock again!

What would I call this? A sort of milk punch? A syllabub? A milky iced tea? Not sure. In any event, it was rich and perfumey. Lovely both sweetened and not. Bubbly, too.

- Brewed Lapsang Souchong (or any other smoked black) tea
- Whole milk
- Plain seltzer
- Sweetener (if desired)
- Orange slice
- Crushed Ice

Fill your glass about 1/4 - 1/3 full of crushed ice.  Add a half and half mix of milk and tea.  Sweeten to taste, if desired.  This is very nice unsweetened, too.  Mix.  Top with seltzer water and twist of orange.

Headache.

Low pressure got to me today, so kept things simple.  The quinine in the tonic, along with the headache pill, did a world of good.

Sunday Brunch.

Dry January, Day 14:  Happy Two Weeks!

Felt like a good day to break out the new waffle iron again, both to try out a new recipe and to make something cheerful for a cold, gray weekend day. 

Served this up with plenty of strong coffee and a mimosa*, of course.

Champagne has always given me a headache, though other non champagne cremants never bothered too much. The Cawston Press Cloudy Apple soda is like the best Cremant de Loire, only better, as it doesn't leave me drowsy with a headachy edge afterwards.




* Normally sparkling wine topped off with orange juice.  I did half and half freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice and apple soda.

Nightcap.

I rarely go out for hot cho-co-late as mine is hard to beat. It is also very rich, so not to be abused. 
Instead of the usual Latin American inspired aromatics, tried a more Mediterranean combination of citrus peel and lavender: a keeper.

For two:
- 1/4 c. Dark cocoa powder
- 1 T butter
- 2 c. whole milk
- 1/4 c. cream
- pinch of sea salt
- stevia / other sweetener to taste (I used approx 10-15 drops)
- 2 T shredded citrus peel (lemon + orange)
- 10- 15 drops lavender essence

Melt butter in heavy-bottomed pan.  Add cocoa and salt, stirring until smooth.  Add cream.  Mix to break down any lumps.  Add milk, sweetener, shredded citrus peel and lavender essence.  Heat until nearly boiling, let simmer for a minute or two.  Beat until frothy.  Garnish with citrus peel, or even lavender flowers, if you'd like.

Shrub.

A shrub is a vinegar-based cordial, used as a flavoring in cocktails, both alcoholic and non. 

Since I still had some cranberries kicking around since Thansgiving, used them in my maiden attempt at such a preparation.  Recipe here.

Not bad! The sugar and vinegar balance each other out well. Might try something other than cloves to spice this with next time. Oh: a little goes a long way, too. Used maybe 1.5 Tbs for 12 oz of seltzer.

Rose-Scented.

How did Egg Creams get named, as they contain neither eggs, nor cream? Always liked these, the Southerners' (all things being relative) fizzy version of a Boston milkshake. (Milk and flavored syrup, shook. No ice cream; that'd be a frappe.) 

Instead of the traditional chocolate or vanilla syrup, I used rose flavored, with a bit of spice thrown into the shaker. Housemate, my guinea pig, asked me where the lamb vindaloo was that we should have been having for dinner tonight.

Sweeter than the other drinks so far, but perfumey. Could see making this one again, but going lighter on the syrup.

For two:

- 11/2 c. milk
- flavored syrup of your choosing to taste (I used rose, approx. 1/4 c, as the label said roughly 2T per serving; that was a bit intense.  Thinking that maybe half that would be ideal.)
- seltzer (I used orange)
- ice

Pour milk, ice, syrup and any other flavors you might like into shaker.  Shake until frothy.  Pour into two highball glasses, top with seltzer.  Garnish, if desired.  I used a cardamom pod, some rose petals and ginger with this. 

Mango Madness Miercoles.

The mangoes picked up over the weekend ripened up perfectly: not too sweet, not too tart. Solid, too. Blended them with pineapple, coconut water, ginger, among other good things.

Was a good pick me up, and not just for the sugar. Think I was working on a dearth of potassium today.

For two:

- 3/4 c. chopped mango
- 3/4 c. frozen pineapple chunks
- 1 c. coconut water
- 2 T. coconut cream
- powdered ginger, cinnamon to taste
- seltzer
- pomegranate seeds (optional)

Blend mango, pineapple, coconut, and ginger.  Pour into your highball glasses.  Top with seltzer, sprinkle with a bit more ginger and some cinnamon.  Add pomegranate seeds, if you'd like.  Thinking that they'd float, I tossed a few in as a garnish.  Well, they sunk.  No matter:  they did look pretty floating around in the drink, my little Dry January Garnets.

Arnold Palmer.

This one is in the pantheon of classic non-alcoholic refreshers, right up there with the Roy Rogers and Shirley Temple (which, apparently she herself hated).

When the iced tea to lemonade ratio is 1:1, it's called a Half and Half.

Palmer himself preferred a 3:1 ratio of unsweetened iced tea to lemonade, which is what I sort of intuited for myself.  

Really, you can't beat the classics.  This was such a refresher after today's runnings around.

I fancied things up a bit by using three parts Earl Grey tea to one part Fever Tree Bitter Lemon.

Am really growing to like the Fever Tree sodas; better tasting, non-sugar-bomb takes on the classic drink mixers / tonics.

Parfums Exotiques.

After a disappointing engagement with the Bigelow version of chai, decided to head to the local hippie store for some Good Stuff.  Good Heavens!  No Comparison:  whereas the Bigelow tasted like watered down Ovaltine, the Chai-wallah melange was spicy, perfumey, had a bite ... perfect!

With the temps at near freezing today, it was positively balmy compared to the weekend.  Decided on an iced latte at right around tea time tonight.  Enjoyed it at teatime tonight, on the back balcony, watching the warm weather snowflakes fall.

For two:

- 1.5 c. freshly brewed chai, cooled
- 2 T coconut cream
- Sweetener (honey for my tea partner, stevia for me) to taste
- milk
- ice

Shake or beat chai with coconut cream and sweetner until well-mixed.  Fill glasses with ice to about 1/4 - 1/3 full, add chai mix.  Top off with milk, if desired.  Give it all a good stir.  Decorate with crushed cardamom pods, rose petals, even a shake of fresh ground pepper or ginger, if desired.

Savory.

Dry January, Day 7:  First week!  Yay!

As I cannot stand vodka, I will normally order a 'virgin' mary, or perhaps a michelina (bloody mary with beer).

Made mine spicy and a little gazpacho-y, as that's what I was craving.

Sweet is nice, but I'd really like to find more savory drinks. 

For two:

- 1 can low-salt tomatoes
- Cholula pepper sauce (I used green), lemon juice, lime juice, cumin, salt, black pepper to taste
- ice
- a whole mess of crudites for a garnish.  (Carrot, cucumber, celery here.  If I had olives, would have thrown those in as well.  Maybe celery root, too.  I was craving something between gazpacho and a salad.)

Blend tomatoes with pepper sauce, juices, spices.  Fill glass with ice.  Add drink mixture.  Garnish to your heart's content.

Harvey Wallbanger.

First concocted in the early 1950s, the Wallbanger saw a resurgence of popularity in the 1970s.  As a child, I remember pitchers of these and fuzzy navels always on hand.

The strong licorice / anise scent, along with the nuclear yellow color of the Galliano are strong memories.  On looking up the components of this Italian herbal concoction, was surprised to see the complex mix of components.  Got a few, though not all, aspects in.  Would enjoy trying to reproduce this as a non-alcoholic syrup at some point.

Serves one.

- Juice of one large orange
- Antesite licorice essence, to taste (a little goes a long way, trust me)
- Lavender essence, approx. 5-10 drops
- Polar seltzer - orange-vanilla flavor
- crushed ice

Fill glass 1/4 - 1/3 with crushed ice.  Add orange juice, Antesite (I love anise, so used maybe 15 drops) and lavender.  Top with seltzer.  Mix.

Enjoy!

A Grasshopper walks into a bar

grabs a stool and orders a drink. 

The bartender asks, "hey, did you know they named a drink after you?"

"They named a drink Fred?"


***

This only resembles a classic Grasshopper in that it's Green and Creamy.  (Wonderfully Creamy.)
I was trying to use up a perfectly ripe avocado, and had some leftover melon from the other day.

For two servings:

1 avocado
1 c. coconut water
1/2 c. thawed frozen Persian melon
a good grating of fresh ginger
a squeeze of lime juice
seltzer water
crushed ice
cinnamon (optional, though it makes a pretty garnish.  Also adds an earthy, almost chocolatey perfume to the ensemble)

Blend the peeled, destoned avocado with coconut, ginger, lime juice and melon until smooth.
Fill two highball glasses 1/4 full of crushed ice, divide the avocado mixture between the glasses.  Stir to mix, then top off with seltzer and cinnamon garnish.

Very smooth and not too sweet.  Green's my favorite color.

Hot Toddy.

Day 4, Dry January:

The cold, the monthly hormones, and a fair bit more stress than usual took their toll on the tum today.  Peppermint oil, ginger ale and broth weren't helping, so decided to try another old standby:  star anise.

Broke up and set a few stars to decoct for a while (approx. 20 min) with some fresh ginger.  Tossed in a sachet of chamomile / anise infusion and let that all sit for maybe 5-10 minutes more.  Sweetened with a touch of honey.

Tonic.

Calmed the tum sufficiently to Get Things Done (mainly shoveling.  Also a good bit of setting topsy turvy to rights in the house.).

Be safe, stay warm.

When Life Gives You Melons

... you just might be dyslexic.  (Là, je rigole.  Take it easy.)

This Summer, Life dropped a Persian melon the size of a baby, along with copious amounts of coppa into my lap.  What to do?  Turns out that no one I know likes cured ham with melon, and I had enough for a crowd.

Froze it all to make time to think about how best to use.

Last night, was looking in the freezer somewhat resentfully, as the melon takes up an awful lot of real estate.  Decided to take a container out to thaw.  Since we're going through some serious cold weather, and the year didn't exactly start out with a bang, decided to make something tropical, fruity, exotic:

- 1 1/4 c. pureed, thawed melon
- 1/4-1/3 c. canned coconut milk
- 3/4 - 1 t. powdered ginger
- juice and zest from 1/2 a lime
- Polar Ginger Lime Mule seltzer
- crushed ice

Blend together the melon puree, the coconut milk, the ginger and the lime.  Pour this mixture over crushed ice in your highball / orange juice / milk glass, then add seltzer.  Garnish with more lime and ginger if you'd like.

Serves 2.

I forgot how unctuous the coconut milk was.  Was surprised at how perfumey and perfectly sweet for my needs the melon was.

This is my melon ade, I guess.

Dry January.

When Stoicism fails, you can always take to Hedonism.  That not really being my thing, I decided to wallow in Sadness.  A good cry is a catharsis; does wonders for exhausting a body, too.  

Now, I'm all cried dry.  I'm sure the sad will return, as it only receeded just a bit.  So, for better or for worse, it's going to be a Dry January.

In honor, thought I'd treat myself to an apero, a pre dinner cocktail every day this month.  Day One was a lovely apple soda from an English Concern.  Am particularly fond of the plain apple one, as well as the rhubarb one.  Funny, as was never a fan of apples or their juice.

Today was a take on a 'mocktail' (honestly, I don't like that term.  Will use it for lack of a better one, though.) that my favorite little bah / bistro first started serving last January:  the GBGB.  So tart, so green; perfect to chase the Winter blues.  Honestly, haven't tried the rickey yet, I like this one so much.

My version:

- Freshly squeezed juice from 1/2 a pink grapefruit
- 6 oz. ginger beer.  Many that we get here are overly sweet and cloying.  Tried the Fever Tree Light.  Not too bad.  Could see making a ginger syrup and adding that to seltzer, as I like *strong.*
- 5-6 fresh basil leaves, shredded.  A couple more, left whole for garnish.
- crushed ice to fill the glass approx. halfway.

I used an Ikea orange juice glass; a Conran's milk glass would do.  Or a standard highball  one if you've got that. Start with the ice, add the mint, then the grapefruit juice.  Fill the rest of the way with ginger beer.  Mix it all, muddling the basil some.  Garnish.  

Enjoy.