Lemonade Syrup

Yesterday's Menu- Breakfast: grits with a fried egg, Lunch: Leftovers from dinner, Dinner: Lentil vegetable soup (water with beef bouillon, lentils, onions, peppers, tomatoes), cornbread, salad (romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomato).
I made the lemon curd while my husband made cornbread for dinner. The triple batch of lemon curd used far more eggs than I planned (I don't know why but my brain refuses to acknowledge how many eggs are in a batch) so I only made a triple batch (instead of 2 triple batches). This worked out perfectly though. I got four 8 oz jars and a little leftover for dinner. I canned the jars so I can send one to a friend. The lemon curd was amazing on the cornbread.
I went on to use the remaining lemon juice in Lemonade syrup. I used only 2 cups of sugar since these lemons were rather sweet and 3 cups just seemed excessive. The flavor is great and it made about 1 1/2 quarts (I just poured into to canning jars to store in the fridge). It was still warm so we didn't try it as lemonade but as syrup it is so tasty. It's not thick enough to use on something like pancakes but I was tempted to just drink it out of the bottle. Once again I skipped the zest - all my lemon peel is now nicely frozen for future projects (like lemoncello). I used a pot to make this syrup and even heated the water/sugar mix just a little to make sure all the sugar dissolved.

Lemonade Syrup
3 cups sugar
1 cup boiling water
3 cups fresh lemon juice (about 16 lemons)
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
Measure sugar into 1½ quart bowl. Pour boiling water over sugar and stir until dissolved. Let mixture cool before adding lemon juice and zest. Blend well and store in covered jar in refrigerator. To make lemonade, blend ¼-1/3 cup lemonade syrup with ¾ cup cold water. For a sparkling, fizzy lemonade, use club soda or seltzer in place of water.

Winter Mint Julep

I'm working on a home spa party book. It's been a project near and dear to my heart for years. I thought it was finished and decided to change how I did the food part. Because of this, I had to experiment with some dishes so I could offer complete meal ideas. My biggest problem is drinks. I'm really a water or tea drinker. I've never liked punches and I'm really picky about juices. As a kid at class parties I would beg the teacher to let me just drink water. I never have liked those punch drinks parents bring to kid's parties. Sunny Delight was like poison to me. I hated it. As an adult, I still can't stand most drinks. I'm very basic - water, tea, cocoa, and coffee. I can make great presentations and variations of those (except I have developed a sensitivity to coffee). The idea of creating punches just makes me crazy.
Well, when writing a menu for a party it's important to offer drink ideas. Not so easy for me. I make a lot of Southern/Cajun/Creole dishes and thought a party centered around these foods would be fantastic but then I had to find at least one drink idea. Mint Juleps are the stereotypical dinner party drink for the South. I've never had nor made a Mint Julep so I did a search.
Then I hit another problem. I do grow mint but mint's not available in January, not here in my Washington home. I came up with an idea that resulted in the most amazing drink I have ever had in my life. I don't know if Mint Juleps are always this tasty but I found me a keeper. Starting with a syrup made with Spearmint Essential Oil (make sure you use a food grade variety or I bet you could substitute with an all-natural mint extract like Watkins sells).
We tried the syrup in a variety of alcohols. For whiskey, I used Jack Daniels. That was awesome. We tried some tequila and that wasn't a great blend. Then we tried Irish Cream which made a nice drink but I preferred the whiskey. We wanted to try rum only to find we were out. I put all the stuff in the freezer before dinner so it would be nice and cold when it came time to mix the drinks. Alcohol can be stored in the freezer but the syrup should be stored in the fridge.

Winter Mint Julep
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
20 drops spearmint essential oil (in summer use 6-8 mint sprigs, let sit overnight)
Combine water and sugar. Bring to boil and let reduce slightly. Add mint. Will be overpowering.
Add ½ oz syrup to 1 oz whiskey. Best served ice cold.

Coquito or Puerto Rican Eggnog

I came across this blog post about Coquito or Puerto Rican Eggnog. It intrigued me but I knew I didn't quite have the ingredients. I thought about it some and rifled through the cupboards and came up with a version that is amazing. The alcohol will take your breath away (and we only used half) and the drink needs to mellow atleast 24 hours. We tasted it right after I made it and it was okay. But when we tasted it last night after the 24 hours, it was much smoother and so many more flavors came out. My version has less sugar and alcohol and maybe less fat. It's not meant to be a reduced version - it just came out that way. I still think it's going to be quite the treat at our holiday parties this weekend.

Coquito
1 cup powdered milk
3/4 cup water
1 can coconut milk
1 1/4 cup half and half
1 1/2 cups gold rum
1/2 cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp gd cinnamon
4 cloves
1/4 teas cardamom seeds
1 teas orange extract

Using a funnel, pour the powdered milk and water into a large bottle (we used a half gallon ice tea bottle). Put on the lid and shake until the powdered milk is fully incorporated into the water (it's okay to have a few lumps but remember to shake often and break them down before serving). Add remaining ingredients to bottle and shake to incorporate. Don't feel like you have to be gentle - shake with vigor.
Feel free to taste to see if it's sweet enough but remember this will not be the final flavor. Let sit in refrigerator for 24 hours before serving. We actually made this three days early to give it the most time to mellow. Should keep for about a week.

Halloween Party Planning Part 4 - Beverages

When it comes to drinks my family is fairly basic - they drink water or soda but mostly water. When we have family get-togethers water and soda are more often what we serve so I often forget to think about beverages. When winter comes we do pots of spiced cider or wine, occasionally a special coffee but rarely anything more. (unless you could our endless consumption of tea which is like water).
On Halloween, I would often serve Bug Juice which is the only punch I ever make.
However, you don't need a recipe to dress up your Halloween drinks.
You can choose to go more traditional with hot drinks such as cider or hot chocolate. The adults might like a bit of spiced wine.
The real trick is to alter the perception of the drink. Give your drinks Halloween names - Cauldron punch, larve shake - whatever. Then dress them up. Use gummy bugs, body parts, worms, mice - the varieties are endless. Drip blood from the glasses - mix corn syrup with red food coloring and dip the opening of your glass. The syrup will slowly run down the glass (this does stain so be warned).
Add dry ice to give it a steamy effect.
Create spooky ice cubes - freeze green olives for eyes and creepy toys if you are not serving to small children. Freeze different colored Kool-aids in ice trays. You can use black cherry and orange to make Halloween colored cubes.
The ideas are really endless if you open up to them.

Make your own soda

I have been drooling over the Sodastream Fountain Jet Soda Maker since I saw it last year at a local outdoor/hardware store (great place to find the coolest items). The cost of the system has left me wanting. It's about $100 and I am just not ready to invest that sort of money. However, recently I reviewed Homemade Soda by Andy Schloss. He shared recipes for making your own sodas, many which could easily be made from carbonated water. This is the same concept for the Sodastream. The device makes carbonated water in a reuseable bottle and then you add syrup. The syrups come in a variety of flavors. Between the two, we could completely give up purchasing soda all together.
I really want one and I have an opportunity to test the Sodastream Fountain Jet Soda Maker. I know this isn't my normal sort of post but I believe that the Sodastream is the new wave in sodas. It's economical, environmentally sound and it's fun.
My best memory of soda comes from a time when Schwann's sold their soda maker (back in the 80's). I loved it and it was fun to make your own soda. That was similar to the Sodastream of today. I don't know why Schwann's stopped with their make your own soda line. I can give my son the same memories.
Please help me convince Bzzagent that I am perfect to test this product. Not only will I review the product itself but I can do a whole series of posts for making your own. I believe that the investment will pay off.

Chai Tea and Syrup

Fall in the Palouse means hot days and cold nights. We sit each day watching the forecast searching for signs of the first frost. We got close last week but this week our nights are back in the 50's. It's not winter cold yet but still creates a desire for hot drinks and hearty desserts. One I love to indulge in during the cold months is Chai. It's not unusual for me to put a pot on in the morning and leave it throughout the day, adding water and milk as necessary (perhaps a little more sugar).
Chai is a spicy Indian drink that has become quite popular in the United States. Nearly every coffee shop sells some variety of chai but more often than not, it's a boxed concentrate added to hot milk. It's still tasty but no match for the fresh brewed variety. If you really like the boxed variety - don't fear. I'm going to give you my Chai Syrup recipe. This syrup stores beautifully in a canning jar (waterbath 10-15 minutes). Then in the fridge for quite awhile, depending on how fast you drink it. It can easily be added to milk, hot or cold, for a quick chai drink.
The ingredients may seem pricey. I purchase my dried herbs and spices through San Francisco Herb. What I get in return is a large quantity for a lot less money than the stores. I get my ginger in the glass jars in the produce section of the grocery (double check to make sure it's nothing but ginger) or Ginger People's ginger juice (it comes in a tabasco-type bottle and it for cooking not drinking). Either product last a long time.

Chai Tea
½ cup milk plus more to taste
3-inch stick cinnamon
½ inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced or 1 teas grated ginger (found in produce section of store)
2 whole cloves
4 green cardamom pods, slightly crushed
¼ teas black peppercorns
4 teas sugar and more to taste
4 tea bags
*Note - do not use powdered ginger, amount of spices are approximate can add more or less depending on taste
In large saucepan combine 5 cups of water, milk, spices and sugar. Stir and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and let set for 5-10 minutes. Add tea bags and bring to boil for a second time. Reduce heat to low and let simmer 5 minutes. Check for flavor and add more sugar and milk if needed. Can strain and serve at that time or leave on slow simmer and drink on all day, straining tea into cups - be sure not to let all the water evaporate.


Chai Syrup
8 cups water
1 cup honey or 2 cups sugar
3 cinnamon sticks
12 cardamon pods
12 whole cloves
12 peppercorns
6 tsp black leaf tea
put ingredients in pot and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add to water or milk.

Bug Juice

I realized that I haven't really shared beverage recipes. This is my go to party drink. I change it as theme dictates. It's a Halloween drink but would be great for a summer cooler (just omit the gummy worms). I originally got it from Family Fun (I think) but with everything I have changed a few things. Feel free to try different fruit and juices. The original recipe had you thaw all the ingredients, personally I am a little lazy and often throw everything together at the last minute. Using the fruit and juice frozen makes the drink nice and cool (and a little thick). I often use a 2 litter bottle of ginger ale and add it to taste.

Bug Juice
2 10-oz. pkgs. frozen strawberries
1 6-oz. can lemonade concentrate
1 quart ginger ale
6 gummy worms
Mix the strawberries and lemonade concentrate in a blender until smooth and thick. Transfer to a punch bowl. Gradually add ginger ale. Place the gummy worms on the rim of the bowl for a swampy effect. Makes 10 servings.