Spicy Hot Chocolate

Hot chocolate is a very popular recipe with a lot of variations. I don't make hot chocolate often but I wanted to try that chili pepper with hot chocolate and hence this recipe. I made two cups, one for my daughter and one for me. To my cup I also added a pinch of cinnamon. It was the perfect drink for a cold winter afternoon.

Before posting this recipe I checked what I already had on the blog. My first Hot Chocolate post has an intro about snuggling with a blanket, book and cat, except my cat would never cooperate. That year was 2014 and we had a new 3 year old rescue Buttercup who refused to sit on our lap for more than a few seconds. Interestingly four years with us has changed her completely. She is now a lap cat who calls me to sit on the couch so she can nap on my lap. Now on a cold or rainy day I can say I snuggle under a blanket with this hot chocolate, a book and my cat.

I added chocolate chips as well as cocoa powder to enhance the flavor because I happened to have both at home.

You will need (for 2 cups)
2 tbsp. mini chocolate chips
2 tbsp. sparingly filled cocoa powder
2 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. paprika (adjust based on your heat tolerance)
1 1/2 cups soymilk
1 pinch of cinnamon (optional)

Combine all the ingredients in a pan. Heat the pan on medium heat whisking to ensure the chocolate and milk are thoroughly combined and do not burn. When the milk is heated through but not boiling turn off the heat.

Enjoy!

Watermelon Strawberryade

A few days ago I released we had gotten carried away with the abundant summer fruit available in the grocery stores. We love fruit but I had so many different types in the house. We had watermelon, strawberries, grapes, blueberries, bananas and apples. This recipe is a great way to do justice to the fruit. All you need is some lemonade and ice. If you have sparkling water, even better.

The list of ingredients in the proportions I used them is given below. You can change the proportion to suit your taste.

You will need (single serving)
1 cup of cubed/balled watermelon
2-3 strawberries
1/2 cup lemonade
Up to 1 cup sparkling water or soda
ice as needed

Combine the watermelon and strawberries and run them through the blender. Place ice in the serving glass. Pout the fruit juice, lemonade and sparkling water or soda over the top.

Enjoy!

Blueberry lemon Iced Tea

This is my favorite variation of the iced tea. Blueberry lemon tea is delicious and has a beautiful color. Fresh blueberries work best. Since most of the blueberries in the house are eaten as is, it was with great effort that I was able to save a handful to make this tea.

The recipe if you can call it that is very similar to the strawberry iced tea. Make blueberry syrup and add it to the tea. Chill.

You will need (2 servings)
handful blueberries
2 tsp. lemon juice
2-4 tsp. sugar (adjust to taste)
2 cups iced tea

Prepare iced tea and chill. In a pan heat the blueberries, lemon juice and sugar until the sugar melts and the berries are tender. Mash the berries and chill the mixture for an hour. Run through a strainer and add it to the chilled tea. Pour over ice.

Enjoy!

Strawberry Iced Tea

Today I present a variation of the iced tea I posted yesterday. Fruit mixed in iced tea really enhances its flavor. I had this in a restaurant once and when I asked how it was made the answer was simple. Fruit syrup mixed into iced tea. You may use frozen or fresh strawberries to make the syrup.

I have my cat to thank for this picture. I placed the background for my picture, a white board to bounce the light etc. to shoot a picture of the iced tea from yesterday's post. I then turned to prep this drink. When I turned around the cat was comfortably napping on the table. I waited for her to leave but she was not going anywhere. Finally I had to set up in a different area and click this picture. The light is a lot better in this picture.

You will need (2 servings)
1 handful strawberries
2 tsp. sugar (adjust according to the sweetness of the berries)
1 dash of lemon juice
2 cups of iced tea

Prepare the iced tea according to these directions and chill. Chop the strawberries and heat in a pan with the sugar. When the sugar melts turn off the heat and add the lemon juice. Chill for a couple of hours. Run through a strainer and mix it into the ices tea.

Enjoy!

Iced Tea

Rising temperatures make you want to reach out for cold beverages. Iced tea is one such beverage. It is very popular here in the US and there are several brands of ready-to-drink iced tea available in the market. However, iced tea is really easy to make and tastes great when made with your favorite brand of tea. It does take some planning so that the tea is chilled when you are ready to drink it.

I am not a tea or coffee person but I like iced tea. The first time I had it was on a business trip. While I do not drink tea everyday I do like iced tea once in a while.

You will need (4 servings)
4 cups of water
4 tea bags (you choice of flavor)
sugar to taste (1-2 tsp. per cup)

Bring the water to a boil. Turn off the heat. Add the tea bags and let them seep for a couple of minutes. Do not let them sit longer than 5 minutes unless you like the tea to be really strong. Discard the bags. Dissolve the sugar in the water and chill for a few hours. Pour out in cups over ice.

Enjoy!

Apple Banana Smoothie

Fruit smoothies are great in summer. I usually make smoothies with fresh fruit, ice and soymilk. But this smoothie is a little different. It is made with a frozen banana. I had three overripe bananas that I put in the freezer to use up later. One of them went into this smoothie. I had it for breakfast.

Demand for smoothies is unpredictable in my house. It is not something I prep for without asking unless I am going to drink it. My daughter loves smoothies but she has to be in a mood to have one. I, on the other hand, can have a smoothie anytime.

You will need

1 apple, peeled, cored and cut up in chunks

1 frozen banana

1/2 cup orange juice 

1/4 cup soymilk

Blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth.

Enjoy!

Apple Milkshake

Milkshakes with ice cream blended in is a special treat. My daughter enjoys a cool milkshake and when the temperature hit 80 I thought it would be nice to celebrate the oncoming spring. I added a cup of ice cream to the apples to make this creamy milkshake.

The first time I made this milkshake was when I got my new Vitamix blender. I took the blender out of the box and ran a cleaning cycle to make sure it was working. I kept the clean blender ready for when inspiration struck. The day I made this milkshake I got all the ingredients in the jar and placed the jar on the base. I plugged in the blender, set the cycle to smoothie and hit start - nothing. The blender would not turn on. It did not matter what I did. Finally I transferred the contents to my old Magic Bullet and blended it. There were chunks of apple but we had milkshake. Now I had the jar to clean. So I filled it with water and dish washing liquid and placed it on the base. Again, nothing. I was convinced I was going to have to call customer service. I reached over to unplug the machine when my fingers ran over a switch - the powder switch. I flipped it and the light went on. Both on the Vitamix dial and in my head. This was the root of my problem. I am so glad I did not call their customer service line. It would have been so embarrassing! After that I have always gotten my Vitamix to work for me. Now for the recipe.

You will need
1 cup vegan vanilla ice cream
3/4 cup soy milk
2 apples

Blend together until smooth. If you like the shake thicker use more ice cream.

Enjoy!

Cantaloupe Lime Smoothie

Cantaloupe and lime with a little bit of peach! The result is a refreshing and filling smoothie great for breakfast or to cool down on a hot summer afternoon.

I like to make this whenever I have a really sweet cantaloupe.

You will need
1 1/2 cups cantaloupe
1/2 peach
1 lime
handful ice cubes

Squeeze the juice from one lime in a blender jar. Add the cantaloupe, peach and ice cubes. Blend until smooth.

Enjoy!

Note:
Use the juice of a whole lemon especially if the cantaloupe is sweet.
The peach is needed to complete the flavor profile. Do not skip the peach.

Sicilian Splash

A long time ago, close to 20 years, Olive Garden used to serve a mocktail called Sicilian Splash that my husband and I liked a lot. When it was pulled off the menu we looked for a copycat recipe. Back then it was hard to find the Torani brand syrups in our town. The syrup was the primary ingredient of this mocktail. We found it after a massive search and were able to recreate the drink in the house. It has never failed me till date whether it was served for a girls night out or a dinner party.

Now my daughter loves it and every summer insists we buy the syrup and make this mocktail. In fact it is part of our 4th of July tradition.

I don't really follow a recipe but go by proportions depending upon the size of the glass.

You will need
Ice cubes
Torani orange syrup
White grape juice
Sparkling water

Add ice cubes to the glass a little over half way. Add the ingredients in this order. First the orange syrup, then white grape juice and finally sparkling water in equal proportions. Pour the liquid along the side of the glass to prevent the layers from mixing together. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Panha (Green Mango Drink)

Panha is a cool refreshing drink made with unripe green mango. It is a seasonal drink that can be made only when unripe mangoes are available in the market from March to May.

Panha takes me back to my school days. My mother used to make this drink for us when we got back from school. We would reach the house around 4:30 pm famished and hot. Goa where I grew up had one season - summer. It was milder in December and unbearable in April. This cool drink was most welcome on those hot days.

During the month of Chaitra Ambyachi dal (ambe dal) and panha both featuring unripe green mangoes are very popular in Maharashtrian homes. There are a couple ways of making panha. Today I am posting the recipe for panha made with cooked unripe green mangoes.

This is the 150th post on this blog. I wanted it to be something sweet and sour.

You will need
1 large unripe green mango
1/4 cup sugar
1 pod cardamom
a pinch of salt

Pressure cook the mango with a little water.

Peel the mango and strip the cooked pulp from the seed. Transfer the pulp to a blender. Add 1 cup of water and the sugar. Blend together. Shell and pound the seeds of the cardamom. Add them to the concentrate. This concentrate can be refrigerated until it is needed. Pour the concentrate into three glasses. A half a cup of water to each glass and mix together. Serve chilled.

Enjoy!