Ginger Mint Lemonade

This recipe, (sorry there's no picture) is my favorite anytime beverage to make when we have company.  I pull out my fancy 1940's punch bowl to serve it in and it reminds me of my grandma Elee Hollins and how she'd have the entire family... about 20 of us over on Sunday afternoons after church for family Sunday "dinner" (which was really like an early supper at around 2pm).   There was almost always roast chicken, steamed rice, gravy, sweet dinner rolls fresh from the oven, either green beans or greens straight from grandma's garden, and a big punch bowl full of lemonade, made from fresh tart lemons, usually from a tree in the backyard, squeezed by hand.   Hers didn't have mint or fruit floating around in it, and she used regular granulated sugar.  Mine is an updated, organic, sparkling, and has a slightly herbaceous taste which goes well with all kinds of foods.   On a hot summer day, it's hard to resist and from what I've found, keeps party guests coming back to the punch bowl over and over and over.

This recipe yields about 12-16 servings depending on the glass size.  You can make the syrup ahead up to 4-5 days, and add the rest the day you'll serve it.  Multiplying the recipe works great too.  I usually triple or quadruple it at the syrup stage and lemon squeezing stage so that at parties I can quickly refill the punch bowl when it is inevitably empty. 

FOR THE GINGER SYRUP
1 cup of Water
2/3 cups of Evaporated Sugar Cane Juice, Turbinado, or Raw Sugar (or 1 cup of honey, maple, etc)
4 inch piece of fresh Ginger

Heat all 3 ingredients in a saucepan til boiling.  Reduce fire and simmer for about 10 minutes.  Cool completely.

FOR THE LEMONADE
1 recipe of Ginger Syrup (see above)
1 cup of fresh squeezed Lemon Juice
1 bunch of fresh Mint leaves
1 cup of Blueberries
5 cups of Sparkling Water
4 cups of plain Water

Mix syrup, lemon juice and waters in the punch bowl or other beverage vessel.
Break the mint into small sprigs and crush them in your palm to release the flavor.
Add mint and blueberries to the liquids and mix everything together.  Add ice and serve!!

Sparkling Peach Sangria

As spring arrives, I thought to myself, "Self, it's time to add some refreshing beverages to the readers' arsenals".   To start off, I'm sharing a super-easy recipe for Sparkling Peach Sangria because people are still talking about the batch I made last summer for an all ladies pool party I hosted at my house.  So, here it is, ladies! (and Gents...)  

You'll need the following ingredients to make 4 drinks, however you can feel free to add other types of fruit as well.  

2 Firm Ripe White Peaches

1 bunch of Green Grapes

2 Granny Smith Apples

1/2 cup Peach Schnapps

1/3 cup Superfine Sugar

3 cups chilled Rose' or White Zinfandel wine

2 cups Sparkling Water or Lemon-Lime Soda (such as 7-Up)

1 cup pineapple juice

Cut up peaches and apples into bite-sized chunks, add all fruit and sugar to the peach schnapps, mix and cover for at least a couple of hours, but ideally overnight.  When ready to serve, put schnapps mixture in pitcher or serving vessel and add wine, pineapple juice, and sparkling water or soda.  Mix well.

Serve over ice!  YUM!

Hot Buttered Rum Cider

num num num.... on a cold winter's night....

Nothing says cozy like the sweet and salty warmth of hot buttered rum... except maybe the sweet and spicy warmth of mulled hot apple cider.   If you like both of these, then you'll love the two flavors together combined for the ultimate winter treat!  This is not for the children.  Put the children away, and take a moment for the grown-ups and enjoy this blissfully. 

THE PLAYERS: (your grocery list for serving 4)

Apple Cider  find this in your local grocery next to the apple juice. Nutmeg I keep hole nutmeg on hand in my pantry because it stays flavorful longer than ground nutmeg.  I like to grate it myself just before it will be used so that the flavor is most impactful.  you'll need about 1 teaspoon of ground or fresh grated nutmeg for the butter batter.  Cinnamon Ground:  you need two teaspoons of ground ginger for the butter batter. Sticks: you need a stick for each glass, and 3 sticks for mulling the cider.  whole cinnamon sticks or bark can be found in every normal grocery.  however, i like to use the cinnamon bark from the Indian grocer.  It's not curled and looks like big slivers of bark from a tree... which is what real cinnamon should look like.  if you go to countries that traditionally grow cinnamon and use it widely in their foods, you'll only find this kind of cinnamon, not the neatly curled sticks you find widely here.  at any rate, you'll have a satisfactory result either way.  i'm just trying to practice the art of consuming closer to the source when i can, which means less processing.   Whole Star Anise also found in the spice section.  don't substitute the ground anise.  look for the star anise.  it actually looks like little stars. Dark Rum any dark rum will do, however i suggest you use the best rum you can afford and the darker the better.   Butter  1 stick of salted butter set out ahead of time so that it's at room temperature.  it will make enough butter batter for making the 4 serving recipe here, with more left to store in the fridge for later use when you get that feeling again in a few days... Demerara or Turbinado sugar.  you'll need 3 tablespoons for the butter batter.  Orange Peel you'll need to cut 3 inch long strips of orange peel from one orange being careful not to take too much of the white pith underneath.  You'll need one strip for each cup serving. 

PREPARATION:

Put your cider on.  I use a metal teapot and put the cider in with 3 sticks of cinnamon and 3 star anise  stars.  Keep the fire down low.  Do not allow to boil.  You want this to steep, not cook.  Allow to simmer over low heat for at least half an hour then it's ready to use.

 Make your butter batter:

In a plastic bowl with a lid, mix 3 tablespoons of sugar, 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon of grated nutmeg.  Mix well with a spoon. 

To serve:  

Place one orange strip and one cinnamon stick in each cup.

Place 1/2 teaspoon of the butter batter in each cup.

Pour hot mulled cider over the butter batter in each cup up to 2/3 of the cup.

Add rum to take up the last third of the cup. 

Butter batter will melt and float to the top. 

Give each person a spoon and allow them to stir their own. 

Enjoy!