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Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher Clone (Starbucks Knockoff) and a Giveaway! | Make Ahead Mondays

August 27, 2012 by 127 Comments

 

Giveaway details below the recipe!

I got my dog fixed on my birthday.

It’s a glamorous life. Try not to be too jealous.

Because Frijole is a rescue dog (although some folks would argue that his inclusion in the dog category is in doubt considering he’s half daschund half chihuahua), we were invited to bring him to a free spay and neuter clinic about two hours from home. “Free” is one of my favourite words, so I grabbed the leash, the understandably unexcited dog, a cup of tea and set out at six in the morning on a Sunday to drop my pup off for ye olde snip-snip.

After depositing the dog (and a surprise attack of tears when leaving my sweet wittle puppykins in the arms of those strangers) I drove into town a little further and found the Holy Grail, Nirvana, Kismet, Shangrila…

I found Barnes and Noble in Elmira, New York.

Since it was my birthday, I gave myself permission to go a little wacky in the bookstore. Aside from living in a library, this is my idea of the ultimate in fun. I felt like Julie Andrews in The Sound of Music. I walked in, twirled around with my arms in the air, and sang (in my head.)

I walked up aisles. I walked down them. I tucked into ill-lit corners with piles of books by authors of whom I’d never heard. I sniffed new books.* I scoured the clearance and mark-down books. When I tell you I spent hours, I mean it.

When all was said and done, I carried my teetering stack of books to the register. While the clerk was scanning, scanning, scanning, I glanced at the time and realized I still had a couple of hours to go before I could pick up my now frijole-less Frijole. A glance to my right showed the semi-ubiquitous Barnes and Noble Starbucks, so I paid and scooted over there to spend a little air-conditioned time admiring my new acquisitions.

*Please tell me someone else loves the smell of books…

There are a couple of impulse buy food words that get me every time; citrus, lemon, lime, orange, berry and hibiscus. Lo and behold, Starbucks had a little something called a Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher. I was all over that like my kids on chips. I ordered one at the counter and they asked, “Can we make that a venti?” I am not a Starbucks veteran, so I had NO IDEA what that meant, but I wanted to be agreeable, so I said yes. Heck. It was my birthday.

I watched while she mixed up my refresher, took it back to the table, took a sip and did what any self-respecting blogger does when she likes something. I posted a picture on instagram. Then? Then I did what any self-respecting member of my family would do. I vowed to learn to make it myself because at that point, I had learned what venti meant. It meant EXPENSIVE.

With the justification, “It’s for research!” singing in my head, I ordered a second venti Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher while tucking an information card in my pocket and asking the poor gal what went into the drink. She said “Green Coffee Extract, this hibiscus mix stuff, dried berries, water and ice”. All that was left was for me to slurp my drink, call my sister to tell her how she needed to try one, pick up my drugged and tender puppy and drive home for my annual birthday fried chicken extravaganza.

Being cheap (and living a couple hours from the nearest Starbucks) is a marvelous recipe development motivator. I ordered green coffee beans from Amazon.com, busted out my stash of dried hibiscus flowers and freeze dried berries and set myself to experimentation.

I opted to make my green coffee extract using cold extraction. This sounds far more difficult than it actually is. In short, grind unroasted coffee beans, cover with water, let it set in the refrigerator overnight then strain it. Ta da! Yes. It truly is that simple. I make a quart at a time, so I can have this whenever cravings strike.

While researching green coffee beans, I found out that green coffee is currently the golden child of the diet scene. Evidently, taking green coffee extract (in any form) jacks up your metabolism so that -all other things remaining the same- you metabolize your food more completely and therefore lose weight. Who knew?

Because cold brewing/extraction is a gentler process, I used my beloved new Krups coffee grinder/spice mill from BigKitchen to break the beans up just a bit. I didn’t need to obliterate them like you would for a regular cuppa joe, just break them open a little. Can we talk about why I love this grinder for just a moment? My husband is the coffee drinker in the house. I’m a tea drinker. For years, our coffee grinder has been ‘his’. I borrowed it once -just once!- to grind some spices and we both ended up unhappy with the results. My cumin tasted like coffee and his coffee tasted like cumin. The rest of my spice and herb grinding took place in the pestle and mortar. Sigh. This new grinder is mine, MINE I TELL YA, and it will never have a roasted coffee bean in it as long as it lives. The green coffee beans don’t count because they don’t have that strong flavour, aroma, etc… that you find in roasted beans. Additionally, green coffee contains about one-fifth of the caffeine of its roasted counterpart. This probably accounts for why I can drink it without having to be scraped from the ceiling.

So why do all this? Hibiscus and berries are bright and fresh and naturally vibrant pink and full of vitamins and minerals. Green coffee is a metabolism booster and makes you feel energetic without feeling strung out. Put them together with ice and water and you have a truly refreshing drink.

If you have a Starbucks lover in your life, a jar each of the hibiscus syrup and green coffee extract in a basket with a couple bags of the freeze-dried berries would make a wonderful gift!

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Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher Clone (Starbucks Knockoff) | Make Ahead Monday

Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher Clone (Starbucks Knockoff) | Make Ahead Monday

Zingy hibiscus and sweet freeze dried berries get shake-shake-shaken into homemade green coffee extract (yes you CAN do that at home!) and ice creating a fabulous knock-off of the Starbucks Very Berry Hibiscus Refreshers at a fraction of the cost.

Ingredients

    For the Green Coffee Extract:
  • 1 quart cold water
  • 1/4 pound green (unroasted) coffee beans
    • For the Hibiscus Simple Syrup:
  • 1 cup, lightly packed, dried hibiscus flowers
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 cups water
    • To Make a Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher Clone:
  • 2 cups of ice cubes
  • 1 tablespoon green coffee extract
  • 1-4 tablespoons hibiscus simple syrup (to taste)
  • 2 tablespoons freeze-dried berries
  • 2 cups water

Instructions

To Make the Green Tea Extract:

Add the beans to a scrupulously clean spice or coffee grinder, pulse the grinder about 10 times just to break up the beans a little. Empty the beans into a half-gallon glass canning jar or another similarly sized container with a tight fitting lid. Pour the cold water over the beans, fix the lid in place and shake a couple of times to make sure it is all good and distributed. Stash in the refrigerator overnight to extract.

After it has soaked for at least 8 hours, line a fine-mesh sieve with a coffee filter or a piece of cheesecloth positioned over a pitcher. Shake the green coffee and water mixture one more time and pour it through the lined sieve. Transfer the strained liquid to a jar (it should fit into a quart jar) and store in the refrigerator for up to a month, using as desired.

To Make the Hibiscus Simple Syrup:

Add hibiscus flowers, sugar, and water to a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium high heat. Stir frequently to dissolve the sugar and bring to a boil. As soon as the mixture boils, turn off the heat and add a lid to the pan. Let it steep for at least 20 minutes, but not more than 40 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter into a canning jar or pitcher. Store in the refrigerator in a tightly lidded jar or other stain-proof container. Hibiscus syrup WILL stain!

To Make a Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher Clone:

Add 2 cups of ice to a quart canning jar. Pour the green coffee extract and hibiscus syrup over the ice, add the freeze-dried berries and pour the water over everything else. Fix the lid tightly in place and shake vigorously for about 25 seconds. Pour into a pretty glass and sip. Heck, gulp if you want to gulp! This is good stuff and it's good for you!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/08/27/very-berry-hibiscus-refresher-clone-starbucks-knockoff-and-a-giveaway-make-ahead-monday/

Now let’s talk goodies, shall we? The folks at BigKitchen -the same ones who provided my best beloved grinder- are offering to give away another one just like mine to one of you folks.

 

Big cheer for BigKitchen! This is a work horse of a grinder. These are the details about this gorgeous piece of kit according to BigKitchen:

  • Minces fresh herbs and dried spices and grinds coffee beans from
    coarse to fine in seconds
  • Sharp stainless steel blades quickly chop for easy preparation of your
    favorite dishes
  • Pulse action button lets you determine the degree of fineness
  • Brushed stainless steel finish
  • Safety lock lid
  • 140W
  • Retails at: $29.99

I concur with all of that, but I’d add that it’s just plain gorgeous. It is super sleek and I do love stainless steel appliances. They are out of stock (sad trombone!) currently, but they do have one in stock for the winner of this giveaway and they’ll be back for the rest of the world very soon, indeed (happy cry from the crowd!) So how do you win?

For 1 Entry:

You need to scoot on over to BigKitchen and look around. For one entry, tell me here in the comments what you would be most likely to buy from BigKitchen.

For Additional Entries (Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry so we can have a truly random drawing!):

Like Foodie With Family on facebook, then come back here and say so.

Like BigKitchen on facebook then come back here and say so.

Follow Foodie With Family on Twitter and, well, you know, come back here and say so.

Follow BigKitchen on Twitter and… you know!

My word! That’s 5 different ways to win my favourite grinder. Make yourself a Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher and start entering today! The giveaway will close on Thursday, August 30th with a winner to be announced on Friday.

BigKitchen was kind enough to send me a Krups grinder and offer one to give away, but all opinions are my own. I am not affiliated with Starbucks in any way.

 

 

 

Filed Under: Beverages, Component Foods, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Make Ahead Mondays, Rebecca, Recipes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Strawberry Wineade

July 25, 2012 by 20 Comments

I should begin by saying that serious wine snobs should probably look away. Quickly.

I’ll give you a second or two.

Are they gone now?

Okay, it’s about to get all kinds of classy in here. And by classy, I mean serving wine in jars mixed with juice. Yeah, baby. That kind of classy.

I have had a couple of very crazy weeks here with various groupings of kids going to various camps, preparing for my brother’s wedding, getting the house ready for company, and then there was some very fun travel for yours truly.

How fun was that travel? Let me show you a picture or two…

DSC_1582

DSC_1568

So yeah. That’s me. Do you recognize the digs? Yes? No? How about now?

 

Maybe you recognize the lady behind my right shoulder? (Stage right. Not your left. Oh dear. Did I just make it worse?)

Last weekend, I had the incredible joy and privilege of visiting my friend and food blogger extraordinaire, Ree Drummond, a.k.a. The Pioneer Woman. For a little over a year, Ree and I have been planning a weekend workshop extravaganza of cheesemaking, bread baking, and canning. I couldn’t wait to get out there and show folks how to make some of my favourite foods. What I didn’t know was that Ree, in the way she does, was planning a surprise! She brought in a group of women and fellow food bloggers I’ve become friends with on Twitter to take part in the fun. We drank wine, we whined, we ate, we cracked adolescent jokes about cutting cheese, we made cheese, we ate cheese, we made bread, we ate bread, we ate massive steaks and barbecue chicken. We canned, we cried, and in short, had a seriously grand time.

My word. There just aren’t enough words to explain how fun it was. I was delighted to find out that Bridget, Robyn, Wendy, Sandy, Amy, and Georgia are not only every bit as nice as they seem on their blogs, they’re *gasp* EVEN NICER. And pretty. Holy wah, folks. Have you ever seen such a pretty group of women?

But there is a reason I’m bringing all of this up. Two nights before I left, I made a batch of strawberry lemonade for my kids. It was hot out that night, and I poured some into a glass (okay, a jar)  that I’d been drinking out of moments earlier. The catch is that I forgot I’d been drinking white wine out of that jar. Like I said, classy.

The result was something so refreshing I ended up having another glass. Geez. Yes, it was still a jar.

It was delicious, it was light, it chilled me when I needed it most. As good as it was, I resolved to never, ever tell anyone about the fact that I was mixing strawberry lemonade and white wine. I guess I’m a prideful creature.

Then that weekend, at Ree’s, I was offered a glass of white wine mixed with French tangerine soda. It was good. No. It was guuuuuuuuud. After sipping with the ladies, I blurted out my strawberry lemonade/white wine transgression. When no one laughed me out of the Lodge doors and into the 115°F heat (Hey, Oklahoma… 115°F? Woah. I’m relieved to know the natives don’t even like that!) I figured I’d take the leap and share it here. So there you go, friends… My super classy, super chic, super refreshing wine thingy. If you’ve stuck with me this long, you’re either an oenophile who is absolutely horrified right now or you’re with me.

Either way, I’m glad you’re here. I love you people. MWAH. (And that’s not the strawberry wineade talking…)

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Strawberry Wineade

Strawberry Wineade

Super refreshing Strawberry Wineade is the result of a happy accident in hot weather. Fresh strawberry lemonade mixed with chilled semi-dry white wine over ice. There is NOTHING fancy about this other than the beautiful pink colour but it sure takes the edge off of the hot weather!

Ingredients

    To Make the Strawberry Lemonade
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 quart cold water
  • 1 cup frozen, hulled, unsweetened strawberries
    • To Make the Strawberry Wineade
  • 1/2 cup strawberry lemonade
  • 1/2 cup chilled semi-dry white wine

Instructions

Gently heat 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water together, stirring, just until the sugar is completely dissolved.Pour it into the work carafe of a blender and add the lemon juice, quart of cold water and frozen strawberries. Put the lid firmly in place and blend on HIGH until smooth. Pour into a pitcher or a jar with a tight fitting lid. Store in the refrigerator until ready to use.

To Make a Strawberry Wineade:

Fill a pint jar with ice cubes, pour the 1/2 cup of white wine over the ice and follow that with the 1/2 cup of strawberry lemonade. Use a chopstick or straw to stir gently.

Put your feet up in a classy way and enjoy!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/07/25/strawberry-wineade/

I’d like to thank Ree for the use of the pictures of me making cheese above. The picture of people taking photos of me making cheese is by Sandy Coughlin, The Reluctant Entertainer. For more of our cheesemaking shenanigans, read Ree’s fantastic post here.

Filed Under: Beverages, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Root Beer Syrup | Make Ahead Mondays

June 25, 2012 by 16 Comments

I am a fizzy drinks gal. My usual preference is for plain or flavoured (but not sweetened seltzer) but I have a deep and abiding love for two kinds of soda: ginger ale and root beer. I love the warm, spicy flavours of both of those. What I don’t adore, however, is the insane amount of sugar in most commercially available sodas.

My dad taught me to make my own ginger ale a few years back and that took care of the need for ginger ale, but until the last couple of weeks, I didn’t have a way to satisfy my root beer cravings without getting a sugar bomb in the process. With the exception of a few boutique brands of root beer (that are very tasty indeed but also pretty pricey), the sugar bomb in those sodas came in the form of high fructose corn syrup. I’m not going to wade into a debate here. Intelligent people disagree (vociferously) on the subject, but in our family we avoid consuming HFCS as much as possible.

I’ve tried making my own root beers from extract kits, but I was always a little disappointed because I like making things from the ground up. Buying a little bottle of some liquid and adding water and sugar just kind of felt like cheating. Yes, I realize I’m a little nuts. But I discovered something. I’m clearly not alone in thinking this way. I discovered Hank Shaw a.k.a. Hunter Angler Gardener Cook. Hank Shaw is, in a nutshell, awesome. I’ve always had a DIY bent, but Hank Shaw? I’m in an analogy frame of mind,  since I just finished up standardized testing with my kids, and I’m thinking that might be the best way to describe him. I am to Hank Shaw as Sandra Lee is to Martha Stewart. Sure, Sandra Lee decorates a table and whips up a cocktail, but Martha felled the tree, built the table, hand-wove the cloth for the decorations, smelted the metal for the silverware, designed and threw her own pottery, raised the animals and vegetables, slaughtered and prepared everything herself AND was a supermodel in the process.  In short, I have MAD respect for Hank Shaw. I have no idea whether his hair is perfectly coifed, but I rather suspect it is.

The point is this; Hank Shaw posted a recipe for homemade root beer syrup that looked like what I’d been seeking for ages. I had some dried burdock root (it grows EVERYWHERE around here, so I’m not sure this gets me my foraging badge), I ordered dried sassafras (because that DOESN’T grow around here), and raided my spice cabinet for the other bits and pieces*, and set to infusing.

*That spell of detective work just might get me the foraging badge after all!

The key to the recipe is a slow infusion (decoction, tisane, what-have-you) of water with the roots and spices. After it simmers a bit, some molasses is added (for both colour and flavour) then you simmer again. Then comes the WHAT?!? portion of the programme: wintergreen. I’m not kidding you. Go pop open a bottle of root beer and sniff. What are you getting? You’re getting the smell of sassafras and wintergreen (although of the two, wintergreen is probably the only one that is actually in commercial root beers any more.) Don’t skip this! And please, you might be tempted, but don’t sub in peppermint. The wintergreen is truly important. If you can’t lay your hands on fresh wintergreen leaves, you can always use wintergreen flavour or extract.*

*This is an affiliate link to Amazon.com.

As soon as the roots and spices started simmering my brain was panting, “Root beer. Root beer. Root beer.” It smells so good while it simmers. It smelled so good, in fact, that I dunked a spoon in to lick it. Um, it was not a great at that point. ‘Twas bitter but I carried on and continued the project. I started it late at night, so I let the cool down/infusion process go overnight. In the morning, I strained, measured, added to the pot with sugar and then simmered again. I dipped my spoon in again, cautiously licked it and holy man. It was good. It was great!

While I like to pour it over ice and top with my beloved plain seltzer for a spicy, rootsy-tootsy root beer beverage, you can also use the syrup to drizzle over your vanilla ice cream for a root beer sundae. On the other hand, you can sweeten your iced tea for a deliciously different sweet tea. Root beer sweet tea. Can I get a heck-yeah from the sweet tea lovers out there?

I’m going to tell you, this is NOT the root beer you get at the store. It just isn’t. It’s real. It has oomph. It has character. It’s not cloyingly sweet (although, if sweet is your thing you can always up the sugar content in the syrup.) When you smell it and taste it there is no doubt in your mind that this is root beer, but this is root beer as it’s meant to be. I’d take a tall glass of this root beer any day over the stuff on the shelves. My husband, who despises soda in general but likes seltzer, loved this root beer. Three of my five kids think this the best root beer they’ve ever had. (One of the remaining two just doesn’t like root beer, so he’s consistent. The other decided to be contrary.)

 

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Root Beer Syrup | Make Ahead Mondays

Root Beer Syrup | Make Ahead Mondays

For the rootin-est, tootin-est root beer you'll ever drink, whip up a batch of this all-natural root beer syrup. It makes grocery store root beers pale in comparison.

This recipe was very gently adapted and used with permission from and grateful thanks to Hank Shaw

Ingredients

  • 6 cups water
  • 3 ounces dried sassafras roots
  • 1/2 ounce dried burdock root
  • 1 teaspoon dried whole coriander seeds
  • 1 whole star anise
  • 1 whole clove
  • 1/4 cup dark molasses (not blackstrap)
  • 3-4 wintergreen leaves or 2 drops (or 1/8 of a teaspoon) wintergreen flavouring or extract
  • up to 6 cups of sugar (preferably raw, but granulated white sugar can be used.)

Instructions

Put the sassafras and burdock roots, coriander seeds, star anise and clove in a heavy-bottomed 2 quart saucepan that has a tight fitting lid. Pour the water over the top of the roots and spices and bring to a boil over high heat. Drop the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. If it keeps bubbling up and out, vent the lid just a bit.

Add the molasses, stir, replace the lid, and return to a simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, add the wintergreen flavouring or extract, replace the lid and let the mixture cool to room temperature. (I let mine cool on a cold burner on the stove overnight because I prepared my sassafras infusion late at night.)

Line a fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth, place over a large measuring cup with a pouring spout or a pitcher, and pour the cooled infusion into it to strain. Do not press on the contents, but let the roots rest in the strainer for about 30 minutes before proceeding. While that strains, rinse the pot in which you infused it to get any lingering bits of root or spice out of it.

Measure your sassafras infusion, return it to the rinsed pot and add an equal amount of sugar -by volume- to the pot. For instance, if you have 4 1/2 cups of infusion, add 4 1/2 cups of sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, drop the heat to low and let simmer for 5 minutes. Pour the syrup into canning jars, fix clean, new, two-piece lids on top and store in the refrigerator up to a year.

To Make a Root Beer Drink from the Syrup:

Use 1 tablespoon of syrup over ice to 1 cup of plain seltzer water. Stir gently. Enjoy!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/06/25/root-beer-syrup-make-ahead-mondays/

If you want to make a batch or twelve of this but don’t know where to find the ingredients, Amazon.com, as always, can hook you up:

Filed Under: Beverages, Comfort Food, Component Foods, Condiments, Food Preservation, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, kid food, Make Ahead Mondays, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian

The Unsophisticated (Chilled Two-Wine Spritzer)

May 18, 2012 by 7 Comments

A little housekeeping:

Unfortunately, I got a little education this week when I learned about Scrapers. Am I the last person alive to  hear about these folks? What they do -in a nutshell- is steal the RSS feed from a blog and republish it for whatever reasons they have to doing so (getting hits, pilfering audience, what-have-you…) Evidently someone(s) have been doing this with my posts for quite some time. My band-aid fix is to truncate my feed to an abbreviated one. I do apologize to those of you who liked getting the entire post in an email, I hope you’ll stick with me until I can figure out another way to defeat these content thieves. I love  y’all. Even the scrapers. Love the scraper not the scrape, right? Now… onto happier subjects.

I am not a fancy person. When my husband and I were engaged, we didn’t register for silver or china or those other grown up things. I’m not sure we registered for anything at all. The way I’ve always looked at it, if you have canning jars you are good to go. Plates and cups are nice and pretty, but strictly optional.

If you come visit me, you might find yourself sitting on the ground (on a nice blanket, of course) out in the yard balancing a plate on your knee instead of around the table with matching service. Okay, chances are very good that’ll happen. And if we’re at the table, your plate and mine are -in all likelihood- going to clash. You’ll have banged up forks and spoons and knifes and there just might be a chip or two out of the bowl, but you know what? You’re going to be so welcome here.

My Grandpa used to say, “You can put lipstick on a pig and it’s still a pig.” I apply that everywhere. I am what I am. And what I am is happy to see you but I’m still a piglet. I’m alright with that. I like our crazy home filled to the brim with boys and chickens and dogs and ducks and cats and musical instruments and tools and widgets and paper Viking ships and books and so on. It’s wacky, but it’s us!

When it comes to my summer beverages, I’m pretty equally simplistic (or simple, depending on who you ask.) I just want something refreshing and quick. It has to be something that I can bang out in time to sit on the porch and watch the kids ride their bikes around the driveway while the sun sets. It had better be able to be whipped up in a jar and it can’t be anything too potent. You’re looking at a lightweight here folks.

If you are elegant and sophisticated you may wish to look away for a moment. Otherwise, I have just the thing for you: it’s a three-ingredient mixed drink that is served over ice (HORRORS), needs only the most common ingredients (EGADS) and takes about as much time to throw together as it does to put on a coat of lipstick. Pig or not. Par-Tay!

It’s sparkly, it’s fresh, it’s light, it’s icy cold and it’s simple. This is almost summer, after all.  Come on over. I’ll whip one up for you. It’ll probably be in a jar. Is that alright?

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The Unsophisticated (Chilled Two-Wine Spritzer)

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Total Time: 2 minutes

Yield: 1 spritzer

The Unsophisticated (Chilled Two-Wine Spritzer)

A refreshing, light, icy cold, sparkly, warm-weather drink that may not be sophisticated, but still manages to hit all the right notes.

Ingredients

  • Crushed or cubed ice
  • 3 tablespoons plum wine
  • 4 ounces (1/2 cup) Pinot Grigio or any semi-dry to dry white wine
  • Chilled plain seltzer water

Instructions

Fill a tall glass (at least 10 ounces in capacity) with ice cubes. Pour the plum wine and then the Pinot Grigio over the ice. Fill the remaining space in the glass with seltzer water. Let the seltzer water settle a bit and give the glass a quick stir with a chopstick or (if you're better stocked on bar supplies than I am) a swizzle stick. Sip happily!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/05/18/the-unsophisticated-chilled-two-wine-spritzer/

 

 

Filed Under: Beverages, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , ,

Green Orange Julius Smoothie

March 7, 2012 by 10 Comments

This has been one seriously weird weather winter. From a green, warm Christmas to a rainy, snow-free February, I’ve been sitting around tapping my foot waiting for the weather to turn frightful. Tap tap tap. Nuttin’.

While my husband and sons have been running around outside singing rapturously about the weather and twirling with their arms à la Julie Andrews in the opening scene of “The Sound of Music”, I’ve been checking and double checking my yak trax, gloves, scarf and parka just in case I need them. Thirty something Northern Michigan and Western New York winters will do that to a girl.Instead of the clear and obvious signs of quiet -blankets of snow covering everything and icicles dangling from roofs- there has just been this kind of stasis or suspended animation. Everything looks muted and like it’s waiting on the edge of its seat for snow to fly. And hard.  I can’t seem to let go of the idea that we’re going to get slammed with the mamma jamma of all winter storms at some point.

We’re less than three weeks away from the official start to spring, though; the maple trees are flowing and there is smoke and steam rising from all the maple shacks dotting the countryside. That is an irrefutable sign that things are perking up and that even if the winter that has been hanging about at the edges of the room shows up, its life will be short. That means that even my cold, winter loving and fearing heart has to start the thaw, too.

The only thing that has been “wintery” around here is my like-clockwork-late-winter-craving; greens. I need green food and I don’t mean Shamrock Shakes faux green. (Although I’m pretty fond of one or two of those per season, too.) I mean food that looks fresh and leafy and full of life. Since I got a G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S. and super thoughtful Vitamix from my husband for Valentine’s Day, I’ve jumped onto the green smoothie bandwagon so hard I rattled the wheels.

Sidebar for those who haven’t yet tried a green smoothie: I know some of you are ready to pull a face and think I’ve jumped the shark for throwing spinach into a smoothie, let me tell you something. You don’t taste the spinach in these. I promise. It’s the wackiest thing ever. And if you’re wondering why in the world I would want to do such a thing as spinach in smoothies let me just ask this; do you get enough vegetables in your diet every day? Do your kids? Because even as a vegetable lover, I’ve had a hard time meeting my daily recommended veggie intake. When you consider my two youngest anti-veg kiddos, I know for a fact I wasn’t getting enough into them. But then came green smoothies. They love them. LOVE. My gruesome twosome is getting about two hundred percent more vegetables than they got before we started with the green smoothies. I count that a win.

I’ve blended spinach into just about every kind of smoothie I can possibly think to try, but it was just this last week that I stumbled upon our favourite. I saw someone on pinterest post a green orange julius smoothie, and I knew it was a great idea. I made a completely different green orange julius smoothie, but Green Lite Bites provided the inspiration.

So now a word to those who aren’t familiar with Orange Juliuses. Or should it be Orange Julii? Aw shoot. I don’t know. Whatever the plural of an Orange Julius is, that’s what I’m going for. Orange Julius is a mall-centric chain of beverage sellers that specializes in the most luscious thick, sweet, orange slushy/shake thingies ever. For years, I’ve been making an Orange Julius smoothie for my kids that uses frozen bananas as both a sweetener and thickener. It didn’t take a whole lot of messing with to turn it into a green smoothie. In fact, it only took the addition of a couple fists full of spinach.

These Green Orange Julius Smoothies are screaming, “SPRING YOU FOOL!!! Spring is COMING. Look alive!” These are responsible for me finally embracing the fact that spring is about to, well, spring! This is my new favourite spring recipe. It’s creamy, vibrant, sweet, vanilla-y and oh so orange even though it’s green. If you think about it, with St. Patrick’s Day next weekend, there’s no better way for this mostly Irish American girl to celebrate both the coming of spring and my heritage than to whirl together the green and the orange.

This time of year and with this recipe, I truly, deeply wish you all slàinte mhòr!

This post was sponsored by Frigidaire. When you check out Suzanne Goin’s springtime recipes at www.maketimeforchange.com, Frigidaire will donate $1 to Save the Children’s U.S. programs. Plus, you’ll be entered for a chance to win the new Frigidaire Range with Symmetry™ Double Ovens– featuring two large ovens (that can each fit up to a 28 pound turkey!), providing the flexibility to cook multiple dishes at the same time at different temperatures, so you can get more on the table at the same time.

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Green Orange Julius Smoothie

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Serving Size: 2

Green Orange Julius Smoothie

This fun twist on both green smoothies and a classic Orange Julius is my new favourite spring recipe. It's creamy, vibrant, sweet, thick, vanilla-y and oh so orange even though it's green. I promise, you won't taste that spinach. Go ahead and take the plunge! To your very good health!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup fresh baby spinach, washed
  • 1 cup 100% orange juice concentrate
  • 1 1/2 cups milk (whole, 2%, 1% or skim)
  • 1 large frozen peeled banana, broken into chunks
  • 1 teaspoon real vanilla extract

Instructions

Pour milk into a blender carafe first and then add the remaining ingredients. Fix the blender lid in place and blend on high until smooth*.

*If you have a less high-octane blender, you may want to stop the blender and move things around with a wooden spoon or spatula a couple of times.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/03/07/green-orange-julius-smoothie/

Filed Under: Beverages, Comfort Food, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, kid food, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , ,

Spiced Orange Chai Concentrate

November 3, 2011 by 8 Comments

This is the time of year when I want nothing more than to traipse through the woods. The leaves have hit the deck and between the satisfying rustling sound they make, the scent of pine needles and apples, and the brisk air, a walk yields something that just might be the best feeling in the world. I’m getting ready to hunker down along with the bears, groundhogs, hobbits, squirrels, and other woodland creatures.

With last week’s snowfall, I feel a little like Robert Frost ‘Stopping by Woods’ on a snowy evening even though it has all melted. It’s just something in the air.

Coming back from those walks, we turn to warm fires, family, good books, old movies, quiet music and great  roasts, mashed potatoes, pie, cookies and hot tea.

I know coffee is a perennial darling, but let’s talk tea for just a moment. Have you read the Little House books by Laura Ingalls Wilder? I remember them taking the edge off of the long, hard winters with strong, hot tea more than once.  There is something about tea that makes you slow down and relax because there is just something about tea.

The gnarly dried leaves unfurl and stretch in the hot water the way you do in the bath after a hard day. It’s impossible to watch that and not feel at least a little tension melt away. I think it must have something to do with the intensive manpower that goes into every cup of tea. Hand-picked leaves dried lovingly, packaged carefully and shipped to those who stand by, kettles in hand, ready to bring the water to a boil and coax every bit of flavour out of those tiny but potent shriveled leaves.

The glow of citrus, subtle sweetness and round but gentle heat of spices makes this Spiced Orange Chai Concentrate do exactly what all chai –all tea, for that matter- should do; it fills your belly and warms you from the inside out. Handily, the recipe makes a large amount and is good for up to a month in the refrigerator or up to three months in the freezer.

Chai is one of my favourite teas, but I don’t often get it when out and about because a.)I’m in the middle of nowhere and there’s no one to sell me one; b.)They often cost far more than I’m willing to pay for a cuppa; and c.)They’re often far too sweet. “C” is important. Great glugs of syrup cover up the flavour of the tea. You might as well just have hot spiced sugar water as many chai lattes available on the market.

An obvious advantage to making your own is controlling the amount of sweetness you add. Adjust it. Play with it. Get it perfect for your preferences. I suggest starting with less sugar and tasting it in milk. If it’s not sweet enough, simply add more until it is, as Baby Bear said,  “Just right!”
While I prefer it served hot with banks of steam rising from it on chilly autumn and winter days, it is superb served over ice, ice cream, or yogurt just to keep things interesting. I’ve even been known to stir a tablespoon or two into an apple pie or galette. If a walk in the woods is the best feeling in the world, a Chai Apple Pie comes in pretty closely behind it.

Yes, this is caffeinated, but that’s no reason to deprive the kids out of the delicious warming powers of chai. Use a trick from the Little House books; cambric tea. When Laura Ingalls Wilder was young, tea was considered too stimulating for children (although coffee, interestingly, was often not.) Mothers would stir a hint of tea into hot milk to warm their chilled chilluns and make them feel like grown-ups. That seems like a pretty wonderful tradition to revive to me. Put a much-more-milk-than-tea mug of this into your young ones’ hands and let them sit to warm through and through with you after a fall hike. It’s a memory in the making.

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Spiced Orange Chai Concentrate {Foodie With Family}

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 3 minutes

Total Time: 23 minutes

Spiced Orange Chai Concentrate {Foodie With Family}

With spice and the glow of citrus, this Spiced Orange Chai Concentrate stands at the ready whenever you need a seriously fast dose of warmth.

Ingredients

  • 4 ½ cups water
  • 1 stick cinnamon, broken into large pieces
  • 1 piece fresh ginger root, 2-4 inches long (according to taste), unpeeled and roughly chopped
  • 8 whole cardamom pods
  • 2 whole star anise pods
  • 10 whole cloves
  • 8 whole black peppercorns
  • ½ teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg
  • 1-3 slices of a fresh orange (according to taste), peel and all
  • 10 teaspoons green or black tea leaves ~or~ 10 green or black tea bags ~or~ an equivalent amount of green and black tea combined
  • ½ cup brown or raw sugar
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

To Make the Concentrate:

Bring the water to a boil in a pan with a tight fitting lid.

Add all of the spices and tea, remove from heat, cover tightly and let steep 15-20 minutes, depending on the desired strength of the tea.

Strain into a large container and add the brown or raw sugar, honey, and vanilla. Stir to combine. Transfer to a large canning jar with a tight fitting lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to one month.

To Serve:

Mix 1 part of the concentrate to 1 part milk. You can mix it with steamed milk or with cold milk and then heat it together. Alternatively, you can serve it cold over ice. Brrrr

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2011/11/03/spiced-orange-chai-concentrate/

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening
by Robert Frost

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound’s the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.


Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Beverages, Happy Healthy and Wise, kid food, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Boiled Cider (Apple Molasses)

September 8, 2011 by 66 Comments

I am a magician.

You see that wine bottle? I fit two whole gallons of apple cider into it.

Really.

Okay, I boiled the cider down until it fit, and I didn’t have to work hard to do it. Yes, it took nearly six hours, but I didn’t stir it and wasn’t even in the same room (or same floor of the house for that matter) for more time than it took to pop in and confirm that, yeah, it was still boiling, and mmm-hmmm, it was still shrinking in volume.

So what’s the point behind this exercise?  I am about to let you in on an almost-forgotten little piece of America’s food history. This thing goes all the way back to the sixteen-hundreds, the introduction of apples as a crop and the European settlers. I’m talking about Boiled Cider.

Oh, I know. The name? Boring. Totally. Sometimes it has been referred to as apple molasses which ,while a little more jazzed up comparatively speaking, still sounds pretty meh. Believe me, though, there is nothing bland, boring, or unexciting about Boiled Cider.

You know when you get a really good glass of fresh, icey cold apple cider straight from the mill; The way your tastebuds perk up and your mouth actually waters from the tart sweet cider? Imagine that times seven*. Add to that a hint of caramelization, and a thick, pancake syrupy consistency and you have Boiled Cider. It is beautiful in its simplicity. It is just cider. No sugar, no flavourings, no preservatives, no fancy canning. It is only cider boiled down into a thick, shelf-stable syrup that makes just about everything better by its mere presence. There is no added sugar, it is the natural sweetness of the apples that makes this so good.

*Seven is not an arbitrary choice for this comparison. When boiling cider down for this project you want to reduce it to one seventh of its original volume.

Boiled Cider started as a way the settlers devised to preserve cider long past when even hard cider would be drinkable and would pass into irretrievably vinegar territory. Kept in a bottle on the pantry shelf, this stuff lasted through the winter and into the next apple season for them and it will do the same for you.

What do you do with Boiled Cider? Let me get you started, but once you have this handy, you’ll be off and running.

  • Drizzle over vanilla ice cream.
  • Use to baste pork roasts or chops, ham, chicken or glaze other meats.
  • Stir a little into hot tea.
  • Pour some into a mug, add a shot of whiskey or brandy, and top off with hot water.
  • Toss a tablespoon or two to the sliced apples for a pie or apple crisp. You will be blown away by how much more appley it tastes. (I know many professional bakers add this to their pies and crisps as their secret ingredient!)
  • Whisk into cream cheese icing for a pumpkin spice cake and be prepared for the compliments.
  • …Our personal favourite: Pour a tablespoon over ice, fill the rest of the glass with seltzer water, and give a quick stir. Voila! Healthy apple cider soda!

Lipsmacking just doesn’t cover it. This is… It’s… Could words be failing me? It’s like everything wonderful about fall condensed into one syrup. It’s pure, distilled essence of apple. It’s completely and utterly wonderful. And you get all this just by boiling a pot of cider.

Don’t wait. Make some of this for yourself as soon as possible. Have it on your shelf. Then, in December, January, February -whenever you need a boost- pull out your bottle of this opaque, deep reddish brown elixir and pour out a little measure of happiness. You’ll be so glad you did.

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Boiled Cider (Apple Molasses)

Boiled Cider is everything wonderful about fall condensed into one syrup. It's pure, distilled essence of apple. It's completely and utterly wonderful. And you get all this just by boiling a pot of cider.

Ingredients

  • 2 gallons apple cider (or less, but remember you will be reducing this to 1/7th of it's original volume.)

Instructions

Pour apple cider into a very large, non-reactive stockpot (stainless steel, copper, or glass, but NOT aluminum unless it's coated.)

Use a clean ruler or wooden stick that you can mark with the starting level of the cider.

Turn heat to high, cover the pot with a splatter screen (to prevent flies or other insects from dropping into the pot) and bring to a boil.

Boil the cider hard until it has reduced to 1/7th of its original volume. Watch more carefully toward the end because it may creep up higher in the pan as it becomes thicker and bubbles stack up on each other. Turn off the heat and let the bubbles die down to check the depth of the liquid with your ruler or dipstick. You should end up with approximately the volume that it takes to fill a clean, empty 750ml wine bottle.

Pour into a clean, sterile jar (for long term storage) or a clean, empty wine bottle (for short term, refrigerated storage). Cover tightly and store in a cool, dark place.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2011/09/08/boiled-cider-apple-molasses/

Filed Under: Beverages, Canning, Component Foods, Condiments, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Kitchen Techniques and Hints, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian

Coffee Milkshakes

August 22, 2011 by 18 Comments

I have been a wee bit obsessed with milkshakes lately. And no. I’m not pregnant.  I just can’t get enough of the wonderful world of creamy, sweet, thick, milkshakes. I can’t quite figure out why. What is this sudden need for the ultimate comfort food?

It couldn’t possibly be because…

… my two eldest sons attended a sleeping-in-tents-in-thunderstorms-with-their-peers-and-counselors-I-haven’t-personally-vetted adventure camp without me*.  And it’s also not because they forgot their cell phone on the couch when they went.

*There was no space on the paperwork for parent volunteers. Sigh. Not that I would’ve wanted to sleep on the wet ground in tents, but still…

… I cannot tell whether my first born or my husband is talking anymore without looking into the room owing to an expected but still shocking voice change.

… my husband has been away on business almost as much as he’s been home in the past two weeks. This makes the aforementioned voice change even freakier.

… my youngest baby is a couple months away from turning six. SIX, people. Six.

… my baby sister who turned eighteen last December was deposited at Cornell University where she will now proceed to scare everyone with her smarts and beauty.

… my nine year old son has developed a giant culinary crush on the ‘Two Fat Ladies’. He says, “Oh, quite!” as often as he possibly can. His great goal right now is to butter bread the way Jennifer Paterson and Clarissa Dickson Wright do it.

… my seven year old son can play the drums better than many adults. And he does so. Frequently.

… it’s very nearly time for us to kick the homeschool routine back into gear.

… I had to pull up every last one of my cucumber plants because they all failed abysmally. The chickens would disagree. They liked those bizarro bright yellow blimpy cukes. Weirdos.

… my chickens keep escaping their enclosure and running around the yard like they’re no longer in possession of their heads. Maybe the cucumbers were hallucinogenic?

… the Little League World Series is on and I am suddenly mother to the world and heartbroken every time one of those kids cries in disappointment or gets hurt*.

*What can I say? I’m a mess.

Any or all of those reason? Maybe.

Who cares? All I know is that milkshakes make it better. I’ll take a double, please.

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Coffee Milkshakes

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

Strong coffee, smooth vanilla ice cream and rich chocolate sauce marry in a creamy milkshake topped with a fluffy cap of whipped cream and drizzled with more chocolate syrup designed to please the coffee lover in your life!

Ingredients

  • 1 cup cold-brewed coffee (see recipe below for instructions, or use strong brewed coffee that has been well chilled.)
  • 4 giant scoops vanilla ice cream
  • 1 tablespoon chocolate syrup plus extra for drizzling
  • whipped cream

Instructions

Blend the coffee, vanilla ice cream and 1 tablespoon of chocolate syrup together in a blender until smooth. If the mixture is too thick, you can add a couple splashes of milk to loosen it up. If it is too thin, add a little more ice cream and pulse to smooth out.

Pour the milkshake into one very large or two medium sized glasses.

Top with a very generous head of whipped cream and drizzle with additional chocolate syrup.

Serve immediately.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2011/08/22/coffee-milkshakes/

 

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Cold Brewed Coffee Concentrate

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 8 hours

This cold-brewed coffee concentrate will put hair on your chest! Use for milkshakes, iced coffees, recipes calling for strong coffee, threatening your high-strung friends, or pleasing the coffee fiends in your life.

Recipe adapted slightly from The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond

Ingredients

  • 1 brick (10-16 ounces) Cafe Goya, Cafe Bustelo or Cafe Pilon (espresso ground coffee)
  • 1 1/2 gallons cold water

Instructions

Dump the coffee grounds into a 2 gallon or larger stainless steel, glass, or food service grade plastic container.

Pour about half of the water over the grounds, stir to ensure all of the coffee grounds are wet, and pour the remaining water over the top.

Cover lightly with plastic wrap and leave at room temperature overnight (or about 8 hours.)

Line a fine mesh sieve with paper towels, a tea towel, or cheesecloth and place the sieve over a large pitcher or bowl.

Ladle the coffee sludge into the lined sieve and let it strain slowly.

Pour the strained coffee into jars with tight fitting lids and refrigerate for up to a month while using it.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2011/08/22/coffee-milkshakes/

 

 

Filed Under: Beverages, Desserts, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian
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