My Hot Cocoa

Mmmmm . . . what could be better than a snowy day at home with a cup of hot cocoa and a good book?  Now, if only it would snow and the baby would sleep long enough for me to grab that book!  Well, at least I can have the hot cocoa any time I want.

In searching for recipes, I realized that most of them include coffee creamer.  Huh?  Doesn't hot cocoa already have powdered milk?  In order to avoid the creamer (which has way too many un-pronouncable ingredients), I had to come up with my own recipe.  I decided to use malted milk powder to add some depth of flavor (possibly missing if I didn't use the creamer) since I already had some on hand.  Once it's gone, I might try making the mix without too, just to see if it's still yummy.

But in case you need some hot cocoa today, here's my first recipe:


Anita's Hot Cocoa Mix
yield: 4 cups of mix (16 servings)

2 cups powdered milk
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup malted milk powder (plain, not chocolate)
1 tsp salt 

Mix together and store in an airtight container for as long as it will last!  I usually do half of the ingredients at a time in my food processor, so that any lumps are worked out nicely.  Then I stir it all together in a bowl.  Use 1/4 cup mix to 8-10 ounces of hot water (or add a little milk in place of some of the water to make it even creamier!).

Notes:  seems like maybe you could just use granulated sugar and skip the powdered sugar, but I haven't tried that yet.  The extra starch in the powdered sugar may add to the texture in a good way.  Also, I'm sure chocolate malted milk powder would be delicious too, though that's not what's in my cupboard.  Also, if you're not put off by coffee creamers, you could have lots of fun with different flavors (just use creamer in place of the malted milk powder).

Ginger Peach Slushie

Well, they didn't turn out quite as well as I had hoped. How's that for an opening line? [pause while I watch a youtube video about how to replace my left shift key] So, it didn't turn out specatularly, but the slushie was a pretty color and refreshing.  And when temps top 90+ that counts for something.  I started by making a ginger brew on the stove, which I sweetened a little, cooled with ice, then dumped into the blender (ginger chunks and all!) with a good dose of frozen peach slices, more ice, and water to make it blend.  Which is what made it bland. 

I think another time I would use a mild fruit juice (apple, for example) to loosen it up as it blends instead of water.  Not a bad first attempt, but has room to improve for sure!

Lavender Vanilla Soda

I was craving some soda a few weeks ago while doing some regular grocery shopping. Having agreed not to purchase items with high-fructose corn syrup in them, I was at a bit of a loss as to how to satisfy this craving. Then it came to me. Dry soda. We sell it at the restaurant I work at--a product developed by a pregnant lady to be able to enjoy a good tasting dinner beverage without feeding baby lots of sugar. I bought a bottle of club soda and determined to make my own.

I started with lavender, steeping 2 tsp. of the flowers in a cup of hot water.

When it had steeped for 10 minutes, I added 2 tsp. sugar, a pinch of salt, and a 1/4 tsp. of vanilla flavoring. Into the freezer for about 15 minutes to cool.

After chilling, I mixed the syrup with an equal amount of club soda, and that was it!

It could have been sweeter, less lavender-y and more vanilla-y. But overall I found it refreshing and simple to make. I tried adding whipped cream to make it like a cream soda, but found I didn't care for the effect.

Other flavor ideas: plain vanilla, orange, ginger, cherry . . . Got any to share?

Ginger Brew

A few months ago I bought some ginger root and club soda with the idea that I wanted to try making my own ginger brew. A few weeks ago it finally happened. There are scads of recipes on the internet, and I'm not even sure where my original came from. Basically, you just make a ginger/sugar syrup and add club soda to it by the glass. Not authentic maybe, but simple and yummy!

Here's what I did:

1/2 cup minced ginger (I whizzed it in the food processor)
2 c. water
2/3 c. sugar
zest of one lemon

Mix everything but the lemon zest together in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Once it boils, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat, add lemon zest, strain and cool.

To mix soda:

Place 2-4 TBSP of ginger syrup in a glass with ice. Add mint sprigs and a squeeze of lemon if desired. Fill with club soda and stir to mix. Lots of pretty, frothy bubbles! Taste and add more ginger syrup as desired. I also added in some of the strained-off minced ginger for some extra bite!

Cook's Word: I definitely need to at least double the amount of minced ginger for the syrup. I had to keep adding syrup to my soda to make it pungent enough!

I make milk . . .

. . . what's your super-power?

So says a t-shirt my sister-in-law has. When I told her I might need to borrow it, I got one of those looks. If you've been married a year or so and haven't had any babies yet, you know the look I'm talking about. Yes, I'm getting some sweet mileage out of it.

But it was really an honest request concerning the t-shirt. Because I do make milk. Soy milk.

I read about it over at "kiss my spatula" and simply had to try it. The pictures were just lovely, and her description of the fresh soy milk--"creamy, nutty, with a hint of sweetness"--made my mouth water. The taste in reality was--well--less than expected, but it was a fun experiment and may very well be repeated. The hardest part? Finding the soybeans.

1/2 cup dry soybeans--cover with water and soak overnight

drain, rinse, and blend with 2 cups water

pour into large stock-pot (it will foam!) with another 3 cups water

bring to a boil over high heat, stirring and skimming foam--
reduce heat and simmer 25 minutes, stirring occasionally

strain out "okara" (the bean solids) by pouring
through cheese-cloth-lined sieve

add 1/4 tsp. salt, 2 TBSP sugar, and vanilla (if you like)


drink! (we preferred it hot)

store in the fridge and use within a couple of days
(made about a quart)

Coffee

A new project around our house these days. We haven't had much luck with the popcorn popper we got at the thrift store, and I charred these using a borrowed coffee roaster. Unless you've roasted coffee before, you would not believe the stench/aroma that roasting produces! I was doing some roasting on the back stoop in the falling snow last week before we had to return the roaster. Looking for a better long-term solution . . . =) All advice accepted and considered.

Milkgurt Shake

Okay. Not really that much different from my smoothie, but the addition of some berry-flavored Italian ice did make it a bit more shake-like. And I love that creamy, yogurt flavor.

In order of appearance:

1/2 cup Italian ice
few frozen strawberries
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp honey or sugar
1/4 cup milk

Blend. Insert Straw. Enjoy! Taste-tester's shake is long gone, and mine is half-way there.

Smoooooothie

Not sure why I put so many "o"'s except to emphasize the "oooooooooooh" part of smoothie. One of my favorite hot-weather treats is a cool, refreshing fruit and yogurt smoothie, made slightly differently each time, but with these approximate proportions:


I-Need-A Smoothie

1/2 cup plain yogurt
one banana, sliced
handful of frozen fruit (5 - 6 strawberries, for example)
vanilla (1/2 tsp.?)
sugar to taste (start with a TBSP; depends on sweetness of fruit)
milk to cover (maybe another 1/2 cup?)


Throw everything in a blender and whiz until smooth. Really, this is not a science. I get a slightly different taste and texture each time. What's important is that it is cold and fruity and takes less than five minutes to make. YUM!


Yields one very large serving or two of the size pictured.

Confessions of a Foodie #1

I cannot make iced tea.

Without a recipe. A recipe! For iced tea!

Mainly, the problem is that I get the tea steeping then promptly forget about it for the next thirty minutes. This means that my tea turns out bitter. Then I never know how much sugar and water to put in. Because of the bitterness I almost inevitably put in too much water. Weak, bitter tea. Not refreshing.

So, in the sweltering 90's two days ago, I went in search of a recipe (this is rather embarrassing). I found this page with basic instructions on amounts of tea (bagged and loose), water and steeping times. Very well. I did all that, remembering to use a timer to remind myself when the tea should be done steeping. Okay so far.

Then. How much sugar? I did some quick calculating*. My mom used 2 cups, but I was only making a 1/2 gallon. So I did the right thing and cut it back to only 3/4 cup. SWEET! Too sweet. No problem. Add some water, and viola! Refreshing iced tea. It only took a few recipes and a small blow to my ego.

I wrote a recipe card for future reference:

"Iced Tea
4 cups boiling water over 8 bags (or 8 tsp.) tea

-steep 5 - 6 min.

Strain out tea and dissolve 1/2 - 3/4 cup sugar in concentrate

Add 4 cups cold water to make 1/2 gallon tea"

Pour over ice and enjoy!


*I actually did quite a mis-calculation. My mom would put 2 cups of sugar in two gallons of iced tea. For half a gallon I should use only 1/2 cup maximum!