Pomegranate-Ginger-Chile Nojito Cocktail
Pomegranates are one of the most festive fruits. The deep red color of the arils captures the eye, and the flavor of the juice is a wonder on its own and is very versatile. Though we’ve enjoyed pomegranate juice for a while, this year marks the very first time we ever purchased pomegranates, and as we munched on the arils we wondered how we ever managed without them. Read more
Coffee Concentrate for Iced Coffee
This is a late addition to my July Summer Beverages round-up, but when I saw the post on the Food Network food blog Feeding Frenzy, I had to give it a shot (or two, or three…). Unfortunately their article didn’t give any specific instructions or measurements, so off I went on Google searching for anything I could find on the subject. The New York Times Magazine yielded what I was looking for.
In short, you brew the coffee in cold water over a 12 hour period, and the resulting concentrated coffee can then be used to make iced coffee or add coffee flavor in baked goods. (Mocha brownies, anyone?). Apparently this method has been used for years in the New Orleans area. There is even a gadget by Toddy Products to help make the process easier (of course there is). The company claims that cold-brewed coffee has 67% less acid, making for a much smoother taste. Read more
New Favorites from Other Food Blogs – Summer Beverages
For this July installment of my new favorite finds, I focused on refreshing summer beverages. Each of these are very easy to make and taste delicious on hot days.
- Creamy Brazilian Limeade (From Our Home to Yours) – If you like creamy drinks, then give this a try. Fresh limes are sliced and blended with water with the rind on, then strained and blended with cream, sugar, and more water. Delectable! I’ve made it with half & half, whole milk, and evaporated milk to try to reduce calories. It tastes nicely rich with more fat, but if you are watching your waistline you can use a lower fat option.
- Citronnade à la Menthe (Chocolate & Zucchini) – From Clothilde’s archives, this refreshing water is extremely easy, tasty, and sugar free.
- Ice Tea with Lemon Granita (Love Sicily) – This one from Ronald’s archives is great for a hot day. As he says, you just mix together some lemon ice cubes, water ice cubes, and sugar in a blender. Spoon the mixture into glasses of cold tea and top it off with mint sprigs.
Sweet Iced Tea
Some of my earliest memories are of drinking sweet iced tea. I come from a family of iced tea drinkers, and whether it’s hot or cold, no matter the season, I always have a pitcher of iced tea in my refrigerator. In fact, it’s my preferred summer beverage, even beating out fresh squeezed lemonade. My favorite is Southern sweet iced tea, which is about as Southern as you can get, ranking right up there with fried chicken, barbecue, and biscuits and gravy. I love the strong, sweet tea that my grandmother makes, and I’ve enjoyed many glasses of it over the years. Michael, my New York-born husband, had to adapt to many of my foibles when we got married and Southern iced tea was high on the list, but now he enjoys some iced tea occasionally. Read more
Hot Cranberry Apple Cider
A holiday celebration without hot mulled drinks is just incomplete to me. The fragrance is almost irresistible and just seems to make the holidays even more special. I like this version with a splash of spiced rum, but you can leave out the alcohol and still have a tasty mug of holiday cheer.
[Update: December 2009, featured on Saveur.com in their Best of the Web section!]
HOT CRANBERRY APPLE CIDER
Makes about 3-1/2 quarts.
Equipment
6 quart pot Read more
SHF: Strawberry Lemonade Granita
It’s been hot this summer. Hot. Plus, being 33 weeks pregnant in July is like having your own personal furnace running on high 24/7, so I was thrilled to see that this month’s Sugar High Friday theme was ice. How timely and appropriate!
I love this lemonade recipe from Food & Wine Magazine. It is very refreshing and makes a nice elegant drink for summer parties. So of course I couldn’t resist the idea of making it into granita. I just put the strained mixture into a glass pan and then froze and whisked it a couple times.
The original lemonade recipe says to serve it over ice, which I highly recommend. Even after straining, the drink is still somewhat thick, so the melting ice helps to get it to just the right consistency for sipping. Read more
