Mexican Hot Cocoa Mix

Many ions ago I came up with a hot cocoa mix that my husband loved but I was OK with.  Recently a friend who frequents my house wanted some hot cocoa and was not nearly as excited by it as my husband is.  So, I decided it was time to come up with a mix that I love.

INGREDIENTS
3/8 c cocoa powder
3/8 c raw sugar
1/2 c powdered milk
1 t cinnamon
1/2 vanilla powder
1/8 t chipotle
1/8 t nutmeg

DIRECTIONS
*  Mix 1/4 c into a large mug with hot water


NOTES:
*  This was inspired by my love of Mexican Hot Chocolate and http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/mexican-spiced-hot-chocolate/

Mojitos

I am not one to normally post cocktails.  After trying to find the right Mojito recipe for Aurora I had to post it.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 lime
4 large mint leaves
1 T simple syrup 2:1 raw sugar:water
1 1/2 oz rum
4 ice cubes
1/2 c seltzer water

DIRECTIONS

1)  quarter 1/2 lime

2)  put 3 lime wedges, mint leaves and simple syrup in glass and use a muddler to juice lime and bruise mint

3)  add ice

4)  pour rum over ice followed by seltzer water

5)  stir if necessary, serve while still cold

Peach Sangria

Aurora and I set out to make Bobby Flays White Peach Sangria when we discovered we did not have all of the required ingredients.  So we did what we do best and improvised and came up with a darn good sangria.


Peach Sangria

Ingredients

1 c pineapple juice
1 c peach juice
1 c orange juice
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c brandy
1/4 c triple sec
1 750 ml bottle white wine

Directions

1) mix all ingredients until sugar is disolved

2)  chill before service

Sangria

Sangria is a drink of legend.  It helps fight off scurvy or provides romance in Spain.  One of my readers shared her awesome Sangria recipe that is a variation of the Sangria recipe in Betty Crocker Bridal Edition Cookbook.

Ingredients
2 750 ml bottles semi-dry red wine
1/4 c brandy
1 1/3 c lemon juice
1 c orange juice
2/3 c sugar
1 lemon sliced

Directions
mix ingredients and refrigerate overnight

serve chilled with lemon slices on the glasses

Please enjoy and share with friends and great times.

Anthoinette

Mead, no longer a vial liquid sitting in my basement that I detest

Here is the update. Thanks to a few of my members Bardic Forest and James de Hagethorn for giving me some well needed advise on mead. Today I racked it for the first time and got a lot of bubbles, which I take as a good sign. I also used the Hydrometer and got readings from 28 to 31 and 65 on the Melomel with Pomegranate. I think that is good. I will keep track of the readings every time I rack the mead. I also added the nutrient and energizer that we previously bought, can't hurt, right? Yes I know I should have gotten the hydrometer reading before any fermentation. The flavors: the melomel has a soft fuzzy sweet and rich flavor, where as the meads vary between a definite mead, to apply and then a fuzzy mead flavor. I am feeling a lot better about this project and am looking forward to racking it again next month. Thank you for your support and patience. Anthoinette

Mead, the good, bad and ugly of getting started

This post is more for my own sanity than for actual information, that is unless you plan on making mead. Earlier this month I took a class on making mead and was inspired to try my hand at it. We were told you need bottles, airlocks, sanitizer, honey, distilled water and yeast, with some nutrients and energizer for the yeast. When we go to get the yeast and other supplies from a wine making shop we are given a bunch of information completely contrary to what I was told in the class. O.K. we can deal with this, it sounds good. OOPS our bottles are too small and my husband wants more information. So we go to another wine shop where they basically tell us completely different information than either my class or the other person. My husband buys a book. We put the mead and 1 melomel together, careful to follow the directions that we think are correct. Thursday comes and we only see minimal proof of any kind of fermentation. So, back to store 2 to get more yeast. Where the guy gives us more information, tells us that we need to know some kind of gravity to determine the sweetness of the start product and finished product and that it is not an issue that we haven't seen any real movement of fermentation yet?????HUH??????I have no idea how the thickness of the beginning process tells us how sweet it is. Then he proceeds to tell me that you HAVE TO ADD SULFITES TO ANY BREWED PRODUCT LIKE MEAD OR WINE!!!!! BULL$#!+!!!!! At which point I explain to him not only are there wines on the market that have no added or detectable sulfites but that the added sulfites and naturally occuring sulfites bond differently and the added ones are the sulfites that cause people issues. He finally offers me a different option of preservation at the end of potassium sorbate. So, I guess what we have learned is that no two people are able to agree on one method of making mead. So, if you plan on doing any brewing either get a book or only ask 1 person, because if you ask more you will end up confused, frustrated and broke!!!! Tomorrow we are planning on re-bottling the mead, adding the new yeast and adding nutrient and energizer. We will see how that goes. Thank you for reading my MEAD rant. Anthoinette

Caramel Coffee Liquere

CATEGORY: Beverages Recipe Name: Carmel Coffee Liquer Ingredients: 1 c whole coffee bean (sumatra is excellent) 1 1/2 c vodka 1 c water 2 c raw sugar Steps: * mix sugar, coffee and water and bring to boil * let mixture cool * add vodka and let sit for 1 month ***QUICK METHOD*** *boil coffee beans in 3 c water until it boils down to 1 c *strain out beans * mix coffee with sugar and let cool * mix with vodka and bottle NOTES: The quick method is not quite as rich as the slow method, but will make most people just as happy. ***PEPPERMINT SCHNAPPS*** CATEGORY: Beverages Recipe Name: peppermint schnapps Ingredients: 1 c water 2 c sugar 1/2 c loose mint leaves 1 1/2 c vodka Steps: * bring water, sugar and mint leaves to a boil * stir until sugar is completely dissolved then cool until tepid * Pour in a bottle a bottle, straining out mint leaves top with vodka NOTES: This does not need to be aged just start enjoying. This will last on the shelf for at least 6 months, I would say years is likely.

Tonic, from one of my readers

Try our rejuvenating New Year’s Tonic 2 parts burdock root 1 part dandelion leaf2 parts echinacea (cut & sifted)1 part ginger root (cut & sifted)1 part licorice root cut & sifted1 part nettle leaf (cut & sifted)2 parts red clover blossoms 2 parts sarsaparilla Combine herbs and mix well. To make tea, use 2 teaspoons herb blend per cup of water. Steep for 5 to 7 minutes and strain. Drink up to 4 cups per day. Don't let what you can't do interfere with what you can do!

Mulled Cider

Mulled Cider does not have to be boring, overly sweet or difficult to make. It really doesn't make a difference if you start out with fresh apple juice or a concentrate. Just make certain there is no sugar added as that will ruin your efforts. CATEGORY: Beverages Recipe Name: mulled cider Ingredients: 2 cans apple juice concentrate, no sugar added 4 delicate cinnamon sticks 1 nutmeg 1/2 T cloves Steps: *make apple juice with hot water in a crock pot or coffee maker as this needs to be kept warm for cooking and service *place cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg in a teaball and steep in apple juice for a minimum of 1/2 hour and leave in for service

Coquito -a.k.a. Puerto Rico Egg Nog

CATEGORY: Beverages Recipe Name: Coquito (ko-key-toe) Ingredients: 2 cans sweetened condensed milk 2 cans evaporated milk 1 can coconut milk 1 1/2 c rum, not 151 6 eggs 1 t cinnamon 1/2 t nutmeg 1/4 t clove Steps: mix in 2 batches in blender refrigerate NOTES: If made with whiskey instead of rum it is pronounced (Ca-Key-Ta)

Medicinal Teas - from one of my readers

I have Medicinal Tea recipes for almost everything. Some may have spices in. If they work, I have to say maybe not. But you can have fun trying. I have a bunch of different herbs for tea's. Mainly Medicinal herbs. For Just Tea look at what your local grocer has. Also in Food club marts, health food stores and on line there are several that they have in bulk and are mixed quite nicely for you. When I first met James I was doing a Home School Class to become an Herbalist. The books got to expensive so I dropped it. I was trying a lot of different herbs to see if they would help me and the way my health was going down hill. After I had My Daughter my body went down pretty fast. You can grow your own herbs for tea's or buy them. There are a lot of places to buy them. http://www.frontiercoop.com/products/teas.php  But I do recommend that you research what you may be using the herb's for. And if you grow them research when to plant and most of all when to harvest. Tea's can come in Bulk or sold in bags. In bulk you usually buy it by the oz. or pound. For the bulk I recommend a Infuser, these can be gotten easy enough. I have a 1 1/2 Inch round ball one and the spoon scissor one. Using a Infuser eliminates the need to strain the tea once steeped. Heat water in a Teakettle or just a sauce pan will do also. Some of the recipes I enjoy are below: Regular Green or Black Tea bags 2 tea bags per cup of hot water Steep in hot water with a teaspoon of Splenda and a dollop of Milk. Hot Butter Rum 2/3 cup Brown Sugar 1 t. Chinese Cinnamon 1/2 t. Nutmeg (ground) 1/2 t. Cardamom (Powered) 1/4 t. Allspice (ground) 1/4 t. Cloves (ground) 1/4 t. Lemon oil 6 c. water 2.3 oz. Rum flavoring or a 1 cup of the real Rum 5 t. Butter or use a butter flavoring Heat until boiling, stir every so often. Pour into cups, serve! Vitamin Rich Cocktails To boost the Immune System A Juicer is a must for Cocktails that involve raw veggies. 2 carrots, 1/2 lemon, 1 stalk celery, 1/2 red beet and 1 handful wheat grass. 1 - 2 of these a day. Soothing Tea 3 1/2 oz. Valerian Root 1/2 oz. lemon-balm leaves 2/3 oz. hop cones 1/2 oz. passion flower 1/3 oz. seville orange rind Mix Put 1 T. of blend into a Infuser, add boiling water and steep for 10 - 15 Minutes. Tea for Cough Pour 1 cup boiling water over 2 t. of the following herb mixture and steep for 15 min. 2/3 oz. marshmallow root 2/3 oz. coltsfoot leaves 1/2 oz. linden flowers 1/3 oz. licorice 1/2 oz. iceland moss 2/3 oz/ fennel seed Drink 3-4 cups daily, sweeten with honey if desired. This tea dissolves mucus and relieves the urge to cough. Willow Bark for Pain 1 t. of willow bark 1 cup boiling water willow bark contains an ingredient call Salicylic Acid which is an active ingredient found in aspirin. Sage Wine Steep 4 oz. of sage leaves in dry red or white wine. Let sit for one week at room temperature. Strain out leaves. Take 2 T. daily after main meal. For Fatigue. Marsh-mallow Tea 1 T. Marsh mallow root to 1 cup cold water Let stand 8 hours. Winter Tea 2 t. Echinacea 2 t. rose hips 2 t. chamomile blend together,  2 t. to 1 c. hot water, steep 10 min. SIP only on 4-5 cups a day Relaxing Teas 2 t. lemon balm 2 t. valerian Steep 15 min. drink 1 c. a day This is just some I have to put on the list. I will do more another time. Thanks, Kori Don't let what you can't do interfere with what you can do!

Yorkshire Pudding - Pop overs - Batter Bread

Yorkshire Pudding, also known as popovers in America are a wonderfully simple and delicious treat either warm or cold. A HISTORY LESSON: Yorkshire Pudding originated a long time before it got it's name. It used to be called "batter pudding", which were well known in England in many forms. Here is one of the original printed recipes for Yorkshire Pudding. Hannah Glasse's recipe [1747] "A Yorkshire Pudding. Take a quart of milk, four eggs, and a little salt, make it up into a thick batter with flour, like pancake batter. You must have a good piece of meat at the fire; take a stew-pan and put some dripping in, set it on the fire; when it boils, pour in your pudding; let it bake on the fire till you think it is nigh enough, then turn a plate upside down in the dripping-pan, that the dripping may not be blacked; set your stew-pan on it under your meat, and let the dripping drop on the pudding, and the heat of the fire come to it, to make it of a fine brown. When your meat is done and sent to table, drain all the fat from your pudding, and set it on the fire again to dry a little; then slide it as dry as you can into a dish; melt some butter, and pour it into a cup, and set it in the middle of the pudding. It is an excellent good pudding; the gravy of athe meat eats well with it." ---The Art of Cookery made Plain and Easy, Mrs. Glasse, facsimile 1805 edition, introduced by Karen Hess [Applewood Books:Massachusetts] 1997 (p. 101-2) The recipes that I found call for equal portions, by volume, of eggs, milk and flour combined with a pinch of salt. More modernly you will see recipes that call for baking soda or powder, but these are not traditional. Baking soda and baking powder were not invented until the 19th century. Besides the egg act as it's leavening. You can watch it being made here: http://britishfood.about.com/od/regionalenglishrecipes/r/yorkspuds.htm Here is her written recipe: Ingredients: * 4 large, fresh eggs, measured in a jug * Equal quantity of milk to eggs * Equal quantity of all purpose/plain flour to eggs * Pinch of salt * 2 tbsp lard, beef dripping or vegetable oil Preparation: Serves 6 * Heat the oven to the highest temperature possible, however, do not exceed 450F/230C or the fat may burn. * Pour the eggs and milk into a large mixing bowl and add the pinch of salt. Whisk thoroughly with an electric hand beater or hand whisk. Leave to stand for 10 minutes. * Gradually sieve the same volume of flour (as the eggs) into the milk and egg mixture, again using an electric hand beater or hand-whisk to create a lump free batter resembling thick cream, if there are any lumps pass the batter through a fine sieve. * Leave the batter to rest in the kitchen for a minimum of 30 minutes, longer if possible - up to several hours. * Place a pea-sized piece of lard, dripping or ½tsp vegetable oil in a Yorkshire pudding tin (4 x 2"/5cm hole tin) or 12-hole muffin tin and heat in the oven until the fat is smoking. Give the batter another good whisk adding 2 tbsps of cold water and fill a third of each section of the tin with batter and return quickly to the oven. * Leave to cook until golden brown approx 20 minutes. Repeat the last step again until all the batter is used up. I would have done well to read this before I made mine, as the video says to turn your oven to the highest temperature. That puts my oven at 550, well over the 450 the recipe says not to exceed. It burned the fat to the point that I had to fan out my house for hours, but not enough to ruin the fat, though a few of my puddings did burn.

Making Liqueres

This is once again a trial. None of the peppermint schnapps here are of decent quality, so we decided to make our own. When ever you make a liqueur you will use a simple syrup, flavoring and alcohol. A simple syrup is usually 1 c water + 1 c white sugar bring it to a boil and you have your simple syrup that is excellent for preservation and candying. For the flavoring I have no doubt you can use extracts, but I prefer the real thing whenever possible. If I wanted to do an orange flavored liqueur I would use orange juice concentrate to replace half the water and cut the sugar. When it comes to the alcohol, use the good stuff. If you use the hang over special you will end up with the same swill that you are trying to avoid. We suggest Luksusowa Vodka. It is an excellent potato vodka from Poland and the price can't be beat at under $15 a bottle, depending on location. for this project I modified it by doubling the sugar. Here is the recipe and process. In a pan bring to a boil 1 c water 2 c sugar 1/2 c loose mint leaves stir until sugar is completely dissolved let cool until tepid pour in a bottle a bottle, straining out mint leaves top with 1 1/2 c vodka or everclear. This is fabulous when it is first made. I am looking forward to sharing it with all of our guinea pigs.

Egg Nog

Most people think about brandied eggnog for the holidays. Unfortunately they have to put the alcohol in the egg nog they buy because it is so syrupy sweet. After you try this you will never buy eggnog again. Recipe Name: Egg Nog Ingredients: 1 qt whole milk 4 eggs 3/4 c raw sugar 1/4 c Meyers dark rum 1 t cinnamon 1/4 t clove 1/4 t ginger 1/4 t nutmeg 1/4 t allspice Steps: mix in a blender and keep refrigerated until served NOTES: this will fill 2 750ml wine bottles Even though your blender will be very full with a full batch it will cut down on the foam. Just use the lid.

Hot Cocoa Mix

With the weather turning cold. We got ice last night. It is time for the beverages that warm you to your very soul. So, here is my instant hot cocoa mix. It is easy to make. I have total control of what's in it and it costs less than what you buy in the store. Recipe Name: Hot Chocolate Mix Ingredients: 4 c Sanolac or other powdered milk 2 c cocoa powder 2 c raw sugar 4 t vanilla powder Steps: Mix all together and store in container To make 1 mug of cocoa mix 2 T with hot water and stir to dissolve. NOTES: Other than here, I have not seen vanilla powder. You could probably scrape the seeds from 1 vanilla bean, but I would have to play with that. Add marshmallows as desired. Hot Cocoa should be a warming experience down to your soul. I encourage you to play with this recipe with the cookie cutter spices, ginger, clove, nutmeg, allspice cinnamon or even try a little cayenne. Have fun with it and enjoy.