Rhubarb Wine

Let the wine experimentation continue! I won't know how this is for 8 months or so, but this way I'll have a reference point for next year for this rhubarb wine. I may make another batch if I can hustle up enough rhubarb - I tasted the leftovers (having learned from the dandelion wine a few weeks ago to add MORE water so as not to come up short) and they are great. A bit beer like, at this stage. Not sweet at all, which I am quite pleased with. 

This time I followed this recipe, which was easy and had useful tips. I think I've been perusing too many possible wine recipes, and I ordered a couple too many things that I didn't need (like yeast tannin powder, which you don't need if you have a black tea bag). Fruit wine that is not grapes needs tannin, which can come from tea. Camden tablets are also highly recommended post fermentation to stabilize fruit wine, prevent it from turning brown, and to preserve the flavor. So. I racked the wine into the carboy about a week ago, which means I will rack the wine into a new one in three weeks. 6 months later I can rack it into bottles, give it one more month, and it's ready. So, January or February. Sooner than the dandelion wine!

One bonus of this one, you start by creating a rhubarb syrup with just rhubarb and sugar. After three days you strain out the rhubarb, add water and yeast, and let it ferment. Which means you have a sweet rhubarb by-product that I could not resist trying, despite my desire/efforts to not consume sugar. I ate some with some plain goat yogurt to cut the sweetness, and it was quite divine. I composted most of it, but it was a little painful. Next time I'll throw a party for my sugar-eating friends to eat up that goodness!

Photos show the cut up rhubarb in a 5 gallon bucket, first plain, then with sugar. This is the syrup making in action! (Under cover of a towel.) I neglected to take a photo of the syrupy finish.

*And again, add even more water than directed because you also lose some in the racking. I am going to add an extra full quart next time. Hopefully that doesn't sacrifice flavor.

Dandelion Wine

Dandelion heads were popping all over the place over the last 10 days, and I was able to harvest a bunch of them on a prime sunny morning. Laborious petal plucking ensued shortly after (you need to de-petal within a quick amount of time because the flower heads start to close up); with the company of friends, it was a splendid spring activity, though I neglected to take any photos. *I did have to freeze the first round and go pick the rest on day 2. Next was soaking the petals in water, straining them out, then adding sugar, raisins, fruit and yeast. The concoction bubbled away in my kitchen all last week, sometimes sounding like a gentle rain storm. It was very active.

One week later and upon the quietening of the fermentation, I strained the mixture into a glass 1 gallon carboy with airlock. There it will sit for 2-3 months before I rack it off into some wine bottles for the final 6-9 month stretch. I am looking forward to trying this wine, and am planning to make a rhubarb one in the coming weeks so that I can have a bit of a "local" wine tasting. Local being my yard, plus some extra dandelions from a neighbor in the buy nothing group and some from the Oromo church down the street. I'd like to find some elderberries to try a wine from those too, despite that getting a little farther away!

You do need some wine making supplies for this recipe, namely wine yeast, a 1 gallon carboy and an airlock, and brewing sanitizer. Some people skip the carboy/airlock and sanitizer, and just pour into clean wine bottles with balloons on top, which means really you just need yeast. Ideally I'd love to make wine with natural yeasts, but to start, I'm adding it in.

I mainly followed this primary recipe, and relied on this secondary one as well. I wanted to make just one gallon for my novice try, though it ended up being about 3 quarts only, in the end. We'll see how that fares. 

Dandelion petals!

My main notes to myself:

• It was a pain to strain the wine a 2nd time (also more sediment b/c I could not rack it), so I think next time I will follow the secondary instructions, modifying the amounts to = 1 gallon. (Unless mine turns out totally amazing, in which case I will just stick with it!)
• I will start with more water next time, too much boiled off or got strained out (this may also be a result of double straining and boiling, again I'll go for the secondary instructions next time). When I researched what to do with all the extra space, it seems that it is okay for the early fermentation process as long as there is an airlock. But if it were in a corked bottle, that much surface area would not be good. I am guessing this will get me 3 full bottles, but likely not 4.
  
• I did sanitize my carboy and will sanitize bottles/the tubing for racking the wine. I just don't want to risk it, but people do.
• Other recipes recommend a ratio of 1 gallon dandelion petals for 1 gallon of wine. This is a little less and depending on how it turns out, I want to add more next time.

Fruit peel and dandelion petals simmering in water

Bubbling wine concoction!

Spiced Honey Bourbon Old Fashioned

My covid Christmas Eve plans involved sharing a couple of cocktails with a few friends, and a zoom call in which to drink said cocktails and eat dinner together. We shared some stories and read a Moomin adventure of Midwinter, which seemed fitting. My contribution was an old fashioned with a  honey simple syrup spiced with rosemary, cardamom, ginger and cinnamon. I topped it off with a few bourbon cherries that I put away last summer, and a sprig of rosemary from the rosemary plant in my kitchen. It was delicious. The rosemary addition really hits the spot - more winter spiced, somehow. Afterwards I ate the ginger and chewed on the rosemary from the simple syrup making - honey coated goodness! 

The original recipe uses a bit more juice than I did and is served up; I had mine over ice and I added the cherries and a little of their liquid, hence the red hue. Mine was perhaps stronger than the original, which could be remedied with a bit more juice. I forgot to take a final drink photo, but it was the perfect thing to make in a larger batch and pour servings over ice. Imagine this concoction in a glass with a lemon peel, rosemary, and cherries.

Spiced Honey Syrup, serves 6

• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, plus more for serving
• 2 cinnamon sticks (or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon)
• 1 tablespoon cardamom pods (or 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom)
• 1 inch fresh ginger, sliced
• zest of 1 orange

Old Fashioned (for 1 - multiply by 6 to make large batch)

• 2 ounces (1/4 cup) bourbon
• 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) lemon juice
• 1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) orange or clementine juice
• 1-2 dashes orange bitters
• 1-2 ounces (2-4 tablespoons) spiced honey syrup
• Garnish: bourbon cherries, rosemary, & orange or lemon peel 

 

To make the spiced honey syrup: In a medium pot, bring 1/2 cup water, the honey, rosemary, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger to a boil over high heat. Boil 2-3 minutes, then remove from the heat. Stir in the orange zest and vanilla. Let cool. This syrup makes enough for about 6 drinks.

 

Mix all ingredients together (can do this in a larger batch if making en masse) in a glass with ice. Stir, and  garnish with bourbon cherries (opt), rosemary sprig, and lemon peel.

Cocktails and Meatballs

I am having some indulgence with myself tonight and made a fancy cocktail, titled the White Lady, which I think is super funny. I am a person socialized as white, or white-bodied, and I do identify as such, and also am socialized as a "lady" or woman, though I identify as queerly gendered. So. A toast to you, White Lady, of which I have some appreciation and trepidation both. The cocktail choice really came about after I looked at my liquor cabinet (aka, the ledge at the top of the basement stairs next to the cobweb duster) and saw gin and Cointreau, and then typed those 2 words into DuckDuckGo's search engine. Behold, White Lady Cocktail. Which is strong, as straight up cocktails tend to be, and quite tasty.

White Lady and I communed while "Czech Pork Meatballs" (from Mel Joulwan) cooked in the oven, alongside reheated squash and beet soup. (Because right now, it is all squash, beets, and carrots!) The meatballs are a really easy and simple caraway/mustard affair that was tasty with aforementioned sides and some sauerkraut. I did not have parsley, but that would make things more top notch. 

White Lady

1 1/2 ounces gin 

3/4 ounce Cointreau (or another orange-flavored liqueur, though that will tinge your white-ish cocktail) 

3/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice 

lemon twist, for garnish

1. Add the gin, Cointreau, and lemon juice to a cocktail shaker. Fill two-thirds with ice, cover, and shake vigorously until well-chilled, about 15 seconds.

2. Strain into a chilled coupe glass and garnish with a lemon twist.

 

Meatballs

• 1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)

• 1/2 tablespoon salt

• 1 tablespoon caraway seeds

• 1 teaspoon ground paprika

• 1 tablespoon ground black pepper

• 1 cup fresh parsley leaves, minced (about 1/4 cup)

• 1 tablespoon grainy mustard

• 2 pounds ground pork

  Mix everything together with your hands and form into 1" meatballs. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes (or cook on the stovetop). Serve with kraut!
  

Peach Shrub

I've been revisiting Sandor Katz's Wild Fermentation book and finding all sorts of amusements and possible future fermentation fun. Had I read it a week ago I might have tried making daylily wine, but I need to acquire a few things before I try wine making, and my daylilies have peaked and are starting to dwindle.

One amusement is Katz's talk about vinegar and shrubs - a soft drink of sorts (pre-carbonated sodas) made with vinegar and fruit. I had recently tried making this shrub after my friend served it to me with bourbon and bubbly water some weeks ago. It is peach season, though I have not had any MN peaches yet, and this shrub is quite tasty with some fresh mint. I ended up increasing the amount of vinegar and decreasing the sugar a bit, and I found that I like this best with bubbly water, no alcohol. I also want to try switchel sometime, not quite a shrub, but similar: vinegar, sugar, molasses and ginger that you then add bubbly water to.

I finished my peach shrub today amidst a labor intensive day of chopping wood followed by digging up part of the yard for a retaining wall. It was at large root number 7 (or so) where I decided a peach soda beverage was in order (gatorade-hydration-energy-boost-style) so that I could complete the digging before the landscaper truck person finished his job next door and came with his front loader to load all my dirt fill. I made it just in time.

The peach shrub recipe comes from Smitten Kitchen, where it is used in her "Bourbon Peach Smash" recipe. My version (with the option of a little less sugar and more cider vinegar) is below.

Peach Shrub

1 large very ripe peach, pitted, thinly sliced
1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1-3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Pinch of salt

Place peach slices in a jar, cover with sugar, water, 1-3 tablespoons vinegar (more may help for a longer steeping time, less if you are worried about vinegar taste), and a pinch of salt. Place lid on jar, give it a swish/shake until mixed and let chill in fridge for 3 hours, overnight, or up to 1 week.
*I had mine 2 weeks using 3 T vinegar, and that lasted just fine. I did like the shrub better at the end than the beginning, so maybe it was more mellow by then?

Serve with bubbly water and fresh mint. Add some bourbon if you want to try that.

Bourbon Sour Cherries

The sour cherries are prolific! I will not be able to try these for 6 weeks, but I feel fairly confident that they will be delicious because my friend makes a similar recipe each year and I've had at least a couple of Manhattens with her cherries and a splash of the syrup. The more traditional option for this would be brandy, but I only had bourbon and didn't feel like a trip to the store, so bourbon cherries it is. These will be excellent in some future cocktails, or atop some dessert, if you like that kind of thing.

This recipe makes about 1 quart. I had a little liquid leftover, and more cherries, so I made a mini jar which will be a nice gift somewhere down the line. This recipe came from an online search, though I modified her technique to be more simple and with less dishes!

Bourbon Cherries
1 1/2 pounds of sour cherries, pitted
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup water
juice of one lemon
4 cardamom pods
2 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup bourbon or brandy

1. In a small saucepan, heat sugar, water, lemon juice, spices and bourbon until boiling. Turn off heat and stir so that sugar dissolves. Let cool 10 minutes or so.
2. Fill a quart jar with pitted cherries and pour cooled sugar-bourbon-syrup over the top. Use a small strainer to catch the spices so they do not go into the jar. Cover cherries with enough liquid so they are not exposed to air. Put lid on jar and leave in the fridge for 6 weeks to get the best flavor.
3. After 6 weeks, your cherries and bourbon syrup are ready. They will keep in the fridge for a year.

Ginger turmeric golden milk

I've been making this tea often over the past week. It feels soothing and comforting amidst these times of uncertainty and loneliness and confusion, especially during the cold spell and snow of late. Turmeric and ginger reduce inflammation, ease depressive symptoms, and boost immunity - this tea is just the thing right now!

This is how I make mine - adjust anything to suit your tastes. I don't strain this tea because I like having the chewy ginger bits as I finish my cup. It's a bit thicker this way, so you could also pour your tea through a tea strainer or mesh sieve. I've been sweetening mine with honey under the auspices that it helps my allergy symptoms! Which while technically true, I also like having some sweet in there.

Ginger Turmeric Golden Milk, makes 2 cups
3/4 c coconut milk (half a can)
1 1/4 c water
1-2" knob of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 tsp turmeric
pinch of salt
pinch of black pepper
1/4 tsp cardamom or cinnamon
1-2 tsp honey

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer on low heat. The longer you simmer the more gingery the tea.

Paleo Hot Chocolate

Well, I keep thinking that I am going to do a Whole30 again any day now, but I don't seem ready yet. I'm not quite in the holiday feasting mode, but I'm still consuming a fair share of chocolate. Yum! Including some hot chocolate that I have refined to a fine art to make the most stellar cup.

I also want to share my song of the week here (occasionally I get obsessed with a song and listen to it on repeat): O Superman by Laurie Anderson. You can play the video while you consider making a cup of hot chocolate. I don't know why I love this song so much, but I really do. It makes me want to find a group of other people so that we can do our own acapella version of it.

My friend and fellow blogger Jane first inspired the paleo hot chocolate - she made me a delicious cup that helped me see the wonder of coconut milk hot cocoa (previously I was sort of dismayed to not use any dairy cream in there). My recipe includes a honey/stevia combo - but you could easily sub one or the other. I like this best with pretty equal ratios of coconut milk to water but you can use whatever ratio you like.

Paleo Hot Chocolate (1 serving)
4 oz coconut milk
5 oz water
pinch of good quality salt
1 tsp honey
4 drops stevia
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 heaping tsp cocoa powder (sugar free)
1/8 tsp vanilla
ground nutmeg

1. Heat coconut milk and water in a small saucepan over medium heat. As it is heating, add the honey, stevia, salt, and cinnamon.
2. Once the liquid is steaming (so that you can see the steam rising up), whisk/stir in the cocoa powder. Doing it at this stage (when the milk is steaming) helps the cocoa powder to dissolve and mix thoroughly so you don't get clumps.
3. Continue stirring until hot chocolate just barely starts to simmer. Add vanilla extract and sprinkle nutmeg (the freshly ground stuff is the best) on top. Pour in a mug and sip decadently.

Rhubarb Lemonade (sugar-free)

I had meant to post this recipe much earlier in the summer during rhubarb season.  But, as usual, the summer has been flying by and I am just getting to it.  My rhubarb plant, as you can see, was huge this year.  So, I had been on the hunt for a recipe to use all of this wonderful rhubarb, one without sugar.  I stumbled upon a post that mentioned rhubarb lemonade and it sounded like a great idea.  This is the concoction I came up with, which is basically rhubarb and lemon juice.

I love picking things from the garden and immediately using them in a recipe.  It is the joy of my summer.  Here is a bunch of rhubarb I pulled just last week.  I figured that since we got such a late start with the growing season this year it would still be good, even on July 10th.

Rhubarb Puree Ingredients:

4-6 cups Rhubarb- chopped

juice from 3-4 lemons

1/4-1/2 cup water

In a large pot combine rhubarb and water.  Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it softens.  Add the lemon juice and cook for a few more minutes.  Let it cool before pureeing with a hand blender.  Put in jars to cool in the fridge over night or longer.  Now you have a wonderful rhubarb puree.  I use the puree to make a cool ice drink in the Vitamix, or high powered blender.  Combine a few spoonfuls of the puree with ice, a little water and about 6 drops of Stevia.  Process until smooth.  I like to serve this with fresh strawberries to add an extra sweetness.

Enjoy a cool summer treat!

Beet Kvass

Beet Kvass in a "juice" glass - what a color!

I had some store-bought, "Angelica's Garden" beet kvass a few weeks ago - it was served a la red wine while preparing a sort of date-night dinner, and it was REALLY good. (It costs a little more than wine, but you get some good gut flora out of the deal!) It also inspired me to try making my own. It looks like the Angelica's Garden folks add some apple cider/juice and fresh ginger juice right before bottling to give it a little sweetness, which I think would be an amazing next experiment. So far, I have only had this straight up, and I give it two thumbs up. It's just a little fizzy, rich and savory/sweet like wine, with a taste of earthy beets that is not too strong. I so far can't drink a whole glass - this is more of a 4 oz. sort of deal. But it's good. And WAY easier than kombucha, with perhaps more nutrition.

I followed Sally Fallon's beet kvass recipe. When I went to look up kvass in Salvador Katz's fermentation book, his kvass was made from bread?! Apparently both bread and beet versions are traditional - I had no idea.

Getting the whey!

I am going to try making kvass some more (maybe sometime without added whey) - but decided to go with using whey to get the culture started. I have not really had much dairy other than heavy cream for the last long while, so it was a bit of an adventure picking out which cultured dairy product to use to get my whey from. I thought about a coconut yogurt, but even the plain ones had cane sugar and weird stuff in there, so I went with some goat milk kefir. I had a swig of it too, and it was really delicious. You could also use juice from homemade/live cultured sauerkraut or any other fermented something you have around.

To get whey, use any yogurt or kefir that has live cultures in it. Put the cultured yogurt/cream/kefir in cheese cloth, or in a coffee melita thing over a cup to separate the "curds" and "whey" - though really you will be having whey and what ends up being like cream cheese. You only need 1/4 c whey, but it does last 6 months in the fridge, so you decide how much whey you want to make. (After you make beet kvass once, you can use leftover kvass as the starter culture.) I ate my "leftover" cream cheese stuff with some frozen blueberries and it was amazing.

Beet Kvass
2 large beets or 3 medium sized ones, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 c. whey (see above)
2-3 tsp salt
filtered water
2 quart jars or a 1/2 gallon jar

Put all ingredients in jar/s and stir well (I shook them up with their lids on). Set sealed jars on counter for 2-8* days. The Kvass is ready to drink as soon as it is chilled, or right away if you don't mind it at room temp.

*My kvass took 8 days to get the full flavor, though the recipe says 2 days. It's been pretty cool in my house, so I would guess 2-3 days is great for full on August heat, whereas 8 days fits for this cool/cold springtime. I tasted mine every couple of days: early on, it was a light pink and tasted like salty water with some whey. It started to lose the salty taste after about 5 days, and finally started to get a little fizz going on right at day 7 or 8. You can certainly call yours done at any phase, but I was really happy waiting for the bit of fizziness without any sort of salt taste. By then it was a nice rich red color.

Note - reuse the beets another 1-2 times for more kvass. Instead of using whey, you can use some of the kvass you just made as the "starter culture." I have not tried it yet, but you can than eat the beets on salad or however you like. Nothing goes to waste!

Ginger Lemon Tea

I started drinking this tea a couple of months ago and now I have it first thing most mornings. I love the spicy heat of the ginger, and the nice tartness of the lemon. It's invigorating, and also warming - which I suppose is nice for these ongoing snowy days! Originally I started making the tea for one individual cup, but that quickly gave way to the easier method of making one large batch that lasts several days. I think the larger batch utilizes the ginger best - it gets extra firey. (You can dilute as needed!) I do only add the lemon fresh though - I just squeeze about 1/3 to 1/2 a lemon each morning and add it to my mug.

Makes 4 cups/1 quart:
4 1/2 cups water
3" piece of ginger, peeled and micro-planed
2 lemons

Add water and micro-planed ginger to a pot on medium heat. (I encourage micro-planing because it seems to pull the most from the ginger. You can also make this by chopping or grating the ginger finely.) Bring to a boil, than cover and turn to low for 20-25 minutes.

Pour the tea through a strainer to remove all the ginger bits, and store in a quart jar in the fridge. For a cup of hot tea, heat up a mug's worth of the ginger-infused water (diluted with more water if you prefer). Once it is hot, add the fresh juice of 1/2 lemon (or a bit less if that is too tart) and drink!

Chicory "coffee"

A couple of weeks ago I discovered chicory root "coffee" - really, it is a root and more of a tea, but this is the most coffee like substance that is not coffee that I have ever had. (I will note that I have only been drinking decaf for the past two years, and not everyday, so maybe that affects things?)

I have been getting roasted chicory root in bulk at either the Seward ($18/lb - it's organic) or the Wedge ($13.30/lb - conventional), and I mix it with another tea of some kind. Straight up chicory is a little strong for me - it's bitter and rich and feels high octane - but I love it as a blend. I've become a bit obsessed lately, and I have a cup with almost every meal.

Apparently chicory is found wild throughout the United States, including Minnesota. The purple flowers and tall height seem easy to spot, so I will keep my eye out. There is a nice post from Hunter Angler Gardner Cook about his experience growing chicory and roasting it to make the coffee/tea. I am intrigued to try to find some root 9or look into growing it?) and roast it because the roasting smell sounds amazing, in addition to the tastiness.

So, in the meanwhile, if you procure yourself some chicory, my method of preparation is similar to cowboy coffee.

Chicory in St Paul

For one 8oz mug:
1 tsp roasted chicory
1 tsp or 1/2 tea bag of tea of choice

Put the water, chicory and tea in a small pot on the stove. Heat it just until it starts to simmer, then turn the heat to low to have a low simmer for a minute or so. Remove from heat and strain out the tea/chicory through a tea strainer.

This is the dairy free cream - it is like whipped cream!

The tea will be very dark - the chicory is almost inky black, more so than coffee. I like it with lots of cream. I also tried it with this dairy free cream that is really thick - it was really good in this beverage - it made it taste almost chocolatey. 

My favorite teas to use in combo with chicory are:
Twig (very slightly caffeinated, sold in bulk at the Wedge or in boxes at the Seward)
Yogi Tahitian Vanilla Hazelnut
Rooibus or Vanilla Rooibus
Decaf Green Tea

I have not liked a combo with anything fruity - it doesn't go with the bitterness of the chicory to me. You could also go with a coffee/chicory blend, which seems to be the most common way to have chicory. If you try that, use 1 T coffee with the 1 tsp chicory. Enjoy!

Eggnog (paleo-ish)

I love eggnog - especially in my (decaf) coffee. I made some for the first time this week, and it is SO easy. I found several recipes online, but settled on this conglomeration of a few. I went ahead and used raw egg yolks, but there are plenty of recipes out there that heat the nog if you prefer.

For 2 servings:
4 egg yolks
1 c. coconut milk
1 c. heavy cream
1-2 T. honey (depending on your taste)
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg

Blend egg yolks in blender. Add coconut milk and honey (my honey is the raw kind, so I have to heat it up with a little water so it is liquid!) and blend. Add vanilla, spices and heavy cream and blend for a couple of pulses (you don't want to whip the cream - it gets too fluffy).

Sprinkle a little nutmeg on top, and serve! You can chill it for up to a few days as well (probably longer, but I always drink it by day 2).

Iced Coffee!

A week or two ago I read this article in the New York Times about Japanese Ice Drip Coffee versus cold press. Apparently it is a big debate in New York, though it seems that we here in the midwest are a bit behind because I have never heard of this ice drip before. But you know, I only drink decaf, and you really can't get decaf cold press (nor do I want to make such a big batch), so I was excited to try this out as an iced beverage option.

This one is super fancy - but illustrates the idea.

The whole concept is to use 1 oz of coffee beans ground to the consistency of sand with 8oz of ice and 8oz of boiling water. You want to drip the coffee right over the ice so that the coffee chills immediately, sort of sealing in all of the flavor. This is why this method is different than just chilling regular coffee pot coffee.

 My version is less fancy: this over a mug of ice

Anyway - my first attempt turned out delicious. I added some cream and coconut milk to mine, but it would be good on its own too. The video is especially helpful to get the whole idea, especially about slowly pouring the hot water over the grounds.Yum. It's steamy hot out and I am about to go up north for a few days where it will be much cooler, and this was a delightful way to start out this vacation-y morning. It's also easier than cold press, and I like that you can make individual cups. So. Ice drip! Hurray!

Margarita - sugar free style

This weekend is going to be HOT again, which for me may mean some mid-afternoon scurrying to Lake Nokomis to jump in the lake and cool off, and some lounging in front of the fan while sipping cool beverages. Also, I have friends coming for the weekend, AND I have next week off. So, really, it is a festive feeling happening over here in my self.

With the heat and festivity, I am finding some yearning for a fizzy cocktail - of the alcoholic variety. If a person wants to be grain free, the only grain-free alcohol (besides wine and pure hard cider) is tequila. I haven't really been drinking much lately, but I had one of these last weekend and it definitely satisfied my need for a "cocktail" type experience. Paleo guy Robb Wolf created this recipe for the "NorCal Margarita" - it is a super simple recipe and tastes really nice and refreshing. It is a wee bit strong (I thought), so if you are after a pleasantly buzzy head, this will do it!

NorCal Margarita 
long pour of tequila (no need for top shelf stuff)
juice of 1 lime
soda water
ice

So by long pour I mean more than a shot, but less than 2 (I like el Jimador). Mix the tequila and lime juice together - in a shaker with ice, or just stir it up in your glass. Add some ice cubes, and top off with soda water to your taste bud liking. You can garnish with a lime too.

Gingerale and Mustard (not together)

I just finished Jennifer Reese's "Make the Bread, Buy the Butter" - a cookbook of sorts that compares the cost and difficulty of making things yourself versus buying it at the store. I thought it was a great book - sometimes I was shocked by what she said to make (croissants?!), but I found it really useful for things like condiments (mustard and horseradish). Which I was then inspired to make. I also got inspired to try making gingerale with yeast.

Ginger-ale first. She says that homemade, this costs $1.59 for 2 liters, versus $1.79 for Canada Dry, and the taste of homemade is superior. My two taste testers and I agreed that this soda would be DELICIOUS in some kind of mixed drink...with gin or something, because the ginger is stronger, and because it is still sweet but not overly sweet, and definitely not like canada dry. It isn't like Reed's gingerbrew either though - a little less fizzy. I say it is worth trying once. *I wanted to try making it with less sugar, or with a mix with honey and stevia, but I am not sure how it would turn out since the yeast eats the sugar in order to produce the fizz. So, I went with exact recipe amounts.

Gingerale
juice of 1 lemon
2 T finely grated fresh ginger
1 c. sugar
1/4 t. instant yeast cold water

*You will also need a plastic 2 Liter bottle and funnel sort of thing. I used tin foil! (A glass jar will explode and a plastic water jug does not seal tight enough, so go with the standard pop bottle.)

Pour lemon juice into bottle via "funnel." Add ginger, sugar, and yeast.

Pour in water to fill bottle and cap tightly. Gently shake.

Let sit out at room temp for 24-36 hours, until the bottle is very firm to the touch. Refrigerate.

It is ready to drink when it is cold! (It only lasts a couple of days once opened, so be prepared to drink up.)



The other thing I tried was homemade stone ground mustard. I go through this stuff like crazy (mostly in salad dressings) - so I was excited to try it. Reese says that this costs $0.22/T for the homemade version, versus $0.33/T for grey poupon. I am not sure the cost for the organic stuff from the co-op, but i will look it up next time I go. To me this mustard tasted GREAT. Really. It is a little spicy, and pretty similar to store bought mustard, but fresher and more potent.

Mustard
1/2 c. yellow mustard seeds
2 T. dry mustard
1/3 c. vinegar + 1 T. (I tried a mix of white and apple cider vinegars)
1 T. sugar (optional)
1 t. kosher salt
2 garlics, peeled (*me and garlic are not friends, so I left this out)

1. Grind seeds in a spice grinder (aka coffee grinder) with the dry mustard. It will look like wheat germ - the seeds will not totally break down. (Mine actually was a little finer than wheat germ - so I guess my seeds did break down. huh.)
2. Put seed mixture in a bowl and add 1/2 c. water. Mix together. Cover and let rest overnight.
3. Scrape mixture into a blender or food processor and add rest of ingredients. Liquify. Scrape down the sides and add more vinegar if the consistency is too thick.
4. Store in a jar in the fridge - but DON'T EAT for at least a week.
Makes 1 1/2 cups

*You will notice a lack of mustard photos...this is because my computer and camera were stolen this weekend and I lost the picture of ground up mustard seeds, and I never took one of the finished product. Alas. My prime motivation to secure another computer and camera is to assist in my fave pastime of blog posting.  Luckily this post was in the works pre-computer absence, but there may be a delay before another post comes around.

The Chilly Spider

Hi, WFDM!

Sorry to be so absent from this blog--I haven't been cooking that much "new" stuff, and I've been focused on my dog blog. (Shameless plug!) Also, I'm pretty sure that I started my last WFDM post like this. Ah well.

Anyway, "The Chilly Spider" is the name that my pal Caitlin and I gave a drink we (well, mostly Caitlin) concocted the other night. I rarely--if ever--deviate from a recipe, much less create my own, but Caitlin went for it and this is the result!

Some sort of fizzy water (we used a lemon La Croix, but I'm sure seltzer or tonic would be good, too)
Whiskey! (We used Jameson)
Ginger (we used powder, but fresh would undoubtedly be better/more flavorful)
Cointreau
Star anise (the spider!)
Agave nectar

Measure how you like (er, to taste) and mix it all up! Add ice!

Lemongrass tea

I love lemongrass, but had never grown it before, or quite figured out how to use it fresh (I bought a package of frozen stuff from United Noodle that lasted over a year). It turns out that the whole plant, leaves included, makes really delicious tea. The stem, which is thicker, can be used for curries or soups by separating off the dry outer layer and just using the super fragrant inside (minced up since it is kind of rough).

The plant grew pretty tall (a couple of feet), and the green and purple leaves are really rough. It also seems to be doing fine in this cool/frost weather, at least for a little longer. It seems that some people bring their plants inside to winter over in the basement or some such. I imagine you could try it as a big house plant too. (!)

There were several recipes I checked out online, and some of them recommended that you use ONLY the leaves for tea because the stem is too bitter. I did not find this at all. I just plucked some stems at the very base of the plant, removed any really dry or withered parts, and then chopped up the whole thing in 2-3" pieces.


I found that the amount of lemongrass can be pretty flexible, but I tend to go with 10 leaves (roughly three stalks) to 6 cups of water (enough for 4 cups of tea). Just put the leaves and water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, and then lower the heat to simmer for about 10 minutes. Strain out the leaves and drink!


I have to say, I LOVE this tea. I'd have it every day if I had a bigger plant. The tea is nice and lemony, but with a full flavor that is way beyond the citrus lemon. It is delicious with cream and honey, and also nice plain.

Breakfast Smoothie

I was leary of using raw eggs in drinks...I remember seeing movies where health-nutty people would drink raw eggs before going for their run or something, and it always seemed weird.

But, eggnog is made with raw eggs, and I love that - and yesterday when I was not in the mood for any breakfast prep, but needed something substantial, I took the dive and blended up some raw eggs. My Charming Companion blends up eggs for smoothies all the time, so I think that helped ease any nerves I had about salmonella. And now I am sort of hooked - the addition of eggs makes this drink more filling and super creamy. Well, that and the heavy cream. I have officially switched over to the full fat side of life (more so when I am eating not a lot of carb stuff, which I sometimes do). This drink turns out to be a cross between eggnog, orange julius, and mango lassi.

Breakfast Smoothie
1/2 c. frozen mango (banana or any other frozen fruit)
2 eggs
3 T. apple cider (or juice, OJ would work too)
splash of vanilla
pinch of nutmeg
1/2 c. cream or coconut milk

Blend up the frozen fruit in the blender first, then add everything else but the cream (just to make sure the cream doesn't whip into a frenzy) and blend some more. Add cream and blend for 10 seconds. Drink!

Cucumber-Lime Drink

This humidity is helping me to become very familiar with all kinds of chilled beverage options: iced tea, kombucha, coconut water, la croix... But sometimes I want something more festive. I was thinking about this while staring into the fridge on one of the recent 90 degree days when my eyes landed on the cucumbers.

These cukes are just starting to take off at the northside homestead - soon they'll be competing with the zucchini for garden space. They are already jack-and-the-beanstalk-like on the back trellis; that trellis is as tall as me, but the plants are reaching to get to the fence, the green beans, anything really. And the leaves are so thick it's hard to find the fruit - note the particularly large one that was hiding! ha.

Anyway, some internet searching lead me to this recipe from Bon Appetit. It uses fresh green grapes and mint along with the cucumber and lime. I used coconut water instead of grapes, and I added in a little sweetener. It was slushy-like and totally refreshing! After freezing what was left in a jar, I took it out the next day to de-freeze. Being too thirsty and hot to wait, I added sparkling water to facilitate the melting process. I actually liked that even better. Really, this is like a better version of lemonade...or at least the local version (um, if we had lime). I made it one more time, this time with 1 part cucumber blend to 1 part seltzer water. So refreshing!!