Cherry Pomegranate Frozen Margarita

I thought I had posted this here before but apparently not.
So ... here you go !!
The fabulous cherry margarita !

Here's what you need ...

1 tablespoon Tequilla
1 tablespoon Triple Sec
2 tablespoons Pomegranate Juice
A handful of Frozen Fruit
Ice
Sugar, for rim



Yeah, that's blueberries not cherries.
The cherries weren't in a box anymore.
The box looked better for the photo !

Ok ...
Here's what you do.
Put all the ingredients into a blender.
Blend.
Done.
If it's not thick enough, add more fruit.
If it's too thick, add more pom juice.



When Rory makes mine, he rubs lime around the rim and dips it in sugar.
But, usually he's making himself a normal margarita so already has limes cut open.
When I made it the other night, I didn't want to cut a lime just for that so I just used water.

Mmmmmm ... might have one tonight ...

Orange Creamsickle Drink

I'm learning lots of new and delicious things since my sister moved to Australia!

This is one on my favorites.

Orange Soda, 1 can

Vanilla Vodka, 1 shot

Cream, a couple of teaspoons

Fill a glass with ice and orange soda.  Add vanilla vodka and cream. Stir.  Drink and remember the days of childhood ... in the form of orange cream-sickles.  Yum.

Blood Orange Slurpees

 

So simple, so fun.  

The kids love these for a summer treat.

All you need is crushed ice and some sort of liquid.
Fill the cup with the ice, then add the liquid.  Top up with more ice if necessary.

For these we used Schweppes Agrum Blood Orange.

Delicious.

Lemon Soda ... on Lime

Andrea posted this photo on her facebook page on Christmas Day.
I took one look at it and HAD to KNOW what it was !!

Lemon Soda is an Indian drink called Nimbu Pani (thanks for that little bit of info, Gareth!) and all I can say is thank you India ! And thank you Andrea ! It is refreshing and oh so smoooooth ....

For one 16 oz glass:
3-4 tablespoons simple syrup
One muddled lime (sometimes more!)
Fill the rest of the glass with soda water (club soda) or tonic water.
Sprinkle salt.

Put in the freezer for a bit to chill.

You can drink them like that or you can add a "blub" of tequila, gin, vodka or ... whatever floats your boat. Last night, I added tequila to ours.

Do you need to know how to make simple syrup ? Yeah ... I did too ! It's simple ! (imagine that !) All you do is boil one cup of water. Add one cup of sugar. Take the pan off the heat. Stir and let cool. Simple, right ?!

Mmmmmm ! I want to make some more !

Pina Colada Tea ... On The Rocks

My favorite tea ... pina colada ... which is actually not tea at all ... it's a mixture of rosehip, hibiscus, apple, coconut and pineapple ... but it's dried and I buy it at a fancy tea shop so we're going to call it tea ...

Anyway ... turns out, it's really nice ICED ! Want to try some ...... ?

Mango Lassi

1 cup plain yogurt

1 1/2 cup ice cold water
1 mango
3 T sugar

Combine all ingredients in a blender.
Blend about 15 seconds or until frothy.

Pour into glasses and serve immediately.


This is also quite lovely with rum.
But if you make grown-up lassi, add more sugar.

Mom's Hot Apple Cider

This is repost of my Mom's Hot Apple Cider recipe. I'll add a couple of notes in red ... and a photo of the batch I made the other day ! So yummmmy ... and perfect for right now ... winter in Australia !!!

Starting post from Mom now ...

This has long been a tradition at the family holiday gatherings. It is so easy, I start it last thing before I go to bed and wake up to the most amazing perfume ever! It's healthy, too!

INGREDIENTS

-1 bottle apple cider, the bottle that's about 1/2 gallon (I can't find cider here so use 2 litres of apple juice)
-1 bottle cranapple juice--same amount as the cider (Cranberry Apple Juice ~ 2 litres)
-whole cloves (I fill my tea ball nearly half full of them and throw the ball in--keeps the cloves from getting in my cup (yuck!))
-2 cinnamon sticks
-a pinch or two of powdered ginger (add to taste, but remember it will get stronger since it will simmer overnight)

Throw everything into the crockpot, set to low and simmer overnight. (I continued to let it simmer all day long too and wow ... when I got home from work and had it again it was even better than first thing in the morning)

(If you need to make a second batch, good luck, because it isn't nearly as good heated together on the stove, or heated on high in the crock pot till it's hot. The flavors really need to blend for all those hours.)

P.S. All of the comments in parentheses are things I have discovered by doing wrong, ignore them to your taste buds' peril!

P.S. again.......as you get ready to enjoy this yummy drink, clink your mugs and give thanks to the Giver of All Good Gifts, and hug everyone nearby!

PS from Bonnie ... this makes a HUGE BATCH so make sure you have people to share it with or reduce the measurements.

Chai

It got unseasonably cold here recently, so we wanted something warm to sip by the fire. I came across this recipe in an Indian cookbook I have that I've never used. If the deliciousness of this recipe is any indication of the others, I will be using this book a LOT! I did cut down the amount of cloves and cardamom as I am easily overwhelmed by the latter and not overly fond of the former. I also left out the 1 T fresh ginger called for as I didn't have any. This is the version I used:

Chai*

3 cups water
2 sticks cinnamon
7 cardamom pods
7 whole cloves
3 T black tea leaves
1 cup milk
3 T sugar

In a medium saucepan, bring water, cinnamon, cardamom and cloves to a boil.
Turn off heat, add tea, and cover pan. Let stand for 3 minutes.

Strain liquid into another saucepan. Add milk and sugar.
Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

As soon as tea begins to boil (or you lose patience and figure it's hot enough,
whichever comes first), pour into cups.

Serve immediately.