Category Archives: Drinks

Hawaiian Smoothie

I’m a little blender happy because as I told you, I really, really missed having one in Lille. Yesterday I made this strawberry type dessert and the pictures turned out amazing but the recipe turned out kind of yucky so, because I have blog integrity, I couldn’t post that. I decided to make Wanda’s Lemon Meringue Pie instead but when I looked at the ingredients there was way too much sugar in it for an ordinary week day…I’ll save that for friends! In the same notebook as I was going to write the pie recipe in, I came across this old recipe.

In January, 2011, I went to Kona, Hawaii to a Holistic Healing Arts Centre for a week. All of the food there was organic and some of it grown in their own garden. All week long we had plate after plate of the healthiest most delicious food you could ever ask for! With the hours or swimming we did per day, the food was the perfect compliment really. My bum looked nice when I came home.

Anyways, I was so fortunate that the cook let me watch him and help him cook. I tasted the most delectable smoothie one morning and absolutely had to get the recipe. I also got the recipe for maybe 5 other dishes as well! The thing is, he was a “little bit of this, little bit of that” type of cook. I am too so it wasn’t a problem, but for building a recipe on a blog, it pretty much has to be in exact quantities…so here is my adaptation of the recipe with quantities for you!

Just follow below…

Et voila! Enjoy!

White Hot Chocolate

The only thing to say about this is that it is very simple to make and it tastes delicious. You can stop paying a fortune for the starbucks white hot chocolate because this one tastes better!

To make the white hot chocolate:

Add 1/4 cup of water to a small saucepan and add six squares of white chocolate. Bring the water to a simmer to melt the chocolate…

When the chocolate is melted whisk in 1/2 cup of milk or so. I measured the milk and water with the mug I am using to serve it in. Bring this milk up to just shy of a boil…

Remove the saucepan from the stove and add around 4 drops of vanilla to it…

Pour it into a mug and add a dash of cinnamon on top!

Eh voila!Enjoy!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:50]

Posted in Drinks | Tagged hot drink recipe, white hot chocolate recipe | 2 Comments

Italian Soda (Pop!)

I remember going to Second Cup growing up and spending $4.00 on an Italian Soda! It always confused me as to why they charged so much because they just made it with sparkling water and syrup.

In France sparkling water is tres populaire. When you go to a restaurant and ask for water, if you don`t specify tap, they bring you a bottle of sparkling water. This is quite known. It is also very inexpensive at the grocery store, usually around 30 cents per bottle.

The grocery stores here also sells what seems like hundreds of flavours of this syrupy stuff. You can buy it in almond, lemon, mint, etc. My favourite flavour is the grenadine mainly because it reminds me of Shirley temples at Swiss Chalet but also because it makes for the best pop (or soda as they say in the states).

Max bought the grenadine syrup to mix in with milk which I find quite disgusting. I on the other hand reaped the rewards of this purchase when I all-of-a-sudden remembered that italian sodas were made out of this very syrupy stuff plus one other ingredient…And I’ve been hooked to this drink ever since.

Here is how to but it together:

You will need:

Grenadine syrup (or any other flavoured syrup you desire and can get your hands on) and mineral water.

Don’t forget the frozen berries!

Now the rest is a synch.

Pour 2-3 tablespoons of the grenadine in the bottom of a tall glass…

Add in a small handful of frozen berries (totally optional!) and then pour in the sparkling water…

Et voila! It is really and truly that easy.

Make your own soda pop at home and you know exactly how sweet it will be, what flavour it will and what is in it!

And that to me spells out YUMMY!

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Chocolat De Maman

Yesterday morning was Saturday morning, and to celebrate my first Saturday morning alone with FBF in France, I ran around to 3 different bakeries (not as bad as it seems because there is one at every corner) to find a French staple, Pain Chocolat (on the left in the picture). It seems that I left the apartment but an hour too late and most bakeries had sold out…again, it is a French staple.

Now having the Pain Chocolat would only make this Saturday morning half as great as I wanted it to be. The other half of the greatness would come from the Chocolat. It’s a French version of hot chocolate and FBF’s maman taught me how to make it last weekend.

Begin by adding just enough water to cover the bottom of a small saucepan and then adding 2 teaspoons of sugar. Bring the mixture to a simmer…

When the sugar has melted, add 12 squares of dark (70%) chocolate…

Take the mixture off the heat to melt the chocolate and add in one can of evaporated milk and then fill that same can 3/4 full with water and add it in…

But the mixture back on the stove and heat it. Taste it to “season” it. If it needs more sugar, add 1 or 2 more teaspoons…

Serve it in a bowl with your favourite pastry or bread…

Et voila! Enjoy!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:11]

Posted in Drinks | Tagged chocolat, chocolat chaud, chocolate recipe, hot chocolat | Leave a comment

Nature’s Broom

I’m not sure if that is such an attractive title for this next recipe I am about to present to you.

The alternative name is a green smoothy but lets stick with Nature’s Broom.

I remember sitting in Ayurveda class one day and the teacher was telling us about some great healthy recipes to balance our bodies out. He started telling us about the green smoothy and then said, in his thick Indian accent, “It is also known as nature’s broom…for obvious reasons.”

I am not going to explain it to you but you’ll understand, especially once you try it!

Here is what you need:

An apple
1 celery stock
Ginger root
3 pitted dates
A handful of cilantro
A handful of spinach
1 cup of blueberries (optional)

Begin by cutting the apple in half (you will only use half) and then cutting the half into quarters…

Add the apple pieces to the blender…

Then break your celery stalk into 3 pieces and add them as well…

Add your cilantro and spinach…

Break off a piece of that ginger and add it in too…

Add the dates and the blueberries…

Check out the line up!!!

Add a glass of water…

Begin pulsing on the blender. If it gets stuck, use a spoon to stir things around and add another glass of water…

There we go!

It is ready to serve!

I remember that before one of my first big dates with FBF, I brought this along with me and got him to taste it. He was surprised that it tasted good!

Oh, and I also don’t recommend drinking this before one of your first big dates with a super hot guy…

Posted in Drinks | Tagged green smoothy, healthy smoothy, natures broom | Leave a comment

A Latte @ Home (no espresso machine needed!)

If you have been reading my blog at all, you will know that #1 I love lattes and #2 I am moving to France shortly and on a small weekly budget.

As it is Friday, my weekly allowance has dwindled and the remaining petty cash is going towards the ingredients I need to make a delicious chocolate treat for a gathering I am attending tomorrow (you will see but I really, really wanted a latte!

I had to pull out the big guns, my creative brain! I do not own an espresso machine or a milk streamer or anything super cool like that but I had my idea of what I would do to create something authentic and great tasting.

And here it is…

You will need:

Milk (the fat % is totally up to you, I used 1%…Just a note that the lower the fat the easier it foams, don’t know why but its true!)
1 teaspoon instant coffee
Your topping of choice, I chose brown sugar. You can choose honey, cinnamon, nothing, anything…

Measure the milk out into the mug of your choice.

Heat the milk on low heat on the stove. Stir constantly or you can easily burn the milk. Check the temperature (my finger is super clean) all the time.

When the milk feels like it is at the temperature you prefer, take out a hand blender (a whisk will work ok for this as well but the froth won’t be as frothy). Blend the milk until it is the consistency you want. I do not move the blender around too much but keep it in one place to get a nice tight foam, otherwise your bubbles will be huge!

Measure out a teaspoon of instant coffee and put it into the mug.

I couldn’t get this next step with an accurate picture. You need two hands and I needed one for the picture, so I will explain it. Pour the milk in but hold back the foam with a spoon so you are only pouring the liquid in with no foam. Then stir the hot milk and coffee until the coffee is dissolved.