Drinking: Spiced Ice Tea

I picked up the book "Spice and Ice" by Kara Newman last summer. It was an amusing purchase because the book was not on the regular shelf but was set up in a display with other drink books, pitchers, glasses, and party games. Actually, the pitcher that is on the cover of this book was directly beside the book. As if to say 'Hey you - buy this pitcher! Oh you don't know what to put in a pitcher? Why here's an idea! Actually here is a book full of ideas!" It was set up for the very unimaginative!

Anyways, this drink was way to spicy for me to consume and because the resident spice lover in my family was away sadly the drink was dumped. SCANDAL!

I did want to mention a unique technique used in this drink. The vodka is directly infused with tea by immersing a tea bag in hot water for 10 seconds, then removing the tea bag and placing it in the vodka. Allow this to steep for 5 minutes.

I've yet to use this techinque in other drinks. If you do, will you let me know?

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Dough: Red Bean Paste Pancakes

I picked up some sweetened red bean paste last week. After a couple of hours (yes hours - I like the Internet and I like food) I found a couple of recipes to try with the red bean paste. The recipe that I used as the jumping off point is here. The technique used to make the pancakes is actually really fun to do - plus they taste pretty good.

Pancakes:
Knead two cups flour and 1 cup boiling water together until smooth. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Roll out dough to 1/4" thickness and cut into 3 inch circles. Brush circles with a tiny amount of oil. Stick two circles together and roll out to one 6" circle. Cook in a dry cast iron skillet until browned. Flip and cook the other side until browned. Remove from pan and peel the two circles away from each other - the inside will be hot with steam so be careful. Cool. Then consume with sweetened red bean paste.

It is important to use a tiny amount of oil. If you use too much oil, the cooled pancakes will not be pliable but will be crusty. Also, the steam is really hot!

Generally, the pancakes can be used in the same manner as crepes. Also, they have a naan like consistency as well.

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Drinking: La Perlita

This drink has a very interesting flavor as there is a hint of carmel. Also be forewarned - be very careful while pouring the lemon juice. One teaspoon is perfect but even a few drops more and the drink becomes kind of icky. Don't ask me why I know that!

La Perlita - modified from the book Coffee Drinks by Michael Turback

Ice cubes
2 ounces espresso
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 ounces soymilk
1 teaspoon agave
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the espresso, sugar, milk, honey, and lemon juice. Shake. Strain and pour.

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Wordless Wed

Moustache. Wacky Cake. PB icing. Half Birthday.

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Summer Culinary Goals - 15 June to 1 Jul

1. Make crepes. I bought a crepe pan last summer but I have only made crepes two times!
2. Make Hasselback Potatoes. I've seen a lot of these on food blogs lately and they look so yummy. 
3. Visit an African grocery store. Buy Cassava flour. Make bread.
4. Use the vanilla beans I bought. I am waiting to find a perfect recipe that showcases the vanilla.
5. Use the liquid smoke I bought. I bought this because 'I have tons of recipes to make using this.' but when I got home 'What? What recipes? Where did they go!?'

Do you have summer food goals?

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Summer Brain Freeze!

The trucker joint - Burger Pit - in the small Saskatchewan town that I grew up in, served up some epic soft ice cream treats. They put a whole heck of a lot of sugar in their soft serve, so it was always extra tasty. We would stop there on summer Sunday afternoons.

They served this extreme dessert called a Volcano. A volcano is basically soft serve ice cream with slushy. The juxtaposition of the sour, crystallized slush and the sweet, smooth soft ice cream is just divine.

On a humid, stormy Ottawa evening, I experienced a strong craving for this summer dessert. First I tried to think of where I could buy one. Technically all you need is a slushy machine in close proximity to soft serve. The next morning - a breakthrough! I could make these at home!

Homemade Volcano
Slush
1 cup vodka
2 cup water
1 pkg orange koolaid
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup pineapple juice
1/4 cup lemon juice

Mix. Freeze. It will take about 24 hours to freeze but it will not freeze solid due to the booze.

To serve:
Mix freshly churned (or extremely softened) homemade ice cream with slush. Eat with a thick straw and/or a spoon.

Notes: This was the first and only time I have ever (or will ever) buy koolaid. It does give the slush the authentic, neon color required. However, it does not offer much in the way of taste. The next time I will use an actual fruit juice.

There are so many flavor combinations here! Can you think of any?

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Dough: Homemade Saltine Crackers

After the first time I made cookies I vowed to never purchase cookies again. I made this vow because cookies are fast and simple to make and have the added benefit of tasting better than the purchased version.

Crackers are very satisfying to make and they do taste a lot better than the purchased version. However, they are very time consuming. It is because of the time required that crackers will remain on my shopping list.

*recipe from The Wooden Spoon Bread Book by Marilyn M. Moore.

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