Southern Sweet Tea (+fun twist)

September! which means only 1 month to cram all these summer recipes I had meant to do. The good thing of September in Spain is that there is still one more month of summer! So before I forget it I wanted to write down this sweet tea I made the other day. 

I love the concept of sweet tea from the USA...my Virginian boyfriend used to make it, and he made it sound like it a big deal when it's just cold tea and sugar....bam!   Definitely there is more charm in the concept of southern sweet tea than in the tea itself! But with a twist this normal tea+sugar or tea+sugar+lemon combination can taste pretty interesting. So here is my take: 

INGREDIENTS:

-2 litres of water. 
-1 lemon.

-2 bags of English tea like PG Tips

-1 good bunch of fresh mint.

-2 and 1/2 tablespoons of sugar.

-1 grapefruit (the juice).

-1 mango or 1 peach to make "ice cubes" 

STEPS:

1. Bring to a boil the water with tea bags and the lemon (without the peel obviously).

2. As soon as it boils, take out of fire and add the mint and the sugar so that it all dissolves. 

3. Now let it cool off for a few hours and when it is cold add the juice of the grapefruit.

4. Slice up a peach or mango and freeze, and when you pour your tea add a slice as an ice cube. 

5. Finally add a bunch of mint to the glass when you serve it. 

That's it. Kenton at first did not want it but soon realized it was not the disgusting sweet tea that make your teeth fall out of so much sugar.

 

Mulled Wine or Glögg

It has been winter wonderland in Madrid. A snowfall of 50 cm. A perfect moment to learn how to make mulled wine. 

INGREDIENTS:

-1 litre of red wine. 
-1 orange in slices.

.6 cloves.

-2 or 3 small lemon peels.

-6 black pepper seeds.

-40 ml of brandy.

-6 frozen cherries.

-2 cardamon.

-1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.

-3 teaspoons of brown sugar.

-1 stick of cinnamon or 1/2 teaspoon of powder cinnamon.

STEPS:

1. Pour wine and everything inside in very low heat for 30 minutes and stir every once in a while.

          

2. DO NOT LET IT BOIL! When you see it smoking it is ready. All the flavors will have come together by then.

Enjoy, this drink took me back to Vienna and Krakow. 

How to make Chocolate a la Taza (thick chocolate)

1st of January, tradition in Spain, chocolate a la taza. I had to learn to make this one from scratch. So easy. I followed this recipe but cut it in half for 2 people, if you want it for 4, double amounts.

INGREDIENTS:

-125 grams of chocolate with high amounts of cocoa.  

I used half of each in the photo.

-500 ml of milk.

-1 spoonful pretty heaped of cornstarch.

-1 teaspoon of sugar (or even 2!).

-1 pinch of salt to release chocolate flavours.

STEPS:

1. Heat up milk in a stove stirring constantly and bring it to a boil.

2. Once it is boiling add the chocolate that you have previously cut in pieces. Continue stirring, and lower fire until it all dissolves. Keep stirring. 

3. In meantime, dissolve the cornstarch in some milk, like 10 ml. Now bring the chocolate mix to a boil and then add the cornstarch dissolved in milk. 

4. Keep stirring and mix it everything well, put a pinch of salt and continue stirring for about 1o minutes and it will start to thicken, and now again and for the last time, this would be the third time, bring the mixture to a boil. 

5. That's it. Remove from stove and serve. You can add sugar if you want now. My husband added sugar to his chocolate, but sugar is really optional to each person's taste.

                                                                    

   

 

 

Thai Iced Coffee (with Cardamon)

Last summer I made this delicious cardamon coffee. I love cardamon coffee, it is so refreshing and brings me back to Jerusalem to the Muslim quarter. Of course I added a ton of ice, unlike the Muslims will do cause they drink their coffee pipping hot at 40 degrees whether. How?  

This recipe is for 2 people 

INGREDIENTS:
-Make 200 ml of your own normal brewed coffee.
-200 ml of milk.

-2-3 tablespoons of sugar.

-5 or 6 cardamon pods (depends on how fresh they are).

-a couple of drops of vanilla extract.

STEPS:

1. Smash the cardamon pods to release flavour with a mortar.

2. In a saucepan add the milk, sugar and the pods and bring to boil.

3. Quickly lower fire and let it all sit for 15 minutes until all the flavour releases. 

4. After this time add a couple of vanilla drops if you want to.

5. Now mix with your coffee and load it up with ice.

Ahhh it is so refreshing and delicious.

 

Lemon, Cinnamon&Ginger Tea

Mountains of Ginger in  Jordan, Amman 

Been sick and sick and sick in January and February. And this week we have the worst cold spell of the whole winter. But honestly it was about time because it hasn't been cold at all.  Anyway, I've been drinking this tea in gallons these days. Ginger and lemon tea.

INGREDIENTS:

-2 lemons

-10 slices of ginger

-a stick of cinammon 

-2 litres of water

STEPS:

1. Bring to a boil it and then let it simmer for about an hour 

2. Add honey in each cup if you want.

It will do wonders to your throat. I love the way lemon kinda dries your throat, it feels like salt in your wounds, but in a good way, like it dries the inflammation so that you can stop coughing. Also the ginger gives it a superwarm flavour perfect for winter. PLUS your house will smell wonderful from the steam !!!!

Also! you can put some green tea into the combination and it tastes really good, I just didnt add it here because I'll be going to bed soon.
Another addition is to put a little whisky to give it some flavour. You can't go wrong really with this tea. It all tastes real good. Don't you think nature is amazing????  Blows my mind all the natural flavours God has created for us....
I read this quote thought it was quite cool.


“Perfume was first created to mask the stench of foul and offensive odors...
Spices and bold flavorings were created to mask the taste of putrid and rotting meat...
What then was music created for?Was it to drown out the voices of others, or the voices within ourselves? I think I know.”  ― Emilie Autumn, The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls

Hot Irish Whiskey or Hot Toddy

Happy New Year World!

On the 1st of January I went to my friend's house, Alan, from Ireland. A cold winter night, he and his roommates prepared hot whiskey drinks. Loved it! Perfect also to get rid of a bad cold.

No mind you, I am not interested in alcoholic drinks, but I did like this one because it warmed me up on a cold night. Perfect for a sunday night with friends.

Here it is:

• 1 part of whiskey
• 2 parts of boling water.
• 1 slice of lemon and with 5 or so cloves inserted.
• half a teaspoon of brown sugar.

Throw it all in together, and serve with a spoon to keep sugar mixed.

 But be careful, the sugar means the alcohol is absorbed into your blood faster. 

Alan also says this is just identical to making hot port. He says you make it with Tawny and the recipe is just the same. 

I confess  I have no idea what hot port is or Tawny, because I have no clue of alcoholic drinks...but hey hot port sounds good to me. Maybe one day I'll try it. Also Alan's roommate said that if you make it with honey instead of sugar, you have the Scottish version, which is called a "Hot Toddy". I tried both last night, but I think I would go with brown sugar.

Enjoy your  warm drink indoors with your book or computer on this cold January night. Happy new year readers. 

Chocolate caliente azteca--Aztec hot chocolate

Merry Christmas world! 

Here is a fun recipe for special hot chocolate nights. Very easy and very fun. So I was looking for a special hot chocolate recipe for this Christmas, and I got a lot of milk and even whipped cream to make yummy hot chocolate for the holidays.

But I didnt want the boring recipe for caramel and just cinnamon, and then I found this one.  I like it because this recipe has a good spicy kick!  How amazing the way chocolate blends well with spiciness....it blows my mind what cayenne peppers can do! 

Ingredients: 

-250 ml of milk (for one drinking cup)

-3 cayenne peppers.

-2 or teaspoons of hot chocolate in powder, Cola-Cao.

-whipped cream.

-a pinch of cinnamon 

-a stick of cinnamon.

So here it is:

1. Heat up the milk, hot chocolate powder and the 3 cayenne peppers. 3 cayenne peppers was enough to give it a good kick and it wasn't unbearable, just a nice spiciness and a little sting on the tip of your tongue.

2. Heat it up in low heat for about 10 minutes. Add a tiny bit of mixed spices or cinnamon to the mix.

3. Remove the cayenne peppers and pour on mug. Then put the cream on top, the cinnamon stick and sprinkle some more cinnamon on cream. 

Awesome! Different and so good! 

Apple cider

I have a ton of recipes I've been meaning to post....
A crazy job schedule and a broken computer has meant no posting...sorry readers!

Here is a quick recipe I want to jot down  before I go to the gym that really impressed me! 
wow, so fast, and so good and BEST OF ALL: SO EASY!

• Ingredients
• Apple juice ( 1 litre)
• Half a teaspoon (slightly more perhaps, like 60% of a teaspoon) of cinammon
• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg (perhaps slightly more)
• 1/4 of a cinnamon stick for every cup.
• 1 slice of apple for each cup.

1. Stir the spices first in a little bit of the juice so that is all well dissolved.

2. Heat it up in the stove until it is almost boiling...stir well the spices!!!











3. Pour on glass with a little stick of cinnamon and a slice of apple.

 4. Pick a good movie and enjoy the night!  (and enjoy your Christmas lights if you have them!)

PS: I never went to the gym! bummer...

Strawberry sangria

Stacey and I made this great strawberry sangria the other day that I loved! Strawberries are about to disappear because summer is coming fast!

TIP: buy some and freeze some for the rest of the summer.



 Ingredients:

• 1 litre of wine
• 1/2 litre of gaseosa.
• 3 cups of strawberries
• 2 lemoms
• 2 oranges
• 4 spoonfuls of sugar
• 1 stick of cinammon.

1. Clean the strawberries and cut them up in pieces and blend them in a hand blender. 3 cups.

yum! it looked like tomato sauce....but better taste

2. Add the wine to the strawberries.

and take a photo of the situation, so cool! 

3. Add the juice of one lemon and the juice of one orange.

4. Cut up the other orange and the other lemon in slices and throw them in the pitcher.

5. Put the cinammon stick and the slice of 1 orange and one lemon.

6. Add the sugar and some ice, ice REALLY HELPS!

 7. let it sit for 10 minutes.

8. Voila! awesome sangria. enjoy.

Stacey and I rocked it again....and we had some pimientos del padrón with it  :)