Forgot to go to the store to get a few bottles of sparkling cider? Not want to buy a huge bottle when you just want a single glass? Not a problem. All you need is apple juice and seltzer. You can taste the difference with better quality juice, but whatever you have handy is fine.
This is such a simple drink (thanks for thinking of it Tova!)
Sparkling Apple Cider
Ingredients:
apple juice
seltzer (from a soda stream or bottle)
Directions:
Pour equal parts juice and seltzer into a glass or pitcher. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
I hope everyone had a great 2015. I know I did. This was one of the first years I had New Year's resolutions and stuck to them. I don't know if it's because I picked more than one resolution, or if it's because I didn't pick an open-ended, generic one (like" lose some weight"). My resolutions this year were to sew an Amy Butler Weekender bag, the most behemoth of bags , and to finish this reading list.
I haven't quite finished this list yet, but I'm on the last book I need and it's an audio book, so it takes FOREVER. This list is so long, I'm just going to count it as finished. As someone who had never done it before, completing New Year's resolutions feels great.
Here's the finished Weekender bag by the way:
I have my New Year's resolutions all figured out for 2016 too. I liked this book list so much I'm planning on following the next one. Here's a copy:
A whole new set of books. Yay! I also plan on figuring out how to do a headstand. Maybe I'll even post a ridiculous looking selfie of my headstand this coming year.
Sorry my blog posts have been a bit few and far between lately. At least it feels that way. From a few weeks ago through almost Thanksgiving is crazy for me. My day planner seriously looks ridiculous. I keep not having time to cook and/or post. And its driving me crazy.
Since I haven't had much free time lately I've been creating new smoothie recipes. I love a quick breakfast I can take on the go that's also healthy and delicious. This smoothie is all of the above, plus only contains 4 ingredients! It's a yummy no-brainer.
My frozen cherries are nice and sweet (without added sugar). This smoothie is perfectly sweet even though the only sweetness comes from the cherries. Make sure your cherries aren't too tart or you might want to add a bit of vanilla yogurt for the sweetness. Can I say sweetness a bit more? Yeah, I guess I can. :)
I like to toss a frozen cherry or two on top. They sink down and I eat them last. I love cherries, these are better than normal because they're nice and cold and have a layer of chocolate smoothie covering them. Yum...
Jack is going through a phase where he INSISTS on using a spoon for every meal. Yes, even smoothies. He's very civilized (read: nerd). Although, I gotta say, watching a kid eat things like crackers and cheese with a spoon is pretty entertaining.
This smoothie is Jack approved.
Chocolate Covered Cherry Smoothie
serves 2
ingredients:
1 scoop vanilla whey protein powder
1 cup frozen cherries
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup almond milk
ice cubes (optional)
directions:
Dump all ingredients in the blender and puree. Optional ice cubes will make the smoothie thicker and icier. Drink immediately. Enjoy!
I think fresh squeezed lemon juice (it really makes a difference) and simple syrups (especially flavored ones) get the short end of the stick in the kitchen. Either people don't remember to use them, don't know what to do with them, or think they are too much work to make.
You don't know what you're missing!
I like to make a big batch of each and keep in bottles in my fridge. Bonus if you put them in pretty bottles. I always find super cheap but pretty and functional bottles in places like Marshall's.
The simple syrup especially lasts forever because you only need a splash most of the time. My favorite uses for these two include:
a splash of lemon juice to brighten up a soup.
lemon juice mixed with powdered sugar over crepes (Jeff is a master of crepes!)
lemonade.
lemon drops (cocktail, not candy. Hmm, now I need to try making the candy...)
a splash of lemon and/or syrup used with a soda stream.
a splash of lemon and/or syrup mixed in tea.
a splash of lemon and/or syrup sprinkled over fruit.
Add fruit to lemon juice and simple syrup to make freezer jam.
Making Simple Syrup
Making simple syrup, flavored or plain is soo easy, and just takes a few minutes. In a small saucepan pour in an equal measurement of sugar and water (say 1 cup of each) and bring to a boil Stir. When the sugar has completed dissolved into the water, turn off the heat, let cool, pour into a sealed container of your choice and store in your fridge. So easy. If you want to up your game and flavor the syrup, either stir in an extract once the syrup has cooled, steep some teabags for several minutes in the syrup while still hot, throw some herbs (thyme, lavender, whatever) into a mesh bag and steep for a few minutes while still hot... the possibles are almost endless!
Boil the sugar and water
pick an optional mix-in
If your mix-in is not an extract then add and steep in syrup while still hot. I used three bags of green tea in 2 cups of sugar and 2 cups of water, the green tea flavor is mild.
If you want your syrup to be a pretty color be careful about which add-in you use. Green tea gives a nice mellow flavor, but is an unattractive green color. I put mine in a blue bottle to hide the color!
Liam and I each have a new favorite drink. His is Green Tea Lemonade. Mine is the grown up version, the Green Tea Lemon Drop. Oh yeah. That's right. I added green tea to my simple syrup for a refreshing summery twist on the originals.
Green Tea Lemonade (makes 1 serving)
1/4 Cup green tea simple syrup
1/4 Cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 - 1 Cup cold water
Mix together and serve.
Green Tea Lemon Drop (makes 1 serving)
I used a shot glass for measurement
1 part vodka
1/2 part lemon juice
2 parts green tea simple syrup
lemon slice garnish (optional)
Hopefully this will get you thinking about other fun ways to use lemon juice and/or simple syrup. I know I'm still thinking of fun uses!
Liam is a smoothie addict. I'm pretty sure that he would eat all his meals in smoothie form if we let him. I figure if I'm already making a smoothie for him I might as well make enough for everyone. Between me getting bored quickly using the same recipe all the time, and my available ingredients always changing I am always looking for new smoothie ideas.
This recipe was adapted from one I found on the Self magazine web site. They have some great ideas, but I usually have to alter them a bit until I get them how I want them.
I really do not think of myself as a hippie, so I had to laugh a bit at this smoothie recipe. It calls for both almond milk and chia seeds, both things I currently had on hand. I had some almond milk on my freezer left over from the last time I made it here. Almond milk freezes really well. If you don't have any, that's fine. Just use regular milk.
I totally forgot to take pictures of the process, but really it's a smoothie. How many photos can you really take of a few ingredients sitting in front of a blender?
The kids (and I!) loved this smoothie. It wasn't too sweet, but you couldn't taste the carrot-y vegetable taste. Both kids sucked theirs down in a second and Liam tried to beg seconds. I probably could have made a second batch without worrying about it going to waste. Considering I only got to drink a third of this, it was pretty filling too!
This might be the quietest they have every been while awake and in the same room.
Note to self: it is difficult to take a photo of yourself holding a smoothie plus two wiggly boys. And brush your hair first!
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wake-up smoothie
by Liesl August-28-2014
a delicious fruit and vegetable smoothie that will keep you filled up all morning.
Ingredients
1 cup low-fat vanilla yogurt
8 oz can pineapple chunks including juice
1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 carrot
1 banana
1 tbsp chia seeds
Instructions
1. Throw all the ingredients in a blender together. Turn on high and leave on for about 2 minutes, until everything is pureed. Pour into glasses and drink immediately. If your blender isn't very strong cut up the carrot before blending to help.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 1-3 servings
Liam loooves smoothies. Jack thinks he's a big kid so he wants to eat everything Liam does. For most foods this is no big deal, but it became a problem for smoothies. I put milk in Liam's smoothies instead of juice (to thin it out), but Jack isn't old enough to drink cow's milk for another few months.
The solution? ALMOND MILK!
But... I didn't have any. So I decided to make some. As usual, I was too lazy to take both kids to the store (other parents should understand this!), but I checked my freezer and found a bag of almonds. Woohoo.
This actually turned out better than I was hoping, because in addition to the almond milk, which turned out great, I now also have several cups of almond meal to bake with. Score.
This was actually really easy, messy too, but clean up was really quick so no biggie. And I ended up with half a pitcher full of almond milk.
Start out by soaking two cups of almonds overnight in a bowl of water on the counter. Make sure to add enough water because the almonds will swell. Don't freak out when the water changed color. It will darken and maybe turn slightly cloudy.
Dump the water out and add the almonds plus four cups of fresh water to the blender and turn on high for 3-5 minutes. I know that sounds like a long time but think about it. You're pureeing nuts.
When the almond mixture looks smooth turn off the blender. Get out a pitcher, or other container for your milk. Over the top put a sieve and a square of cheesecloth.
Pour the mixture into the cheesecloth. Do this in multiple small batches so over don't overload your sieve or the cheesecloth.
Let the liquid drip down into the pitcher.
When all the liquid has come out on its own squeeze the cheesecloth and twist it to release all the available milk.
The solid almond meal left in the cheesecloth looks like this.
Get a lipped baking sheet covered in parchment paper to start offloading the almond meal.
When there is only a tiny bit of almond mixture left in the blender add half a cup of water and blend for a minute. Pour it into the cheesecloth.
The finished product. See what I mean though? Messy. All it took was two swipes of a sponge though and the counter was shiny clean again.
I ended up with about two cups of almond meal. Spread this out on the baking sheet and bake until it dries out. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge. Or toss it if you don't want to bother with it.
The whole product.
The almond meal fresh from the oven.
This is my super simple smoothie that both boys can enjoy.Just strawberries, blueberries,and almond milk.
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almond milk
by Liesl July-28-2014
Fresh almond milk with almond meal by-product
Ingredients
2 cups almonds
4-5 cups water
Instructions
1. The night before put 2 cups of almonds in a large bowl on the counter covered in plenty of water. The almonds will plump up and they need to be covered completely. The water will darken and possibly cloud the next morning.2. Dump out the water and put the almonds plus 4 cups of clean water into the blender and blend on high for 3-5 minutes until there are no noticeable pieces.3. Get out a large pitcher and cover it with a sieve with a large square of cheesecloth over top. Pour the almond mixture into the cheesecloth in small amounts and let it drip down into the pitcher. Once the liquid has drained on its own squeeze and twist the cheesecloth to get all the available liquid out. The leftover solids are almond meal. Dump them out onto a lipped baking pan with parchment paper. Continue to pour the mixture into the cheesecloth until there is only a tiny amount left in the blender. Add half a cup of water and blend for a minute. Pour into the cheesecloth. You now have almond milk! The almond meal on the baking pan should be spread out and baked at 350 for 20-30 minutes until it dries out. Then store it in an airtight container in the fridge.
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: 1/2 a large pitcher
I'm getting really good at making cocktails. I specialize in "I want a cocktail but barely have ingredients. What can I make that won't taste gross?" drinks. Yeah, its a thing. This one is very refreshing and is similar to a mojito.
I finally found a good use for the wild amount of mint growing crazy in my backyard.
This is a great cocktail because it uses only three ingredients (plus ice) and you can make any amount you want easily.
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limeade cocktail
by Liesl July-15-2014
cool and refreshing cocktail
Ingredients
4 parts limeade
1 part dark rum
4 leaves per glass mint
Instructions
1. In each glass muddle 4 mint leaves and add a small handful of ice cubes. You can make the rest in a single glass, or make a large pitcher full. Add one part dark rum and 4 parts limeade. Enjoy!
Details
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: any amount
