Ginger Lime Mineral Water

I've developed several water recipes to help my clients consume enough water each day. Water can be very boring for many so try adding a few simple ingredients to jazz it up.  You can make a different water each day, keep it in a pitcher in your frig, and you will likely drink more of it if it has a little flavor. 

If you don't use this up right away make sure you put it in a screw top bottle so the mineral water does not go flat.  You can make a double batch and have it for a day or two. You can also serve it at a party as a mock tail. Be sure to put it in a beautiful or interesting bottle.  Having a few bottles of this on a bar for a party is a welcome treat. There are lots of people who do not drink alcohol these days so having something like this to offer guests is always appreciated.

Ingredients:
zest and juice of one lime
1 to 2 tsp finely minced ginger 
One 25 ounce bottle Pellegrino mineral water 

Use a micro-plane or garlic press to mince the ginger.  Add everything together in a container and stir well, then pour into beautiful pitcher or bottle.     

I like lots of ginger so I use closer to 2 tsp when I make it. If you are not that fond of ginger use less. Make it your own! 

It's so refreshing!

Flavored Waters

Making yourself some flavored water will help you drink more of it each day. I make a pitcher full and keep it in the refrigerator.  You can look around your own kitchen and see what you have to add to the water and make your own flavor combinations. 


Cucumber.  I first had this at a day spa I went to and was surprised at how good it was.  Simply fill a pitcher with good quality filtered water, cut a cucumber into slices and add it to the water. Put a top on the pitcher and store in the refrig.  Drink several glasses a day. 


Other things to add to water: 


Peach 
Watermelon 
Berry's 


Citrus. Lemon, lime or orange work very well. A few slices of orange in some water can make the difference between drinking enough water or not.  It's a simple easy thing to do for yourself. 


What flavors do you love?  Start there.  

Pom Ade Cooler

Sometimes I want a little something special in the way of cocktails.  I am a wino at heart, but every now and then I like to have a special cocktail on a holiday or special occasion.  I made these for the 4th of July and they were mighty thirst quenching. 


I would suggest making the lemonade the day before you want to use it. That way it gets nice and cold. 


To make the cocktail:


Fill a tall glass with ice.  Add vodka to preference. (I like 1/3 in my drink, my husband likes his at 1/2, so that's what I do.)  Add a couple tablespoons of pomegranate juice.  You don't even need to measure, just eye ball it.  Then fill the glass with lemonade.  I like to take a quarter of a lime and give it a final squeeze into the cocktail.  


To make the lemonade: 


Make a simple syrup with:
1/2 cup of sugar or stevia 
1/2 cup of water
1 3 inch stem of rosemary


Heat in a small saucepan until sugar is dissolved.  Take off heat and allow to cool. Discard the rosemary. 


Juice about 3 or 4 big lemons to get 3/4 cup of juice.  Add 4 cups of water. Add simple sugar to taste.  If you use the entire amount it might be too sweet, so start slowly. I add half of the simple syrup and go from there.  Slice a lemon and add to juice.  Put it in a pitcher and place in the refrig to chill. 
  
Salute! Enjoy!

Holiday Cocktail

This recipe has the warm scent of mulling spices telling you the holidays have arrived.  You can buy mulling spices in various forms, and use that, or you can make your own.

To make mulling spices:  In a piece of cheesecloth combine 3 tbsp orange rind, 3 tbsp broken cinnamon sticks, 2 tbsp whole allspice, 2 tbsp whole cloves.  Spoon into the center of the cheesecloth and tie up.  Secure the end with a piece of kitchen twine.

In a large saucepan combine 2 cups of pomegranate juice, 2 cups cranberry juice, 1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice and mulling spice bundle.  Heat to a low simmer, simmer for 5 minutes, turn off heat, and cover.  Allow to cool completely.  Allow mulling spices to steep for several hours or overnight.

Remove cheesecloth bundle.  Strain through fine sieve into pitcher.  Chill.

To serve, fill glass with ice, add 1/3 vodka, juice to almost full, and a splash of tonic or club soda. 

Enjoy!  Happy Holidays!

Lemoncello and Sorbet

Lemoncello. Ever had it?

It's that delicious Italian liquor from Southern Italy.

We keep it in the freezer because it is nice to sip however our favorite is a Lemoncello Martini. I have also used it in a cake recipe.







You can make lemoncello at home. It is simply lemon peel, vodka and sugar. That's it. Meyer lemons must be used so when they are in season I make a batch of lemoncello that lasts all year. I also make it for gifts. Fill a nice looking bottle and wrap some ribbon or raffia around the neck with a label and present it as a hostess gift. You can also put the lemoncello martini recipe of the label and the recipient is ready to go.

Having a bottle of lemoncello around the house over the last couple of years I decided I needed to find some new recipes. You know, don't want to get into a lemoncello rut or anything. I decided a sorbet might be nice. Escpecially for the summer months. It's light, refreshing, especially as a palate cleanser between courses for a dinner party. Of course I can just eat it for dessert alone with nothing else but I thought it might be somewhat impressive for guests.





To make lemoncello you need:

2 pounds lemons

35 ounces vodka

2 pounds sugar

35 ounces water







Peel all the skins off the lemons. Only the yellow part should be used.





I use Belvedere vodka for my lemoncello and so I saved an empty bottle to use exclusively for this purpose. Measure out 35 ounces of vodka and pour it into the bottle then stick the lemon peels into the bottle making sure they are submerged as well as possible. (I use a chop stick for this)Allow to sit in a cool place for 4 days. The vodka becomes infused with the lemon. After 4 days remove the lemon and strain the liquid to remove any bits.


Make a simple syrup by putting the water and sugar into a saucepan and heat over low heat until the sugar just dissolves. Allow to cool. Once cool put the alcohol and simple syrup back into the bottle and chill. You now have lemoncello.



I have experimented with the amount of sugar used. Some people think this is a little too sweet so you can use less sugar. Make the simple syrup and add only enough to your taste. I felt that by reducing the simple syrup it was not as good when used for martini's so I went back to the full amount.


If you want to make lemoncello sorbet you will need:

2 cups water
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup lemoncello
1 cup fresh meyer lemon juice

In a saucepan heat the water, sugar, and lemoncello stirring until dissolved. Remove and allow to cool. Add lemon juice. Chill. Put mixture into an ice cream freezer and freeze according to manufacturer directions. At this point you can hold it in the ice cream maker or put into a container and put in the freezer until ready to use.


Serving suggestions: garnish with mint leaves or lemon slice or fresh blackberries. Use a martini glass or some other pretty stemmed glass. It makes a pretty presentation.

Watermelon Martini's

Watermelon Martini's.


Refreshing. Summertime in a glass.

Having food left in the house that needs to be used always inspires me. I hate to through food away and sometimes I buy things with the best of intention but don't seem to use it up. It's those times that I get creative and try to figure out what to do with it. Such is the case with the watermelon I recently bought. It was bigger than I thought and I can only eat so much watermelon ya know what I mean? At the end of a few days I thought ah oh what do I do with the rest of this thing?

Start by cutting the watermelon into small chunks. I had about 5 or 6 cups of cut up watermelon. Put it in a blender and puree it until smooth. Then ran it through a mess strainer. This gets all the pulp out and makes for a smoother cocktail.

Make some simple syrup by using equal parts water and sugar, in this case 1/2 cup of each. Heat in a small saucepan until sugar is dissolved and simmer for approximately 3 minutes to get thick and syrupy. Allow to cool completely.










Add the simple syrup to the watermelon puree and chill well.

Chill the martini glasses by filling with ice cubes and allow to sit while making the tini.









For one martini combine in a martini shaker:

• 1 shot vodka
• 1/2 shot melon liqueur
• 1/2 shot fresh lemon juice
• 2 shots watermelon juice
• shaved ice

Shake well and pour into chilled martini glasses. Summer in a glass.