Pumpkin Spice Latte

Heat one cup of milk of choice over medium heat until it is steaming, but not boiling.

Add to blender

• 1-2 tablespoons of pumpkin purée, 
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 
• sweetener- 1-3 teaspoons to taste
• vanilla extract- 1/2 teaspoon (optional)

Add the hot milk to the blender and mix on high until milk is frothy.

Put the milk mixture in a latte mug and add 6-8 ounces of strong coffee or a shot of espresso. 

Serves one.

DIY Pumpkin Pie Spice

3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 ½ teaspoons ground allspice (optional)
1 ½ teaspoons ground cloves  (optional)

Store in small jar and use in everything!

Non-alcohol Glühwein

We paid $9 for a bottle of alcohol-free Glühwein at the local Christkindl Market this month. It was delicious but a bit on the sweet side for my taste.

I looked for a recipe that was similar and tried a couple of online recommendations. This drink is similar to Mexican Christmas Punch without the added fruit. It is best when warm but is also good when chilled.

Here is a basic recipe that can be modified in many ways by changing the juice and spices.

• 4 cups unsweetened 100% juice such as grape, cranberry blends, or apple cider
• 2 cups tea- black, hibiscus, or other
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tsp cloves
• 4-5 cardamon seeds, lightly crushed
• allspice seed, crushed
• freshly grated nutmeg
• rind and juice of one orange- peel the rind off the fruit with a sharp knife
• rind and juice of one lemon
• 2 tbsp sugar if desired (I didn't add sugar)

Put all ingredients in a 2 litre pot and simmer for 30 minutes. Do not boil. Strain and serve.

Mexican Christmas Punch

This recipe is based on one found on Mexicrave for Ponche Navideño. My daughter made this for me last month and I really enjoyed it. I do not have access to fresh guavas, tejocotes or sugar cane so this is a Canadian version. It is served warm with a spoon so the fruit can be eaten after you finish the drink.

Ingredients:

Makes 10-12 cups

10 cups water,

1/2 cup loose hibiscus tea

3 tamarind pods, shells removed

1 orange, cut into quarters, skin left intact

1 red apple, chopped into small cubes

2 pears, chopped into small cubes

7-10 pitted prunes, chopped

handful of raisins

3 or 4 cinnamon sticks

3 cloves

1 cup brown sugar

Directions:

Put 10 cups of water in a large pot. Add peeled tamarind pods and hibiscus tea. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Strain the liquid and discard the pods and loose tea petals

Add the cut up fruit, cinnamon, cloves and sugar.

Cover pot and let simmer for 30-45 minutes or until the fruit is tender. Stir very well to make sure the flavours and sugars combine.

Ladle into heat proof mugs and serve warm.

Chai from Scratch

Last week I forgot to put a tea bag in my lunch bag and ended up going to the cafeteria to get a hot drink. I had a choice of decaffeinated tea (uggh!) or a chai tea bag in hot water. The chai was weak and watery unlike the creamy and delicious drinks I have been served at Indian restaurants. This week I experimented with masala chai recipes and came up with one that is versatile and inexpensive. Vanilla beans are the most costly item but they are optional. The best way to make vanilla chai is to add vanilla syrup as your sweetener. My vanilla syrup recipe is here. The cinnamon sticks in the ethnic section of our supermarket were less than half the price of the cinnamon sticks in the baking aisle. The other spices were purchased at a bulk store. I like the heat of ginger and added a generous amount but any of the spices can be increased or decreased according to preference or availability. Assam tea is traditionally used and a bold black loose tea is my choice. Green tea or rooibos tea can also be used.

This recipe is based on one found at Crunchy Betty's epic guide to making your own chai. I like a stronger brew and increased the amount of tea and some other spices. It is worth reading the information about chai at this link.

• 7 cinnamon sticks (3 inches long), broken into smallish pieces
• 15 green cardamom pods  (crushed/cracked with a mortar and pestle)
• 15 whole cloves
• 5 allspice berries coarsely crushed
• Ginger root- 2-3 inches, cut into slices
• 1 tsp black or white peppercorns coarsely crushed
• 2 vanilla beans, sliced open (optional)
• 9 cups of cold water

Combine the above ingredients in a pot and simmer for 30 minutes on the stove. Remove from the heat and add

• 1 tablespoon fennel seed (or anise seed) 
• 4 tablespoons black tea leaves or equivalent amount in tea bags
• 1 teaspoon of nutmeg

Let the tea steep for 15 minutes (less or more time according to preference) and strain into a jug.

You now have 8 cups of chai concentrate which can be kept in the fridge. When you are ready to have a drink, heat the chai and add warmed milk and sweetener of your choice. I like a ratio of 3:1 tea to milk and add 1 spoonful of honey to a 12 ounce mug.

Enjoy!

"Foggy Tea" with Vanilla Syrup

I was introduced to "London Fog" through a reference from a Facebook friend. The drink is served at a popular coffee house in town and is made with Earl Grey tea, vanilla syrup and steamed milk. We have experimented with the recipe and have decided it is better than hot chocolate. I prefer the "Bangalore" version with chai tea, but the Earl Grey version is also very good.

Vanilla syrup:

Combine 1-1/2 cups water with 3/4 cup sugar or sweetener of choice. Cut a vanilla bean in 1/2 and add the half bean to a small pot with the water and sugar. Save the other vanilla bean half for the next batch. Simmer the ingredients for 10 minutes, cool and scrape inside of vanilla bean with a spoon. Store syrup in a jar in the fridge. ( I leave the bean in the syrup)

To make tea:

Brew 2 cups strong tea. Heat one cup of milk of choice until hot. Combine 1 cup tea, 1/2 cup hot milk and 2 tbsp vanilla syrup in a mug. Stir and serve. Makes two 12 ounce drinks.

Feel free to foam the milk if you have the right equipment.

Other versions of foggy tea:

• Manchester Fog - steamed soy milk with a sugar free vanilla syrup in Earl Grey tea.
• Dublin Fog- The same as London Fog, only substituting Earl Grey with Irish Breakfast Tea
• Bangalore Fog - The same as London Fog, only substituting Earl Grey with Chai  Also known as a Bombay Fog 
• Maui Fog - The same as London Fog, only substituting coconut for vanilla syrup.
• Starbucks Earl Grey Latte is a version of London Fog.
• Tokyo Fog - The same as London Fog, only substituting Matcha-based Green Tea for Earl Grey.
• Cape Town Fog - The same as London Fog, only substituting Earl Gray with Rooibos Tea
• Nanaimo Mist - Variation on the London Fog, using almond syrup rather than vanilla. 

Iced Coffee

Anyone who knows me is aware that I am a tea drinker. I may have coffee once or twice a year if a social circumstance demands or if the tea is really awful, but it is not my beverage of choice. Last summer I had a couple of Tim Hortons iced coffees and really liked them. Unfortunately, I had no choice of milk or sweetener as they use a base mix for the drink.

I found a couple of recipes for iced coffee on Pinterest and modified them for the quantities we would use in our household. This recipe is well worth making on a hot holiday weekend. The cold water brew eliminates any bitterness in the coffee.

Put 3/4 cup medium grind coffee in a jar and add 3-1/2 cups cold water. I used an empty 1 litre olive jar. Let the mixture sit for 12 hours.

Strain the coffee in a very fine sieve, a coffee filter or some cheesecloth. ( I used a coffee filter). You now have your coffee concentrate.

You can now make your iced drink according to your preference for coffee flavour and sweetness.

In a 10 ounce mug I added:

1 tbsp sweetener (agave nectar, sugar, sweetener)
2 tbsp milk (or cream, soy milk, chocolate milk)
1/4 cup coffee concentrate
Ice cubes
Fill the rest of the glass with water

This was enjoyed by everyone in the family!

Here are ratios for different quantities of coffee concentrate ~
1-1/2 cups ground coffee to 7 cups cold water
1 cup ground coffee to 4.5 cups cold water
3/4 cup ground coffee to 3.5 cups cold water
1/2 cup ground coffee to 2.25 cups cold water

Agua de Frutas

I am not a fan of sweet drinks, but the fruit drinks and teas served in Mexico are very refreshing and the sweetness is easily controlled.

Fresh fruit drinks

Blend a mixture of fruit such as strawberries, melon, mango, pineapple, orange, etc in the blender with a little water until you have a thick puree. Sweeten to taste. This is your concentrate. To serve, add some fruit to a glass or pitcher and add water a little at a time until desired consistency is reached. The drinks are thick enough that they are difficult to get through a straw. Garnish with lime if desired.

Jamaica

Add boiling water to dried hibiscus flowers and let it steep until it is a deep red color. Strain and cool and add sweetener to taste. Dilute concentrate as described above. I make hot hibiscus tea regularly and use 1 teaspoon dried flowers per cup of boiling water. For the cold concentrate I would start with 2-3 teaspoons per cup of water.

Green Smoothies

Smoothies are all the rage right now but many varieties at fast food restaurants and grocery stores are high in sugar. I added green powder to smoothies for years but I never used fresh greens. After looking at a few recipes on the web and experimenting this week, I found some good combinations. The Becka added one romaine leaf to her fruit smoothie one morning and thought she could get used to it. Daughter #2 cautiously tried a sip of my very green smoothie and was surprised that it was tasty. Here is the way I make them:

Version #1

Add to blender:

1 ripe banana
1-2 portions of fruit of choice (peach, nectarine, strawberries, apricots, mango)
1/2-1 cup soy milk (or milk/yogurt of choice)
4 ice cubes


Blend until liquefied and gradually add until thoroughly blended:

2-4 cups fresh greens of choice- I like spinach best, but kale, colards, chard or mixed baby greens work as well.

This fills 2 glasses. I drink one at breakfast and take the other to work to sip on during the day.
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Version #2

Blend 4 cups seedless watermelon until liquefied
Another fruit of choice (i.e. strawberries, banana, canteloupe)
Add 2-4 cups greens and blend
Add water if the mixture is too thick
You can add some lime juice and/or sweetener if desired

Pumpkin Pie Smoothie

This tastes as good as the filling of pumpkin pie. I cook and freeze pumpkin in the fall and have it handy for pumpkin loaf or muffins, pumpkin pie and also to add to soup. Quantities are approximate so feel free to adjust to taste and availability of ingredients.

1-1/2 cups plain soy milk

3/4 cup pureed pumpkin (frozen or thawed)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 tsp ginger

1 tsp cinnamon

4 packets of Splenda

Blend together in blender and pour into glasses.

Serves 2

Variations:

Sweeten with honey, maple syrup, ripe banana or other sweetener.

Use any kind of milk

Elva's Iced Tea

Put 9 teabags in a 6 cup teapot.
Fill pot with boiling water and steep the tea overnight.
In the morning add 16 cups of water,
one tin (355 ml) of frozen lemonade concentrate,
and one cup of sugar or Splenda to the tea.

Makes a big batch that goes down quickly.

My sister-in-law added some lemon slices to this and it was even better!