Liquid assets

Brunch Bloody Marys

If you’re having that toast and avocado brunch, then a similar Bloody Mary bar may be considered as well.  For the adults, set out tall but roomy glasses with ice and the portion of vodka (yes, try the flavored vodkas described below).  For the kids, as much as they tell you they’re adult, leave out the alcohol and use a broader plastic drinking glass they can easily and safely stir the mix up in.  They’ll love concocting their special favorite versions.  There ain’t nuthin like a good BM.

Offer a variety of tomato drink presentations – spicy (Snappy Tom or processed canned tomato/pepper like Rotelle), peppery (Bloody Mary mix), fresh (fresh tomatoes, processor or blender mixed), and V-8 or your favorite tomato/ vegetable drink. 

Set out the flavorings, very similar to the avocado offerings – hot sauce/Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, lime and lemon wedges and zests, any of the salsas in this book, horseradish/wasabi, coarse and/or flavored salts, fresh ground pepper, fresh minced herbs/spices (mint, tarragon, dill, thyme, chives, parsley, cilantro) – and then the swizzle stick:  cucumber/carrot/celery sticks, long green beans, zucchini or daikon radish sticks etc. 

You can salt or salt/herb the rim of the glasses, plus freeze the glasses with alcohol in with the ice for the coldest presentation.  Happy brunch!

SMOOTHIES

Supplementing nutrition, or replacing the mass of meals, is not a bad option – especially when the weather is hot, one is on a diet, or time is at a limit.  For this, you’ll have to make a trip to your health food store, although some well-stocked supermarkets now carry supplemental fortified protein powders.   Be sure to read the label and acquaint yourself with protein sources, freshness dating, sugar content, preservatives and stabilizers, and salts.  Talk to the pharmacist or qualified sales person.  For one serving, follow the instructions and add in the middle of the ingredients going into the blender jar – no dust clouds!

Ice is usually one of the main ingredients, but freezing some softer fruits is a great alternate option, or to use along with part of the ice content.  Bananas, strawberries, sliced apples, peaches, pineapples, grapes and other fruits work well, and they don’t ultimately dilute the drink with water.  It will be thicker as a result, so stock up on the wider straws.

Freeze the chosen fruits, diced to no larger than an inch to an inch and a half, in a single layer on a sheet pan, and when frozen, move to a sealable container (or our ever faithful zip-lock bags).  Store your individually frozen fruit bits in an easy to access place in the freezer.  Just grabbing a handful when assembling the smoothie is a sensible trend.

Don’t stop at fruits either.  Non-frozen tomatoes, cucumbers, beets, shredded carrots, dandelion greens/roots and spinach work very well in a smoothie, and they add considerable nutrition and moisture plus they remain consistent with the overall taste.  Spices can also be considered, such as the ever-successful cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice, but don’t forget minced fresh ginger, mint (both nutritious), cayenne, cardamom, fresh cracked pepper and citrus zest.  Prepared leftover rice, barley, legumes and lentils are a healthy add plus a good texture, without noticeably altering the flavor.

You’ll want to include non-frozen liquid ingredients as well, for thinning and to avoid that always popular ‘brain freeze’.  Fresh, quality, non-flavored, live culture yogurt is THE perfect and very healthy ingredient.  Fresh juices, un-sweetened iced teas, diced fresh juicy fruits and vegetables, and leftover purees like applesauce and baby food can be used.  If you have them, you can use a small portion of non-sugar frozen ice creams or yogurt desserts, but don’t get into the habit -- this is, after all, a meal for you, not a dessert/reward thing.  

For this ‘meal’, avoid processed sugars – stay with small amounts of honey, molasses, maple and corn syrups or stevia for sweetener, if at all, as the less the better.  You WILL become accustomed to the unaltered fresh flavor offered by the natural sweetness offered in fruits and vegetables.

In the processor, add your ingredients with only enough liquid to get things moving, and add more as you go.  Replace no more than one meal a day with this refreshing friend, and keep your daily water and liquid intake always in check.

The love of the roast.

COFFEE - WAKE UP AND G’NITE

In brewing fresh coffee, the real thing to remember is acids and oils -- the two things that can bitter coffee worse than anything else.  You’ve heard of cowboys adding eggshells to the grounds.  Well, the calcium and porosity in the shells and residual egg albumen does aid in absorbing some of the acids and oils, and holds the grounds together.  Nope, not just a prairie tale. (Sorry for the pun)

In the morning, for a slight bit of ‘zing’ to help wake you up, add merely a sprinkle of cinnamon (if you have the sticks, then fresh broken up bits are excellent) and/or nutmeg and/or even just a hint of cayenne in the grounds before brewing for a bright yet subtle background to the sip.  Try also in the grounds, powdered ginger or fresh cracked pepper.

In the evening, as for after-dinner, you may add an unusual spice to your common conception, cardamom.  Use either ground, or in cracked seed form – just a small quarter teaspoonful of ground (or double that of cracked full pods) into the coffee grounds (consider de-caf) before brewing.  Nutmeg, cayenne pepper, cinnamon could be considered alone or with, but sparingly as a background to the cardamom, but most of all you have to try cocoa nibs here for a perfect finish, just decadent. The rich, earthy taste of cardamom with the subtle chocolate is wonderful, almost like a nice brandy. 

A perfect end to an incredible meal.

YELLIN'

WATERMELON
ICED TEA

At that wedding where everyone cleared the food table, I made this beverage.  It worked in my head, so it made sense to try it in reality.

The groom did not drink alcohol, so the bride asked me to provide something refreshingly classy, different tasting from what anyone would expect, and something appropriate for Texas.

Watermelon (in Spanish, sandia, san-dee-ya, like the Sandia Mountains in New Mexico, at sunset they are the color of yes, watermelon) is a hugely refreshing creation. 

When in season and affordable, buy these liquid ‘happiness carriers’, chunk out the rich red flesh, chill to ice-cold in zip lock bags, and puree in a blender or processor.  Strain the seeds in a coarse strainer, if necessary, and pour all together with an ice-cold prepared ice tea – equal parts of each. 

I had found a great ‘tropical’ flavored instant tea mix, but you can use whichever tea you care for.  It can be caffeinated or herbal, brewed or instant, sugared or sugar-free.  I just go for simple when preparing for a crowd.  The freshness of the watermelon overrides any ‘powdered’ flavor the tea might contain should you choose instant tea. 

Bright thirst-quenching watermelon renders such a complete refreshment joy that just can’t be imitated.

Options:  try other melons, which have more dense fruit ‘meat’ (which will need added water, tonic, seltzer, juice etc), and strain if necessary of the coarser fibers that may be in the flesh.  Try adding choices of the flavored alcohol homemade ‘extracts’ from this book for a light spritz for flavor, or generously add more, as a cocktail or adult punch.

LEMONADES  with a twist

I think of lemonade when I think of Mom, apple pie, and summer swims in the river.  As American as we’d like to think lemonade to be, it sure isn’t ours to claim.  The lemon infused beverage, usually made with water, mineral/carbonated water, wine, and liquors goes so far back there is no real ‘birth’ date.  And the lemon fruit itself began more in India and the Middle/Far East, so you know those cultures had that drink claimed centuries if not millennia before Uncle Sam drew his first breath. 

Regardless, fresh-made lemonade is a summer – and anytime -- classic.  There’s really no need to mess with the best, but if you’re up to it, I have a few ‘tweak’ suggestions. 

With homemade lemonade, the ingredient proportions are usually

one part fresh squeezed lemon juice, with or without pulp
                    is up to you, I love a toothy lemony smile!
four parts water (aim for pure, filtered, de-sulphered, de-
                    chlorinated if at all possible – not distilled)
one part sugar, or thereabouts 

Dissolve the sugar into the water first, either by using a finer grind sugar (put your cup of table sugar in the processor and whirl away), and/or lots of stirring/shaking; or heating an equal part of the water to dissolve, then add the rest of the water in chilled and/or ice form.  But remember, re-aerate the boiled water afterward, it tends to go ‘flat’ (Boy Scouts did pay off) – so give a good shake in a bottle or pour back and forth from one pitcher to another.  Any of these lemonades may be mixed wonderfully with a favorite iced tea, other fruit/citrus juices, colas/soft drinks or sparkling cider/wine – delicious!

As a twist from the ‘norm’, try using half white sugar and half light brown sugar in the mix instead of all white.

Perhaps using a favorite sparkling water instead of regular H2O.

Just a quarter part of one part of an alternate flavoring -- such as a deep, dark fresh-blended and strained berry juice, honey, molasses, maple syrup (the pure, good stuff); a tablespoon or two of cinnamon ‘red hots’ candies dissolved; any of the listed flavored vodkas (see below) – or a great brandy or rum; or a personal amount choice blending of another fresh juice such as cherry, pomegranate, strawberry, grapefruit, apple, sparkling apple cider, peach, orange, cranberry etc – or the tropical offerings such as mango, papaya, pineapple, coconut milk, passion fruit, guava etc. – or at the least, you can try one sixteenth of one part of freshly minced ginger and its related juice – excellent!  (One tablespoon is one sixteenth of one cup).

My fave?  Raspberry-ginger lemonade with a splash of pepper vodka, incredible!  (see below)




Handle with respect

FLAVORED VODKAS   to sip, to flavor and to savor

The making of vodka goes so far back in history, that there isn’t a sure date for it, but most likely from the Polish/Russian/Ukraine region around the 14^th century seems to be a general consensus.  Flavoring vodka goes back just as far.  Technically, gin is enhanced vodka (with juniper berries, lemon and bitters), although it is erroneously considered by most to be a liquor option separate from vodka.  Who knew?  Flavoring vodka is relatively easy because pure vodka carries no unique flavor to collide with other additives.  Because of this, most folks find it to be a great flavoring foundation favorite and use it more than one would think for cocktails, seasonings, pastry making, ice creams/gelatos/sorbets, marinades, sauces, vaporous deglazing aromas and back bite for many foods and drinks.

Funnel 3-4 tablespoons to half a cup (as you prefer the strength of the flavoring) of ‘gravel’ to ‘pea-sized’ flavoring bits (try to find organic, chemical free ingredients, if possible; wash all related skins/zests well; oven-dry moist or watery diced bits at low temperature; freshly mash/crush dried bits to expose volatile oils) into 1 liter bottle of vodka.  Allow bits to steep for at least five to seven days in a cool, dark, consistent temperature area.  Shake or swirl every day or so.  Don’t open and close the top, just be patient until at least five to seven days.

Test taste the final steep of flavoring.  If satisfied, strain through a barely damp, clean kitchen cloth or lint free paper towel (likeViva brand) or a coffee filter which would be lining a strainer (the dampening limits alcohol from wicking very far away from the pour area of the paper) into a pitcher.  Then replace to the original re-sealable bottle with a funnel, seal well, and chill/store in fridge or freezer (chilling isn’t necessary, but a chilled vodka makes using ice less necessary for some drinks). 

Read through the following suggested mixes and see what you think.  If it sounds good, then there y’are:

Spices/seeds/pods - Peppercorn, anise, celery seed, cardamom, cocoa nib, sesame, cinnamon, sassafras, nutmeg, vanilla bean, tamarind pod, rose hip, pumpkin pie spice (which would be ginger bits, cinnamon stick, crushed nutmeg nut, whole cloves - in ratio of 1-2-1/2-1/4) freshly crushed.

Herbs - mint/peppermint/spearmint, lavender, dill, cilantro, herbs de Provence, lemongrass, hibiscus, prepared tea selections (herbal or caffeine) - carefully dried in low oven or food drier (quickly).

Fruits - Dried tree or vine fruits - apple, apricot, cherry, pear, grape (raisin), date, fig, pine-apple, mango, guava, berries - any you can find (just think), cranberry, peach, banana, pomegranate, olive (black or green).

Vine vegetable/rhizome - cucumber peel (unwaxed) with non-seed flesh, sweet potato, melon, ginger root, wasabi/horseradish, sun-dried tomato (non-oil packed) - carefully oven dried to less moist.

Dried peppers - ancho, guajillo, de arbol, pasilla, Tabasco, mulatto, cascabel - with or without       seeds as heat choice dictates.

Citrus - peel/skin in peel/strips or fresh zest: orange, lemon, lime, grapefruit, tangerine, tangelo

Nuts (unsalted) - coconut (fresh open nut, grated), pistachio, hazelnut/filbert, peanut, walnut, macadamia, almond, walnut, cocoa nib - use fresh nut, fresh roasting before use, at a medium to medium-fine chop/crush.

Prepare chosen flavoring(s) in as waterless/oil-less a fashion as possible.  If fresh herb (or root/tuber/rhizome), separate leaves or slice thinly the ‘meat’ of root/tuber/rhizome/vine vegetable/fruit and allow to slow dry as much as possible in warm/low oven as soon as possible prior to immersion in alcohol; also with nuts and peppercorns, roast freshly split chunks briefly in hot pan/oven till you can just smell them and remove right away from heat to avoid excess heating or scorching – and just prior to immersion in alcohol.  Don’t use powdered spices, but use freshly medium-chopped, rough-cracked or crushed, zested, diced, or peeled items – so as to be able to strain completely from vodka after steeping.

As a refreshment or aperitif, your vodka may be chilled (or even kept in freezer for a maximum cold) and mixed with effervescent neutral waters (tonic, seltzer, soda), champagne/wine, fruit juices, colas or other sodas, other liqueurs, cream/milk, iced tea, iced coffee.

As a digestif (after dinner drink) or cold weather toddy with hot coffee/cream, hot tea, hot cocoa, heated cider and juices

As a flavoring for desserts, gravies/sauces, meats/shellfish, marinades, salsas, chutneys, soups, salad dressings, grains, and as part of the liquid content in pie crusts and pastries as well as batters and tempuras.   

In college, a buddy turned me on to cocoa and vodka.  Whether hot or cold, each ingredient played up and slightly altered the other.  With this in mind, I can only imagine the flavors that could play well with chocolate milk or hot cocoa.  Hey, I just love peppercorn vodka simply as that, while in chocolate milk, I’m sipping away – but it’s great as a splash in fresh salsa – or in the way I prefer a martini.  

Some of my favorites:
  
Peppercorn, cucumber and/or celery seed vodka for salsas,
                Bloody Mary‘s, martinis and Ceviche
Hot cocoa with vanilla, cinnamon and/or de árbol pepper vodka
Coffee with macadamia, berry and/or cardamom vodka       
Orange juice with hibiscus/ginger vodka
Tonic with honeydew/almond vodka
Olive oil/red wine vinegar salad dressing with ancho/lime/walnut vodka
Cola and cherry/almond vodka
Hot tea with lavender and/or lemon vodka
Shellfish marinade with tangerine/tamarind vodka
and of course  ancho chile and/or pistachio vodka with marinara –
               it’s worth the experimentation! 

Suggestion: you and friends all can each do different liter-sized extract flavors and trade out pint or half-pint portion bottles to create a wider selection in your pantry.  Store wisely away from curious smaller hands.

Have fun, but remember, be safe and wise with when, where, how old your buddies are, and how much you experiment and who is driving.  Taste test with spoons or droppers, and NOT cups (!) and don’t blame me!

Just think of that Tupperware party! 

I’m purposefully not including a margarita recipe(s), as there are mucho many out there, and everyone has their favorite (I bet by now you’ve come up with a dandy yourself) – the original Margarita recipe was simply equal parts tequila, orange liqueur and fresh lime juice.  In this book I’m including drink recipes that more than likely may not be in most folks’ recipe boxes, and that pretty much is the basis for all the recipes in this book.

HOMEMADE COFFEE LIQUEUR

Yes you can buy it, but aside from time, it isn’t all that hard to make on your own.  Twist and enhance this delicious liqueur to your White Russian little heart.

                        1     liter Vodka, decent quality  
                                          Optional:  try chocolate-flavored
                                          vodka    Yowza!
                  1    cup dark rum

                      1½   cups light brown sugar

                        ¾   lbs fresh coarsely ground coffee beans –
                                         most grocery stores now have a coffee
                               department offering ‘self-grind’ presentations. 
                                         If not, pulse the beans in the food processor
                                         till ‘chunks’.   Use a fresh, rich, dark blend

                        ¼    cup good vanilla, or one split vanilla bean pod (the
                                        vanilla bean is incredibly delicious, but will
                                        ensure that the recipe must sit for easily a
                                        month, choose carefully)

                Preparation:  Chill the ingredients separately well.  Hot liquids will extract more oil and acid from the coffee grounds – which we definitely don’t want.  You could make this in a half-gallon sealable glass container (like a clean wine jug or large warehouse sized mayonnaise or condiment jar etc) adding the ingredients through a funnel (ground coffee and sugar first) giving a good shake when through.  Shake all the ingredients well to dissolve the sugar and help to absorb liquid into the grounds.  Store in a cool, dark place (but not back into the fridge) for at least two weeks (shaking from time to time), but the longer the better – just see if you can wait a month.  Strain the liquid when you can’t stand it any longer through a fine cheesecloth-lined funnel or colander back into a safe, clean container(s), dark glass is best (you can re-use the original vodka bottle eventually, after you drank your fair share of the Kahlua), and keep stored in a cool dark place.

My mom also had a quicker version that worked almost as well.  Pretty simply, take 3 3/4 cups sugar and mix that with 4 cups of water and 10 tsp (3 tbs plus 1 tsp - or 1/4 cup minus 2 tsp) quality instant coffee - simmer for an hour.  Let cool completely then add 1 quart of vodka and 4 tsp of good vanilla (like as if there were a bad vanilla), bottle it, shake it well and store in a cool, dark place.

HOMEMADE VANILLA EXTRACT  top grade

This is no quick make -- but just for fun, take a half pint or pint of good whiskey or bourbon (as you prefer).  Split open a vanilla bean or two (depending on the size of the bean) and place inside, seal well and just forget about the bottle for about five years.  No, really, just put it in the back of the cupboard and leave it alone, maybe shake it from time to time.  Put the date on the label and have a senior moment.  As a suggestion, make another one every year or two, so they come up ready to be used in sequence. 

If you're not one to have a five year attention span, you can certainly minimalize the prep time, with a 'quality' exchange in the process.  By upping the number of vanilla beans to five or six, then the time may be reduced to a month or two, and re-using the beans again for the next batch is a way to lengthen the lifespan usage of the expensive beans.  This vanilla extract will not be as rich or full-flavored, but def better than what can be purchased in a processed form.  And always, the finished beans NEVER should be thrown away, but placed in the sugar container to perfume the stored sugar as it's being used.  So nice!

Just as a thought, you may want to do several and give them out as gifts to the friends who actually believed you’d wait for five years!