A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Christmas Food Gifts: Ghirardelli/French Vanilla Hot Cocoa Mix

A few weeks ago I got really annoyed by the commercialism and non-stop bombardment of "Buy Buy Buy!" that constitutes the retail version of Christmas that I vowed on Facebook that I would only give small, home-made, heart-felt gifts. This cocoa mix is one of those gifts. 

When I was a kid, we were very poor but our Mom was very creative in the kitchen and for the same price of a few packets of Swiss Miss Cocoa that we could inhale in under a half hour (five kids!) she could make gallons of home-made cocoa mix.  This is one of my favorite memories from childhood winters-- endless comforting cups of cocoa.

It's a new day and, like everything else that was cheap when I was a kid, the "cheap" has wafted away in the wind BUT the beauty is that the warmth, the comfort, and the memories are still there.  I've updated the recipe to be with a better quality cocoa, less fat and carbs, but it's still one of my favorite winter things.

Christmas Food Gifts: Winter Cold Pomegranate Comfort Tea

Does anyone else remember Tang Tea mix that was very in vogue as a food gift about 20-25 years ago?  Anyone else a little horrified by the amount of sugar that was in it? Okay, maybe that was just me.   I've updated the tang tea recipe with sugar substitutes and added a "liquid vitamin" component that makes this hot winter tea even more comforting especially during cold and flu season. I need

I to make more. I've already gone through one of my containers of mix and haven't given to all my giftees yet. Oops!

Halloween Food: Eyeball Rice Cereal Treats, Devil's Eye Eggs, Blood Clot Cranberry Dip, and I See You Meatballs

Bwahahahaha! Halloween--my very favorite holiday!  And a family favorite as well. No matter how old "our" kids get, this will always be our tradition: get together at Aunt Gonnie and Uncle Gene's house, eat great creepy food, dress up or dress down, take any little ones trick-or-treating the neighborhood and just hang out..

This year our creepy food was all eyeball in theme. We didn't really plan it that way but as the eyeballs piled up we just kept running with them it:  Gummy Eyeball Rice Cereal Treats,  Devil's Eye Eggs,  Blood Clot Cranberry Dip, I See You Meatballs, and just for fun, the un-eye-ball Mexican Villa Cheese Dip and Chips. There was also two crockpots full of chili and a few others goodies on the table like spinach dip, witch's pretzel/candy fingers, etc.    

 

 And now for recipes....

"Natural" Wine vs "Organic" Wine

 

This post supported by Natural Wine

I'm usually a martini girl when it comes to alcohol but there are times when a nice glass of wine makes me feel lovely. While I don't profess or even begin to hint that I am an expert on wine by any means, I do have an insatiable curiosity when it comes to all things imbibable.  Like Alice in her Wonderland, if it says "Eat me" or "Drink me" I can usually be found there.

Lately, along with all the other organic foods, I've been noticing wines in the same section being advertised as organic and/or "natural".  Organic is the term used for foods grown from non-genetically modified origins without pesticides, chemical fertilizers, or chemical additives. That's straight forward.  While the FDA has no definition of the term "natural", the intent seems to be almost literal in an attempt by a small amount of avant garde growers/winemakers to get back to nature, so to speak, to return the process to its more simple, natural, minimalist beginnings.

Better-than-Sonic Homemade Diet Cherry Limeade

 

Tall, juicy, refreshing, AND GOOD FOR YOU?  You bet!  Each tall water glass, about 12 oz, has only 45 calories and counts as a fruit serving... Yum!  I don't mind drinking water during the day but the evenings are when I miss soda the most and this is a great substitution. I love diet cherry limeades so it doesn't feel like a sub at all and I like knowing that I'm NOT drinking empty calories but something that tastes like dessert while giving me needed vitamins and antioxidants.

Good Things Sometimes Come in a Glass: Cucumber Lime Water

Especially as we're heading into spring and summer, what could be more refreshing than Cucumber Lime Water?  No fuss, no muss, no sweetener, simply chilled fresh filtered water with a light aroma and taste and a few ice cubes and cucumber spears to crunch on.  A pitcher of this water makes it easy to get those 8-10 daily recommended glasses in without seeming like a chore.

My entry for Cate of Sweetnick's ARF/5-a-day Antioxidant Rich Foods, eating the cucumbers and the lime juice you squeeze into the water give you the same Vitamin C as drinking orange juice, only without the sugar added to commerical drinks.  Cucumbers are a good source for Vitamin A, calcium, and potassium.  Set a pitcher in the fridge and enjoy all day long. See Cate's round up for other healthy foods this week.

To make, simply toss peeled cucumber spears, the juice of one lime, and slices of another into a pitcher of water, along with as much ice as you'd like.  Chill.

Pomegranate Martini or Spritzer

I confess I've never squeezed a real pomegranate before. I found them intimidating. I used to look at them in the produce section but never had the guts to buy one and find out how to eat it.  I've had the juice before and have ordered dishes with pomegranate in them from restaurants but have just never gotten around to investigating them up close and personal for myself until now.

This is my entry for Cate of Sweetnick's, ARF/5-A-Day blogging event featuring antioxidant rich foods.  The pomegranate definitely fits that category.  Loaded with Vitamin C, A, and E, and folic acid, it's a powerhouse fruit.  Studies have shown that the fruit can lower lipid profiles in diabetics with hyperlipidemia (too much fat in the blood), and increases blood flow to the heart while lowering cholesterol profiles in both healthy patients and those diagnosed with heart disease.  In one article that summarizes five studies, it states that pomegranates increase levels of nitric oxide in the blood, which dilates the vessels allowing blood to flow more easily which also assists in lowering systolic (the top number) blood pressure and pomegranate also reduces plaque build-up by as much as 30%.  The same article also suggests eating/drinking daily pomegranate can positively affect erectile dysfunction.  Holy Blood Flow, Batman!  Forget Viagra and Cialys, just slug back pomegranate juice frequently and regularly to...uh..affect other things in life you'd like to do frequently.  Okay, seriously that might have a little merit because blood doesn't just flow to the heart, you know.

Display Teas: A Sight of Beauty, A Taste of Spring

I had never heard the term "display tea" until researching an article on dragon pearls for A Nice Cuppa a few months ago. Dragon Pearl tea is the most simple of the display teas, a hand-tied bundle of two of the earliest of the green teas picked specifically in the Fuji Chinese province, wrapped around a jasmine blossom.

As the pearls steep, they unfurl into leafy tendrils and form a pale, floral, uplifting tea, perfect for evenings to me.

I'd seen reference to other teas on the net, specifically those made by a company called Adagio but hadn't seen any face to face until my trip to Napa with Sher of What Did You Eat?  There, in Dean & DeLuca, I literally grabbed onto a can of blossoms that I will be reordering. Behold my stash in the long silver cylinder:

And this is what they look like when steeped full on. Again, beautiful to watch and just as gorgeous to drink.  All display teas of from the Fuji province, the youngest, best quality green tea leaves, with floral surprises tucked inside, and hand-tied or sewn.  this one has both a jasmine bud, hard to see, and a small chrysanthemum, which looks like a pink clover to me, actually.  They are reusable. I steeped this one twice for photos and then twice more for drinking before I gave up on it.

To purchase beautiful display teas as well as glass tea pots and mugs to prepare them in, see Teaposy at www.wholelottalove.com . There's also a really nice video showing several different display tea arrangements steeping and opening up.  Nice site and reasonably priced, not that I'm getting a kickback from them or anything, I swear. I'll just be ordering from them myself.

The Three L's: Lavender, Lemon Verbena, and Lime

My health food market has been carrying more dried florals and I've decided to take advantage. I love the smell of lavender. I could get lost in it.  I made scones, I've been making hot tea, now I'm venturing into lavender lemon limeade.  This is the perfect drink for summer. Not only has lavender always smelled like summer to me, the lemon and lime give the perfect citrus Jaw tingle to make me forget the heat. 

You know what the heat in southwest Missouri is like in August, right? An old college roommate of mine from Calgary came to visit several years ago for the frist time. She asked me if she should bring any long sleeves since by the end of August it's beginning to cool down in the evenings up north.  I tried not to laugh in her face as I told her that naked is good for late August in Missouri.  When she deplaned the first thing she said to me was "Wow. I can feel the air moving into my lungs. Is that the humidity?  It's like being at the indoor pool only without the smell of chlorine."

That sums it up.  With this citrus cooler you can at least drink your liquid at a cool temp rather than breathing it in at 100+ degrees during this last hellish month.

Weekend Herb Blogging:  Lavender & Lemon Verbena Limeade

Check out Kalyn's Round up of WHB at Kalyn's Kitchen.