Real Lemonade

We usually drink lemonade mixed from frozen concentrate.  I dilute it quite a bit, preparing a gallon from a 12 oz. can of concentrate.  It's fine, and quite popular compared to our usual beverage choices:  water, milk, and iced tea (if you're an adult or have drunk your milk quota for the day!).

Last week David improvised a few glasses of lemonade for himself and Rebecca, which she enjoyed immensely.  Then yesterday she persuaded me to make some when she and a friend came in hot and sweaty from outdoor play.  There was a warehouse-sized bag of lemons in the basement fridge, so it was easy to bring me on board.

This recipe comes from The Boxcar Children Cookbook, which makes it a sentimental favorite.  Long ago this book was one of our favorite sources as David and I prepared monthly meals together.  (Vegetarian/Redwall inspired recipes were another focus.)  Anyway, here's my slightly adapted version:

Maggie's Lemonade

adapted from The Boxcar Children Cookbook

1 cup sugar

2 quarts water, divided

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

~1/4 cup red cherry juice, optional

Combine the sugar with 1 cup water.  Heat in the microwave 1 or 2 minutes, stirring to dissolve sugar.  Add remaining water, lemon juice, and optional cherry juice.  Chill and serve over ice.

If you're in a hurry to drink your lemonade, substitue ice cubes for part of the water.  Enjoy!

Bubbles!

Have you ever enjoyed bubble tea?  It's a fun treat.  There are recipes all over the internet, but it's not too hard to improvise, either.

Find large tapioca pearls at an Asian grocery store.  Cook according to package directions (usually some simmering and soaking).  This time I strained the pearls, dropped them into glasses, 

and poured on some strawberry lemonade.

The lemonade was improvised, too.  I mixed it from frozen concentrate (I use A LOT more water than the can suggests, making almost a gallon from 12 oz.), and pureed it with partly thawed frozen strawberries. 

Easy-peasy, and lots of fun! 

The bubbles are slightly gooey and slightly chewy.  They can be scooped up with a spoon, but it's especially fun to slurp them up with a fat straw.  Surprisingly, I haven't been able to find these straws at any of the Asian markets that sell the tapioca.  I finally found some at my local grocer, called "milkshake straws."  Who knew?

We've made several variations so far.  Lauren likes bubbles in hot, sweetened tea.  I've shaken them with jasmine tea, crushed ice, sugar, and cream.  We even imitated a Starbucks drink by mixing lemonade, iced tea, and passion fruit nectar (usually found in the Latino foods aisle).  The sky's the limit--have fun!

Hot Spiced Cider

Just the thing for a cold afternoon, this recipe is based on the one from Alice Cantrell's Tea & Cake With the Saints: A Catholic Young Lady's Introduction to Hospitality and the Home Arts.

2 quarts apple cider
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp whole allspice
1 tsp whole cloves
(For 1 gallon of cider, just increase to 3 cinnamon sticks and 1 1/2 tsp each allspice and cloves.)

Break the cinnamon sticks once or twice. Combine with other spices in a small piece of cheesecloth or a coffee filter. Tie with UN-waxed dental floss. Float with cider in a saucepan, bring to a boil, and keep warm.
This can also be heated in a crockpot. I don't usually have all day, though, so I microwave it in the insert until the cider is hot, then just keep it warm in the crockpot.

I like to use the rustic cider (vs. the clear bottled kind), but prefer to decant from the jug without shaking it. Too many particles seem to cook together into unappetizing clumps.

Best-Ever Hot Chocolate

February is a great time to think about (and to drink) hot chocolate, and I've got a delicious version. It's better and easier than those recipes that call for cocoa powder with powdered milk or coffee creamer. Please don't even mention the bags of "hot cocoa mix"...

The house with the big trampoline might have more kid visitors most of the time, but we definitely draw the apres-sledding crowd.

Hot Chocolate
1 quart milk
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
vanilla, to taste

Heat milk almost to a boil. Add chocolate. Pause. Whisk until chocolate is melted, then add vanilla to taste. Enjoy; we like ours topped with whipped cream or mini marshmallows.

Notes:

• I just splash the vanilla in. I'd guess 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons for this batch.
• To make an individual serving, use 1 cup milk, 3 Tbsp chocolate, and a smaller splash of vanilla.
• We usually use skim milk, but the creamier milks are more luxurious.
• Speaking of luxury, for a more sophisticated drink (dessert?) use whole milk, or milk with part cream, and add bittersweet chocolate. If you don't have bittersweet, make some by substituting unsweetened baking chocolate (chopped or shaved) for part of the chocolate chips (1:3 ratio).
• I usually heat the milk (4-6 cups) in an 8 cup glass pyrex measuring cup in the microwave. After whisking the chocolate and vanilla, it's easy to pour into mugs. For larger batches I use the stovetop and serve with a ladle.