Plum and Licorice Salmiaki Milkshake

The plums are literally tumbling from the tree and rolling down our slope of a garden,

I made a Plum Milkshake with some licorice.  Even though I have stuck a licorice stick in my foamy milkshake, I have to admit I used powdered licorice known as salmiak.  Although I got the sweet salty salmiak - licorice powder from Bruge, Belgium.   Its a very popular ingredient in the Scandanavian region.  I had forgot that I had a little tub of sweet and salty salmiak, it was only whilst I was rummaging in my kitchen cupboards for something else that I stumbled upon it.  

This frothy Plum and Licorice Milkshake reminded me of a South Asian Lassi which is both sweet and salty.  So this drink is a bit of an acquired taste,  

So this drink is a bit of an acquired taste,  If you don't like licorice, just make it with a dash of cinnamon, of course it won't be the same.  I am sharing this recipe with Recipe of the Week hosted by A Mummy Too.

Easy Summer Chia Hibiscus Cooler

Ah its the start to the weekend and in contrast to the past couple of days that called for bowl food, this late afternoon the sun has come out all shining with an invitation to go out, doss and sit in the garden sipping something to welcome that chillax (chill and relax) Friday Feeling.

Today for the crazy kids we have non-alcoholic cocktails aka mocktails and coolers .  This is no ordinary cooler, it is made from edible flowers and chia seeds. 

We Should Cocoa - The Chocolate - Chilli Round Up

Here are the chocolate and chilli entries for this months We Should Cocoa Challenge.  

I thought the chilli chocolate combination would prove a bit of a challenge for our food bloggers, but it was a challenge that many of you took in your stride because I received loads of chilli - chocolate inspired dishes.  Before I share the awesome fiery entries, I would like to take this opportunity to Thank you lovely fellow bloggers for being part of my much neglected blog. 

I would also like Thank both Choclette and Chele for giving me an opportunity to host this months edition of We Should Cocoa.  I have enjoyed it, really.  

Here are the chilli-chocolate submissions (in no particular order).

I've been drinking a lot of hot chocolate the past week, but I have to say I want to try this Chilli Chocolate Toddy from Mari from the Nutty Tart.  This Chilli Chocolate Toddy is made not with whiskey but brandy and rum, with chilli, cinnamon and all spice.  My cheeks are feeling warm just looking at this. 

Lucy - The Kitchenmaid Chilli Chocolate Syrup and Chilli Chocolate Martini.  Lucy suggest this as a DIY Chrismas gift, but I want to make this all for me. I can only imagine the versatility of the Chilli Chocolate Syrup, over ice-cream, even in a hot chocolate - Lush!

Janine from Cake of the Week tempts us all with these gorgeous Chilli Chocolate Macarons. She made these delightful morsels for her fathers birthday, unlike her Janine's father is a huge fan of chilli and he approved as a sizeable chunk of them had disappeared by the end of the day!   I've yet to try making macarons at home, and this may be the recipe to tempt me.

A mug of fresh mint tea

Seedlings are germinating, and the fruit trees are blossoming, herbs are growing -  other than that there is not really much growing in my garden and not much being harvested other than the mint that is running riot in the garden plot.  I am pulling it out, here and there and trying my best to control it.

My mother dries her mint herb on the window sill and when dried she rubs them between her hands, so to remove the dried leaves from the stem.  The dried mint herb is then transferred to a glass jar for when she wishes for some mint tea.  Well, I have mint tea today, but its fresh mint tea enhanced with a little honey. Simples.   

Rhubarb Rosewater Compote and Vanilla Lassi

I know many people are indulging in iced teas and iced lattes, frappacinos and the like, but I have been indulging in sweet Lassi's lately.  Remember my Strawberry and Black Pepper Lassi.

Well with plenty of rhubarb still growing in my garden, it was inevitable that a rhubarb flavoured one would appear on my blog.  My husband is not a fan of milky drinks, but he was swayed into trying a sip when he cottoned on to the fact that this lassi was going to be made with home-grown rhubarb.  Well this sip soon turned into a large glass.  He liked it very much, especially the sharp twang from the rhubarb and the yogurt.

Rosemary, Orange and Honey Drink

I think I mentioned about a week or so ago that both D and I were suffering from a cold.  Well the cold is gone, but I've been left with a dry, tickly and scratchy throat.  I was getting fed up of drinking the same things: cordials, herbal teas and hot Marmite. 

I looked in the kitchen cupboards nothing there, then I looked in the fridge - there was a carton of orange juice.  I was going to slam the fridge doors and slump back into the sofa, when I thought to myself, if you can have mulled wine and hot cider or apple juice, then why not hot orange juice.  Some orange juices can be too sharp, so for soothing sweetness I added some honey and for its medicinal properties as an expectorant, to relieve symptoms of cold, I included the evergreen, needle like herb rosemary. 

So was my throat better, no but both the fragrance and taste of this almost syrup thick liquid delighted me. I won't describe it as delicious, but I felt better for drinking it.

Hot Rosemary, Orange and Honey Drink
Makes 2 large mugs
Ingredients
½ litre of orange juice with bits
1 - 2 teaspoon honey or dark brown sugar
a sprig of fresh rosemary, washed
Method
Put all the ingredients into a pan and bring to a gentle boil, then allow to simmer on low heat for 8 - 10 minutes for the flavours to infuse. Allow to cool, before removing the sprig before pouring it into tall glasses or mugs.

A glass of elderflower champagne

to chase the cold away.
D still in his sorry state, went out into the garden to put up some fat balls in the apple tree for the little birdies. He came back upstairs with a couple of bottle of elderflower champagne that I had made last year. I had actually forgot that I had stored them in the garden shed - fear of them exploding inside you see. He carefully opened a bottle over the sink, as the last time it went pop and fizzled all over. This time, yes it did go POP and it did fizzle over, but not so much. He quickly poured it into a large glass and then shoved it in my face ' do you want a sip?' 'Yes please!' I actually preferred the flavour of the elderflower champagne this time round, than I did six months ago, when I found it smelled not particularly pleasant. D sipped the rest slowly, and responded 'ahhhhh better than lucozade'. Sometimes, when your unwell a little carbonated fizz is good.

Even though I had my doubts about the elderflower champagne recipe, I'll definitely be picking some elderflowers to make some more as it was a success. Until then, we still have eight bottles to enjoy - a treat for when were pottering in the garden.

Lavender Lemonade

Whilst I was busy house cleaning over the weekend, and peeking into my disorganised stored food cupboard I came across my lavender jar. I unscrewed the lid and sniffed high. Oh what a tranquil scent. Then I thought, mmm should do something with this.

I’ve made Lavender Sugar a couple of times. You just have to add a small amount of dried lavender to caster sugar and mix both ingredients in an airtight container, shake well regularly for the flavour and scent to infuse. Strain out the lavender (if you wish, I don’t) and use in sweet bakes, drink recipes and even sprinkled over porridge.
I decided on making some lavender lemonade. There are a number of recipes out there for lavender lemonade, but I decided to use a recipe from a book that I have yet to cook from. This is really a simple and delicious recipe. It uses agave nectar also known as agave syrup. I have seen agave syrup many times at health stores, but never had a reason to buy it, hence try it, until now. If you don’t want to purchase a bottle of agave syrup and I would understand as it is not particularly affordable costing about £2.50 for 250ml you can replace it with the same quantity of sugar syrup.

The lavender buds add a faint hint of purple hue to the lemonade too making it more enticing to the eyes, I think. The quantity made was quite generous for D and me, so I poured the remainder into flip-top bottles I used for my elderflower champagne. I am going to try and store a bottle, so that I can introduce the sweet yet distinct flavour of lavender to friends and family, that is of course if I don’t quench it all myself in the next few days.
Lavender Lemonade
Serves 6 - 8

Ingredients
6 cups/2 pints of water
¼ cup/5g lavender buds
½ cup/100ml of agave syrup or sugar syrup
¾ cup/150ml of freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 4 - 6 large lemons)
Method
In a small saucepan, combine the lavender with 2 cups/350ml of water. Bring to a boil, for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let it steep and cool down for 10 minutes. Strain the lavender water into a serving pitcher and discard the cooked lavender. Add the rest of the water, agave syrup, lemon juice and stir well. Refrigerate until cool. Serve in clear glasses to appreciate the faint natural purple hue. From Vegan Soul Kitchen.

Elderflower champagne bottled up

I thought I better share the recipe for the elderflower champagne as the elderflowers are not going to last long. I have seen a lot starting to bronze up with the recent sunshine. If you decide to make this, please note that I cannot vouch for the outcome, as I have not been able to taste the final product yet.
Updated: May 2011 - The Elderflower Champagne recipe worked brilliantly.  It's really explosive, so I strongly recommend opening the bottle(s) outside in the garden as it will will overflow - a bit like Champagne or Cava. 
PS The rose petals ones didn't work so well.

Elderflower Champagne Recipe
Ingredients
12 - 20 heads of elderflower (depending on their size, some of mine were small)
900g sugar
Juice and zest of two lemons
1 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
14 litres of cold water
Method
You will also need a sterilized bucket with tight fitting lid; and glass bottles with tops.
Dissolve the sugar in a bowl of hot water. Add the lemon juice, zest and vinegar and stir well.
Pour the contents into bucket. Pour the cold water over. Leave for three days. Strain the liquid and pour into sterilized bottles.

I managed to fill 24 x 550ml sized bottles, and only because I had some, I added a few rose petals to a couple of bottles before putting the tops on.
After two weeks the liquid should be sparkling and ready to drink.

We had about a glassful left over and drank it neat, very reminisce of the sweet and golden Muscat wine. I am optimistic the bottled product will be delightful, but I will share more in two weeks time.