There is something in them waters

Day 7 of Dry July, so that's no alcohol or soft drink and so far all is well.

No diva outbursts, no fetal position crying wrapped in a doona but I have been watching Celebrity Rehab so I'm sure I could pull it off if I had too.

The only time there's been any risk of soft drink passing my lips was Friday night when we ordered home delivered pizza, not artisan but the rough processed dirty kind. 
The perfect partner to a bad movie with a bottle of soft drink to cut through all that grease but no I stood strong.

 

Water in all it's many variations has become my new best tasty friend. These are more like experiments than recipes but it's exciting to see what a bottle of water on a window sill can achieve.

 

Most of the variations spring from the idea of ice tea but there are also a couple that are fruit based.

 

My favourite of the moment is plan lemon, so refreshing I may be off the soft drink for longer than just July.

 

Flavoured Waters:

Ingredients

• 1 bottle of cold water (approx. 720ml thanks to the old passata jars)
• 1 tbsp. sugar

 

Variations:

• 2 lemon wedges, or
• 2 rooibos teas and 3 slices of orange/lemon, or
• 1 peppermint teabag and a sprig of mint, or
• 1 earl grey teabag and a lemon wedge, or
• 10 blueberries, or
• A pinch of oolong tea and a lemon wedge 

Method:

• Add sugar to bottle of water
• Mix slightly, does not need to be dissolved
• Add flavouring of your choice
• Sit on a window sill for a couple of hours
• Refrigerate to chill
• Strain before drinking (Although blokes seem to have a thing about drinking straight from the bottle, genetics I guess, with these I'm a bottle drinker)  

 

Summer is cordially invited....

Summer, it is now officially autumn and you are cordially invited to go home now. It is 37 degrees Celsius (98 Fahrenheit) as I write this. I wish I could be one of those people that thrive in the heat, mostly due to the fact their well tanned athletic bodies are suitably attired in summer skimpies but I'm not.  The closest image I can conjure up, being a food blog, for me in Summer is pork crackling, yes oh so tasty but not very happy. I think it is just because it is so horribly uncomfortable, you dry off from the shower, get your clothes and you're wet again. Plus I burn, you think you need to watch toffee because it burns in a second, I can go to the cloths line and back and get burnt.
The happiest summer I every spent was in Rome, well their winter,our summer. AB would tell me about the 40 degree days and I would simply put another log on the fire,and think about the snow, bliss.

Casa mia in a Roma, It looks like I was actually doing home work (i compiti) Bravo!

 

I'm sorry to all the summer lovers, I promise to patiently listen to all your whinging about  how freezing you are, while just pass you some warm soup and bread. 
Try this cordial to keep you cool during this trying time

Don't just use them as decoration

Lime Cordial

Ingredients

• 4 litres of water
• 1.5 cup of sugar
• 12 limes
• 1 tablespoon of citric acid (optional)

Method

• Add water and sugar and citric acid to a saucepan
• Zest all the limes and add to the pan
• Stir to dissolve sugar and simmer just below boiling for about 30 minutes.
• Add the juice of all the fruit, strained to avoid pips.
• Leave to cool
• Store cordial in bottles, mine is usually go in an week.
• I used some lemonade instead of water to dilute it with some fizz. 

 Lighting changes the colour

The one that I want

Despite my previous post about not liking the taste of alcohol, Oh Negroni, how I love you. 

 

This discovery was made over a very long lunch which required test driving the cocktail menu for quality control. Thankfully it was a reasonably responsible afternoon mostly due to the menu not being too long, and my pockets not being that deep.

Of all the cocktails the one that I remember most is the Negroni, not due to the quantity, I promise. The Tuscan martini also went down a treat but the Negroni has become my one true friend in these summer months.

The charm of the negroni is the bitter campari, it ticks my box for not being overly sweet. With all that ice it is practically a drink of water, right?

There is the basic recipe which you could follow, but you know I'm not going to stick to it.

 

 

 

My Negroni

Ingredients

• 30ml gin
• 30ml sweet red Vermouth
• 30ml Campari
• 30ml Rosso Antico
• juice of a lemon wedge
   

Method

• Combine all in a glass with LOTS of ice

Variations

 

Negroni slushy: Blend all ingredients with ice till slushy consistancy.

 

Frutti Negroni: Add some frozen berries and the juice of 1 lime, this one is my favourite. Garnish with mint (if you're taking a photo)

 



 

Orange, Lemon and Lime Cordial

This is a budget saving recipe for those horrible days of summer where you just pray for some snow. Summer and I have never been friends.
This cordial is beyond easy, it really is just heating water, everyone can do that..I hope!
There is a real joy in the DIY homemade, you can create a gem with the stuff you have in the fridge.

Orange, Lemon and Lime Cordial

Ingredients

• 2 litres of water
• 1 cup of sugar
• 4 oranges
• 1 lemon
• 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon of citric acid (optional)

Method

• Add water and sugar and citric acid to a saucepan
• Zest all the fruit and add to the pan
• Stir to dissolve sugar and simmer just below boiling for about 30 minutes.
• Add the juice of all the fruit, strained to avoid pips.
• Leave to cool
• Strain cordial into bottles.( I didn't strain this one as the zest is ultra soft)

To use just dilute with water to your preference, weak vs strong. Or serve in a jug with more slices of fruit and some mint. (mint not pictured blame summer!!)

A splash of vodka and ice could achieve a delightful beverage for responsible adults only

Shaken, Stirred and all over the bench!

I'm not a fan of alcohol.
There will be friends reading this who may have possibly choked at this statement.
What I mean to say is I'm not a fan of the taste of alcohol. I like a good red or white or beer, but when it comes to spirits I need a good dose of mixer. Call me Sir Mixalot.
It is strange really as I started drinking when I was quite young, I was 6. The drink of choice for the grown ups at the dinner table was Boronia (Marsala) and coke, mine was coke with a faked pour that wouldn't have amounted to 1ml. Saturday mornings would see me up early to watch the Smurfs while the family slept, which of course would be accompanied by a Boronia and coke. OK I need to be honest, the bar was closer to the TV than the fridge so there was no Coke. Drinking straight Marsala oh how I loved the Smurfs.

With Marsala at 6 it was time to move onto the hard stuff at 12. I remember having a sore throat that was so painful I couldn't sleep and was in tears from the agony. Being a caring parent, who would like to have got some sleep at 2am, my father gave me a tumbler of orange juice. He said to drink it all in one go, that because it was cold it would numb my throat and help me sleep. Being the obedient child I was I sculled it down in one, a tumbler of straight scotch! It was not cold it burnt, but I did sleep.
 
I thought the martini drinker to be the height of class and sophistication so I was devastated when I had my first one and loathed the taste, oh it was awful. So when I was offered an espresso martini I politely declined, till my friend said "it just tastes like coffee." OK I'll give it a burl.
She was right it was a delicious iced espresso with only the faintest taste of alcohol, 4 more, just to make sure and I was hooked.
That week I hit the liquor store and got all the equipment (when I say "hit the liquor store" to my overseas readers I mean "went to" not robbed)

 restaurant quality

 
 
 
I'll share the recipe I used but I reduced the vodka and Kahlua to 1oz each. Also just a quiet tip, don't double the recipe and make 2 in the one cocktail shaker, yes Miss Moneypenny, it ended up all over the kitchen bench. It is much more elegant to drink it from a martini glass than slurp it off the laminex.
 
Espresso Martini

• 1 oz  espresso
• 1 1/2 oz Absolut® vodka
• 1 1/2 oz Kahlua® coffee liqueur
• 1 oz white creme de cacao
•  

Method

• Pour ingredients into shaker filled with ice, shake vigorously, and strain into chilled martini glass. It should be somewhat frothy.
• I used hot espresso straight from the machine rather than cold.
 

I would also advise to drink responsibly and it is not a good idea for 6 and 12 year olds to be drinking even with the Smurfs.  And please don't drink drive, not only is it illegal and dangerous, it's a laundry detergent and tastes vile.