Refreshing kiwi smoothie

Photo: Anastasia Khan

Nice and refreshing kiwi drink.

This fruit drink/smoothie used to be MiniMes favourite beverage when we  lived in South Korea. When we went to a cafe for coffee mornings with the baby or maternity groups she would get a kiwi drink as long as she had eaten her meal. To make this drink healthier I started to add spinach, banana, broccoli when I made it at home, see recipe HERE. This beverage though is just kiwi, water and sweetener.

For these two glasses I used:

5 kiwi
1-1,5 dl water
sugar or sweetener to taste

Peel and cut the kiwi into smaller pieces, put the fruit in a blender with the water and whizz until smooth.

Add sweetener to your liking, if the kiwis are sweet enough you do not need any sweetener. Sometimes when you add water to fruit drinks they tend to get a bit bland, so that is why I sometimes add a bit of sugar or soe other sweetener so it wont taste  watery.

Serve the drink cool and enjoy.

Chocolate shake

MiniMe makes frothy, thick, creamy smooth chocolate shake.

I do not remember where I drunk my first chocolate shake, but I do remember it was when I was a little kid. To me a really nice shake must be thick, creamy and a little frothy like a smoothie. I have been to so many places and gotten shakes and smoothies that are runny like milk and juice and I must confess that I get disappointed, specially here in Norway where a regular shake costs from US$ 10,- and up. If I want a chocolate milk, I won’t order a chocolate shake, If I want a fruit juice, I won’t order a fruit smoothie. To me the main difference between a chocolate milk and a chocolate shake is the consistency.

I believe that being a food and drink blogger is that what you make is to inspire others, a guide line to how to and not necessarily to show the correct way to make the recipes, except when it comes to baking that is a little more chemistry mixed with cooking. We all have different reference points, what I think is too sweet, might be bland for others. What i think might have just enough heat might be to hot for someone else. It depends on what we are used too, what our reference points. Having said that I should also mention that our reference point is always changing. every bit of memory lingers with us, a memory that is helping us determine whether or not the next thing we taste is good or bad. I can remember my parents longing for a dish from the Philippines, but when they finally get it they are sort of disappointed, because it is not as good as they remember it. Their palate had changed and gotten used to ingredients in their new country, our point of reference is ever-changing. When it comes to a chocolate shake recipe I have one criteria and that is the consistency, thick and creamy, the rest is plain and easy.

You need:

3 parts chocolate ice cream
1 part Milk
Melted white chocolate, optional
Melted dark chocolate, optional
Whipped cream, optional
Sprinkles, optional

Decorate the inside of the glasses you want to use with melted white and dark chocolate.

Whip the cream, and when it is finished set it a side.

Add ice cream and milk in a blender and blend untill every thing is smooth and frothy.

Pour into the decorated glasses, add some whipped cream and garnish with some sprinkles.

Finally add the straws and enjoy.

 

Watermelon and strawberry drink

Cooling and refreshing drink made with watermelon and strawberries.

I was six years old when my father took me on vacation to the Philippines for the first time and I was in watermelon heaven. Watermelon was not a common fruit in Norway in the seventies, even in season they were not in abundance. I can remember enjoying red watermelons and yellow watermelons, sitting outside in the sun with half a watermelon and a spoon or with a big tall glass with a watermelon drink.

There is a technique to find a nice ripe watermelon, my dad knew how, but I miss most of the time. When I unfortunately get a pinkish and not so tasty watermelon I usually make it drinkable or use it in salads. The watermelon as a refreshment has been so sacred that it is mostly eaten or drunk pure. But this watermelon was so pink that I thought it would look a little bland, so I added a little strawberries to make it a little brighter. I was a little skeptical trying this because I have not been very fond of watermelon blended with anything else, the flavour of the watermelon tends to be overpowered. To my surprise this was really good.

I used:

3 parts watermelon
1 part strawberries
1 part water
Sugar or some other sweetener
Mint for garnish.

Whizz everything in a blender, sweeten to taste and cool it in the fridge or serve it right away with some ice cubes.

Taho drink

Kumusta at magandang araw ( Hello and have a nice day)

You have probably heard of Bubble tea, but have you heard about Taho? A filling drink brought to the Philippines by the Chinese. You also have Indonesian(Tauhue) and Malaysian(Taufufah) versions of this drink. This drink is also made with sago and gulaman in the Philippines, gulaman is an agar jelly. The differens between Taho and Sago at gulaman is that the first one is served warm and the latter served cold.

Can you imagine my surprize when bubble tea started popping up around the world  as a new invention.

Most of the Asian world have been refreshing themselves on drinks with sago pearls for most of their lives.

This drink is a must try. It is sweet, warm and fragrant, filled with silken tofu with the same consistency of custard, and chewy sago pearls. This drink is also a childhood vacation memory of mine.  I can still imagine the peddlers walking down the streets carrying two buckets that hang from each end of a yoke and calling “Tahooooo!” to attract customers. The larger bucket carries the tofu base and the smaller bucket holds the syrup and sago pearls.

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To many Filipinos this is a quick breakfast sold by peddlers called Magtaho in the morning. The drink is packed with carbohydrates and proteins, and it fills you up. Unfortunately since I have become diabetic, this drink is an absolute no no for me.   The base for this drink is called arnibal it is a syrup made from sugar and water with added flavoring, so you can understand why I should not drink this.

Actually I can probably enjoy this again, but I have not found or experimented enough to come up with a good recipe with sugar substitutes for this warm version.. Spring has decided not to show up in Norway, so I wanted to treat myself to a piece of memory while just sitting on the couch covered with a soft blanket with a warming glass of taho in my hands watching my family enjoy the drink too.  I was probably deceiving my self thinking that if I just ate the tofu and sago laced with a bit of arnibal that I wont be eating too much sugar, but ones or twice for the past five years won’t hurt me too much.

Tao recipe, makes 4-6  servings

For sago pearls:

1/4 cup dark brown sugar
8 cups water
1 cup sago pearls

For arnibal,  syrup:

Sugarcane tablets equal to 1/2 cup (some use 1 cup, but that is just too sweet for me.)
1/2-1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1-2 cups water, depending how sweet you want it.

1 one-pound package organic silken tofu

 

Put sugar and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Add tapioca pearls and stir until water returns to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and continue cooking the tapioca pearls with the lid on, stirring occasionally, until they are almost translucent. Sago is cooked when it is tender but still chewy. Drain, rinse under cold water top stop the cooking process.

Cooking time depends on the sizes of the tapioca you use, follow the instruction on the pack. Cooking Tapioca pearls on a hard boil for a long time breaks them apart and makes them too soft and too mushy. They can be prepared ahead of time. Transfer drained cooked pearls to a container, add enough water to cover pearls, cover with a lid and refrigerate for up to a few days. Stir well and then drain before using.

To make arnibal, caramelize sugar in a pan and when it is nice and golden add water and vanilla and bring to a boil. Take pan off the heat and set aside. Remember you do not want the sugar to burn,

Steam silken tofu in a steamer until heated through, about 15 minutes.

Fill your glasses with thin slices of silken tofu and tapioca pearls, 3/4 full and top the glasses with the sugar syrup. Mix together and serve warm.

Mango and passion fruit smoothie with a punch

Refreshing mango and passion fruit smoothie that is, sweet, tangy, hot and spicy.

A week before easter I went to Athens on a field trip and arround the hotel we where staying there was a bar that served a cocktail similar to this, needless to say it became very popular. This smoothie is my interpretation and without alcohol.

Yields 2-4 glasses:

400 g peeled and chopped ripe mango
2 cups crushed ice
2-3 chilies (use the amount you desire)
1 tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 lime, juice only
4+2 passion fruits, pulp of 4 for blending and 2 for decoration
Fresh mint

For a naughty version

1 tbsp honey or clear syrup (add to blender)
2-4 cc vodka per glass depending on the size of the glass (pour this over the ice, then add smoothie and stirr)

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. Fill glasses with the smoothie and decorate with the remaining passion fruit pulp, some chopped chili,  mint and serve.

I used pulp and seeds of the passion fruit because it is good for you and I thinkthe black specks looks decorative with the yellow in the glass. You can read about the passion fruit seed  HERE

Refreshing melon and cucumber infused water

Refreshing melon infused water, is one of my vacation memories from my very first time to the Philippines. Well actually the drink from the Philippines was sweet with alot of added sugar. This thirst quencher is just ripe melon, cucumber and water and left to rest in the fridge for a few hours to bring out the flavours.

If you are used to the Filipino kind, this drink will be quite tame in comparison. As my cousin said this is a thirst quencher, if there is too much sugar in the drink you will just get thirstier.

Ingredients

1 ripe melon, I used 1/2 a Piel de sapo and 1/2 a cantaloupe

A few slices of cucumber for color

1,5 liter Water

(If you want it sweet add some sugar and artificial sweetener)

Shred, dice or scoop out the fruit. I usually do this over a large bowl or directly into a pitcher so no juice will go to waste, that’s where the flavour is. Thinly slice some cucumber for color.

Combine the fruit and water in a large pitcher and leave it in the fridge for a few hours or a day.

You can do this with any fruit and fruit combination. Experiment and enjoy your fruit infused water.

Refreshing Icetea

I got inspired to make iced tea after my little trip to Flanders last week, most of the restaurants and cafés served iced tea.

Iced tea is a grateful and cheap drink to make, you can make buckets of eat for a low cost. You need some tea bags and maybe a few other ingredients to garnish or to enhance the flavour, but most important of all loads of ice.

Persimmon, cinnamon and ginger drink, Sujeonggwa

 

When we ate korean bbq during the warmer months in South Korea we always got a small cup of icy cold drink at the end of the meal. Sujeonggwa 수정과 a sweet, lovely refreshing cold drink with the taste of cinnamon, ginger, a hint of persimmon and always topped with three pine nuts, they say it helps your digestive system.

Skin hydrater, apple pie in a glass

Hydrate your skin with The Hot ‘n’ Spicy

It may not look like the best drink in the world, but this is like apple pie in a glass and it is perfect for those who like to look after their skin. Apples are one of the finest health promoters available and this little gem will help flush your body of any nasties, keep your skin hydrated and plus added benefits from the cinnamon. Click HERE to read about the what good cinnamon does for you.

For this recipe you need a juicer

Ingredients:

3 apples

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

In my family we enjoy cut apples sprinkled with cinnamon as a snack.

Healthy treats and juices with a slow juicer

Post contains link to test product

I have been making a few healthy juices and frozen treats while testing a Panasonic Slow Juicer MJ-L500. This little wonder of a machine can prepare  juices and frozen treats from fruits and vegetables, while preserving valuable enzymes and nutrients.

MiniMe and I have been drinking immune boosters and body cleansers, plus making frozen treats this past week.

 

In the past I have been making nice cream in a blender and I have to confess that with a blender it is a bit inconvenient, you have to push down the frozen fruit all the time and the blades get stuck quite often. Another thing that is a minus with a blender is that it takes to long and the fruit melts.

This machine is fast working and grinds everything to a pulp in a blink of a moment. 500 g of frozen cut fruit and berries turns into a yummy treat in less than 2 minutes maybe 3.

We made two different nice creams, a vegan ice cream that is sugar free and lactose free. One with frozen pineapple, papaya and mango. The machine crushes everything so you make use of all the goodness in the fruit, no waist.