Cranberry Cooler

Ingredients:
1 cup Cranberry Juice, chilled
1 cup strawberries, chopped
2 cups vanilla ice cream
1 Tbsp castor sugar

Tip:
If fresh strawberries are not available, canned strawberries may be used, but omit the sugar.

Method:
Blend all the ingredients in a liquidizer and serve immediately.

Water kefir

I've been regularly making dairy kefir for a long time and made some non dairy kefirs using the grains. But last year I was given some water kefir crystals and they've been great! I tend to mostly use them in the summer to make cool fizzy drinks to go with the evening meal. And in cooler weather I have successfully frozen them. As these drinks are fermented you might want to give them a taste before serving them to children as they may become slightly alcoholic. Mine have not done that so far but if they do you can try reducing the sugar and the number of grains.

The basic recipe that I use is 1/2 cup of sugar, 6 cups of water, 1 cup of water kefir grains, 1 tbsp lemon juice and some dried fruit, generally a fig or a tbsp of raisins. I brew this in a big glass jar for 24 hours in a warm spot in my kitchen. Then I strain off the kefir grains and remove the fruit and transfer the liquid to another big glass jar to flavour it. The grains go back into the first jar with fresh fruit and sugar water. If you find your end result is too sweet then try either reducing the amount of sugar you start the liquid with or brew it for longer (or both). As all kefir colonies will work differently you will need to experiment a little. So think of these recipes as a starting point for your own kitchen science experiments!

Rosehip and hibiscus
This pink drink is my daughter's favorite. I think more due to the colour than anything else!
6 cups basic kefir liquid
1 tbsp dried hibiscus petals
1 tbsp dried rosehips (or 6-8 fresh rosehips if you have them)

Add the dried herbs to the liquid. If using fresh rosehips, mince them slightly. Allow to brew for a further 24 hours in a warm, preferably dark spot before straining out the herbs. Bottle into seal able bottles (I use ones with a wired cap rather than screw tops to help prevent explosions with very fizzy batches) then drink after a further 24 hours.

Lime and mint
6 cups basic kefir liquid
2 tbsp fresh mint leaves
2 tbsp lime juice
1 slice of lime

I like to use lime juice in place of lemon juice when making the basic kefir for this recipe but you don't have to. Add the mint leaves and lime juice to the kefir water and brews as for the previous recipe. This is also very tasty with basil in place of the mint.


Ginger Beer
For this recipe I make a slightly different kefir water. It does leave your kefir grains with a brown tinge but this will do them no harm and will soon disappear.
6 cups water (5 cups cold, one cup hot)
1 cup kefir grains
1 tsp treacle
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 dried fig
1-2 cubic inches fresh ginger root

Dissolve the treacle in the hot water then add to the cold. Add the kefir grains, sugar, fig, lemon juice, baking soda and sugar. Allow to brew for 24 hours then remove the kefir grains and fig. Peel the ginger then either slice and add to the kefir water, or you can grate it and crush with some sugar to remove the juice then add that. When I'm making this for kids I tend to slice the ginger. Personally I like my ginger beer hot so I use plenty of ginger, grate and add the juice then put the grated ginger in a cloth infusing bag and add that to the jar. Just to get all the flavour possible! I also sometimes add a couple of cloves, a small piece of cinnamon stick and some black peppercorns. Allow to brew again for 24 hours before straining and bottling. I find that brews with ginger in tend to be more fizzy so open bottle with extreme caution!


A note on opening bottles.
As water kefir is a live drink the results can be quite varied. Some batches are more tingly than fizzy. Others are... enthusiastic! So I always open the first bottle of any batch over the sink. I also cover the top of the bottle with a tea towel to help stop truly over excited batches from decorating the ceiling. That only tends to happen in the height of summer when I've forgotten about a bottle for a few days, but be aware it can happen!

Mango Lassi

Ingredients:
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
1 cup chopped mango (peeled and stone removed)
4 teaspoons sugar, to taste
A dash of ground cardamom (optional)

Method:
Put mango, yogurt, milk, sugar and cardamom into a blender and blend for 2 minutes, then pour into individual glasses, and serve. Can sprinkle with a little cardamom.

The lassi can be kept refrigerated for up to 24 hours.

Makes about 2 cups.

Why and How To Make Your Own Soda

Have you ever thought about the cost of buying soda from the supermarket? Every year we spend hundreds of millions of dollars on cans and bottles that we then need to spend millions more to dispose of. Wouldn't it be easier if we could make our own soda at home? Not only would this help our bank balance but it would also reduce the load on the environment. Luckily it's very simple to do this. Sodas are made by a process called carbonation which is what adds the fizzy bubbles to your drink.

What You Need

At its simplest carbonating water requires a seltzer bottle which can hold a couple of liters of water. You will also need a charger that contains pressurized CO2. Put the two together and you end up with sparkling water. Of course this just gives you access to plain fizzy water but what if you want a more interesting drink? That's when it's time to consider a machine that is made specifically for the purpose of carbonating drinks.

A Home Carbonation Machine

There are many companies that make these machines such as Everpure and Sodastream. One of the advantages is that you can have access to a wide range of flavors and basically customize your own soda. These usually include diet flavors and caffeine free flavors and you can also get them without artificial sweeteners and with less sugar, sodium and carbohydrates than the carbonated drinks you buy at the supermarket. In addition, a home soda maker requires no plumbing or electricity -- and you never run out of the drinks you love the most.

The Perfect Blend

One of the great things about carbonating your own drinks is the ability to choose just the amount of fizz or flavor you want. Never again will you have a drink that is too flat or that tastes a little bit bland. You can experiment until you find the perfect mix or check out the multiple home carbonation flavor recipes available online. Some home carbonation machines also have water filters available so that you can get your water is pure as possible.

Finally, going back to the environmental benefits, home carbonation machines make a difference because you can reuse the bottles and the CO2 canisters. Instead of having to send cans or bottles off for recycling, all you do is exchange CO2 canisters to be refilled and use the bottles whenever you need a drink for up to 2 years. That's a much longer shelf life than the average soda can or bottle. So, not only do you get your perfect drink, but you can do your bit for the environment too.

Sharon Hurley Hall writes for Eden Springs, the UK’s No.1 supplier for water cooler hire. Eden Springs provides certified carbon neutral water - the first in the UK to do so. Eden Springs is currently offering Sodastream soda makers with hire contracts.

Mon Cheri Drink

Categories: Wine, Drinks

The ingredients:

1) 100 ml Grand Marnier
2) 1 bottle of white wine
3) 1,5 liters blood orange soda

One of the easiest to prepare wine drinks. You need to buy wine, red wine, like, for instance, A Mano Primativo as it is a ready-to-drink informal wine with fresh red fruit and spice aromas that will accompany the bucket afterall. You need to cool the ingredients in the fridge and then yhou are to mix all of them in a large pitcher with ice cubes and pieces of any fruit. Pour in about 100 ml Grand Marnier into the liquid and mix it fast. You may also add a cinnamon stick to spice the drink.