I'm Thirsty!

While most of the recipes on this blog are for food, we do occasionally need something to drink. Sure, there's water, soda, coffee, tea, bottled juices and a large assortment of other drinks, but sometimes we want something a little different, something that makes the taste buds dance. Enjoy!

PINK LADY PUNCH

Not sure where this one came from, though I'm thinking maybe from one of my mother's cookbooks that she bought to raise funds for some group or other...

4 C cranberry juice

1 1/2 C sugar

4 C pineapple juice

2 qts. chilled ginger ale

Add sugar to cranberry juice. Stir until sugar dissolves. Add pineapple juice. Chill. Pour into punch bowl & add ginger ale.

WATERMELON PUNCH

Years ago, I was a bride’s maid at a friend’s wedding. A friend of the couple held the reception dinner; this punch was served with the hors d’oeuvres. I’ve added ginger ale to the recipe; it’s good either way.

1 watermelon

1 T honey

6 oz. can orange juice, undiluted

2 liter bottle ginger ale

Put watermelon (excluding rind and seeds) in a blender—and blend. Pour juice through a strainer into a large bowl. Add orange juice and honey, stir, and add ice. Add ginger ale just before serving.

LIZARD LOUNGE TEA

My oldest son spent several summers traveling the country, both singly and with friends. Several times, he wound up at the Rainbow Gathering, where he hooked up with a larger group of friends. Most of them had grown up in hot areas of the country, so they nicknamed themselves lizards; their area of the camp site was the lizard lounge. They would cook up their version of iced tea, which they would barter for other commodities. They were frequently asked what their secret ingredient was.

This is a scaled down version. I found that cranberry or cranberry-apple herb tea works very nicely with this, but any herbal tea can be used.

1/2 gallon apple cider

4 – 5 herbal tea bags

Place cider in a large pan or teakettle and bring to a boil. Place herbal tea bags into a large container and pour the boiled cider over the tea bags. Let steep for 15-30 minutes and cool. Very good.

SPICE TEA

I used to make this every year for Christmas presents; it was quite popular. Unfortunately, life got a little hectic...As simple as this is, though, I may be reigniting this as a present!

8 oz loose tea

3 orange rinds/peels

1 1/2-2 sticks cinnamon

2 T chopped cloves

Cut orange peels into small pieces. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring occaionally. Let cool, add to loose tea, along with broken cinnamon sticks & cloves. Store in tight containers.

I'll post some single-serving drinks in a later post. In the meantime, enjoy!

EASTERN SUNRISE SMOOTHIE

It seems that bottled smoothies have hit it big in stores over the past few years. And while many of them are, no doubt, good, and even healthy, there's nothing that quite compares with fresh-made smoothies. The only thing holding one back are one's imagination and the fruits available.

The fruits used in in this smoothie are from the eastern U.S.: orange juice and strawberries from Florida, cranberries from Massachusetts. Top that off with a beautiful pink color. It’s a yummy way to start the morning.

1 C orange juice

1/2 C yogurt

4-6 frozen strawberries

1 T wheat germ

1/2 C frozen cranberries

Blend juice & berries. Add yogurt & wheat germ & blend about 15 seconds more.

PURPLE HAZE SMOOTHIE

Variation on a theme. You can make smoothies out of almost any fruit and/or juice (or milk). Experiment; use any juice to your liking: apple, cranberry, orange (my favorite), whatever, then add whatever fruits you have around. If none of the fruits are conducive to freezing (berries work best), add a few ice cubes, or better still, frozen juice cubes.

This one is similar to the above smoothie. The blueberries give it a pleasant taste and a beautiful color.

1-1 1/2 orange juice (see note)

1/2 C frozen blueberries

4 frozen strawberries (optional)

1/2 C yogurt

1/2 C frozen cranberries

1 T wheat germ

Blend orange juice & berries. Add yogurt & wheat germ, blend for 5-15 more seconds.

NOTE: If adding strawberries, add the extra 1/2 C orange juice. Or use 1 C juice and 1/2 C soymilk.