Drinks

While we all know we need to eat, we also need drinks.

Why do we need drink recipes, you might ask. We can drink water, milk (or a plant-based milk), coffee, tea, soda...

But there's so many more drinks to check out, like the Lizard Lounge Tea, Watermelon Punch, and Mexican Hot Chocolate. Enjoy!

CLASSIC HOT CHOCOLATE

This is from Melissa Clark on The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Melissa wrote, “This is a dark, rich and classic hot cocoa that’s perfect for any snowy afternoon. Nondairy milk can be substituted for whole milk here, though you might have to reduce the sugar, since some brands are sweetened. Also bear in mind that the higher the cocoa percentage of the chocolate you use, the less sweet the drink will be. Add the sugar gradually, tasting as you go: Hot cocoa sweetness is a very personal thing.”

Yield: 4 servings: Time: 10 minutes

View this online at https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019902-classic-hot-chocolate.

Ingredients

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-processed

3 cups whole milk

4 1/2 ounces chopped bittersweet chocolate or 3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

1 to 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Tiny pinch of fine sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whipped cream or marshmallows, for serving

Preparation

Fill a small pot with 1/3 cup water and bring to a boil. Whisk in cocoa; it may clump, which is O.K.

Reduce heat to medium and whisk in milk, whisking around the sides of the pan to help dissolve all the cocoa.

When milk simmers, whisk in the chocolate, 1 tablespoon sugar and a tiny pinch of salt, and reduce heat to low. Whisk until chocolate is melted and very smooth. Taste and add more sugar if you like. Turn off heat and whisk in vanilla.

Serve topped with whipped cream or marshmallows.

MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE

This is from Kiera Wright Ruiz, also in The New York Times cooking e-newsletter. Kiera wrote, “Mesoamerican women are believed to be the first to ferment and roast cacao beans, a crucial step in chocolate making that is still used thousands of years later. Then, it was prepared as a frothy, unsweetened drink for rituals and medicinal purposes. Later, Spanish colonists brought the ingredient back to Spain, where sugar, cinnamon and vanilla were added, making it more similar to the spicy-sweet beverage we know today. This recipe is adapted from Churrería El Moro, a restaurant in Mexico City known for churros and hot chocolate. To get the signature foamy top, use a molinillo, a Mexican wooden whisk, or a wire whisk to make it light and frothy. And while it’s not traditional, you can also put the hot chocolate in a blender for about 2 minutes.”

Yield: 4 cups; Time: 10 minutes

To view this online, go to https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020750-mexican-hot-chocolate.

Ingredients

4 cups whole milk

2 (4-inch) cinnamon sticks (preferably Ceylon)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

8 ounces dark chocolate (preferably 70 percent)

Preparation

In a medium saucepan, combine milk, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla. Heat over medium until the mixture begins to steam, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

While the mixture heats, cut or break up the chocolate into small pieces so it melts evenly. Once the milk is steaming, add the chocolate and whisk until it’s melted and incorporated.

Turn off the heat and discard cinnamon sticks. Use a molinillo or whisk to mix the hot chocolate vigorously until it's frothy, 3 to 4 minutes, or blend in a blender for about 2 minutes. Serve hot.

SORREL DRINK

This is from the June 2008 Vegetarian Times, page 78. The recipe begins, “Red hibiscus flowers are a common ingredient in ruby-hued herbal tea bags, such as Celestial Seasonings' Red Zinger.”

Ingredients

Sorrel Drink:

3 C dried sorrel or red hibiscus flowers, or 5 Red Zinger tea bags

1 4-inch cinnamon stick

10 whole cloves

1/4 tsp. crushed allspice

2 3-inch pieces peeled fresh ginger

Simple Syrup:

1 C sugar

1 C water

Directions

To make Sorrel Drink: Bring all ingredients & 4 cups water to a boil in saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low & simmer 10 minutes. Cool, strain & chill.

To make Simple Syrup: Bring sugar & water to a boil in small saucepan. Stir to dissolve sugar & simmer 1 minute. Cool.

Pour Sorrel Drink over ice. Serve with pitcher of Simple Syrup for guess to sweeten drinks to taste.

Per 1-cup serving: 33 cal; 0 g protein; 0 g total fat (0 g sat. fat); 8 g crab; 0 mg chol; 0 mg sod; 0 g fiber; 8 g sugars; vegan

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.

This, as well as other yummy recipes, can be found in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking.

Ingredients

1/2 gallon apple cider

4 – 5 herbal tea bags

Directions

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!

This, as well as other yummy recipes, can be found in my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking.

Ingredients

8 oz loose tea

3 orange rinds/peels

1 1/2-2 sticks cinnamon

2 T chopped cloves

Directions

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.

When making one serving, place one teaspoon of tea into a tea ball (also called a tea infuser) and let the tea steep in a cup of freshly boiled water for 2 - 5 minutes. If you're making a pot of tea, add 1-2 tablespoons of the loose tea into the tea ball and let it steep in the pot of freshly boiled water for a little longer than 5 minutes. Enjoy!

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.

This recipe, as well as the next three recipes (Lizard Lounge Tea, Pink Lady Punch, and Spice Tea) are from my e-cookbook, Off the Wall Cooking, soon to be updated.)

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.