Cola Syrup

(about 3 cups syrup)

At the moment I'm in Washington, house sitting for my mum who is spending the summer in Europe. The weather here is simply wonderful; sunny and much cooler than Dallas. I'm in Heaven!

This weekend is Lavender Festival in Sequim, Washington. Yesterday I headed out early to avoid the crowds and visited several lavender farms in the area. I tasted some lavender ice cream as well as a lavender infused gin with tonic water. The gin was quite interesting. The fellow who served me the drink added extra lavender syrup for a more pronounced flavor.

The following cola recipe is from The New York Times. It contains dried culinary lavender. I made a few adjustments. I added a 1/4 teaspoon of ground coriander because that was an ingredient listed in another cola recipe I found online. I replaced a good portion of the water with the fresh juice I squeezed from the the two oranges, limes and lemon after I stripped them of their zest. In place of caramel powder to darken the syrup, I caramelized a quarter cup of sugar and added that instead.

This syrup completely exceeded my expectations. It's delicious! So much better tasting than the bottled stuff at the store.

juice squeezed out from the oranges, limes and lemon (used for zest)
water if needed, to bring the liquid (juice) measurement up to 2 cups
zest from 2 medium oranges

zest from 2 medium limes
zest from 1 large lemon
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp nutmeg, preferably freshly grated

2 sections of a star anise pod, crushed
1/2  tsp dried lavender flowers
2 tsp minced ginger
1 1/2-inch piece vanilla bean, split
1/4 tsp citric acid
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp water

1. In a heavy pot over medium heat, bring 2 cups juice/water to a simmer with the orange lime and lemon zests, cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, star anise, lavender, ginger, vanilla and citric acid. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes.

2. In a food processor, whirl the 2 cups sugar for one minute (this will help it dissolve). Set aside.

3. Combine the 1/4 cup sugar and water in a medium sized pot. Heat the mixture until the sugar caramelizes. Remove from heat when the mixture is a nice medium-dark brown. Add the reserved sugar from the food processor.

4. Line a sieve or colander with a double thickness of cheesecloth and place over the pot containing the caramelized and processed sugars. Pour the simmered mixture through the sieve. Carefully gather up the corners of the cheesecloth and twist the top to close. Use a spoon to press the bundle against the sieve, squeezing out all the flavorful liquid.

5. Stir the syrup and let cool, stirring occasionally until the sugar dissolves, about 15 minutes. Transfer to containers and keep refrigerated. To make a soda, pour 3-4 tablespoons of syrup over ice and add 1 cup seltzer. Stir.

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Coconut-Mango Bubble Tea with Homemade Boba Pearls

( 4 servings)

Sometimes I feel as if I'm living in cocoon. There's been this bubble tea craze happening and I didn't even know about it! I checked and there are actually several places that serve this tasty drink right here in Dallas! Frankly I'm a bit surprised Starbucks hasn't jumped in on the bandwagon, heck in Germany and Austria, McDonalds has been serving this beverage since last summer!

This Taiwanese tea-based drink originated in the 80's. Initially it was just cold tea, sometimes infused with fruit or fruit juice. Later someone added tapioca balls to the mix. Sometimes these balls are white but more frequently they are black, made from a mixture of tapioca, sweet potato, brown sugar. This drink is often served with a special large straw so you can slurp up the tapioca balls as you enjoy your beverage.

Bubble tea is available in a variety of flavors ranging from white or green teas to milk infused dark tea combined with fruit or syrups such as durian or lavender. I tried an avocado flavored bubble tea at the Asian mall. It was smooth and creamy like a milkshake. For my first attempt at creating this tasty beverage at home I tried this version which tasted more like iced tea flavored with juice and coconut milk.

I found the big straws at the Asian supermarket, but when I looked for the boba pearls I was disappointed by all of the extra chemicals and artificial colors listed as ingredients. I ended up making the balls myself. I found a great tutorial online.

green tea boba balls
1/2 cup tapioca starch
1/2 tsp green tea powder, (optional; I added this for color)
1/2 cup boiling water, give or take

1 cup mango juice

Combine the starch and tea if using in a small bowl. Make a well in the centre and slowly add the boiling water while stirring. Stop when the mixture forms into a ball; you might not have to use all of the water. Knead the ball a few times.

Pinch off small pieces and form into small balls the size of petite peas. Err on the small side, otherwise you won't be able to suck them up with your straw. Dust with tapioca starch to keep them from sticking to each other.

Allow the balls to dry for a couple of hours.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and drop in the balls. Stir until they begin to rise to the surface, then allow them to simmer another 5-10 minutes. The tutorial suggested 20-30 minutes, but mine were done sooner. Try one after 5 minutes; it should be soft and chewy.

Remove the pearls from the pot with a slotted spoon and place into a small bowl. Pour the *mango juice over the pearls and allow them to cool. *Traditionally a sugar syrup is used here in place of the juice.

bubble tea
2 cups strongly brewed tea, cooled (any flavor you like; I used English Breakfast)
1 cup coconut milk
12 regular ice cubes
4 big bubble tea straws (I found mine at an Asian market)
liquid honey, optional

Divide the cooled boba balls and juice between 4 tall glasses. Add 1/2 a cup of chilled tea to each glass, then add 1/4 cup of coconut milk to each. Finish with 3 ice cubes per glass.

Serve with the big straws. Pass around the honey and enjoy!

Ginger Syrup

(about 1 pint)

I love ginger-ale, but it has a lot of sugar in it. I have never been fond of "diet" soda. I'd rather they cut the amount of sugar in half than replacing it with something artificial. I've tried Stevia, but I don't care for that either.

This week I decided to try making my own syrup to combine with sparkling water. I was very happy with the result.The syrup was very gingery with a nice touch of lemon.

Strawberry and Banana Buttermilk Smoothie

(1 serving)

This is a quick and easy breakfast smoothie. If you use very ripe fruit then you won't need to add any sweetener. The buttermilk was great in place of the yogurt I didn't have this morning.

Citrus Margarita

(about 6 servings)

A couple of years ago I was a bit obsessed with margaritas.. I made a slightly different version each evening after work, looking for that perfect one.

This was pretty much what I settled on at that time, except for the 7-up. Last week I watched someone add this to their margaritas and thought it was the perfect way to adjust the final taste in terms of sweet/sour and/or strength.

Watermelon Margarita

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(about 2 servings)

*This recipe doesn't make a very strong drink. I'm a lightweight; if I'm not careful I'll embarrass myself before collapsing somewhere after just 2 or 3 of these. If you prefer something stronger, then reduce the amount of watermelon to 1 cup, and increase the alcohol. :)

*1 1/2 cups cold seedless watermelon, cubed
2 1/2 oz tequila
1/2 oz cointreau, or an orange liqueur
1/2 oz midori, or a melon liqueur
juice from 1 small key lime
4 ice cubes

Place everything into a blender, and process until smooth. Serve immediately.