You tap a maple, you get maple syrup. You cut into the flower buds of a palm tree, you get palm nectar that you can cook down into palm sugar. (Specifically, you can tap sugar date palms, sago palms, and coconut palms.) If you let the palm sugar dry out and go from a semi-liquid [...]
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In the tradition of memorable beverages like the Harvey Wallbanger and the Arnold Palmer, I’m going to name my most recent smoothie/cocktail creation after my friend Jill. Why? Because she’s nuts about watermelons — she’s capable of consuming an entire melon in one sitting. (I wish I could do the same with my beloved pineapples, [...]
Continue reading about Refreshing Your Smoothies with Watermelons
Seeing as Halloween is just around the corner, I thought I’d sample my first blood orange. (And yes, since I’m still watching all the back episodes of True Blood, it’s fun to do a dinner-and-show vampire theme. Beets and red wine are also popping up on my table…) Blood oranges are mottled a darkish-orange on [...]
An overlooked fact in the drink world: cocktails (or mocktails) have seasons. In the summertime, fruit-based drinks are light and refreshing; in the wintertime, hot toddies are much more appealing than an iced spritzer. Now that summer is in full swing, I thought I’d use the classic mojito platform to come up with some new [...]
Despite its secondary name of “Indian date,” the tamarind is not a date. Nor is it native to India. It originated in tropical Africa, but due to the fact that it was adopted by the Indians with gusto when it reached their shores, when it boomeranged back west, the Persians assumed the Indians were the [...]
Technically speaking, this isn’t a grapefruit–it’s a Pomelo crossed with a Mandarin orange, hence it’s sweet character. (Pomelos pre-date modern grapefruits on the citrus chain and are much less bitter than their more-modern cousins.) Like all citrus fruits, however, cocktail grapefruit is rich in fiber and vitamins A and C. Unlike actual grapefruit, cocktail grapefruit [...]
In the course of researching cocktails for an article I’m writing, I inadvertently stumbled upon one/created one that I really liked. It takes the concept of strawberries and balsamic vinegar to a whole new level of sweet and sour (which is why I decided give it this name): Heaven and Hell 5 fresh strawberries or [...]
