SUMMER DELIGHT

Good Morning to you,

This year I have been fit and healthy and I have not been struck down with any of those horrible winter or summer viruses, which seem to be around throughout the year. 

.... but yes you have guessed it,  today I am not well.... I am coughing and spluttering and feeling poorly.  George had a terrible night's sleep.... I think I kept him awake with my coughing, so I decided to get up early this morning, as sitting upright, certainly helps with the coughing and it allowed George to get his rest.

So my words are few, there are no stories today, but what I  want to share with you is,

a lovely summer drink, which I call a Summer Delight.  It is non-alcoholic and perfect for these warm summer days.

So it's on with the pinnie and as I was deciding which album to listen to,  I discovered a lovely surprise,

the fabulous Otis Redding, the album was tucked into the back of the shelf where I keep all our albums and I haven't listened to it in a long time. I remember listening to 'Sitting on the Dock of the Bay' on my transistor radio, as a teenager..... yes really a transistor radio.... that was many moons ago.

So whilst Otis serenades me with 'These Arms of Mine',  I am ready to organise my ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

Enough ice to fill a jug a third full

125ml elderflower cordial

250ml apple juice

125ml lime juice cordial

1/2 litre of sparkling mineral water

1 lemon

1 lime

1 apple

3 sprigs of milk

HOW TO MAKE A

SUMMER DELIGHT

Place the ice cubes into a

large jug

and

add the 

Elderflower cordial,

the Apple juice,

the

Lime juice cordial

the sparkling

mineral water

and 

stir.

Finely slice

 the 

limes

and

 add to the jug.

Finely slice

the

lemons

and 

add to the jug.

Cut the apple into segments

(I have to tell you, I absolutely love

this little gizmo)

and

 then slice the apples.

Add to the jug.

Wash the mint

and

add to the jug.

Stir everything together.

Pour into a

summery glass

and add a 

sprig of mint

and garnish with a 

slice of lemon

or 

a slice of lime.

..... there are a few instructions that will help you enjoy your Summer Delight even more.

Firstly, find a good book to read...  I am reading 'The Vintage Teacup Club' by Vanessa Greene.  

Secondly, find a shady corner in the garden.

Thirdly, place your favourite chair and a little table in the shady corner.

Fourthly,  find a small stool to put your feet on and place in the shady corner.

Fifthly, take your Summer Delight and your book into the garden and place them on the table.

Sixthly, sit on your chair, put your feet up, read your book and enjoy your Summer Delight..... blissful.

Take care and I will see you on Wednesday.

This week I will be joining,

Cathy from A Peek Into My Paradise

and

Lisa from Flour Me With Love

GINGER BEER

Good Morning to you,

The weather is lovely and warm, the sun is shining, so this afternoon we are both going to relax, put our feet up, and enjoy reading a good book.  To enhance this experience, we will need a nice drink of something.... and that something is,

Ginger  Beer.  I make my own Ginger Beer, because I find commercially sold Ginger Beer is far too sweet for me....  I know, it's hard to believe isn't it, as you know about  me and my sweet tooth.  

The recipe I used before I discovered Jamie's, was from Phyllis' 1950's cookery book and the recipe for that version was,

2 lemons

2 oz bruised ginger

1 oz cream of tartar

2 lbs of white sugar

3 gallons of water

2 tablespoons of brewers yeast.

yes, you read correctly 2 lbs of white sugar, but I only used 1 lb of sugar. The amount of water used was 3 gallons, and if my maths serve me correctly, 8 pints equals 1 gallon, so 24 pints equals 3 gallons and that is a lot of ginger beer, which believe it or not, disappeared very quickly during hot summer months, so on reflection the sugar does not seem too bad.

.... but then, I found a recipe for Ginger Beer in Jamie Oliver's cookery book 'Happy Days with the Naked Chef'.  I adapted Jamie's recipe slightly and I found it a much easier recipe, than Phyllis' old recipe.

I remember the first time I saw Jamie on the television, I thought to myself, oh no, this young man is not for me.  I did not enjoy his style of presenting, but Natasha and her then boyfriend, who is now her husband, raved about Jamie, so I decided to be open minded to what Jamie had to offer, and I am so pleased I did, because he really is inspirational and his enthusiasm for cooking is infectious.  I have a number of Jamie's cookery books and I use the recipes over and over again. 

This leads me nicely on to the meal we all enjoyed at Jamie's new restaurant in Newcastle.  Now Jamie certainly does not need me to rave about his restaurant, because quite honestly the restaurant does it for itself. We arrived at the restaurant, without reserving a table, we thought we would go on the off chance, and I have to tell you, the tables were practically all taken, so people in Newcastle are enjoying the Jamie experience. The food was so good and the atmosphere was lovely, that we stayed for almost 3 hours.... slowly eating our way through a starter, a main and yes we went on to enjoy a dessert..... there's that sweet tooth of mine again, and we finished with a fabulous cup of coffee. So as I said, I really don't need to recommend Jamie's restaurant, but I really want to recommend it, because we had such a lovely time.   

So to get back to what I am making today, it's on with the pinnie and the music I am listening to is,

the album Time Without Consequence by Alexi Murdoch. Listen to 'All of My Days' and 'Love You More Than Anyone', oh yes and 'Song for You'.  This album was recently recommended to me by Natasha.  I love it when 'the girls' introduce me to music which I would perhaps never hear about, as it certainly broadens my musical horizons.

So whilst I am listening to  'Love You More Than Anyone' I will organise my ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

75g fresh ginger

3 tablespoons of dark brown sugar

3 lemons

1 litre of soda water

fresh mint

HOW TO MAKE

GINGER BEER

Remove the skin 

  

from the ginger

and

using a large holed grater,

grate the ginger.

Place the ginger in a large bowl

and add

 the brown sugar

to the bowl

and stir together.

Using a knife, carefully

remove the skin from 3 lemons,

taking care not to peel away any of the pith.

I use a small knife for this but

if you prefer you can use a vegetable peeler.

Add the lemon peel to the

sugar and ginger

and mash together.

(In Phyllis' book this is described as bruising.)

Juice the 3 lemons

and

add the lemon juice to the bowl.

Cover
 and leave the ingredients to

steep for 1 hour.

If you have friends visiting, or perhaps you

are particularly thirsty and you are going

to drink all of the ginger beer in one 

afternoon,
then

it is time to choose your jug.

Using a sieve,

strain the liquid

and 

add the soda water
and stir.

Ladle the ginger beer into 
your chosen jug.

Pop  a couple of 

 sprigs of mint 
into the jug,
stir
and you are ready 
to enjoy
a cool drink of ginger beer.

BUT, 
if like us, you cannot drink 
1 litre of ginger beer,
in one afternoon,
when you reach the part where
the ginger and lemon is strained,
instead of adding the soda water,
place the strained liquid into a bottle
and place in the fridge.

When you are ready,
place some ice cubes in a glass,
then add as much or as little of the
ginger, sugar and lemon liquid from the bottle,
and top up with soda water,
add a slice of lemon
and a sprig of mint
and
you have a refreshing drink to enjoy.

I refrigerate the remainder.

This is my glass of ginger beer

and

this is George's.
Same drink, but different 
ways of enjoying 
Ginger Beer.

Now, the flavour all depends on the quality of the lemons and ginger.  When I made this ginger beer in Cyprus, I used only 2 lemons, but here in England I find I need 3.  The same applies to the ginger.  Try this recipe and tweek it to work for you.

.... and before I go, I thought I would tell you, that not only were we impressed with Jamie's food, but we were also impressed with his bathroom, so much so, that just for a bit of fun, Natasha and I took a photograph of ourselves,

 does this constitute a 'selfie', I'm not sure.

Take care and I will see you on Sunday.

This week I will be joining,

Robin at Fluster Buster

and

Miz Helen's Country Cottage

and

Natasha in Oz for Say G'day Saturday

HOT APPLE AND CINNAMON DRINK

Good Morning to you,

I really enjoy a nice cup of coffee..... not too strong, but of medium strength.  The problem is, I have been enjoying a little too much coffee recently, so in a bid to decrease my coffee intake, I have been drinking herbal teas and I have set myself a limit of 2 cups of coffee a day. 

I have tried caffeine free coffee..... but do you know, it isn't the same.... it lacks something and to be honest,  I am not, as yet, enjoying my change of drink regime.

That is until Natasha came to the rescue, with an idea for a drink I have not tried before.... a hot apple and cinnamon drink.  My ears pricked up when she mentioned apples and cinnamon because, 

I love apple and cinnamon.... especially in a pie, so I thought the same flavours in a drink would work well.

Also, the weather here, is still quite cold, so a hot apple and cinnamon drink sounds just the ticket to help combat our cold, grey days.

Natasha shared the ingredients with me, but I could not use her method, as Natasha uses a Thermo Mix to make her Hot Apple and Cinnamon drink.  A Thermo Mix is as close to a saucepan as  a BMW is to a Morris Minor.  It is an amazing piece of equipment and as you know, I am not easily impressed by gadgetry.  I hear about all the wonderful dishes which Natasha creates, using this piece of equipment and I have to tell you, next time I visit Natasha, she is going to give me a lesson, on how to use a Thermo Mix, but for today, I will be using my trusty saucepan.

I was just wondering,  why a Morris Minor popped into my head, as it is not a car I have thought about for ages.  I believe they are now classed as vintage cars and you don't see many on the roads nowadays, well maybe the odd one or two. Then I remembered. When George and I first met, a friend of George's owned a Morris Minor and the memory made me smile, because do you know how he decorated his dashboard.... with red roses. In case you are impressed, they were not fresh roses, but the red plastic roses which were given as a free gift with Daz washing powder. Now I cannot remember, if the plastic roses were a bid to attract the girls.... I think they were, I also think he would have had much more luck, if the flowers had been real, but we were all in our late teens and who could afford roses in those days, certainly not us.  It was impressive that our friend  even owned a car, as he was the only person within our group, who did.

Also remember, it was the days of "Flower Power" when teenagers wore "flowers in their hair". Our friend wore his hair short, so he could not (and probably would not) wear flowers in his hair, so maybe the roses were his bid to be on the fringes of the Flower Power scene..... but I'm still going with the theory that the roses were to attract the girls.

As much as I love roses.... and not the plastic variety, I think I had better  get on and organise myself, before I start talking about the roses which are shooting in my garden. If I start talking about my garden, you will never know what I am making today. 

So it's on with the pinnie and the music I am listening to, is something a little different.  The artist is the magnificent Cesaria Evora.

I first heard Cesaria sing when I lived in Cyprus. When I listen to Cesaria singing, her voice creates a sense of calm and I just love listening to her.  

At the moment, I am trying to create an Itunes list of music which I enjoy listening to, so that when I share an album, all you have to do, is click a button.  For now, I have created the list and I had hoped that I would be able to share some of Cesaria's music with you today.... but as yet, no such luck.  I have listed the songs, but I cannot get them to appear on my blog.  That is what I enjoy about blogging, you cannot rest on your laurels, there is always something new to learn.  I will keep trying and one day, as if by magic, my Itunes list will appear for you to enjoy.


....but for now, I need to stop thinking about the Itunes widget and get on with organising my ingredients.

INGREDIENTS

6 apples 
(I used Granny Smith's apples)

2 cinnamon sticks

2 tablespoonfuls of brown sugar

1.5 litres of water

HOW TO MAKE

A

HOT 

APPLE AND CINNAMON DRINK

Wash 6 apples

then

Cut into quarters

and remove

the

core

Place the apples in a 

food processor and blitz.

If you do not own a food processor

please don't worry,

chop the apples finely using a knife.

Place

1.5 litres of water 

in to a saucepan

and

add

2 cinnamon sticks

and

2 tablespoonfuls of dark sugar.

Bring to the boil and simmer for

30 minutes.

Allow to cool a little,

then

remove the cinnamon sticks.

Sieve the apples

using a fine mesh sieve.

I sieved the apples twice, the first time pressing down

on the pulp, to increase the flavour

and the second time,

I allowed the apple juice to drain through

freely, leaving the pulp in the sieve.

Whilst the apples are draining,

choose a cup and saucer,
so that you are ready to

 pour out the Apple and Cinnamon drink.

I have chosen this lovely cup,

because it is wide and it

allows the drink to cool quickly,

plus I love the shape.

Remove the sieve containing the pulp

and

pour the apple and cinnamon liquid

into the cup.

Sit back and enjoy.

Oh yes, I also enjoyed a very nice ginger biscuit

which went exceedingly well

with my drink.

Natasha mentioned that she used ground cinnamon when she made her Hot Apple and Cinnamon drink..... I chose to use cinnamon sticks, as I have quite a few which we brought back from India.... maybe next time I will use ground cinnamon.

I did not want my drink to be too sweet, so I decided to add molasses cane sugar.  It did make the drink darker, so if you would prefer a lighter colour to your drink, then add white sugar, or even honey, but after the apples have been cooked.

All in all...... this has been a nice change. ..... and as I mentioned before, it is still chilly here, but not as much as it is in some parts of America.  I am hoping our friend Bea is reading Ivy, Phyllis and Me! today, as she is still experiencing snow, so this is a drink, which I just know, will help to keep Bea and her family, nice and warm.

So I still have my two cups of coffee a day, interspersed with herbal tea.  This apple and cinnamon drink, certainly makes my taste buds happy and it is helping me not to miss coffee.... well not too much.

Take care and I will see you on Wednesday.

This week I will be joining,

Karen from Sew Many Ways

and

Lynn from Turnips2Tangerines

and

Jamie from Scattered Thoughts of a Crafty Mom

.