beat the heat drinks — no. 3

perfect for those hot days when you feel like the life is being sucked out of you, this is an instant hit of caffeine — a drink like the one that is served in greece at many a café. if you can get the greek version of nescafe, use that one as it's normally what is used to make this. the success of this frappé is with the use of instant coffee and not a brewed one. i use the israeli elite brand of instant. either way, you will not get the "head" of foam without instant coffee, the very hallmark of this particular iced drink. in north america, instant coffee is usually crystallized instead of powdered but it can also be used.

if you like, instead of regular ice cubes, prepare a batch of coffee ice cubes a few days before. this prevents the drink from becoming very diluted and insipid tasting. in terms of making them, nothing could be simpler: make a very strong batch of coffee and fill your ice cube trays and freeze, leaving a little space for expansion. once frozen, place them in a ziploc which you've double-bagged to prevent odours from infiltrating. it's also a good way to use up those extra cups of coffee you didn't drink and would have otherwise thrown down the drain. don't worry if you don't have them or want to make them, regular ice works just as well.

also, during the summer, it pays to make a simple sugar syrup instead of using regular sugar which doesn't always dissolve properly in cold water. it can be done on the stovetop by taking 1:1 proportions of sugar and water and boiling it down for a few minutes until it thickens slightly making an extremely thin syrup. you can store this in the fridge and use it when needed. it can be used for many cold or hot drinks. regular sugar, however, will work as well here.

greek-style iced frappé

makes 1 frappé

ingredients:

1/3 c coffee mixture = 1 - 3 tsp instant coffee + 1/3 c cold water

1/3 to 2/3 c (whole) milk or soymilk, or more water

sugar syrup or regular sugar, to taste

coffee ice cubes or regular ones

notes:

my preferred ratio is 2 tsp coffee powder and 3 tsp sugar;

make the coffee mixture [with the 1/3 c water] fairly strong or it will taste like nothing; experiment and start with 1 tsp, increasing to your preferred taste. i find 1 tsp too weak;

the instant coffee gives a huge amount of foam unlike when you make it from brewed coffee.

method:

{the way i'm showing here is with regular sugar & ice which everyone already has readily available} so ....

in your blender, place the coffee and the 1/3 cup of water and the amount of sugar you want. process this at high speed until it is very, very foamy.

add the milk, soymilk or extra water and 4 ice cubes. blend again until the ice cubes are blended in.

place in your glass, add extra (very) cold water or milk to top up — leaving room for extra ice, stir well and taste.

adjust the sugar if you need more.

add extra ice cubes and sip away. as they melt, just stir with a straw or spoon or swish the drink around to blend all together.

you'll notice it separates into two nice layers — a pale brown foamy top and a darker brown coffee one.

enjoy!

beat the heat drinks — no. 2

this will be called the montreal orange version of beat the heat drinks as it has a specific link to the city in which i currently live.

this famous locally-invented drink, known as orange julep, has, over the years, extended its popularity to the states {where it's called orange julius} and maybe even a few foreign countries, too. concocted in the 1940s by a man called Hermas Gibeau ('zhjee-boh' roughly), it is the hallmark of the famous landmark as you enter the city of Montreal's west end — 'da big orange — a gigantic 3 storey [orange, of course] spherical fastfood joint!

photo source: bigthings.ca

this place really rocks, especially in the summer on wednesday nights. it is the meeting place for people showing off their cars and motorcycles. people usually get hotdogs, hamburgers and fries to go with their o-j's. it's also where teens and everyone and anyone of any age run into each other for food and gossip.

here is a facsimile of the orange julep which is pretty good, i must say. though not the real mc coy, it is pretty addictive. orange, creamy and dreamy, you won't be sorry you whipped up a few of these.

hope you enjoy this taste of montreal :)

it's the beginning of our heat waves here — with the humidity today and tomorrow going into the low 40s C! that's 104 F plus for you non-metric people. ACK! guess i'll be drinking more than one of these :)


orange julep for two

this is the non egg version of this drink. thick, creamy and nice and cold, it's perfect for hot days or anytime you want something really good — almost like a pureed creamsicle :D

makes 2 servings or enough for 1 with a refill :)

ingredients:

1/3 c orange concentrate, frozen (half of a 6 oz can)
1/2 c milk
1/2 c water
1/4 c sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 ice cubes

method:

combine all and blend until very smooth. no ice chunks allowed!!


enjoy and then repeat. LOL.

* * * * *

someone has even made youtube video of it. aahhh but nothing compares to the original. i guess you'll just have to visit montreal and go to that big orange to taste the real deal — though this version is pretty darn good as a substitute.

check out some other funky orange restos in the usa.

beat the heat drinks — no. 1

with heat and humidity reaching 37 C in my area lately, all thoughts are on cooling down and escaping the oppressive midday sun. over the next while, i will be posting a few of my favourite drinks that can either be used to cool down or to start your day.

the first is a smoothie type drink which is quickly thrown together and blended, especially if you get the blender out the night before and have your ingredients ready to go. part of the success is having the fruit you are using frozen. this helps thicken things without the excess use of ice which tends to dilute the flavours. of course, you can still successfully make them without freezing the fruit. i'll leave that up to you :-) if you use soy milk, you can use either plain or vanilla flavoured — both work well. if using frozen fruit, you will probably need a bit extra liquid than called for in the recipes below.

strawberry banana smoothie

strawberries and bananas go together perfectly in this almost milkshake type drink. great for a hot day or starting your morning!

makes 1 large smoothie or 2 small ones

ingredients:

4 to 5 good sized frozen strawberries
1/2 large banana, sliced and frozen*
3 good sized ice cubes
1 - 3 tsp sugar
2/3 - 1 c soy milk OR regular milk OR yogurt, or more as needed
1 tbsp soy protein powder (totally optional)

*you can substitute 1 frozen peach [peeled, "stoned" & sliced] for the banana or the strawberries

method:

place fruit and ice in blender with sugar. here i used a fresh banana instead of frozen. if you don't have a strong blender you may want to use fresh fruit but don't omit the ice.


add the liquid and blend to desired consistency.



chocolate fruit smoothie


sounds a bit strange but this combination makes a great beverage. the strawberry is a good compliment to the predominating flavour of the cocoa, adding a bit of tang.

makes 1 large smoothie or 2 small ones

ingredients:

4 to 5 good sized frozen strawberries
1/2 large banana, sliced {banana doesn't have to be frozen}
3 good sized ice cubes
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp sugar
2/3 - 1 c soy milk OR regular milk OR yogurt, or more as needed

method:

place fruit and ice in blender with sugar and cocoa.

add the liquid and blend to desired consistency.

add more liquid as needed. blend until smooth and serve right away.

enjoy!

strawberries & litchee fruit

strawberry litchee smoothie

this is one of my all time favourite blended fruit drinks. it is simple to make, never disappointing and good at any time of the day. use frozen strawberries for this. you can also freeze the litchees once you've drained them but it's not necessary.

enough for 1 serving [or 2 smaller ones]:

1/2 c frozen strawberries
4 - 6 litchees, canned *you need the juice
1/4 - 1/3 c litchee juice from can
*soy milk, vanilla flavoured or plain [enough to thin it to desired thickness]

it is hard to say exactly how many of each to put. you need to try it yourself and play around. i suggest using equal amounts of fruit and adding the litchee juice first. the litchee juice adds amazing flavour and makes it not necessary to add sugar. don't add a alot or it will be too watery — you can always adjust it later. blend the fruit and some of the juice. then add the soy milk to thin to the desired amount. if you don't like the taste of soy milk, the litchee flavour is strong enough to mask it making it virtually undetectable.

you can also fortify this by adding some soy protein isolate powder, available at health food stores. only a spoonful or two will be enough.

*you can also use other things like yogurt, milk, orange juice, almond milk, rice milk, etc. i prefer vanilla soy for this.

LOL — found these versions of vitasoy brand. who knew?!

check out the australian site for recipe ideas for using soy milk. click on the icons (books). beautiful stuff. yes, soy milk is good for you.