Carrot Apple Ginger Juice

Watch out, world! I got a juicer for Christmas. Don't be afraid, I promise that I won't become one of those "juicing people." I still like for most of my meals to involve chewing. But that doesn't mean that I won't be experimenting with some interesting juices in the future. I have a recipe saved that involves beets, spinach and celery. Not so sure about that one. But this Carrot Apple Ginger Juice turned out great, especially considering it was my first attempt. I even got the Hubs to drink it and enjoy it (he doesn't know that he'll be trying the beet-spinach juice as well). It was sweet in a really natural, nice way with a little zip from the ginger. I'll be honest that it didn't smell great. The ginger really has an astringent scent to it when it's juiced, and so the drink smelled a little like carrot-scented cleaning fluid. But it tasted great. Really. Did I just unsell you from trying it? I hope not. You can find recipes for this juice all over the internet, I'll just tell you what I did.

Ingredients
6 carrots
4 apples (I used Cameo)
1 inch nob of ginger (if it's your first time, start with a little less)

I peeled the carrots, but left the peel on the apples. However, I did remove the core and seeds of the apple. I know they say you can put the whole apple in, but seeds have trace amounts of cyanide in them. Although it's completely fine and your body can process it, I just have some sort of aversion to putting cyanide in my body willingly...so I removed the seeds. Totally up to you. You should also peel the ginger. Then, juice away! I had no idea how violent the juicer is. That is something you definitely don't want to get your fingers in. Anyway, this made 800 mL of juice (about 27 ounces) which made for a nice big glass for two. And if my recipe calculator is correct it's only about 100 calories which is awesome. Much healthier than juice you buy at the store. Hmm... maybe I'm turning into a juice-person after all!

Strawberry Daiquiri

When I was in my early twenties; one of my favorite alcoholic beverages was Strawberry Daiquiri's. I hadn't quite discovered the deliciousness of coconut rum, white wine, or Mojitos. So, whenever I would go to a restaurant or a local bar that would be one of my favorite beverages to order. Eventually, I did graduate to malibu and diet cokes as my go to beverage, but strawberry daiquiri's have always held a special place in my heart. The other night I wasn't really in the mood for wine, and didn't have mint for strawberry mojitos. So, I decided to make strawberry daiquiri's since I had the ingredients for it. I have to say this really hit the spot, and it was really delicious. I kind of made up my own recipe, but I think you will enjoy it as much as I did!

Ingredients:
1/2 a bag of frozen strawberries
2 or 3 shots of light rum
1/8 cup of simple syrup (optional)
1/2 banana
juice of half a lime

Throw all of the above ingredients into your blender and mix well. Pour into your favorite glass and enjoy!

Iron Chef Citrus: Simple White Sangria

The first time I had white sangria was when Cara served it at Sara's Bachelorette Party. I thought it was so much better than Red Sangria. Of course, I'm not a big red wine drinker so that probably had something to do with it. The version Cara made was really good. Since the theme of Sara's Bachelorette was apples' she incorporated them into the drink. I wanted to attempt this at home, so I found this recipe. This is more of a citrus version but I'm sure you could do apples, or whatever fruit you like. I've been making this version ever since. I even got 2nd place with this drink at Iron Chef Citrus. And, if I'm not mistaken this is one of the few times a drink has placed at our fun competitions. It's very simple to make, and you will love to serve this at any party or just for yourself on a nice warm day. Enjoy!

























Ingredients:
1 Bottle of white wine (Riesling, Albarino, Chablis,Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris, Chardonnay,Sauvignon Blanc)
2/3 cup white sugar (or you can make a simple syrup)
3 oranges (sliced) or may substitute 1 cup of orange juice) (I used both oranges and
oj)
1 lemon (sliced)
1 lime (sliced)
1/2 liter of ginger ale or club soda (ginger ale for those with a sweeter tooth!)

Take your favorite pitcher, and pour in the wine (I used Chablis); the simple syrup; the orange juice. Take your sliced oranges, limes, and lemons and squeeze into the pitcher and toss in. Lastly, add in your club soda or ginger ale. I used club soda. Add ice if the liquids are not cold otherwise you can refrigerate overnight. Enjoy!

(click here for printable recipe)

Watermelon Mojito

I know, I know. This is the 3rd Mojito recipe that I've posted. But, come on; you can never have too many mojito recipes. For me, this has been the summer of the watermelon. Okay, last summer was also that way. But, this summer I've been experimenting more with watermelon. This past Thursday, I had a rough day at work and decided to make a mojito when I got home. Lately, I've been making my strawberry mojitos, but this time I decided to do it a little differently. I had some cut up watermelon in my fridge and decided to try a watermelon mojito. Plus, I didn't have to wait for it to thaw like I would with my strawberries. Boy, what a different taste. I don't really know how to describe it, but the watermelon and mint gave it a nice flavor. I will definitely be making this drink again soon! I hope you like it. Enjoy.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup cubed watermelon
Couple sprigs of mint
2 tbsp (or more) simple syrup
1 jigger (or more) of light rum
1 tbsp lime (optional)
ice
sparkling water or club soda

To make the watermelon mojito; take your watermelon, mint, and simple syrup and put in your favorite glass. Muddle these ingredients. Next, add your rum then your ice. Top with sparkling water (or club soda) and add a splash of lime juice. I didn't use lime juice in mine, but feel free to add it to yours. Enjoy!

(click here for printable recipe)

Iron Chef Strawberry: Strawberry Bellini

Since I hosted this particular Iron Chef I didn't want to choose something that might give me the chance to win. Sure, I would like to keep my own gifts, but what's the fun in that. I picked a drink, because the poor drink has yet to win. Strawberries provide a lot of recipes for drinks. However, I remember watching an episode of Barefoot Contessa and she talked about easy cocktails for parties. One of her favorite cocktails is a Bellini. A "strawberry" bellini wasn't one of her picks, but I thought it would work fabulously with champagne. And, boy, was I right. I "practiced" this drink on multiple occasions.;) Obviously, I enjoyed it very much, and I know you will too!!

Ingredients:
1 bottle of your favorite champagne
1 cup Simple Syrup (or less if you don't like it sweet)
1 small bag of frozen Strawberries

Directions:
Take out your blender, and add the frozen strawberries. Then, add the simple syrup. Remember, simple syrup is just equal parts water to sugar and boiled till the sugar is dissolved. So, in this case 1 cup water to 1 cup sugar, dissolved.
Next, add about a half cup of the champagne to the blender. Puree for about 30 seconds until the mixture is well blended. Take out your champagne glasses, and pour the puree to about 1/2 the way.  Then, add champagne to the remaining half. Stir. It really is a pretty drink, and very simple to make. Enjoy!!

(Click here for printable recipe)

Strawberry Mojito

It's getting closer to those warm summer months, and my mint is growing gloriously. So, what's the best way to use mint by making mojitos that is. About a year ago my sister sent me a blog for a strawberry mojito recipe. It's taken me a year, but I finally got around to making this recipe. My only complaint was that the mint overpowered the strawberries. So, next time I'll be sure to add more strawberries and less mint. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup chopped strawberries
1/4 cup mint
1-2 shots of white rum
2 tbsp to 1/4 cup simple syrup
Splash of Club soda or Soda Water
Splash of fresh lime

Directions:
Take a glass and add your strawberries, mint, and simple syrup. Use your muddling tool and crush the strawberries and mint. Add rum. Add ice close to the top of your glass. Add soda water or club soda. Add a splash of fresh lime. Garnish with strawberry and lime.

(Click here for printable recipe)

Watermelon Daquiri

Last summer, I went thru a watermelon kick. Kroger's had some awesome sales on watermelon that I just kept eating it and eating it and eating it. So, I decided to make a drink where I could incorporate watermelon. I thought to myself that a daquiri would be a really refreshing drink, and I could freeze the left-over watermelon. So, I went searching online for some recipes and found one that called for watermelon, sugar, water, and fresh lime. However, when I tried that recipe it wasn't sweet enough for me. I thought to myself that it's probably because the sugar is going into a cold drink and thus doesn't dissolve. So, I decided to use my signature sugar syrup. Okay, not really signature. But, it's my go to for sweetning drinks. Once I incorporated the simple syrup into the watermelon daquiri it really made the drink. Enjoy on one of these record breaking hot days!

Ingredients:
1 cup watermelon (or more)
Juice from 1 lime
1/8 c to 1/4 c simple syrup (heat till sugar dissolves 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water)
1 jigger light Rum
glass of crushed ice

Puree in a blender until smooth. This makes about one big glass of daquiri.
Garnish with a lime wedge or watermelon slice.

(Click here for printable recipe)

Iron Chef Melon: Thornton Melon Ball

I thought I would go for a drink in this particular Iron Chef. It's hard to win one of these with a Drink, but you never know. I found this particular recipe a year ago for Sara's bachelorette party. We did a drink contest, and I went with my Mojito recipe instead. This drink concept is from Rodney Dangerfield's movie Back to School. And, Guy Fieri posted the drink on Food Network's website.

I didn't win, but it's a really good drink.

Ingredients
Ice
1 part your favorite vodka
1 part melon liqueur (recommended: Midori or generic brand) 
Orange juice
Various melon balls (cantaloupe, honeydew, or watermelon - using all 3 is called "Triple-Lindy" and is definitely money)

This drink can be served straight up or on the rocks. To make this drink straight up: Place in a cocktail shaker; ice, vodka, melon liqueur, and a splash orange juice; shake vigorously and then strain into a large, chilled martini glass and garnish with melon balls. I made mine on the rocks. I just added ice to a glass and poured the vodka, melon liqueur, and enough orange juice to fill the glass. Then, I stirred and garnished with the melon balls. (Click here for printable recipe)

Mojito

The first time I tried a Mojito was in a bar in Las Vegas. Don't ask me which casino I was in, because I have no idea. It was my first time in Vegas and all my co-worker and I did was walk from one casino to the other stopping in each to have a cocktail (or two). My co-worker was very, um, knowledgeable, about alcoholic beverages. And, while sitting in this one bar I was trying to decide what to order. He suggested I try a Mojito. He was quite convinced that I would like it. He was wrong. I loved it! The Mojito was the perfect combination of rum, mint, soda, and sweetness. And, it had a real sugar cane in it. It was perfection.
Upon my return to Richmond, I've been seeking out the perfect Mojito. Havana 59 came a little close, Cha Cha's that much closer, and Cheesecake Factory (funny enough) hit the nail right on the head. But, I wanted to figure out how to make my own Mojito in the comfort of my own home. So, I went out and bought some peppermint, which to my surprise wasn't the proper herb. Mojitos actually calls for Mint, which I've since planted.

The following recipe is the perfect Mojito in comparison to that awesome one in Vegas. Enjoy on a nice hot day!

1 cup of water

1 cup of sugar

Bunch of Mint picked off the vine (maybe about 3/4 to a cup of mint leaves)

Slice of lime

Dash of Club Soda

2 oz Light Rum

Crushed Ice

First boil 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to make a simple syrup. Stir and then keep an eye on it, because the sugar melts really fast once the water boils. As soon as the sugar is dissolved turn off the burner. Set aside to cool.

Now, take out two glasses, and divide the mint leaves (about 1/4 cup), rum, and simple syrup (about 1/4 cup if you like your mojitos sweet) into each glass. Using a muddler; crush the mint leaves to release the mint flavor from the leaves. Then, add crushed ice to about 3/4 of the glass, top with the club soda , and the juice from a slice of lime into each glass. Stir really well. Serve!

(Click here for printable recipe)