Melon and Lime Cocktail

This is a first on The Messy Apron. A cocktail! Sure I said you could spike this Mulled Apple Cider and you could doctor up this hot chocolate with a liqueur, but I’ve never mixed an alcoholic beverage with other stuff in a glass just to make a particular drink.

This concoction, I suppose, doesn’t actually qualify as a cocktail anyway, depending on whether you hold to a purist’s definition. I’m still going to tell you about it, though, because it’s really good. It’s a simple mixture of Midori melon-flavored liqueur and lime juice riding in a vehicle of club soda. It’s fairly sweet, but that sweetness is tempered by the squeeze of lime. Those sweet and fruity flavors along with the carbonated water make it all go down kind of like soda pop. (Enjoy responsibly!)

I just kind of made this drink up several years ago, and I can’t really remember what I was thinking (except, perhaps, “what am I going to do with this bottle of Midori?”). I really liked it, so I started paying attention to measurements and such so I could tell other people about it.

 

If you like those fruit-flavored bottled malt beverages and hard ciders, this might be the simple homemade drink for you. Other fruit liqueurs would also work here, and I’m guessing other citrus juices would, too. The Midori is just such a pretty green, though! This cocktail, if you’re willing to let it have that name, is easy to put together, fun to drink, and attractive to look at. That’s a powerful triple threat, but it tastes so good that those other things might not even matter.

Melon and Lime Cocktail

2 ounces melon liqueur (such as Midori)

1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice

4 ounces cold club soda

a few ice cubes

1. Combine the melon liqueur and lime juice in a drinking glass. Pour in the club soda. Add the ice.

Makes 1 cocktail.

What to do with the rest of the bottle? Try this Sweet Melon Soup with Mint and Midori

One year ago: Blueberry Muffin Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping

Comfort Me with Cocoa

 Goodness knows there’s plenty to be anxious about at the beginning of a new year. An entire 12 months of who-knows-what can be quite intimidating in this crazy global village of ours, and there may even be a lot to be downright afraid of if we’re not careful. For instance, I don’t mind admitting that I’m a little terrified of House Speaker John Boehner’s gigantic new gavel, but that’s beyond the scope of this blog.

What’s making me particularly nervous these days, however, is that I’ve been traveling, visiting, eating in restaurants (too much fast food as well as some really good meals in great casual restaurants) and being fed by generous and talented hosts and hostesses. In short, in dealing with the enforced schedule changes of the holiday season, I haven’t been able to try new recipes or put together old favorites to share or to really even do much cooking at all. This really puts me off my game, makes me feel uneasy, and, worst of all, leaves me with nothing to post on The Messy Apron.

I know I’ll get back into the swing and will soon have something delicious and seasonal to post, such as an appropriately light and high-WFQ* dish to combat the effects of what I’m beginning to think of as C⁴ (Community Calories Consumed in the name of Christmas). Until then, however, I’ve got to get a grip and get organized, preferably with a soothing cup of steamy cocoa by my side. Everything seems to calm down a bit when warm milk is involved, and I probably don’t have to tell you about the mood magic that lightly sweetened chocolate can perform.

There are many ways to produce a cup of hot cocoa, even excluding the instant packets. I prefer a super-simple formula of one cup of milk, one tablespoon of sugar and one heaping tablespoon of cocoa powder. I typically use skim or 2% low fat milk, because those are what I usually have on hand, and I find that the rich flavor of whole milk can cancel out some of the chocolate flavor. I’ve been using an organic, fair-trade cocoa powder from Equal Exchange, but have also used other brands with good results. It stands to reason that the better the quality of the cocoa, the better the hot cocoa.

Usually, I use a contraption called a Cocoa-Latte, marketed by Back to Basics brand. It’s basically a heated blender that makes frothy cocoa and other hot drinks. This thing takes absolutely all of what little work there ever was out of making a cup of hot cocoa from scratch, but you can quite easily make cocoa on the stove, too. If you have an immersion blender, you can even make a frothier drink, whose tiny network of bubbles makes a nice little raft for floating a layer of whipped cream or marshmallows. You know you want whipped cream or marshmallows.

So here’s to a calm and lucky new year to you all.  Just make yourself a warming cup of cocoa on these cold nights to get you started, and perhaps drink it in your winter-celebrating (or eschewing) mug if you have one.  It may be past the season to toast you with champagne, so forgive me if I take a step back and a deep breath, and toast you with a comforting cup of soothing, chocolaty love instead.

*WFQ: Whole Food Quotient


Hot Cocoa

1 cup milk (I prefer skim or 2% milk)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon (heaping if desired) unsweetened cocoa powder
whipped cream or marshmallows (optional)

1. Heat the milk in a small saucepan over medium heat until hot and beginning to steam, but not to boiling. Stir occasionally to keep the milk from scorching on the bottom of the pan.

2. Reduce the heat to low and add the sugar and cocoa. Whisk to blend completely. To make a frothier drink, blend with an immersion blender for 15-30 seconds. Pour into a mug and top with whipped cream or marshmallows if desired (you know you want to).

-or-

Combine the whole lot in a Cocoa-Latte or similar appliance and mix and heat following manufacturer’s instructions.

Makes one serving. Recipe is easily doubled (at least).

Another recipe like this one: Mulled Apple Cider

One year ago: Red Cabbage Slaw with Apples and Cranberries

Spiced and Spiked: Mulled Apple Cider

And so the season begins. The season of fighting off the gloom and depression of the dark and cold days of winter with holidays and celebrations and gatherings and, say it with me, really great food. Many of us visit and give thanks and give gifts. Some worship, some cook, some feast, some fight, and some shop ‘til they drop. Some spice up the days to get by, while others prefer to have their holidays spiked.

I believe it’s a basic fact of human nature that we need these celebrations too keep us from going off the deep end during the late fall and winter, especially in places with excruciatingly short days and cold temperatures and snowy roads. I really think, however, that we put too much pressure on ourselves (as well as our friends and families) when it comes to these year-end celebrations. Sure, we set out to give honor and thanks to and for what is important to us, and generously wish to find the perfect gifts for loved ones or make the season brighter for those who may not have enough. But, let’s face it: we all too often make ourselves crazy in the process.

Because we need to calm down a bit to stay sane, to sit back and relax and contemplate what is meaningful to us, or what we are thankful for, or why exactly it is that we can’t stand to be in the same room with Aunt Mildred, I offer you a warm and flavorful apple cider drink for your sipping pleasure. Because we also need to spice up these darkening days, this cider is steeped with a handful of sassy spices as well as a few strips of orange peel. Because a spiked drink may be just what the nerves seem to need, there is also an optional plug of apple brandy.

This cider is quite spicy, and I really went through the cabinet in hopes of creating an especially complex flavor. I recognize that the average kitchen, even during the holidays, might not be stocked with quite so many whole spices, and I think you could leave out what you don’t have and still make something pretty good. Heck, I forgot to put the cardamom in last time I made this and, while I, tasting critically, could tell it wasn’t there, the cider was still delicious and comforting. Really, the cinnamon is the most important part and you could probably make a delightful cider without anything else added. Don’t put the added pressure on yourself of going out to gather spices in the cold.

The apple brandy (I used Apple Jack) brightens the flavors of the final beverage, and it might also serve to brighten the conversation at your next gathering. You can leave it out, and if you do, this becomes a nice drink for breakfast or an afternoon break. I tend to split the batch and spike half of it for evening relaxation and leave the rest untainted for morning or daytime sipping.

Whatever you celebrate or use as an excuse to gather over the next six weeks or so, I hope you have a pleasant and peaceful time. Spiked or just spiced, you make the call, but perhaps also take the time to sit back and sip rather than gulp in the whole holiday season while giving thanks, enjoying your loved ones and taking in some really great food.

Mulled Apple CiderThe amount of alcohol in this drink is modest. Adjust it to your liking or leave it out entirely.

8 cups (2 liters) fresh apple cider
6 cardamom pods, crushed
3-4 small chunks crystallized ginger (about 1 heaping tablespoon or 15 ml)
6 whole cloves
6 whole allspice berries
2 whole star anise
3 4-inch (about 10 cm) cinnamon sticks
1/4 inch (about 0.5 cm) chunk whole nutmeg or ¼ teaspoon (1 ml) grated nutmeg
4 1-inch (2.5 cm) wide strips orange peel
½ cup (125 ml) apple brandy, such as Calvados or Apple Jack (optional)

1. Pour the cider into a large pot. Add all of the remaining ingredients except the brandy. Cover and bring to a boil.

2. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, covered, for 30 min. Turn off the heat and let stand 30 minutes more.

3. Strain out the spices or remove them with a slotted spoon. To serve, return the cider to the heat and warm until hot. Stir in the brandy if using. Serve hot or refrigerate and rewarm as needed.

Makes 10-11 6-ounce (175 ml) servings.

Another recipe like this one: Ginger Spice Ice Cream

One year ago: Cranberry Sauce