Quick "Mock" Eggnog

For a treat tonight, I mixed up a quick batch of one of my kids' favorite treats this time of year. 

 

Quick "Mock" Eggnog

-1/2 gallon of milk

-1 box instant vanilla pudding

-1/3 cup sugar

-2 t vanilla

-1/2 t cinnamon

-3/4 t nutmeg

-1/2 t rum flavoring (opt)

Mix 1 cup of milk with remaining ingredients with a whisk. 

Blend in remaining milk. 

Easy-peasy!

I'm sure they'll be asking for Eggnog Pudding soon too!

Heb 13:5 ... be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

Summer Herb Tea

I love to simmer this for 5 to 10 minutes, strain, add cane sugar (or honey), and pour it over ice in the summer. 

5- 2inch sprigs of rosemary

2- 2 inch cinnamon sticks

peel of 1 lemon

and about 3 1/2 quarts of water

 The rosemary is straight from my garden.

 

Cherry-Mango Smoothie

I love smoothies and so do my kids. They're so easy and good! 

You don't really have to measure, you can use any type of fruit that you have on hand (canned, fresh, or frozen) and any combination, you can use any liquid of your choosing (from milk to kefir to juice or even water), you can sweeten to taste, and you can make them thin enough to drink or thick enough to scoop like ice cream!

I buy frozen fruit in bulk at our local Cash-n-Carry and sometimes at Sam's. I also freeze or can anything that I'm given or can grow from my own yard. We were blessed with blackberries this year from our bushes and were given some delicious blueberries. Someone else later gave us some frozen apples from their freezer. We were blessed!

For this tasty combination;

3 cups frozen sour cherries

1 1/2 cups frozen mango

1/2 to 3/4 cup cane sugar (or white)

2 1/2 cups kefir (or other)

Whirl in your blender!

Pardon me while I slurp!

It's Really Winter!

It's been so warm that we almost forgot that it's really winter!

But It came to visit today and boy did it ever bring in the icy cold air- and some snow too!

So you know what that means!?!?!

Time for Homemade Hot Chocolate!

Banana-Avocado-Mango Smoothies

Believe it or not, you can't taste the avocados, but they do give it a smooth and creamy texture that is really a nice treat. I haven't frozen any of this but I bet it would make a nice and smooth pudding type pop!

2 ripe avocados
3 small very ripe bananas
2 cups frozen mango chunks
1/3 cup cane sugar (adjust to taste)
1 quart of kefir (yogurt, buttermilk, or milk)

Blend well and serve.
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This post is linked to
Skip To My Lou

Apple Pie Smoothies....

2 cups plain yogurt
2 cups applesauce
3/4 cup cane sugar
dash of nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
1 T lemon juice
3 cups ice

Whirl in a blender. Garnish with dash of cinnamon or nutmeg.

*I used homemade yogurt and homemade applesauce. Your sugar may need to be adjusted based on the applesauce you use.

Banana Split Yogurt Smoothie...

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (I used Creamy Top Stonyfield, mmmm)
2 bananas
2 cups frozen cherries
1 1/2 t vanilla
2 cups milk
2/3 cup cane sugar
1 to 2 cups ice
Whirl in blender.

Optional toppings:
chocolate syrup, chopped pecans, dried flaked coconut

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This yummy treat WORKS FOR ME!

Frozen Coffee Shake!

I often will freeze leftover coffee just to make these, especially in the heat of summer :-)

24oz frozen coffee approx (you can use ice trays, small cups, whatever you have on hand)

1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar to taste(I used cane)

enough milk to fill blender (leaving a little space so as not to run it over (several cups)

Pulse in the blender until it chops up the frozen coffee. Once it is chunky, blend until smooth.

Strawberry Frothy....

Coming in from the garden tonight the kids were doing the "I'm hungry" "I'm thirsty" "what's for supper" "how much longer" and all the other things that I know you hear at your house too!

So- out comes the blender for a "make do til supper drink"!

I put in one box of strawberries after removing the tops. 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt, about 1/4 cup honey, and one quart of home-canned apple juice. I whirled it for several minutes until is was all bubbly, then tossed in a quart full of ice and whirled until the ice was fine and it had a nice froth on top. This made 8+ servings and was so refreshing!...and it held them over til I could get supper finished and on the table!

My "love" of blenders...

I don't know why exactly, but I seem to have some sort of predisposition towards wrecking blenders! Could it be that I push them too hard? Could it be that they are too small for a crew of 8 and I cram them too full? Is it me, am I cursed? ;-) ...I mean...I've only wrecked like say 3 or 4 in the last year and half or so....

Well, I think I've fallen in love with these beautiful machines and I think we're gonna be best buds for a (hopefully) long, long time!

You see- these Dual Wave Blenders have the best of ALL WORLDS!

They have 2 sets of blades to blend with! Woo hoo! Extra blending means a less likely chance of me burning it up!

And they hold a whole TEN CUPS!!! No more running it twice or giving everyone just a half cup or so! Woo hoo! - Anyone want a refill?

And my personal favorite part that I'm getting quite spoiled to is the single serve blending cups!

Yes! Can you see them in the bottom pic below? This comes with 2 of those single serve cups and they both are sitting on the blender in the pic. You see 'em? They are so cool! Here's why- you can blend one serving (great for us busy moms who want a healthy and light breakfast and sometimes need it 'to go') and turn it upside down, unscrew the blade thingy, then cap it, turn it back upright and it has a flip up lid so its truly 'good to go'! (No mess!)

I just wanted to share my excitement with you and hope you think they are as cool as I do.

Kefir Soda, instruc. and rec. from Eat Fat, Lose Fat

"You can use either water kefir grains or kefir powder. Use about 3/4 cup grains or 1 packet powder for 2 quarts of soda. Place all ingredients in a 2-quart glass container, add water kefir grains or powder, fill with water to make 2 quarts, cover tightly, and leave at room temperature for 48 hours. Strain the liquid through a non-metallic strainer.

If using grains, rinse them with water and either use again or store in a jar in the refrigerator with about 1/2 cup water mixed with 1 tablespoon Rapadura, Sucanat, or maple sugar. If using the powder, reserve about 1/2 cup liquid as a starter for the next batch- this will work for about 5 to 6 batches, then you will need to use powder again.

Store the soda in the original glass container in the refrigerator, or for extra bubbly results, transfer to glass beer or soda bottles capped with wire-held caps.

Note: Do not store soda in decorative vinegar bottles that have wire-held stoppers; these have a tendency to explode and can be quite dangerous! "(These are sold local at Good Shepherd.)

Kefir Cream Soda
1/2 cup Rapadura, Sucanat, or maple sugar
1 T pure vanilla extract
Slices of organic lemon, lime, or orange (optional)

Kefir Ginger Ale
4 T coarsely chopped fresh ginger
Juice of 4 limes
1/2 cup Rapadura, Sucanat, or maple sugar

Kefir Lemonade
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup Rapadura, Sucanat, or maple sugar

Kefir Limeade with Mint
1 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 cup Rapadura, Sucanat, or maple sugar
Several sprigs of fresh mint

Kefir Fruit Soda
2 cups juice leftover from making stewed fruit (page 260)
1/4 cup Rapadura, Sucanat, or maple sugar

Cultures, Kombucha, and Duck Eggs

Bet you never thought you'd hear those three words together! Me either- but that's what I've been playing in today...what fun! Creme Fraiche, Greek Yogurt, and Buttermilk- culture away!
I love Kombucha! ..prolly cuz I like sayin' it more than anything- well, it is a cool word!

And these yum-yums are duck eggs fryin' up in the ol' cast iron skillet!

These were sooo yummy!

I had 1/2 a dozen duck eggs and my kids asked for a fried duck egg and leftover beans and cornbread for lunch- uh huh,... and you thought kombucha was weird!

Kombucha Tip....

My family thinks "kombucha" is the craziest thing that I've ever spoke of in the kitchen!

They won't even consider touching it- or smelling of it!

So-

I just find that to be tempting! :-)

Mmhhmm....how can I get a little smidgen of kombucha down them?

Well, I have found that it can be substituted in many recipes for vinegar.

So- I snuck it in their cole slaw the other day!

shhh- don't tell them! They thought it was the best batch I had ever made, lol.

So - just in case some of you are wondering....be a sneak and use it as you would vinegar!

;-)

For more Kitchen Tip Tuesdays, visit Tammy's Recipes!

Kombucha bubbles...wanna see? and a story

Kombucha is huge source of entertainment around my house. I find it cool that I can make a drink that bubbles. I also think its neat, how it grows a scoby; a symbiotic colony of (good) bacteria and yeast!

My family however, thinks me and my kombucha are nuts!

My dh does nothing but tease and tease..... it all started about a year and a half ago when I got pulled over because I had a tail light that kept shorting in and out. Some days it would work, some days it would not work. Well, this young little officer, pulled me over (the reference to his age is important as you will see him trying to prove how much he knows), he ask me did I know about the tail light and I told him that my kids had just told me that it wasn't working. I told him all about how I had ran through water a few years ago and since then, it went through periods of going in and out and that we even kept an extra bulb but that it often would just blink in and out and the bulb would be fine. I told him how we had taken it to various places to have it looked at and no one could find the problem...blah blah blah... and then- he asked me to step out of the car.

Step out? Uh, ok officer.

Keep in mind, ALL of my kids are in the van, and we've just left Walmart and its about ten o'clock at night.

He gets me behind the van and proceeds to give me the wrap about how "he smelled something" and I had a VERY hard time not getting SUPER defensive and SUPER offended.

I said, "Officer, I don't drink and I have all of my children with me and we just left Walmart!"

:-)

He said, "Ma'am, I know what it smells like!"

-Gasp!-

I said, "Officer, I just had a sip of a pop my kids are drinking and if you like I can have them show it to you and perhaps you could smell it?"

"Ma'am, I know what it smells like."

What was really bad is, while we were standing there, I noticed all of these trees and they were full of blooms that sorta smelled like fermented peaches!

I thought; "Oh no! My goose is cooked!" I wondered if I should point it out to him because perhaps that was what he was smelling...well, I decided to point it out and you know what he said? Uh huh! "Ma'am, I know what it smells like, that's why I asked you to step out of the car!"

-Gasp!-

Part of me wanted my innocence proven and wanted him to get the whole department down to watch me take a breathalyzer- but what kind of example would I be setting in front of the kids if I caused any form of a stir, not to mention what they would have to go through while they waited, and waited, and waited!

So, finally I decided to just stand there- (stand still and see the salvation of the Lord)- and he ran my tag and my license- clean as a whistle!

He did write me a nice warning over the light, which still goes on the blinks!

But when I got home and told DH, he laughed and told me that it was the kombucha that he smelled! ;-) I told him that I hadn't even drank any that day! (Still being defensive!)

But after Dh quit laughing, he got offended too. He said, "Didn't he see that you were a mother and had a car load of kids? Did you tell him that you had just been to Walmart? How old was he? What was he thinking holding you up with all those kids?"

I laughed and said, "Perhaps you need a sip of my kombucha!"

...and we all lived happily ever after!

(Seriously- Kombucha is more like apple cider vinegar-and if I still sound defensive, just try to over look it. :-)

Haymakers' Oat Water...

My poor DH, he thinks I'm such a loon! He says he NEVER knows what I'm up to in the kitchen or if I'm (his word) funkifying his food! I finally just had to tell him- "look, if that yellow book is out, don't even ask!" ;-) ...He then says, "Well--- the kids won't drink that." I replied, "They don't have to." "Well, aren't you going to let them try it?" "Oh yes, they can try it if they want to." "Well---they won't like it", he added. So I just smiled and said, "More for me!" This is one of the easiest NT drinks in the book. It is also a good place to start for those who may be of a picky sort or new to NT.
1 gallon of filtered water
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup lemon juice or raw apple cider vinegar*
1 cup molasses
Mix well and keep at room temperature several hours or overnight, stirring occasionally.

*Raw apple cider vinegar is my personal pick for the sake of "cultures" but a newbie may want to go with the lemon juice!

Almost like Christmas today....

Not only did I cook one of those .49 lb turkeys today, I got my order from the Bulk Herb Store!

Would you like to know what I ordered? ..Well, if you ordered, I would love to know what you got! ;-)

Okay, here's what I ordered:
(some were refills for my tea cabinet and one was new to me)
-arrowroot powder
-bentonite clay powder
-butcher's broom root
-chamomile flowers
-fenugreek seed
-ginseng root, siberian
-hops flowers
-horsetail, shavegrass
-licorice root
-passion flower
-rose hips

Berry Cream Shakes.....

You can use any berry to make these, but so far, this Strawberry Cream Shake is my kids' favorite. We made cherry today and they loved it, but still voted for strawberry as the best!

3 cups frozen strawberries

1 cup heavy cream

3/4 cup cane sugar (for sour cherries you'll need 1 cup)

1 1/2 cups milk

Whirl and serve! Yummmmy!! (IF you have any leftovers, you can freeze them for pops for the kiddies!)

Extra shot of C?

I got a good deal on lemons the other day so I added some of these to the table at lunch so the kids could squeeze a slice in their water. They thought that was pretty neat!

(I also read that lemon water helps to alkalize the system!)

A nice sweet treat....

I made these and stuck them in the freezer for 'just the right time'. These have some sweetened condensed milk and melted chocolate (leftovers from making candy) and I let the kids have them with 'hot drinks' (coffee, tea, etc) as 'stir spoons. A fun treat to sweeten their drink! (Perhaps you've seen plastic ones sold in some coffee shops and Etsy shops?)

My latest experiment!

I love the kefir sodas mentioned in NT and Eat Fat Lose Fat!

But I love coming up with new ones even more- it's just fun!

This time, I tried orange juice and kefir! It worked pretty good, but I might should have added a little cane sugar as it took a little longer to work its magic!

The kids were not as fond of this one- one of them said it tasted like buttermilk and orange juice!