Non-alcoholic Spicy Tomatoes and Aleppo Pepper Cocktail

Since I tried for the first time Aleppo Pepper, a spice I've heard so many good things about and which did not disappoint me at all, I was thinking how I can use this versatile pepper in a new combination. And it seems that my mind needed at least two months until I finally took a decision. What about a cold tomatoes spicy summer cocktail, now when the weather finally looks much friendlier than a couple of weeks ago?

The results were more than satisfying and with a very special spicy result. By adding Aleppo Pepper to your tomatoes you can create an unique juice, healthy and energizing with an unique taste. The preparation takes minutes and unless you want your drink a bit more cold, you can drink it immediately. Accompanied by a meal or just as a refreshment, this non-alcoholic cocktail brings exotic tastes and impressions into your life. For yourself, a party or for a tasty date.

Ingredients

25 small heart-shaped small tomatoes, halved

1/4 teaspoon Aleppo Pepper from Spice Kitchen UK

1 pinch black pepper

1 full teaspoon brown sugar

300 ml. cold water

Directions

Add all the ingredients, one by one, into the blender and mix them at medium speed for 2 minutes. You can pour the juice into a straw first if you want to have a completely clean drink, but I personally preferred to keep the tomatoes skin as well. 

You can drink it within minutes after preparation or wait for at least half an hour with the drink kept in the fridge. Both variants are fine.

Before taking the first sip, be ready for an unique experience: elegant taste with unique spice traces, a beautiful colour and a genuine sweetness (the reason I wanted to avoid the white sugar and use the brown one; honey can also work).

Serves: 3
Preparation time: 10 minutes

Disclaimer: Spices offered by Spice Kitchen UK as their Brand Ambassador for review, but the opinions are, as usual, my own

What is Kvas?

As a long time traveler, planning to see all the countries in the world at least twice, I love, besides the food, to taste local drinks too. And it does not apply always to wine. 

When I visited the capital of Moldova, Kishinev, a couple of years ago, I was charmed by a fizzy malt tasting non-alcoholic drink, served on the street. In just a couple of hours, I was so enamorated with it that I preferred to move mostly within acceptable distance from the street stands and their kvasniki - sellers of kvas.

In Berlin, I've found it available as a normal bottle drink, distributed under various brands in the Russian stores. The legend says that this fermented beverage was mentioned as far as the year 986, in the old Russian chronicles. In Slavic, kvas means leaven, reference to the fact that this drink is made of rye bread. Nowadays, is also made of apples, berries or herbs. 

A saying goes that 'a bad kvass is better than good water'. As someone who doesn't drink or fancy too much water, I can recommend to match it with every kind of food, for every meal of the day. A very oily and heavy food might be better diggested when a glass or two or kvas keep them company. In any case, it tastes better and much refreshing when served cold. 

As for me, I am more than happy to look for different brands and various combinations of ingredients. It is just the beginning of a beautiful foodie story.

Honey melon and banana smoothie

Summer is (almost) in full bloom in Berlin - forget one or two days or hours of heavy rains as today, and finding the best ways for a healthy hydration is one of the many questions of the day. Yesterday, I decided to be out of any smoothie books and prepare my own, unique smoothie, using the available ingredients in my fridge (efficiently using and combining leftovers and food is one of my latest objective, as I realized I am wasting a lot of stuff because not always thinking about how to create new recipes or meals). Here is my experience. It serves two and the preparation time is maximum 10 minutes.

 Ingredients:
1 and a half medium-sized banana. If you want a more creamy effect, you can use two.
2 teaspoons of Veganz coconut flowers sweetener
1/2 medium sized honey melon
175 cold water
Directions:
Cut the banana into little rounds
Scoop the seeds of the melon and cut it into cubes
Add all the ingredients in the blender and mix for around 3-4 minutes at medium speed

Here we are! The smoothie has a lot of natural sweetness - both banana and honey melon do have plenty of sweet. If you keep it in the fridge for half an hour, it is even get fresher. You can have it in the afternoon, while sitting in the balcony wrapped in the warm rays of the sun, or any time when you need a fresh drink for a healthy, happier day!

Getting ready for the summer with a glass of Limoncino

With my curious nature to try something new at least every day, one of the promises I made to myself for this year is to have more new drinks, particularly cocktails. But as it happened in the case of food, I always need some inspiration for getting through the right taste. 

For my birthday, I tried for the first time Limoncino, a drink which can be a good refreshment for the hot days of the warm season. Not being a big lover of white wine, I am quite uneducated when it comes to mixing it with other drinks or ingredients. In this case though, it was an easy combination, with the taste keeping in line with the wine's. The fresh lemon slices bring more perfume and develop the original taste, while the ice creates a refreshing chilling effect. 

The recipe is very simple and can be done at home easily.
Ingredients:
White wine, sparkling wine, prosecco or champagne - the more sparkles, the better
Ice cubes - around 4-5
Lemon slices
Directions:
Fill half a glass with the alcoholic drink
Add the ice cubes and the lemon slices. If you want more lemon taste, you can squize half a lemon and add the zest too.
Mix a bit the ingredients to melt together
That's all! Sip it slowly while listening to some relaxing music, or reading a book or planning your next getaway.

Enjoy!

The summer of smoothies

This summer was hot in Berlin and with a very active professional life and an advanced pregnancy I had to offer myself the best mixture of vitamins and hydration, prepared with a limited budget and in just a couple of minutes. Yes, I know, I always want too much from life! I started with the easiest smoothie ever: strawberries. 

All I had to do was to clean them and add water and a bit of brown sugar. My juice was ready in just a couple of minutes. If I was not thirsty enough, I kept it in the fridge for one hour and had a very refreshing treat. 

Another frequent combination for my early morning involed several fruits: blueberries and bananas, to whom I added once in a while one avocado or some kiwis too. When I had kiwis and blueberries, the liquid base was always water. In the case of bananas and avocado, I preferred at least once the week to add some milk. The sugar was not necessary for the bananas combinations. In all cases, I preferred brown sugar. Avocado can stand alone, as it is creamy and tasty enough for providing the energy offered by a rich breakfast. With some ice cubes,  it tastes even better. A pinch of cinnamon or Muscat added to simple avocado or banana shakes makes the taste richer and very perfumed.

As for now, I stayed away of too complex recipes, with spinach or vegetables, but the time has come to improve my skills and get more vitamins and energy into my life. 

So hot, let's have a Brooklyn beer

It is finally very hot in Germany and elsewhere and the search for fresh and cold beverage is on. In Germany especially, they drink a lot of beer, without but most likely with alcohol. I will write a next time about the (bad) drinking habits here and how I cannot accept it at all, especially among teenagers. Till then, I will go on with my light topic: beer!

I am not a beer drinker at all and the first time when I had a sip of it, late in my 20s, I found it disgusting: the taste and the smell altogether. For diversity, I love the Belgian beer combinations, that according to the experts there are not real beers at all: with cherry or even chocolate taste. But more than the Belgian beers I miss Brooklyn so sometimes around March, I received a suggestive present: a bottle of Brooklyn beer. Let's forget about my refuse to taste more than one bottle of beer the year! This was one of those beers from my beautiful Brooklyn. I started by reading the ingredients, and continued by putting it in the fridge where it spent the next 3 months. Who would fancy a beer in the cold? Not me, anyway!

But suddenly, there was a short spring and cold again and finally summer! And just because, I decided that it is time to taste my present. In an almost perfect evening, when I was expecting a lot of relaxing conversations, I made some chips, opened the bottle and enjoyed it. It is not very heavy and the taste isn't so sour, my big disagreement about considering beer a worthy-to-drink beverage. Very cold is perfect and it goes well for lunch, I suppose. As I do a lot of intellectual work, I need to have my mind clear during the day and only the evening was recommended for such a beer tasting experience. 

As this is my only experience with beer for the year - unless some special Belgian specialities are landing in my fridge - I was happy with the taste and it created the good ambiance. And, after all, it was a Brooklyn beer!