Ginger Mango Boba or Bubble Tea - and some vintage finds

Bubble tea or boba is such a fun drink. We bought some at a Vietnamese store next to my husband's shop, it was good but they made it with the powder flavors and it just tasted so artificial. So time to make it at home with fresh ...or frozen fruit.

 

I found some of the large tapioca pearls at the same Asian store, I have some black ones too. I couldn't find anything but the quick-ready in 5 minutes ones.

Cook them in boiling water and then pour honey or sprinkle with brown sugar, stir and let them cool. I cooked 1/2 cup in 2-3 cups water. Let the water boil first then add the tapioca pearls, cook according to the directions or for 15 minutes then turn off the heat and let set for 15 minutes, then drain, sprinkle and cool until ready to use.

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup crushed ice
•  1-2 tea bags (green or black tea)
• 3 pieces or peeled and cut ginger
• honey or sugar to taste
• 1 cup milk (coconut, almond, sweetened condensed, any milk you like) to taste
• 1/2 cup mango puree, or any fruit nectar that you like ( I should of used more)
• 2-3 tablespoons of cooked cooled tapioca pearls

In a sauce pan heat up the water and add the ginger and let it cook for about 10 minutes...add the tea bags and if using sugar add it now so it will dissolve...let steep until tea is nice and strong and sugar dissolved, if using honey add it after the tea is strong and turn off the heat so honey is not cooked just dissolved. If using sweetened condensed milk add it to the warm tea mix so it will melt a little. Remove the tea bags and ginger pieces and let cool some before combining.

Combine all the ingredients in a cocktail shaker (I added the pearls last) or just mix it all up really good add the pearls and serve with a fat milk shake straw so you can suck up all those yummy, soft, chewy tapioca pearls...and enjoy.

Make your own Ginger Liqueur

This is my new favorite drink!! I have always liked ginger, (how do you like the above photo in front of some of my ginger plants?) even as a child I loved ginger cookies, but I've never really liked ginger ale except for Vernor's...but it wasn't until I was in England in the lake district and tasted some of the best gingerbread that I've ever had. That is when I discovered I love crystallized ginger too. I was searching for a recipe that was like that wonderful gingerbread, and have not found one yet. I did come across a really good recipe for ginger shortbread cookies with crystallized ginger. I now make them every Christmas and then some.

When I asked my friend Biren of Roti n Rice if she ever made ginger ice cream and she came up with this great Ginger Tea Ice Cream
I have not tried to make this yet because I would be the only one eating it. That was before my daughter started drinking ginger tea...


...here is just one of the kind  that she enjoys...this is so good on toast too. Now I know she would eat the ginger ice cream along with me, she enjoys ginger as much as I do.  So that's on my summer "to make" list.

She isn't old enough for the ginger liqueur, but that's okay! Let's get started...

I've been experimenting with some infused vodka lately and I will post some of those later. I used organic vodka and organic ingredients...so that was fun. The ginger vodka will take a little longer, but using brandy in can be ready to drink in a few days. I used mostly all organic except I could find organic brandy.

Ingredients:

•  2 ounces or more of organic ginger root (I like the bite of strong ginger taste)
•  1 organic vanilla bean
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/3 cup brown sugar (scant, not packed unless you like it really sweet)
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/3 cup sugar (scant)
•  1 1/2 cups water 
•  1 orange I used a few strips of peel only non of the white part
• 1 1/2 cups brandy
•  I added a tablespoon or so of the ginger tea too

 Peel the ginger and cut it into thin slices. Split the vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Bring the ginger, vanilla, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon stick and water to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until ginger is soft—about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and add the honey, let the mixture cool. Place the orange peel glass container along with the syrup and brandy. Seal and shake, then let this mixture steep for one day. After one day, remove the vanilla bean and let the mixture steep for an additional day. Strain mixture through a fine sieve and return it to the bottle or jar for storage. Let it sit for one more day before using to let flavors mellow.You can strain it though a coffee filter or a yogurt strainer to make it clear

I had to try it before it was all strained clear, and it was a delightful drink on the rocks...

..or as an after dinner drink...to sip on for dessert. I actually will enjoy this anytime...it is very good. I have to try it in a cocktail yet...maybe with some ginger ale.  I might add some more spices next time and make it like a chai spice liqueur. Add a little bit of cloves, maybe some cardamom. What do you think? How would you enjoy this ginger liqueur?

Agua de Tamarindo (Tamarind Water)

It is that time of year to make some more frescas...of course in Florida we do enjoy this year round.It is so easy around here to just pick up a bottle of tamarind fresca, or sometimes called tamarind nectar, and even tamarind pulp in the freezer section of the grocery store, but I like to try to make my own. Mostly because I can control the amount of sugar used and the type of sweetener used.

After we have discovered an authentic local Mexican Bakery and restaurant we have been frequent visitors. connected right next to it they have a Mexican grocery store where I found large bins of dried chili peppers, jamaica flowers, and tamarind...you should of seen the look smile on my face. I can actually buy it in bulk as little or as much as I want and for a very reasonable price!!

Tamarind is sweet-tart in flavor and is a good source of fiber, minerals, vitamin C and a powerful antioxidant. So it's good for you!

Agua de Tamarindo
ingredients:

• 14 tamarind pods (about 1 pound)
• 32 oz - water(1 quart)
• 3/4 cups sugar, or to taste I used piloncillo

Method: Peel the tamarind pods, removing as much of the strings that run along the sides as you can, but don't worry if you can't remove them all. You don't have to remove the seeds at this point. Bring half the water to a boil and add sugar and the peeled tamarind pods, stir as it boils for about a minute and the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let it set for an hour or two.  Strain this mixture into a pitcher and add the remaining water. Mix well and chill before serving.
Be sure to check for the strength and sweetness, and adjust to your liking. 

The pods vary a little in size...

The outside skin is dry pretty brittle...you can see some of the strings in the skins here.

This one is all in tact...

Ha! look at this one...hmmm...what can I make with this! The inside is pretty tacky, sticky almost like a date. Tamarind is also called Indian date.

...looks good huh? It is so funny how soft it gets after soaking. Some will remove the seeds and put the pulp in a blender and use that for the Tamarind water. I just pushed as much as I could through the sieve with a rubber spatula.

It is almost like a concentrate at this point. You can add as much water as you like. I like the tart tang of tamarind, but then I like key limes too. If you want, before you add the extra water you can freeze it and use it when you want...in marinades, drinks, BBQ sauce, or sorbet...

I like it over ice...and maybe a little rum added to it :)
Although this was interesting to do and I like that I can make it less sweet...I might just stick to the store bought...but the agua de jamaica I like better homemade.

Agua de Flor de Jamaica (Hibiscus Tea)

We are getting into some hot weather lately, so I thought I would bring to you a nice refreshing drink... agua de Jamaica. A refreshing beverage with it's deep ruby color makes for a stunning drink to look at. Popular in the Caribbean, Central America and Mexico, it's basically a tea made from hibiscus calyces. I picked some up when I found it in our Save-A-Lot store.

Which is also where I found some piloncillo a Mexican brown sugar that is made from pure, unrefined cane sugar that is pressed into a cone shape. The taste is very similar to brown sugar with a molasses flavor, but does not contain any molasses. You can use it in recipes like you would brown sugar. In Mexico they make it into a drink (agua de panela), like they do with tamarind, (agua de tamarind) and flor de jamaica. You could probably find both in a Mexican or Latin market. To use the piloncillo warm it in the microwave for 20-30 seconds first to soften it enough to cut, grate it if finner sugar is needed.

To make the TEA:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Dried Flower of Jamaica

4 cups water

1/3 cup cane sugar "panela" (more or less to taste)

cinnamon stick, ginger, cloves, nutmeg (optional)

Jamaican rum (optional)

Lime & fresh Mint (garnish optional)

Method:

Soak the dried flowers in the water for about 2 hours, or in a sauce pan pour 2 cups of water boiling water over the dried flowers, you can add the sugar, ginger and cinnamon stick at this time. Steep the flowers in the water for about 20 minutes, then add the remaining 2 cups of water.

Strain out the flowers and chill & serve it over Ice. I strained it right into my glass filled with ice. I used the boil method so the sugar would dissolve nicely. I didn't use the cinnamon, spices or rum this time, because I wanted to taste the flavor of the hibiscus first.

It is very refreshing a little tangy which I liked, of course you can add sugar to your taste. Go ahead and add some rum...

...give it that Caribbean flair, and feel like you are in the islands mon!

Hibiscus tea has some health benefits too...it is high in vitamin C and studies have shown that by drinking it it can lower high blood pressure and reduce high cholesterol levels. So enjoy.

The latest update on my baby pineapple...I wanted to show you the purple flowers that pop out on it. They start to bloom at the bottom then work their way up. It was hard to get a good photo of them with this camera.