sherry cobler/rebujito

In a large 8-12 oz glass, immerse an orange wedges in 1 part cream sherry (1/2 cup).

Fill the glass 3/4 the way full of ice and then add 2 parts lemon soda (1 cup).

Stir.

Top off the drink with mixed berries black, raspberry, strawberry and a second orange wedge on the rim.

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vanilla chai miracle

It's been a long time since I have posted anything here. Eh, I guess I haven't been really inspired. But, I found something!

I have been sitting on a stash of Stash tea for a while. I go through tea phases when I want it and when I don't, and I have to be careful about my caffeine in-take because it can mess me up. Resentfully, I look at this stash I accumulated and said, "Fuck it. Brew it and be damned!" I decided to use it up, so I don't have to be guilty by it. I started with one of my least favourites... or so I thought.

Stash Tea makes a decafe vanilla chai that when I bought thought sounded good having had other good experiences with chai in the past. I hated it. So I gave a lot of it away in the beginning. I had a few packs left. So in the pot they went. Let me restate, I hated it... [reconsideration] hot, but it is nicer cold.

Here's the kicker. I have also bought a coconut beverage from the organic section of my local grocers. Again, something I thought would be fantastic, but just turned out to be ok.



There is an organic beverage I love from Bolthouse Farms - Vanilla Chai. Very chai and milky. Love it. More of a treat for me though, a little pricey. So I have a little bit of this iced tea and some of the coconut beverage... [insert idea bulb].

So I take my vanilla chai iced tea, three-quarters of a large probably 12 oz glass, three teaspoons of a sugar and top it off with the coconut beverage, stir and voilà, two medicore things become something lovely and delicious.

This coconut beverage makes a nice mixer!


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Donna Noble

A few months ago I was headed out to the bar to meet up with a friend. Another friend had wished me a good night and suggested I try a drink, "Crown Royal and Ginger". I tried it. Not a bad drink, but I didn't fall in love with it. A week or so later I remembered I had some unopened vermouth and was looking to use the newly bought ginger-ale. So I thought, what the hell!

On the rocks with a twist or straight-up, Vermouth is probably my preferred drink of choice and has been since my University French Professor first introduced me to it. She was a great woman. Anyway, I made it sans wedge o' lime the first time and said, "Damn, this is the shyt! This will be even better when I put a lime in it. Vermouth is always better with lime or lemon.

A few weeks go by and I thought to myself, I should really give this drink a name. So I thought about its creation and ingredients and history, and couldn't come up with anything classy. I was a little bummed because I wanted to name it. I haven't found the drink in any listings yet for a name, and I am not going to spend more time looking, but it seems to fall under the "highball" drink category.

But I did come up with a name. I'm calling it a "Donna Noble", named after the character in Doctor Who played by Cathering Tate. "Donna Noble" can translate into "Noble Lady". The drink is fun, bubbly, exciting, "ginger", chill, smooth and delicious; all qualities that Donna Noble has. So I thought, well, for my drink, this is perfect.


Ingredients

• 1 eight oz can of ginger ale
• 1 wedge of lime or lemon
• 1-2 shots vermouth
• ice

Directions

1. In a 10-12 ounce highball glass or tumbler put in some ice (however much you want).
2. I like to squeeze some of the lime juice on the ice so it mixes well with the drink.
3. Pour on your Vermouth (truthfully I pour until the count of five is over).
4. Fill glass with ginger ale and stir gently.
   

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Lemonade | La Limonade

I have gone off the pop, sweety. I do have a glass occasionally maybe every few months or so when I eat out. But, I no longer buy it myself, and I am definitely not drinking it in the quantities I used to. I've lost some weight too from not taking on so much sugar.

Instead, I have replaced pop with more water, teas (hot and cold), lemonade and low-sugar juices (cranberry, pomegranate etc...).

So because of this, I decided to make some lemonade from scratch. I like tart lemonade, the kind where you can really taste the lemon rather than the sugar. I looked at a few recipes and came up with my own, and I thought I would take a moment to share it here.

Lemonade | La Limonade

Lemonade

• In a two quart container dissolve 3/4 to 1 cup of sugar in 2 cups of warm water and set aside.
• Seed and juice 7-8 fresh lemons. This will render about 1 3/4 to 2 cups of lemon juice ¹.
• Combine the sugar water and lemon juice.
• Add an additional 3 to 4 cups of cold water to fill the 2 qt. container
• Stir until will mixed and any remaining sugar is dissolved
  

Notes:

1. I like pulp so I leave it in, but you can strain it if you like.
2. Add fresh mint sprigs if desired.
3. Add ice-cubes before topping off with water for insta-cold lemonade.
   

¹ I went with a straight 1 cup of sugar and 2 cups of lemon juice, but you can modify according to individual taste.
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