Spiced Coffee (not really a recipe)

Spiced Coffee (not really a recipe)
Gramercy Tavern served this at a couple of meals. My assistant really liked it so I started bringing it
in to work for him.

Ethiopian Yrgacheffe (?)

1-2 cinnamon sticks
5-8 cardamom pods

Add spices to your pot of coffee. I have best results with a coffee press, but simply putting the whole spices in the carafe of a drip coffeemaker and letting them infuse into the hot coffee should work too.

MoPQQQ

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Spiced Tea (Chai Masala)

Spiced Tea (Chai Masala)
Serves 2

Known as chai masala in India, this beverage has as many versions as there are teapots. Use a rich, full-bodied tea to match the strength of the spices. Adjust the proportions or the spice mixture to suit yourself.

2-1/2 cups cold water
4 slices of fresh ginger root, about 1/4"-thick and the size of a quarter
3 orange slices, about 1/2"-thick
1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
1/2 tsp. whole cloves
1/4 tsp. whole black peppercorns
2 teabags (black, green, or mint tea work well)
honey or sugar to taste

Combine the cold water, ginger root, orange slices, fennel seeds, cloves, and peppercorns in the saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 10-12 minutes.

Pour through a strainer into 2 cups and add the teabag of your choice to each cup. Steep for 1-3 minutes and add honey or sugar to taste.

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Spiced Tea

Spiced Tea
serves 4

4 cups water
1 (3") cinnamon stick
1" piece fresh ginger root, cut into 4 slices
10 cardamom pods (or 1/2 tsp. cardamom seeds)
1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
1/2 tsp. whole cloves
1 tsp. whole coriander seeds
3 teabags of black tea
1 cup milk
honey or other sweetener to taste

Bring the water and spices to a boil in the saucepan. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Add teabags and milk and simmer for an additional 3-4 minutes. Remove the teabags, sweeten to taste, and serve, pouring the tea through a strainer to catch any loose spices.

This tea gets stronger the longer it sits, so if you want a stronger spice flavor, let it sit for a
while and then reheat. Add more teabags if you desire a stronger black tea taste.

The recipe come from a Moosewood cookbook.

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Indian Cinnamon Tea (Masala Chah)

Indian Cinnamon Tea (Masala Chah)
4 (6-oz.) servings

A tea from Darjeeling with a gentle bouquet. To truly enjoy, omit milk or sugar, which can mask the flavor.

3-3/4 cups water
3" piece of cinnamon stick, broken into small bits
3" piece fresh lemon peel (about 1/2"-wide)
4 heaping tsp. leaf tea or 4 tea bags (orange pekoe)
milk and sugar if desired

1. Bring water to a boil in a pan. Add cinnamon, stir, and turn off heat. Let cinnamon soak in the water for 2 minutes.

2. Bring water with cinnamon to a boil again. Add lemon peel and tea and turn off heat. Let tea brew, covered, for 3 minutes. Strain the tea into a pot and serve. Add milk or sugar if desired.

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Cardamom Tea (Ilaichi Chah)

Cardamom Tea (Ilaichi Chah)
Serves 8

This tea is mellow than masala tea. It is flavored only with pods of green cardamom, which lend a tasty sweetness.

6 cups cold water
12 green cardamom pods
6 heaping tsp. leaf tea or 9 tea bags (orange pekoe)
1 (1" by 1/2") piece of lemon, lime, or orange peel
Scalded milk and sugar, to be served on the side

1. Combine water and cardamom in a deep saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Turn of heat and let soak, covered, for 10 minutes.

2. While the cardamom is soaking, rinse the teapot with boiling water. Add the tea and the peel to the
pot.

3. Bring the cardamom water to a full boil and pour it, pods and all, into the teapot. Let the tea brew for 2-3 minutes before serving. Add milk or sugar as desired to each cup.

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Spiced Tea (Masala Chah) 2

Spiced Tea (Masala Chah) 2
8 (6-oz) servings, for 8 people

6 cups cold water
1/3 cup milk, or to taste
1 stick cinnamon, 3 inches long
6 green cardamoms
4 whole cloves
12 black peppercorns (optional)
12 tsp sugar, or to taste
6 heaping tsp leaf tea or 9 tea bags (orange pekoe)

1. Combine water and milk in a deep pan and bring to a boil. Add the spices and sugar. Stir to blend, and turn off the heat. Cover the pan and let the spices soak for at least 10 minutes.

2. Add the tea leaves or bags and bring the water to a second boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Uncover. Check the color and taste and add more milk and sugar if desired. Strain the tea into a warm teapot and serve immediately.

This is the way that the traditional spiced tea is made. You may, however, omit the milk or sugar or both, in which case reduce the quantity of tea to 2 heaping teaspoons or 3 tea bags.

From Indian cookbooks by Julie Sahni -- Classic Indian Cooking and Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking.

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East African Chai

East African Chai
Here's another chai recipe. I have no idea where it came from; it's just written down on a scrap of paper.

2 cups water
2 cups milk
3 tsp loose tea
2 tsp sugar
2 cardamom pods
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp ground ginger

Boil all ingredients for 5 minutes. Strain into a teapot. Serve with additional sugar and milk to taste.

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Bailey's (from Marilyn)

Bailey's (from Marilyn)

1 can of sweetened evaporated milk
1 quart of whole milk or half & half (if you use milk, throw in some cream)
couple squirts of vanilla
Hershey's chocolate syrup.....to taste
lots of good whiskey, whatever you like, I use close to a bottle of it

Shake it all together in a plastic rubbermaid thingie with the lid, add more milk if you think, but, its goooooooood.

enjoy!!
marilyn

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Alfred's Soda Stream Syrup Recipe

Alfred's Soda Stream Syrup Recipe
The saffron syrup I made:

2 cups sugar
2 cups water

about a teaspoon of saffron threads (some recipes I have seen for saffron syrups use half or a quarter of this, but I find that for a soda flavoring, since the flavor is so diluted by the soda, stronger is better)

Cook at a low boil, on very low flame, until reduced to about two thirds.  Be sure to not let it get to the candying stage.  Watch like a hawk to be sure not to burn it.

Pour into a heat-proof glass container like a Pyrex measuring cup to cool. Don't pour it directly into glass if it's not heat-resistant; the syrup will be very hot.

Some people strain out the saffron threads, but I don't.

For an 8-oz glass of Soda Stream fizzy water, add syrup to taste.  I like about a tablespoon stirred in, but that is very saffrony; a teaspoon of it is also very nice, and lighter in flavor.

Cardamom in almost the same amount works very nice for a cardamom syrup.

I recently heard about a lavender syrup but I've not tried that yet! :-)

Alfred
(6/8/12)

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Sekanjebum Syrup

Sekanjebum Syrup

2-1/2 cups water

6 cups sugar

1 cup vinegar
     (white works well, add a dash of balsamic if you wish, or use wine vinegar,
     or some mix of wine and white) I had some blackberry balsamic and
     a dash of that was wonderful

2 cups fresh mint leaves - if you've got regular and apple mint it's great, apple alone is also nice

1 med to large fresh ginger root, clean, chopped fine, don't bother to strip the skin off
     (you can use pickled ginger slices if that's all your market has, but fresh is very nice)

Bring the water and sugar to a full boil, thicken a bit, throw in the vinegar, boil a bit.

Turn off the heat, throw in the mint and ginger, cover and let cool - steep overnight is best.

Strain out the vegetable debris - a friend of mine eagerly takes that away as a goodie for either herself or her horses, I'm not sure which, maybe both.

Pour into container(s) It doesn't need to be refrigerated, the sugar lets it keep.

Use in hot or cold water, add syrup to taste. It's very refreshing cold in hot weather but if the weather's cold it's nice hot too. If you have a cold, throw in either powdered, chopped or fresh horehound and let steep. If you add horehound leave the last little bit of fluid in the mug - or you get a mouthful of fuzzy mud. Blarg!

Elena
(12/09/11)

(Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer for any attributes stated in the recipe above. Use at your own risk, etc., and so forth. "We" are not responsible or liable for any claims made.)

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Lynncello

Lynncello

I made up a cocktail the other day that sounds weird but that is actually really good. I haven't got a name for it yet. (Note: another member named it after Lynn)

1 shot limoncello
~1 tsp apple cider vinegar
ice
cane sugar cola (not corn syrup)

Really yummy. Needs a name.

Snort. Limoncello is a delicious, sweet-not-tart lemon liqueur. I would like it better were it tarter, hence the vinegar. Interestingly the vinegar works better than actual lemon juice.

Lynn S.
(5/19/11)

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Katrina Drink Non-Recipe

Katrina Drink Non-Recipe

My mixed drink of choice is what we call the Katrina (because my sisters and I drank lots of them while they were with us right after Katrina):

Mandarin flavored vodka in cranberry juice.

Tastes kind of like a peach.

Annabel
(5/19/11)

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Low-Carb Banana Smoothies

Low-Carb Banana Smoothies

We like banana yogurt smoothies and we are both diabetic. (Amounts in parenthesis are carb amounts.)

Place in food processor:

1 frozen overripe banana (30)
8 oz. blended lite yogurt (13)
8 oz. Milk. (13)
1 tsp vanilla

Makes two 8 oz. servings at 28 g. carb. each.

Linda D
(5/6/11)

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Cold Coffee Concoctions

Cold Coffee Concoctions

Who says cold coffee is bad?

Add some cream and sweetener, pour over ice.

Add whipped topping and drizzle of chocolate if you are having a bad day and suddenly a hot May day isn't as bad as it seemed.

Kim in West Central GA
(4/26/11)

---

Make very strong coffee, blend with vanilla ice cream. Add a bit of caramel syrup. Ice blendeds are da' bomb! Carolans in coffee is good too, hot or cold.

Elena
(5/26/11)

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Clove and Nutmeg Mulled Wine

Clove and Nutmeg Mulled Wine
3 bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon
1 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp powdered clove
2 tbsp whole cloves
1 tbsp honey
2 tbsp brown sugar

Combine ingredients in a large saucepan over very low heat. Warm carefully, stirring frequently. Serve warm.

This recipe can easily be cut in thirds. Also, rather than doing it on the stove, a crock pot or other slow cooker makes a better warming device. It may not be the most elegant way to serve mulled wine, but you don't have to worry about cooking out the alcohol. Alcohol boils at around 175°F at sea level as opposed to 212°F for water. If you are mulling wine on the stove top and start to see bubbles it's too late, you're already boiling the alcohol away. (Something which most people who quench red hot pokers in their rum toddies or add boiling water to their whiskey fail to realize.) It kind of defeats the purpose to boil it away if the effect of the alcohol is what you're after. Oh, and on that note, warming alcoholic drinks in a microwave is never a good idea unless you really hate your current oven and want a new one. It can, however, produce a really impressive display as the alcohol flashes.

Randall
(11/9/10)

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John's No-Fail Martini

John's No-Fail Martini

ALWAYS keep your Bombay Sapphire Gin in the freezer. . . that eliminates the need for any ice.

Step 1. Find a large (or very large) martini glass.

Step 2. Fill glass with sub-freezing Sapphire gin, it's kind of syrupy

Step 3. Insert 1 or 2 caper berries (stems attached) (olives on the side if no caper berries)

Step 4. Sip and enjoy until it's gone (one is quite enough - two and I get crude & suggestive)

I don't have these too often - only have one liver and no donors in line.

Always the best,
John Novak
Village Spinning & Weaving Shop
(5/27/06)

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Kenyan Tea

Kenyan Tea
For those who like sweet milky tea, try making it the way they do in Kenya:

Bring water to a boil in a pan, add a goodly amount (1/3 to 1/2 of the amount of water of *whole* milk, black tea leaves and sugar to taste.

When it starts to rise to a boil again, (watch it closely- it doesn't take long and will start to boil over quickly), take it off the heat and strain into cups.

Something about boiling it all together makes it taste different from when you add the milk afterwards. I'm not a big tea drinker, but I like it this way.

MMM
Deanna
(3/5/05)

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Heathen Tea

Heathen Tea
Take one old mug so you don't ruin your good/favorite one. (The microwave destroys good clay-based cups and dishes.)

Fill with water.

Place one Tetley tea bag floating on top. Tetley is the best. The other brands are weak-willed and flavorless.

Stuff in the microwave. Nuke for a couple of minutes. Grab a bag of chocolate, get in your chair and plug in a stupid movie/program. (grin)

Debra
(3/3/05)

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Erin's Method of Making Hot Tea

Erin's Method of Making Hot Tea

Actually it depends on the tea. Black teas should only be brewed once but oolongs, greens and whites can be rebrewed. White teas can often be rebrewed up to 20 times while oolongs typically only 3-5 times depending on the degree of oxidation (how close to black it is).

When rebrewing, you want to keep the water temperature the same as the first time (not boiling for any but black), but you increase the brewing time by approximately 50% each time. Teas that can be rebrewed will change with each cup you make and I often prefer the second or third cup of a tea over the first.

If a tea is bagged, then it is likely to be dust which will reduce the ability to rebrew the leaves. Also the preparation of the whole leaf tea affects how many times it can be brewed. Typically rolled and balled leaves are good until they completely relax. Many good tea sites will tell you how many times you can rebrew a tea.

My favorite is www.Todd-Holland.com but I used to live down the street from them when we were in Chicago. I walked in one day after reading that they carried rooibos (dh is S. African) and tea has never been the same for me.

-erin in SB
(3/3/05)

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Monk's Milk (aka new and improved version of Mock Bailey's)

They haven't been heard from in ages, but I've been assured that they are still hard at work in the wine cellar, scriptorium and the laboratory (say: la BOOOR a tory in a deep voice ;-).

From the later comes a refined beverage based on the Mock Bailey's Irish Crème posted annually since the beginning of Sheep Thrills.

Monk's Milk (aka new and improved version of Mock Bailey's)

1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 quart of non-dairy creamer (or dairy sub of your choice, the thicker the better)
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules dissolved in:
1/3 cup hot water (more or less)
1 cup cheapest of cheap blended whiskey (or better, if that's what floats your boat)
1 cup rum (any color)

Blend, shake or whisk together for at least three minutes. Serve very cold when freshly made. After the flavors mellow, serving at room temp is nice too.

Denise, Monk Liaison
(1/03/05)

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