My riff on the carajillo. What is a carajillo you ask? It is a coffee hard liquor drink. This one traditionally made using espresso and Licorice 43. I added some zing. Spicy ginger orange goodness creating an extra kick in a glass. It’s called the Sapid Canary.
Sapid Canary
Ingredients
3 Slices of Fresh Ginger
2 oz Umbria Espresso
2 oz of Luxor 43
1-3 Pinches of Cayenne Pepper (quantity depending on desired spiciness)
Method
Wash ginger. Scrape the skin using the edge of a spoon. Slice the ginger. Add ginger to the mixing tin. Muddle the ginger. Add all other ingredients. Then, add ice. Shake and pour over fresh ice.
1/2 Cup of chilled chopped red beets (cooked or raw)
1/2 Cup of frozen mango chunks
1/2 Cup of frozen pineapple chunks
5-8 Dates (pitted and soaked in water)
2 Tablespoons of cashew butter
2 Tablespoons of dark maple syrup
1 Tablespoons of coconut oil
1/8 Tablespoons of Himalayan pink salt
1/4 Tablespoons of turmeric
A few dashes of fresh ground black pepper
Handful of skin on raw almonds
Very large handful of fresh washed and cleaned spinach leaves
Large handful of coconut flakes
Method
Soak your dates in water to softer before adding to the blender. Add all ingredients to a blending machine. I use Cuisinart. Blend together until smooth. Voilà .
Glass: fun colored glass (my glass is a vintage poppy trail china glass from 1970s)
Garnish: toasted coconut flake, shaved beets, chia seeds, shaved cashews-whatever you like or no garnish at all
freshly ground black pepper three or four turns of the pepper grinder
1 can of Root Beer
Method
Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until smooth. For the first round, I poured the mixture into unlined and unoiled ice cube trays. The remaining mixture that didn’t fit into the ice cube trays was poured into a loaf pan lined with parchment paper and lightly oiled with avocado oil. All vessels were placed directly into the freezer overnight. The mixture freezes softly and needs to be blended to create a smoothie-like soft serve texture. Think of it as soft serve ice cream. Once blended and creamy, pour it into a glass or bucket and top it off with root beer.
Ice cube tray batch needed the help of small spoon to be removed. Silicone trays would be better. The lined loaf pan was great. I picked up the parchment paper, transferred to the marble board and cut into pieces. I mostly stood in my kitchen eating the product from the ice cube trays. Luckily, I have since purchased better ice cube trays for this recipe.
Behind the scenes:
It’s me practicing my video eating from ice cube trays in a dim lit kitchen
Me again, in Tatum’s Tiny Kitchen practicing my video..Little frosty from my freezer..
Jalapeño peppers are fickle ones. Some spicy hot some spicy mild and some are more green in taste. Consistency is key when creating spicy cocktails. Mother Nature does what she does and that isn’t always the most agreeable to when selecting ingredients for year round menu cocktails.
How do we create the desired consistency for our year round cocktails? Bitters is one way. What is needed? A high proof grain spirit and jalapeños and some time. That’s it. Easy as that.
Jalapeño Bitters
4-10 jalapeños
10 oz of Everclear 190 grain spirit (it’s a whopping 95% alcohol by volume)
Method
Slice each jalapeño. Using a muddler, mash some of the slices extracting juice and crushing the seeds. Add all slices and muddle pieces to a container. Then add the alcohol to the same container. Cover with an airtight lid. Leave a room temperature for about a week. 7 days. Taste test for spice. Remove peppers once you have your bitters. Store in the refrigerator or at room temperature in a dropper bottle or sealed jar. Label and date.
making jalapeño bitters
So, wanna spicy margarita? Make it the same as you would and add your jalapeño bitters float at the end. Just like that.
This one goes down easy. Another question of is there or isn’t there alcohol in this sour. There is. It’s clear. It’s pretty and pale yellow.
May I introduce A Softer Side of a Gentleman (Jack) sour.
softer side of a gentleman
3 ounces of Gentleman Jack (goat milk lemons limes orange clarified)
1/2 ounce and a bar spoon of homemade fresh ginger simple syrup (bar spoon for the foam recipe below)
1/2 ounce of homemade toasted black peppercorn agave syrup (you can purchase a pre-made if you don’t want to make it)
generous pinch to 1/4 teaspoon of Cultures for Your Health citric acid powder (depends on how much pucker you want)
For the foam
1 chicken egg egg white for the foam
dash of cream of tartar (if using kitchen aid whisk attached mixer instead of canister)
1/2 ounce of clarified lemon juice
(1 1/2 teaspoons of agar agar to 8 ounces of lemon juice freeze 24 hours and throw using coffee filter fastened to a freezer safe lid container)
bar spoon of ginger syrup
pinch of pink salt
Add egg whites to a mixing bowl or canister cylinder. If using a mixing bowl and whisk add cream of tartar. Add salt and lemon juice and ginger syrup once soft peaks have formed in the mixing bowl.
For the cocktail.
Add all ingredients to a bucket glass. Add large clear ice cube (if you can). Crushed ice is great too. Add egg white foam.!
Garnish the cocktail with chocolate shaving, SLO food gold leaf for garnishing, Bamboo skewers and toothpicks to work with the gold, Vanilla candy pearls optional (sometimes I get carried away)
This is a fun one. Ok, I tested using semi-sweet chips with dark chocolate chunks (1:1) and I tested using a Belgium dark chocolate bar from the 99Cents stores. Both melting techniques using a Bain-Marie. Microwave a great second if you have one and don’t want to go through the extra steps.
For the ice, I tested two ways. The first piping the chocolate into a bowl of water with ice cubes. The second filling a large ziplock plastic bag with water then freeze to have the now ice in a bag. Both work. Some of these chocolates came out a bit clunky. All are usable, even if only for the snacking while you watch the others set.
Ingredients
Chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, chocolate bars
Water
Ice
Method
For the ice both method
1. Over medium beat, place a heat safe bowl on top a pot of water on the stove. This technique is Bain-Marie. The bowl should be large enough as not to touch the water or fall into the pot. Water should not touch the chocolate.
Example of Bain-Marie
2. Add chocolate to the bowl and let it sit. As it starts to melt stir slightly with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula intermittently until smooth.
3. Once chocolate is melted, remove from the bowl from heat. Set aside. Let the chocolate cool slightly. Once cooled add to a zip locked bag for the piping.
5. Add ice and water to a bowl. If the zip locked bag method is the choice, roll the sides of the bag down over the ice or remove and float in water.
6. Snip the tip of your piping bag and swirl the chocolate. Make any shape you like. I practiced writing my name.
7. Once chocolate starts to lift from the ice, remove using an offset spatula or dinner knife. Place your chocolate shapes onto a chilled plate and refrigerate until ready to use.
Remove using any knife. I call this one a butter knife. It’s not a butter knife but it does the trick.Place the bag into a glass making it easier to fill with melted chocolate. All the chocolate should settle into nicer of the bag. Once filled snip the tip
For the Cynar infusion I made a few different batches. One with mixed berries, one with blueberries and one with strawberries. Clear case of indecision as they all sounded good. This recipe is with the strawberries. The other infusions taste were tasty. Strawberries, artichoke molasses and key lime the winner. Yes, please and thank you. Some drink Cynar with cola and lime wedge. This is my version of that.
10 partially thawed Whole Foods 365 organic frozen strawberries with any residual juices
4 oz of Cynar
Method
Remove 10 strawberries from the freezer. I purchased Whole Foods 365 Brand. Let them thaw slightly in a bowl. Add Cunard and berries with the juices into a container. Seal with lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate for a 2-7 days. Remove the fruit and keep the Cynar.
For the molasses
Add 1 part water to 1 part molasses. Consistency should not be thick but fluid.
There is an elegance in simplicity. Cucumber ribbons are an easy example of this. May I present my cucumber ribbons in the G&T.
Cucumber Ribbons and the G&T
Ingredients
1 medium size cucumber
2 oz of gin of choice
1 bottle of Fever Tree tonic water
Method
For the cucumber
Using a (paring) knife, slice off the bottom pointy end of the cucumber making it easier (and safer) to use the vegetable peeler. Then stand the cucumber on diagonal securing its stance at the top with one hand. The hand you won’t be using to hold the peeler. Starting from top to bottom carefully pressing the vegetable peeler away from you peeling along the length of the cucumber. Make several thins of cucumbers. Trim to tidy any jagged or unclean edges and line your glass. Add ice. Add gin and top with tonic.
For the drink:
2 oz Hendrick’s gin. Add ice. Top with tonic water.
Glass: bucket glass
Garnish: cucumbers (obviously)
Cucumber ribbons garnish
Please drink responsibly.
Yes, the skins look great and can be used as ribbons too. Remember the videos above?
Just look at it. Isn’t it beautiful.Up close and last looks before the gulp..
It’s light bright sweet slightly savory and energizing. Perfect for a cool early morning or midafternoon pick me up as the season changes. It’s autumnal colors certainly signaling fall is here and hinting Halloween is around the corner. No matter the season, drink happy.
My Orange Juice
1 1/2 cups of baby carrots
1 medium knob of ginger
2 Granny Smith apples
1/2 naval orange
Fresh ground black pepper, dried turmeric powder and manuka honey for the rim of the glass.
Method
Paint or roll your glass rim with PRI Manuka honey 10+. Set aside. Add dried turmeric powder and several turns of the fresh pepper from the grinder to a saucer. Mix together using your finger or a fork. Twist and roll the honey coated rim of the glass into the pepper turmeric mixture. Refrigerate while you juice.
Wash fruit. Add all to a juicer. I use Omega. If you don’t have a juicer use a blending machine and strain with a cheese cloth or coffee filter. Add juice to the prepared glass and enjoy.
Infuse your Campari with cacao nibs. This I call chocolate Campari. Recipe available on the home page under category bitters extracts and syrups..
The CCTB Cocktail
2 ounces of Campari cacao nibs infusion
1 ounce of Bauchant orange cognac liqueur
10 small ice cubes from an ice tray
5 dashes of angostura bitters (optional)
Method:
Mix all ingredients in a blender. Pulse until the ice melts, giving froth to the cocktail. Pour into a glass. Peel the orange with a peeler to create what is called the horse’s neck. Use a lighter to burn the orange peel. The heat will release the oils from the orange skin. Express and rub the peel on the edge of the glass, then add the finished cocktail. Enjoy.
