Horchata

In honor of Cinco de Mayo, and because I grew up near Mexico,

I thought I would share a Mexican favorite.

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Since we have a lot of Mexican friends, and have learned to appreciate the authentic preparation of their traditional foods, we have developed a quick test to determine how good a "Mexican" restaurant will be. The test is this, if the server looks at us quizzically upon asking if they have Horchata, we know that the restaurant isn't going to be very authentic. It might have good food but it won't be "real" Mexican.

Another drink to ask for would be Tamarind.

Horchata (the "h" is silent) is originally from Spain, and different variations can be found all over Latin America. The preparation process is lengthy, but the taste is very refeshing and definitely worth the wait.

To keep things simple the following recipe is what would be typical for Northern Mexico.

Horchata

Soak overnight: 1 C long grain white rice + 4 C cold water. 

The next day: puree in batches in a blender and strain through 3-4 layers of cheesecloth, reserving liquid.

To reserved liquid add:

1 can evaporated milk

1/2 C sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

More recipe variations can be found at Allrecipes.com

Thank you IKEA

You already know from our previous post how much we enjoy products from Denmark. We are danskophiles. Sweden also produces many favorites. I think we could easily be considered svenskophiles too. While living there during a long summer internship back in 1997 my husband and I gained an appreciation for IKEA. We were thrilled when the company expanded to the U.S. Now every time we visit one of their stores it's like making a quick trip to Sweden, but without the expensive airplane ticket.

Sadly our closest IKEA is 2.5hrs away, so anytime we are near one we stock up on favorite food items from the market. During our last visit to Scandinavia we found a soda that we really liked, that I have yet to find in the states, which contained elderflower. Luckily IKEA sells Elderflower Saft, a simple concentrated syrup:

 Since I recently posted about grapefruit I remembered that the soda we liked had grapefruit and elderflower in it. It has such a unique taste, but I really like it. Knowing IKEA had the main ingredient I thought I'd grab a bottle and start playing around with ratios to see if I could come up with the right combination.

Elderflower-Grapefruit Spritzer
Serves 2
3 T grapefruit juice
1/3 C Elderflower Syrup
1 C Pellegrino or club soda

Adjust amounts to desired taste and serve over ice.
It is quite refreshing, and again, it has a very unique flavor, unlike anything we usually find in the States.
Now I just need to think of a catchy name for it...

Butter

Why a post about butter, you may ask?

Why not?

And, after trying this type of butter your life will change.

Lurpak is Danish butter, made with milk from Danish cows,

which graze on Danish grass, that grows in Danish soil.

This 1/2lb. foil covered slab of goodness will take you to heaven (my son's words, not mine).

Spread this on a slice of fresh crusty bread, high quality PLEASE, and you will find yourself craving it.

How do I know you will crave it?

Because I have.

The first time I visited Denmark I had the pleasure of spreading Lurpak butter on my breakfast bread. Anytime we visited after that we always looked forward to eating it again and would search for it at buffets.

Imagine my excitement when I saw it in my grocers refrigerated section.

I quickly snatched it and ran to show my husband who was already in line at the checkout counter. 

His eyes lit up.
**I should mention that he lived in Denmark for a couple years.**
Without question it was added to our order, even though it is pricey, as far as butter goes.

The minute we got home he took a slice of the fresh bread and proceeded to add a layer of this creamy goodness to the top. We took turns enjoying each bite, adding audible approval each time. Umm.

Has poetry ever been written about butter?

Someone should.

Root Beer Review #1

Our family really enjoys trying different types of Root Beer.

With each trip to any store that sells bottled drinks we look to see if there is a brand on the shelf we haven't yet tried. Pizza just doesn't taste the same without being washed down with ice cold root beer.

The featured drink this week is one of my son's favorites:

Imported from Australia, the list of ingredients includes

 molasses, ginger, sasparilla root, licorice root, vanilla bean, and yeast.

To me it has the typical root beer smell with a hint of vanilla, but tastes like licorice that

bathed in root beer. I'm not a licorice fan so it's not my favorite. However,

if you do happen to like your taste buds experiencing that flavor, this might be the one for you.

It is also very sweet, verging on too sweet, but maybe it has to be that way to tame the other flavors?

To find learn more visit the website: http://www.bundaberg.com/

By the way, we found Bundaberg Root Beer at our local World Market.