DIY Smoothies

You might have seen these Smoothie Cubes in the frozen section at your local supermarket.

I’ll admit, when I saw them, I squealed with excitement. I love smoothies and fruit juices but I’m always too lazy to make them myself because I never have all the fruits and veg handy at the same time…and I just cant be bothered.

These cubes are pureed fruit packed with nutritional goodness- antioxidants and omega 3s and all that good stuff and come in different flavours. So I bought a packet of each to try them, enchanted by the concept of just adding milk and having a delicious fruity treat.

The premise is simple, you just blend 2-3 Smoothie Cubes and 200ml of milk or juice.

My favourite combination is 2 Tropical cubes and 1 Berry Antioxidant cube plus a few little extras.

These little cubes are a tad on the pricey side so I probably couldn’t keep buying them weekly, so this is the part where the little light bulb pings above my head and I have the great idea of making my own smoothie cubes so I can stockpile all these delicious cubes of fresh fruit goodness. YUM.

I’m going to stock up on fresh and frozen fruits, go on a pureeing frenzy and freeze them into ice-cube trays (albeit they will be smaller in size than the supermarket ones which will mean you will probably need a few extra per smoothie).

You can blitz them up with milk, sorbet, yoghurt, fresh fruit juice, fresh fruit, honey or even use them in cocktails.

Tropical Berry Smoothie

• 2 Tropical Smoothie Cubes
• 1 Berry Antioxidant Smoothie Cube
• 1 tsp honey
• 150ml milk
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

So easy and it literally took 1 minute. AWESOME

 

All About Cointreau

Cointreau is one of the most versatile liqueurs that can be used in cooking.

I recently hosted a cocktail party for my birthday and the cocktail list included a lot of drinks that required Cointreau, so I had to buy a bottle. Prior to this, I had never really bothered with it, but I am glad I did.

I must confess that every single day since my party, I’ve pulled the Cointreau out of the cupboard….just to unscrew the cap and inhale that wonderful scent.

Not only can Cointreau be used in a variety of cocktails, and I really do mean quite a variety, but you can also use it to make your desserts go bom chicka wow wow.

So here’s what you need to know about Cointreau:

Cointreau is a liqueur made of bitter orange peels. It is made in France, sourcing bitter oranges from exotic locales such as Haiti, Spain and Brazil.

The first bottles of Cointreau were sold in 1875.

The alcohol content is 40%.

The most popular way to serve Cointreau is neat, on ice (with a twist of fresh lime), mixed with tonic, lemonade, soda water or fruit juice (pineapple, grapefruit, orange) and also in some the world’s most popular cocktails such as The Original Margarita, Cosmopolitan, White Lady and the Side Car.

Here are some of my favourite recipes that I’ve found to share with you. I can’t say that I have attempted all of them yet, but they are definitely my inspiration for my next dessert-making frenzy.

Cointreau Souffle

Cherry and Rasberry Cointreau Zabaglione

Baked Ricotta with Cinnamon Cherries

Crepes Suzette The all time classic

Dark Chocolate Tart with Cointreau Cherries

Mandarin Cointreau Cake

Cointreau Parfait with Figs

Enjoy!

If anyone out there has any Cointreau recipes they’d like to share, please do.

 

Acapulco Gold

Ingredients

Ice
30ml tequila
30ml Tia Maria
30ml dark rum
30ml pineapple juice
30ml coconut cream

Method

Combine ice, tequila, Tia Maria, dark rum, juice and coconut cream in cocktail shaker; shake well.

Strain into highball glass.

 

 

Angel

 Ingredients

Ice
30ml Baileys
20ml Cointreau
20ml strawberry liqueur
30ml pineapple juice
30ml cream
4 strawberries

Method

Combine ice, Baileys, Cointreau, strawberry liqueur, pineapple juice, cream and strawberries in a blender and mix well.

Pour into a large goblet.

Garnish with skewered marshmallows and strawberries, if desired.

Source

 

Blue Lagoon Cocktail

Ingredients

Ice
30ml vodka
15ml blue curaçao
Lemonade

Method

Half-fill a highball glass with ice.

Add vodka and blue curaçao.

Top with lemonade.

Source

 

Scarlett O’Hara Cocktail

Ingredients

3 ice cubes

3 1/2 oz Southern Comfort

2/3 oz cranberry juice

4 tsp lemon juice

______________

Put ice cubes in a cocktail shaker. Add Southern Comfort, cranberry juice and freshly squeezed lemon juice. Shake well and then strain into a cocktail glass.

Recipe courtesy of this site.

Image source 

 

Blood Orange Champagne Cocktail

With the festive season here, chances are you’re going to be drinking. A lot. Bring the fruitiness of summer together with the fizz of festive champagne and enjoy this champagne cocktail.

2 1/2 cups freshly squeezed blood orange juice

2 750ml bottles of Champagne, chilled

Pour 3 tablespoons of blood orange juice into each champagne flute. Top flutes with the champagne and serve.

This recipe should serve 10-12 people or you and your best friend on a Friday night.  Heheheheh.

 

Lava Lamps

I found this great recipe at AllRecipes.com

and have adapted it for us Aussie sheilas.

• 1 pack of red or blue jelly crystals
• 235ml boiling water
• 235ml vodka
• 1 bottle of Champagne

1. In a medium sized bowl, empty the contents of the jelly sachet. Add the boiling water and stir to dissolve the crystals.
2. Stir in vodka and divide the jelly into shot glasses or any small cups.
3. Chill jelly shots in the fridge until they’re set.
4. Try not to nibble on the jelly and become ridiculously trashed already.
5. Pour champagne into a glass of your choice- highball, shot or cocktail glasses will be appropriate. Meanwhile, break jelly up with a fork before pouring into the champagne. Stir and voila, your own lava lamp in a glass!

Please drink responsibly.