Category Archives: drinks

Russian tea

drinks, kids 7 Comments

Russian tea recipe

Can I just say, for the record, I have no idea why this is called Russian Tea? I don’t. But I DO know why I’ve kept this recipe, written on orange construction paper, for so long: it is SO GOOD. I used to be a preschool teacher, and the teacher in the next room over gave me this recipe forever ago. Every year I make it it’s just as good as I remembered! There are a lot of versions floating around out there, but this one has never failed me. You will need:

Russian tea mix

  • 2 cups Tang mix
  • 1/3 cup lemonade mix
  • 3/4 cup instant tea (recipe says decaf; I use fully leaded because I have a 3 year old)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 2 tsp. cinnamon
  • 1 tsp. ground cloves

Then just mix it all in a bowl and store in a jar — so easy that this is a great project for the kids to help with. To serve, pour one cup of hot water over 1 Tbsp. of tea mix (grownups only with the boiling water, obviously).

This mix looks very pretty in little jars for presents, along with some sugar spice craisin nuts.

I must confess, though, my favorite thing to do with this tea is to enjoy a steaming cup of it in the afternoon with a little plate of cookies. It’s downright civilized, I tell you. My two favorite accompaniments for Russian tea this year are these buttered rum meltaways from Erin’s Food Files, and these shortbread cookies from The Novice Chef, my two bloggie sisters in crime. Try them… you won’t be sorry!

Russian tea

Key Lime Martini

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This may be the perfect summer cocktail! Sweet and tart and limey (is that a word?) all at the same time. I’m in love! From Crazy Sista Cooking (one of my very favorite cookbooks).

You will need:

  • 1 oz vanilla vodka
  • 1/2 oz Licor 43
  • 1/2 oz KeKe Beach Key Lime liqueur
  • 1/4 oz key lime juice
  • 1 fresh lime wedge
  • Crushed graham crackers

To mix:

  1. Fill a cocktail shaker with lots of ice
  2. Add in vanilla vodka, both liqueurs and key lime juice
  3. Shake, shake, and shake some more
  4. Make a slice into the lime wedge and run it around the rim of a martini glass, then dip the glass rim into the crushed graham crackers
  5. Strain the cocktail mix into the glass, filling to the top
  6. Garnish with the lime wedge and enjoy!

Key Lime Martini

drinks 4 Comments

This may be the perfect summer cocktail! Sweet and tart and limey (is that a word?) all at the same time. I’m in love! From Crazy Sista Cooking (one of my very favorite cookbooks).

You will need:

  • 1 oz vanilla vodka
  • 1/2 oz Licor 43
  • 1/2 oz KeKe Beach Key Lime liqueur
  • 1/4 oz key lime juice
  • 1 fresh lime wedge
  • Crushed graham crackers

To mix:

  1. Fill a cocktail shaker with lots of ice
  2. Add in vanilla vodka, both liqueurs and key lime juice
  3. Shake, shake, and shake some more
  4. Make a slice into the lime wedge and run it around the rim of a martini glass, then dip the glass rim into the crushed graham crackers
  5. Strain the cocktail mix into the glass, filling to the top
  6. Garnish with the lime wedge and enjoy!

Savebucks! How to make incredible iced coffee at home

breakfast, drinks 45 Comments

One taste of this and I promise you’ll think twice about dropping $6/cup for iced coffee.

This all started when I stumbled upon this article about cold brewed coffee. “Cold brewed” just sounded… odd. How does that work exactly?

Turns out: pretty well. It further turns out that it’s likely what you’ve been drinking from the mermaid all this time. AND it turns out that you can so easily make this at home!

Like all good drinks at my house, it starts in a Mason jar:

It’s like moonshine, but for morning.

Okay, write this down — it gets complicated:

  1. In a one quart Mason jar, pour in 2/3 cup of coarsly ground coffee
  2. Fill jar with cold water
  3. Let sit for 12 hours at room temperature

Oh. Hmm. Not really that complicated, is it?

After 12 hours, strain the coffee. I strain it through a paper filter into another jar, but you can use a sieve or cheesecloth, too. Now you have coffee concentrate.  Strong stuff. Keep it in a jar or container in the fridge; mine has lasted up to three weeks still tasting great.

For hot coffee: mix 1/2 concentrate with 1/2 water (or part water part milk, depending on how you take your coffee) and microwave.

For iced coffee: mix half concentrate, half milk and pour over ice. If you want to get super fabulous, shake your milk and concentrate in a cocktail shaker with ice, which makes a nice little foam on top. I do this, and add a spoonful of sweetened condensed milk, too; this makes it a little sweeter and a little thicker.

Also fun for iced: make an tray of coffee ice cubes! Use half coffee ice cubes, half regular ice cubes and your drink will never be watered down.

Some notes:

  • If you want your iced coffee sweeter add some simple syrup (sugar will never dissolve in there — go with the syrup)
  • Go crazy with the add-ins! Vanilla? Caramel? Cinnamon? Chocolate syrup? Whipped cream? It’s yours. Go nuts
  • Like it blended? Throw your concentrate and milk in a blender with ice and a little powdered milk to thicken it up
  • Be sure to stop and snicker periodically at how much money you’ve saved

Lilly tea

drinks 10 Comments

Are you all enjoying your sweet tea?

Now you want to know how to add a little variety? How to turn this:

Into this?

This is so easy it’s almot not even fair to call it a recipe. But regardless:

  • One quart sweet tea
  • One quart orange juice
  • Lemons

That. Is. It. See how this is barely a recipe? But it is SO good. I found it in Essentially Lilly (although she didn’t use lemons, as I recall), and it’s awesome.

  1. Mix the tea and juice together, shaking the juice well first
  2. Serve over lemon slices and lots of ice
  3. You may or may not be entertained by adding a little vodka to the mix. Just throwing that out there.

Happy summer!