Hugo Spritz

I recently attended a solstice celebration in the Seattle area where a wonderful spritz was served as a "Solstice Spritz". I've changed it up a bit here and named it with a nod to its French origins and name.  This spritz is all about summer and how I delight in drinking something cool and refreshing. Even though summer is now coming to an end, there's still plenty of time to enjoy this drink. 

Ingredients:

3 oz. San Pellegrino sparkling water

2 oz. Lamarca Prosecco

1-1/2 oz. St. Germain elderflower liqueur

1 sprig mint

1 sweetened orange slice

Directions: 

Fill an 8 oz wine glass 1/2 full with ice. Pour the sparkling water, champagne, and liqueur over the ice and stir. Add the mint and orange slice. Enjoy.

Serves 1

Stealthy Cooking Tip: This spritz adds much more sparkling water than the normal spritz. With its lower than normal alcohol content, I (and you) can enjoy more than one and still amble about! 

Venetian Style Spritz

I'm just back from a trip! I wasn't sure when I'd ever get to travel again. But, travel I did. Venice was the first stop. We stayed in a VRBO right in the middle of the oldest part of Venice. The owner of the unit was born and raised in Venice, and lucky for me (and all of us), she was a foodie! She pointed us in some amazing directions, plus she suggested some truly delicious restaurants as well as types of food and drink. The afternoon drink of choice in Venice is the spritz, a delightful drink that's part prosecco, part sparkling water, and part Select. The bartender where I had my spritz added both an olive and a dried orange slice when I asked for a Spritz, Venetian style. I've included the photo of the spritz I had there, at Oficina Ormensini, where the food was just as good as the spritz! (More on that later.)

Ingredients:

3 oz prosecco

2 oz select

1 oz sparkling water

1 Italian green olive

1 dried sweetened orange slice

ice

Directions: 

Fill a white wine glass at least 1/2 full with ice cubes. Add the prosecco, select, and sparkling water, stirring gently to combine. Spear the green olive with a long toothpick, then add it and the orange slice as garnishes. Serve and enjoy. 

Serves 1

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Select is an aperetivo similar to Aperol, but with a Venetian twist. It's been made in Venice for over 100 years, so many of the people there think of it as their own. I had my spritz with a late lunch when it was warm and sunny - it was very refreshing and cooling. Enjoy!

Cucumber Refresher Infused Water

It's getting warm here in Sacramento, and that means I should be drinking more water. Well, everyone should be drinking more water when it warms up. I admit I'm bad at drinking water. I just don't drink enough. I'll open a bottled water, and may or may not, finish it. Infused water is delicious! It's also easy to make, has all the health benefits of plain water, plus some added benefits from the juices that mix with the water. Finally, it feels like I'm at a grand spa sipping on something special. Spa day here I come! 

Ingredients:

1/4 cucumber, thinly sliced

1/2 lemon, sliced 

8 mint leaves, muddled

8 thin slices ginger

2 cups water

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients together. Allow to sit for several hours or overnight. Enjoy!

Serves 1 or 2

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Water is so good for us! After all, our bodies have a lot of water. According to H.H. Mitchell in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, the brain and heart are composed of 73% water, while the lungs are about 83% water. The skin contains 64% water, the muscles and kidneys 79%, and even the bones are a watery 31%. By itself, water flushes toxins, and makes everything flow in our bodies. Ginger and mint aid digestion, while cucumber and lemon assist in flushing toxins. Lemon and other citrus are especially rich in antioxidants that stimulate liver enzymes to help flush toxins from the body, plus give your bowels a kick, according to the World Health Organization.

Limoncello

I thought limoncello would use lots of my lemons, but at this time of year my lemons are so large that I only used five to make my batch of limoncello. This recipe only uses the lemon peel or zest, so there's lots of juice left to make lemonade.

Ingredients:

2- 750 ml bottle Vodka
1 cup of lemon peel, from 5 very large or 12 small lemons
4 cups sugar
5 cups water

Directions:

Wash the lemons, using a vegetable scrubber to make sure the skin is very clean. Use a vegetable peeler to peel the zest from the lemons. Use only the yellow part of the zest. The white part, also called the pith, is bitter. Pour the vodka and the cup of lemon peel into a large glass container. Set aside in a cool place for 1 month. The vodka will turn a nice yellow color during this time. Make a simple syrup by stirring the sugar and water together in a saucepan and bringing to a simmer. Let simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved, about 5 minutes. Cool, then add the syrup to the vodka and lemon peel mixture, along with the second bottle of vodka. Let sit another month. Strain the lemon peel from the vodka mixture. You've now got limoncello! Keep the limoncello in the refrigerator or freezer and drink very cold.

Stealthy Cooking Tip: I like to use a vodka that I already like to drink. My personal favorites are Reyka and Stolichnaya. However, use any kind that you like!

Arabian Knight

Here’s a cocktail that’s inspired by the leftover cherry brandy juice from chocolate covered cherries. I named it after my husband, Larry, who loves both the cherries and the cocktail. Today is the anniversary of his proposal to me, so I'm feeling like it's time for a toast!

Ingredients:

Ice cubes
2 ounces cherry brandy juice (or 1 ounce cherry cocktail and 1 ounce brandy)
1 tbs triple sec
1 tbs Cointreau
3 ounces ginger beer
1 squeeze lemon juice
1 lemon wedge or lemon peel

Directions:

Fill a cocktail glass with ice. Pour the liquid ingredients into the glass and mix together. Garnish with the lemon wedge or peel. Serve.

Makes 1 cocktail

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Okay, this is full of sugar and empty calories … but go ahead, I treat myself sometimes, and feel that if the occasion warrants it, why not!

Watermelon Cooler

Get ready for summer! Here's a drink that will cool you off quite nicely, thank you very much. If it's too hot for this to work, try the enhanced version. Add a shot of tequila and you won't care how hot it is.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup water
6 cups cubes seedless watermelon
1/4 cup lemon or lime juice
3 Tbs. agave nectar
12 mint leaves
4 slices of lemon or lime
4 shots of tequila (optional)

Directions:

Pour the water into a blender. Add the watermelon, lemon or lime juice, and the agave nectar. Blend until the watermelon is pureed. Pour over ice cubes, adding 3 mint leaves to each cup. Garnish the cups with lemon or lime slices. Add tequila if desired.

Serves 4

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Watermelon sneaks in all kinds of healthy nutrients. Packed along with vitamins C and A is lycopene, along with a healthy dose of fiber. You may already know a lot about vitamins and fiber, but lycopene is a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants stop free radicals from damaging your immune system. And, just one cup of watermelon has 6 milligrams of lycopene, compare that to the 4 milligrams typically found in one tomato. So, enjoy your watermelon - either cut up as a fruit, or in a juicy drink. 

Watermelon Lemon Fresca

Refreshing! That's what they'll say about this drink. It's got watermelon, lemon juice, a hint of mint, and sparkling water. Substitute champagne for the sparkling water for a refreshing version with a punch.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup water
2 Tbs. sugar
4 cups cubed seedless watermelon
zest of one lemon
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 cup sparkling water or champagne
mint leaves

Directions:  Mix the water and sugar in a microwave safe cup. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir to dissolve the sugar. Place the watermelon, along with the sugar water, zest and lemon juice in a blender. Whirl until the watermelon is pureed. Stir in the sparkling water. Pour over ice. Garnish with mint leaves, or muddle them with the ice cubes before you add the watermelon fresca.

Serves 4, easily doubled

Stealthy Cooking Tip:  Watermelon is refreshing any way you serve it. While watermelon is a sweet fruit, it's also boasts lots of good fiber, making it a nutritious addition to any summer meal. Many recipes call for straining out the pulp, but this recipe keeps the pulp, making it part of the nutritious goodness of this drink. Enjoy the refreshment!

Strawberry Lemonade

It's the height of strawberry season, which coincides with the tail end of lemon season in my yard. Strawberries and lemons, now that's a delicious sounding match. Kids, young and old, love both. Why not mix them together?

Ingredients:

1 cup sliced strawberries
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp lemon zest
3 Tbs. agave nectar
2 Tbs. sugar (use lavender sugar!)
2 cups cold water or sparkling water

Directions:  Blend sliced strawberries together with the lemon juice, zest, and sweeteners. Stir in water, and serve over ice.

Serves 4

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Agave nectar is sweeter than sugar, which mean you can cut the amount of sugar you'd normally use. This lowers both the calories and the glycemic index of this drink.  

Lavender Sugar

I had the good fortune to visit the Ali'i Kula lavender farm when in Maui, which is where the lavender photos here were taken. It was all things lavender. Lavender is an herb of many uses, one of which is culinary. The lavender typically used for cooking is the one from Provence. Purchase this one if you buy seeds to plant, or a starter plant. This is also the type of lavender you'll normally find in the farmer's market, or bottled on the shelf. I've featured it today in making a scented sugar. I've already used this sugar to make lemonade and to enhance the sugar flavor when coating the rim of a glass with sugar. Both times the drinks had an added depth of flavor that was just right.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1/4 cup dried lavender blossoms

Directions:  Pour about 1/4 cup sugar in a jar. Top with about 1 tablespoon of lavender blossoms. Layer more sugar and blossoms until you've used all the sugar and blossoms. Cap the sugar and let it sit on your shelf for at least 1 week. To use, strain the blossoms out of the sugar, then use like you would use sugar in recipes.

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Do make sure to strain out the dried lavender blossoms. They become somewhat bitter when eaten, however the smell remains heavenly. Lavender, even when used for cooking, imparts a lovely scent. The smell is relaxing, and similar to aromatherapy, it is said to help relieve stress.

Fresh Strawberry Margaritas

 

Labor Day Weekend is supposedly the last official weekend of summer. Ha! It's still hot here, and I mean HOT. However hot it is, my strawberry plants seem to think cooler weather has arrived, as they're producing almost more strawberries than I can use. Here's how I use strawberries to cool off when the weather's hot. As an added benefit, if I don't cool off as much as I wish, at least the heat doesn't bother me so much.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup strawberry puree
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
juice of 1/2 lime
2 oz ice cold water
3 oz tequila
1 oz grand marnier
1 tsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp granulated salt
Other lime half, cut into thirds, plus several strawberries as garnish

Directions: Puree strawberries with either an immersion blender or in a blender. Set aside. Squeeze the fresh lemon and lime juices into a second container and set aside. Place the 1/4 cup water in a microwavable container and heat for 1 minute. Stir the sugar into the water until it is dissolved. Add the lemon juice and stir until mixed. Add the strawberry puree, then the cold water, tequila and grand marnier. Stir to combine. Taste, and adjust flavor by adding more water or sugar to your taste.

Combine the teaspoon of sugar and the salt on a plate. I used turbinado sugar and freshly ground sea salt because they have big crystals. Wet the rim of two margarita glasses with one of the lime pieces, then roll the rims on the plate to coat them with the sugar and salt mixture. Fill the glasses with cracked ice, then fill with the margarita mixture.

Serves 2, easily doubled

Stealthy Cooking Tip: I like the strawberry seeds in my margarita, so I don't strain them out. If you don't like seeing seeds in your drink, you can strain the seeds by pouring the puree through several layers of cheesecloth. Also, if you want to make this without alcohol, simply replace the tequila and grand marnier with 1/2 cup of water.

Lemonade

There's just a few lemons left from the current crop, and I can't think of a more delicious way to use them to make lemonade. If you've got kids, this is definitely something they'll like to help with. You'll need about 6 to 10 lemons - the range is so great because some lemons are really small and some are really big. Once made, you'll find this won't last long ... but if it doesn't disappear within the first day, you can keep it for up to one week in the refrigerator.

Ingredients:

1 cup very hot water
1 Tbs grated lemon peel
1 cup sugar
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
8 cups cold water

Directions:

Heat 1 cup water in the microwave until almost boiling. Grate the lemon peel, using only the yellow parts of the lemon rind - the white pith is bitter. Add the lemon peel and sugar to the hot water, stirring well until all of the sugar is dissolved. Pour the sugar water mixture into a large container (at least 3 quart size). Roll the lemons before squeezing out the juice. Rolling them released more of the juice. Add the juice and cold water to the large container and refrigerate until cold. If you can't wait (and who can?), simply pour some of the lemonade over ice cubes and enjoy!

Makes 10 servings

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Here's a juice drink that's a sure fire thirst quencher. It's got sugar ... so it's not for every day, save it for special occasions. It sure tastes good on the day you have it! Also, if you do have kids help prepare this, they'll be sure to want some. Kids love to eat their own creations.

Fruit Smoothie

This fruit smoothie is a quick way to start the day. It's full of fruit, and tastes just as sweet as the fruit you use. The ones pictured here are blueberry and strawberry, but I've also made them with peaches, cherries, and mangoes. Just use your favorite fruit!

1/2 banana

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 cup silken tofu

1/2 cup yoghurt

Blend all the ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into a glass and enjoy! If you use a thick yoghurt, you'll probably need a spoon! Makes 1 serving.

Stealth Cooking Tip: This smoothie has all the benefits of soy, in a delicious manner that will keep everyone guessing about the "secret" ingredient!

Good Morning, Latte

The first thing I do every morning is have a cup of coffee, well it's really a latte. For a while I was driving to my local barista and getting a "grande, low fat soy vanilla latte, with low foam". Now, not only is that a mouthful to remember, I wasn't feeling very green! So, with a little experimentation, I've learned how to make a luscious latte at home - an easy way to add some healthful soymilk to my diet first thing in the morning, and an easy way to save time and gas. Besides freshly made coffee and low fat vanilla soymilk, you'll need a small immersion blender. This one was a gift from one of my daughters, but I've seen them available everywhere from Williams-Sonoma to Ikea.

You can see how nice the latte looks! I enjoy my coffee in one of my favourite cups - it's from Prairie Fire Pottery . I haven't visited the pottery shop (yet ), but I've known the owners for years. They frequently have cups available on line, as well as many other beautiful pieces. Check them out!

1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup coffee

Directions: Pour soy milk into cup. Whip up a nice froth with the immersion blender. Do this while the milk is still cold, then zap in the microwave for 1 minute. Watch out! The frothy milk will expand in the microwave. Pour soy milk into your coffee cup, add coffee to top off, and enjoy your home made latte!

Stealthy Cooking Tip: Replacing Whole Milk with Soy Milk cuts about 25 calories and 2.5 grams of fat per 1/2 cup. Replacing vanilla syrup with vanilla flavored soy milk cuts an additional 70 calories! In addition, soy has phytoestrogens, which may be helpful for women who no longer naturally produce estrogen. Look for soy milk with added calcium and vitamin D.

The Great Milk Mustache

Milk - my husband and older kids loved it, lots of it, and it was whole milk! Whole milk is a wholesome product for younger kids, adding necessary calories for active bodies and lots of calcium and vitamin D for growth. However, older kids and adults may find that it also packs too much fat and too much cholesterol. Fat-free milk still has the calcium and vitamin D of whole milk, but it cuts fat and calories. The challenge is getting older milk drinkers to enjoy the taste of the lightened product.

The taste of whole milk is decidedly different from 2% or 1% and is not even close to the taste of skim milk, also known as fat-free milk. So, how to get milk drinkers to enjoy the lower fat version? This is where stealth comes in. Try adding just a little bit of lower fat milk to their whole milk. You may find that at first you can only add a tablespoon of lower fat milk to a glass. That's okay. This process may take some time! But, increasing the proportion of lower fat milk just a tablespoon at a time will soon have them sipping and enjoying the lower fat, less cholesterol version of a dairy product they enjoy.

Here's an example. Week one: add one tablespoon of 2% milk to each glass of whole milk. Week two: add two tablespoons of 2% milk to each glass. Week three: add three tablespoons to each glass.

If your family is present in the kitchen when you're pouring the milk, or if they regularly help themselves to milk straight from the refrigerator, you might consider adding some 2% milk to the container. If you buy a gallon of whole milk, pour out one cup and replace it with one cup of 2%. The following week, replace two cups, etc.

Soon, you'll have your family drinking 2% milk, and then you can follow the same technique to move them to 1% or skim milk. Soon, they'll be enjoying the vitamin benefits of milk without the extra calories and cholesterol!

Stealthy Cooking Tip:
Making changes slowly helps palates adjust!