Summer Recipe - Chocolate Malt Milkshake

I have come back with yet another simple summer drink for your loved ones and you. My toddler just loves this drink and it helps me as well as ever since summer started, she has disliked having her Junior Horlicks 1-2-3 with hot milk. What better way that to ensure some of that essential calcium gets consumed by your little one. I have been asked by friends and fellow bloggers/networking friends to include summer beverages for their little ones or themselves. So here is another one after the Banana Milkshake post!

Since chocolate is her fave, I decided to use some melted chocolate and hot chocolate cocoa to make this drink. I also used Junior Horlicks 1-2-3 in the mix to ensure she got her daily dose of Horlicks (Vitamins, Iron and yes more calcium). Served up in a beer mug instead of her regular milk glass, this pepped her interest all the more ;-)

Adults can also have this drink with your fave Malted Milk (powder) or extra scoop of hot chocolate powder or dark chocolate or Mint Chocolate. The options are many!

To make this simple drink,

You need

• 250 ml of fresh cold milk
• 11/2 tbsp of hot chocolate powder or 1 tbsp of melted chocolate and 1/2 tbsp of hot chocolate powder
• 1 tbsp of Malted Milk powder (optional  Horlicks)
• Pre-chilled beer mug
• Hand shaker or airtight closed glass or blender
• Crushed ice cubes (optional)

The Make

Serves 1 adult/child | Preparation Time: 2-3 minutes

1. Mix the warm melted chocolate or 1 tbsp of hot chocolate powder with milk and if using the latter (Hot choc powder), heat  4 tbsp of the milk and blend with the hot chocolate powder first.

2. In the shaker, add the chocolate milk, the malted milk powder, crushed ice cubes and the remaining cold milk and shake well.

3. Pour the milkshake in a pre-chilled beer mug and sprinkle with 1/2 tbsp of hot chocolate powder or chocolate sprinkles or grated chocolate on top. I added this to cover the Horlicks that I secretly mixed in my daughter's chocolate milkshake ;). So it was chocolate all the way :)!

4. Add a funky straw or serve as is. Serve cold!

Your kid will love you for this drink and will not stop until they drink up! :) Fight the summer heat with this cool and tasty drink!

Sensuous Hot Chili Chocolate

With the temperatures dropping here and the ring of the New Year round the corner, I decided to finally make some Hot Chili Chocolate.  Chocolate has always been my favourite so much so I earned the nick name of being called "Chocolate" ;) . This makes for an excellent drink on a cold winter night and it is simple to make as well.  Cuddle up with your loved ones and share in the joy of CHOCOLATE! :)

You need:

• 5 tbsp processed cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons sugar (not a must esp. in case of sweetened cocoa powder)
• 1 tsp of cayenne pepper powder or 1 tsp of crushed ginger
• 4-6 squares of bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2 cups of milk
• 2 strawberry, 1 small chocolate piece for garnish

The make:

Preparation Time: 10 minutes | Serves 2 adults

1. Take a pan and add the cocoa powder, sugar(optional) and 2-3 tbsp of milk. Heat and stir evenly till the mixture blends and lumps removed.
2. Boil the remaining milk with the ginger or cayenne pepper in a milk pan and add in the cocoa mix. Whisk well to blend in the cocoa mixture.
3. Remove from heat and add in the chopped chocolate and stir till the chocolate melts and set aside.
4. Reheat, stir well  and serve hot with a slice of chocolate at the edge of the glass or a slice of strawberry or if you are feeling especially adventurous coat the strawberry with melted chocolate before serving as garnish.
Enjoy this drink with loved ones on a cold, winter evening.

Tip: You may want to avoid the ginger or cayenne pepper if you are serving this to kids.

Mummy's Ginger Wine - A Christmas Special

What better to include in the Christmas celebrations than Ginger Wine. I decided to make Mum's perfect Ginger Wine as our Christmas beverage. The last Christmas I was back home and had a taste of her delicious Ginger Wine. With your eyes closed, it tasted so much like a high-end branded sparkling wine. No exaggerations!

I must say that I truly did not expect this batch of wine to turn out as good as it did. I started it out in October as it takes a good 21 days to  ferment after the initial prep and then another 21 days resting time after straining. Home made wine tends to be sweet and if not made well in advance tastes like a non-alcoholic, albeit festive flavoured beverage. When the wine ages over time, it gives you that extra feel good spirit and serves well with your elaborate Christmas lunch or dinner! You can also add Cinnamon sticks in the first 21 days for extra colour and flavour which compliments the ginger well.

Ginger Wine served

I have seen mum making many a homemade wine to know that you need a ceramic jar (bharani) to store the wine. Storing ingredients to make wine in steel or plastic jars is not advisable. The other reason to use a ceramic jar is that the wine ages well in a cool, dark place and glass jars do not serve this purpose either. If the wine for some reason gets spoiled due to exposure to light or contamination by using unsterilised utensils, then the only option you will have is to toss it out!

Ceramic Jar with wooden pestle

You need:

Utensils: sterilised and dry

• Ceramic Jar
• Clean Cloth for additional sealing of the jar
• A cloth string or ribbon to affix the cloth in place
• a Wooden Pestle or grinder
• A large spoon
• Deep bottomed vessel for the sieving process
• Deep bottomed skillet for boiling process and later for the burnt sugar process
• Large clean sieve (remember to buy a new one as sieves can be hard to clean/sterilise perfectly once used for any other food ingredient)
• Funnel to fill bottles after resting time
• 2 glass bottles / empty alcohol bottles

Ingredients

• 1 kg ginger, skinned and washed well
• 1 kg refined sugar, castor sugar or dermerera or brown sugar
• Water just enough to cover the ginger in the boiling process (4-6 cups)
• 1 tsp of yeast (optional)
• 1" cinnamon sticks (2 nos) - optional
• 1 cup of sugar for browning, 1 cup of water - optional

The make:

Preparation time: 40 minutes | Fermenting time: 21 days | Resting Time: 21 days

1. Wash the ginger well and crush in the grinder (without water) or using the wooden pestle. It does not have to ground to a paste, just crushed well to allow the juices to be extracted once left for fermenting.

2. Boil the ginger well with water enough to just cover the ginger.

3. Add the sugar and stir lightly. Set aside and allow to cool.

4. Once lukewarm, you can add the yeast if desired and lightly stir. You can also add the cinnamon sticks.  Transfer the ginger and liquids in the ceramic jar. Seal the jar with its original lid and top with a clean cloth and seal with a cloth string or ribbon. This is to avoid any contamination or exposure to light.

5. This is important - Store in a cool, dark place to avoid any exposure to light for 21 days.

6. On the 22nd day, strain the contents of the jar to a large deep bottomed vessel. Transfer the strained ginger juice to the ceramic jar, discarding the strained ginger.

7.  This is an optional step. For added colour, you can take the 1 cup of sugar and place it in the deep bottomed skillet. Heat the skillet on high and stir in circular motion. The sugar browns and melts to a sticky residue. Reduce the heat to the lowest. Add the 1 cup of boiling water and stir once the sizzling reduces. Turn off the flame and add it to the ceramic jar when lukewarm. Lightly stir. Cover the jar back as before and allow it to rest another 21 days.

Burnt Sugar

8. You can strain the contents of the jar once more in the deep bottomed vessel. If you find some burnt sugar at the bottom of the jar, then just pour some of the strained wine back in to the jar and stir out the contents back into vessel. Bottle the strained wine using the funnel.

Your wine is ready to be served on the 43rd day onwards.

All thanks goes to my Mum for all the tips and tricks in making this exquisite wine and her original recipe. Cheers Mum, you are simply the best! Merry Christmas all!

Ginger Wine' all bottled up for Christmas!