Well look who has been neglecting her new blog.... yep... big surprise!
We have had quite the busy schedule since my last post!
Guests from Oregon for Christmas, a 3 Day Youth Camp with over 50 teenagers, New Years Parties, Birthday Parties, and now we have another guest from Oregon, and will be welcoming a family on Friday that will be staying with us for a couple of weeks.
It's never really boring around here.
So, the family who visited us for Christmas seemed to really enjoy Mexico. They really enjoyed the food too :) And Kelli has asked me to post a few of the recipes that we made while they were here. They are mostly traditional Mexican recipes. Today we will start with Jamica, and Horchata- because they are easy, and I should be cooking dinner instead of Blogging- but it's always something, right? ....
Jamaica is a sweet tea drink made from dried Hibiscus flowers. It is very popular here, and very delicious and refreshing. The kids love it- and it has nutritional value {unlike Not-so-Kool-Aid}.
Easy Peasy. Here is the recipe for 1 gallon:
2 cups of dried hibiscus flowers
2 cups of sugar
1 gallon of water
Boil 1/2 gallon of water
add hibiscus flowers and continue to boil for 4 minutes.
turn off heat and let steep for 15 minutes
strain off liquid into gallon jar or pitcher
stir in sugar {to the jar of hot tea}.
add 1/2 gallon of cold water back to the pan with your flowers
squeeze out all of the tea you can from the flowers, then throw them in your compost.
add the cold water to your jar- and chill for a couple of hours
serve over ice!
Told you! It's fool proof!
You will now be hooked.
Next-- Horchata:
Horchata is a milky beverage made from soaked dry rice.
It is creamy, and cinnamony, and wonderful.
For one gallon:
1 cup of dry white rice
3 whole cinnamon sticks
zest of one lime
one can of evaporated milk
1-2 cups of sugar
In your blender, blend dry rice until powdery and smooth
In gallon size jar or pitcher, soak blended rice in 1/2 gallon of water, cinnamon sticks, and lime zest overnight
The next day, add sugar and stir until disolved
Add evaporated milk, and about 6 more cups of water {or to bring the quantity to one gallon}.
Stir well, then chill for a few hours.
Serve over ice!
There you have it!
Two traditional Mexican beverages, in less than an hour prep time, and probably like 5 bucks in ingredients!
Disfruita!
