Raspberry Lassi

This is sort of an idea for Mango Lassi leftovers or for something new, when you're bored with basic version. :) Worth trying, the taste is more intense thanks to raspberries. Recipe - my own idea, using what I have in my fridge :)

Ingredients (for 2 glasses):

• 1 mango
• 200-300 g of raspberries
• 1/2-1 greek yoghurt or natural yoghurt (around 150-300 ml)
• 1 tablespoon of Golden Syrup or honey
• 1 glass of cold/room temperature water (add only 1/2 glass of cold water if using ice cubes)

Optional ingredients:

• 1-2 teaspoons of sugar
• 1-2 pinch(es) of ground cardamom (definitely worth trying)
• 2-5 ice cubes
• mint leaves

Preparation:

1. Wash all the fruit and put on paper towels to dry.
2. If preparing it in a cold version - put the fruit in the freezer.
3. Take a blender and its cube cutter.
4. Wash and peel mango. Chop.
5. Put inside the cube cutter and mix till smooth.
6. Add raspberries, mix till smooth.
7. Add yoghurt, mix.
8. Add Golden Syrup/honey, sugar, water, ice cubes, cardamom. Mix again till smooth or even longer, to make a foam.
9. Decorate for instance with mint leaves.
10. Bon Appetit! :)

Mango Lassi

 After a quite long holiday break, it is time for something new and refreshing as we are still in holiday mood :)

Mango Lassi, deriving from India, it is based on a Mango fruit with yoghurt and water. Easy to prepare, will pamper your palate :) 

I haven't taken the recipe from anywhere, I've just read on the Internet about this drink and created my own recipe. It is possible to prepare as a cold coctail, as a soft drink or with alcohol.

Ingredients (for 2-4 glasses - depending on the size of the glass):

• 2 mangos
• 1 greek yoghurt or natural yoghurt (around 300 ml)
• 1 tablespoon of Golden Syrup or honey
• 1 glass of cold/room temperature water (add only 1/2 glass of cold water if using ice cubes)

Optional ingredients:

• 1-2 teaspoons of sugar
• 1-2 pinch(es) of ground cardamom (definitely worth trying)
• 2-5 ice cubes
• 20-25 ml of Vanilla Vodka or Malibu
• mint leaves

Useful info:

• While using Golden Syrup it is advisable to heat it a little bit - for example by putting the right amount of it in a small bowl and then that bowl in another, with hot water.
• If the mango is really really ripe - then the sugar isn't that necessary, because the more ripe the fruit is the more sugar it contains.
• Trying things while preparing them is really a useful skill - you can decide on your own whether you want the taste of the fruit to be dominant or rather the yoghurt, etc. With coctails such as Mango Lassi, just add all the ingredients gratually, mix and taste it, using a clean spoon each time you try it, to make it suitable for you.

Preparation:

1. If preparing it in a cold version - put mangos in the freezer.
2. Take a blender and its cube cutter.
3. Wash and peel mangos. Chop.
4. Put inside the cube cutter and mix till smooth.
5. Add yoghurt, mix.
6. Add Golden Syrup/honey, sugar, water, ice cubes, cardamom. Mix again till smooth or even longer, to make a foam.
7. Decorate for instance with mint leaves.
8. Bon Appetit! :)

Pineapple smoothie

Refreshing, healthy supper (or its part ;) ). Recipe is my own idea.

Ingredients(for 4 latte glasses):

• 1/2 pineapple, peeled, chopped
• 3-5 handfuls of cherries

Optional ingredients:

• 1/3-1/2 glass of milk/natural yoghurt
• sugar
• ice cubes

Preparation:

1. Put the pineapple in a bowl, blend till smooth. 
2. Take cherries - if frozen - defrost in a pot by heating them. 
3. Mash the cherries, to get cherry mousse with no skins (make sure there are no kernels).
4. Add cherries to blended pineapple. Blend till smooth.
5. Add sugar, milk and ice cubes. (step by step, tasting, to make it suitable for you)
6. Bon Appetit! :)

Something wet... (Golden) Mojito

This is what Mojito literally means - 'something wet'. It seems to be a perfect drink - chilling and refreshing, it might be prepared as a traditional drink as well as a soft drink. I do recommend both versions.

Slightly changed, recipe comes from BBC Food.

This one, if prepared with an alcohol, is called 'Golden Mojito' as it is prepared with golden rum. Basic Mojito is prepared with white rum, though Mojito, on its own, has plenty of flavour variations.

Ingredients for one glass:

• 3-4 fresh mint sprigs* 
• 3 lime wedges (3/4 of a lime)
• 2½ teaspoon of sugar
• ice cubes
• soda water(=fizzy drink, tonic, sparkling water)

For decoration:

• fresh mint sprig, thin lime wedge, etc.

Optional ingredients:

• 25 ml of golden rum

*yes, sprigs, not only leaves. I've read that these enhance the drink's flavour as they contain some vital oils. But if you wish you can only use leaves from those sprigs.

Preparation:

1. Clean the mint springs. Dry them on paper towels.
2. Cut the lime into 4 wedges. 
3. Take a highball glass. Put 1 lime wedge, add 2 mint sprigs and sugar. 
4. Using for example a clean rolling pin (or a teaspoon), slightly muddle them (be careful not to break the glass) to release the flavour of the mint and lime. 
5. Put another lime wedge, another 2 mint sprigs and muddle again. Add the last lime wedge and muddle it as well.
6. Add ice cubes - almost as many as a glass can take.
7. Slowly pour the rum and soda. Using for example a clean latte spoon, stir.
8. Decorate the edges of the glass with mint or lime wedge, add a straw.
9. Bon Appetit! :)

Coffee: Orange Mocha and Classic Latte

My own recipe created during savouring coffee in a restaurant ;) made in frappe version, because of gorgeous summertime :)

* For both of them, you can add as much milk as you want to. Especially on the top - because latte coffee has a lot of milk. But this is the element I leave for your own preferences :)

Orange Mocha: (foreground)

Ingredients:

• 1 drop of orange extract or orange syrup (around 5 ml, depends on a syrup)
• 1 teaspoon of cocoa
• 2 teaspoons of sugar (if you use bitter baking cocoa and you like sweet coffee - but this is optional)
• 50-100 ml of milk
• 100-150 ml of coffee

Optionally:

• Ice cubes

Preparation:

1. Add orange extract or orange syrup
2. Put the cocoa on the bottom of the latte glass(preferably). Gently patter the glass on the surface, so that the cocoa is beaten in the glass and won't mix that easily with the milk.
3. Add sugar if you wish.
4. Add milk slowly, pouring it to the glass down through its side.
5. If you want - add ice cubes. (2-3)
6. Using the same method as with the milk, add coffee.*
7. Bon Appetit! :)

* If you want frappe - firstly percolate coffee and put it in the freezer.

Basic Coffee: (background)

Ingredients:

• 50-100 ml of milk
• 100-150 ml of coffee
• sugar (optional)

Optionally:

• Ice cubes

Preparation:

1. Add milk.
2. Add sugar if you wish. Stir.
3. Add ice cubes if you want to. (2-3)
4. Add coffee slowly, pouring it to the glass down through its side.
5. Bon Appetit! :)

* If you want frappe - firstly percolate coffee and put it in the freezer.

A method for a night's hunger nightmare

There are days (especially during the summer) when you can eat absolutely nothing during the entire day, but when the evening starts you could devour a horse. And simultaneously you want to stay fit and not put on weight. How to combat that urgent need? 

Here is your answer...

this particular smoothie is my own idea

Ingredients:

• 1 apple
• 150-200g of strawberries
• 2 teaspoons of lemon juice

Optional ingredients:

• ice

Preparation:

1. Wash, peel and chop the apple. Put aside.
2. Wash the strawberries, throw away the green tops/hats.
3. Put the strawberries in a food processor. Blend till smooth. 
4. Now you can add 2-3 ice cubes if you want to. Blend till smooth.
5. Add a few pieces of chopped apple. Blend till smooth. Repeat the actions till all the chopped pieces of apples are blended.
6. Add lemon juice.
7. Bon appetit :)

This particular smoothie, if not blended for too long is really thick and what comes after that - very filling. You will probably need a spoon to eat it ;)

Raspberry Frappe

What an extremely hot day, here, in Poland! The real summer is not with us yet, buuut to my great astonishment, we could experience a Sahara conditions today! So how to cool yourself down during such muggy day? A raspberry frappe is the answer - cooling down & waking up miracle. Surprisingly, raspberries matches here. :) But unfortunately strawberries don't (I tried).
The recipe comes from: http://www.mkcafe.pl/przepisy-kawowe/przepisy/malinowe-frappe

Ingredients (for 2 cups):

• 60-80 g of raspberries
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• 1 square of dark chocolate (optional)
• 2-4 ice cubes
• espresso/coffee*
• 100 ml of 30-36% cream or steamed milk
• chocolate chips (optional)

* no measure of ml here, because it depends on the height of your glass (it is good to take Irish coffee glass) and on your own taste.

Preparation:

1. Prepare ice cubes if you don't have any.
2. Prepare your coffee. Leave it till it cools down
3. Put raspberries, sugar and chocolate in food processor. Mix till smooth.
4. Put the puree on the bottom of your glass. Add ice.
5. Tilt the glass and carefully, pour the coffee slowly on the side of the glass (it is advisable to prepare a coffee in a jug - it is easier to put its spout on the edge of the coffee glass and pour the coffee slowly into the glass) It needs to be done carefully not to mess up the fruit puree bottom.
6. Put whipped cream or steamed milk on the top. Add chocolate chips on the top if you want to.
7. Bon appetit :)

Smoothie

The easiest and the tastiest juice in this world that will cool you down during a hot day.

The idea for this smoothie comes from this website. But - again - I changed it a little bit :)

Ingredients: (for 2-3 cups)

• orange juice (from 1 orange)
• 1 peeled mango
• 1 banana
• cherries - fresh or frozen

Optional ingredients:

• 1/2 tumbler of milk
• sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons of greek yoghurt
• ice

Preparation:

1. Wash the banana and put it in the freezer.
2. Put orange juice and chopped mango to your blender/mixer/food processor. Mix till smooth.
3. Add banana. Mix till smooth.
4. Now it's time for optional ingredients (except for ice). Add carefully one element, mix, taste it, add another. Try it after every mixing so that you are sure that your smoothie suits your taste.
5. Add ice, mix till smooth.
6. Now you can make two - pour the smoothie in one cup so that you have a yellow smoothie.
7. Leave the rest in your food processor and now add cherries. Mix till smooth.
8. Bon appetit :)