Lychee and Apple Black Tea 荔枝蘋果紅茶

Auntie gave us a bag of lychee, just the kind of take-home gift that I love! So besides enjoying the fresh and plump lychee as it is, we even got more to splurge on fruity black tea.

Lychee and apple black tea - 

Ingredients (about 3 to 4 servings)?

• 10 to 12 lychee
• 1 to 2 apple (1 big one or 2 medium sized apples)
• 4 cups fruity scented black tea
• Some ice cubes 
• Some simple syrup (optional)
• Some honey (optional)

How?

Brew the black tea of your choice. I used wakoucha here, which is a type of Japanese black tea. Store the tea in the fridge till cold. You can prepare the tea a day before.

Peel and remove the seeds from the apple. Slice the apple to medium size chunks and add to a blender or food processor. Also pour in 1/2 cup of brewed tea. Blend till smooth.

Peel off the bumpy lychee skin and remove the seed in the center. Repeat for all the lychees and transfer the sweet flesh to a cup. Beat till the flesh break down to smaller bits, and lots of juice flows out.

Of course you can just use the food processor to do the job, especially if you're aiming for smaller pieces of fresh lychee when enjoying the tea.

Have your serving cup or glass ready, add 2 tablespoons of lychee juice along with 2 tablespoons of the lychee flesh. Also add 2 tablespoons of apple juice with plup. Fill 1/3 or up to half of the cup with ice cubes.

Pour the cold black tea all the way up. Stir and give it a quick taste. If sweeter taste is preferred, consider adding some simple syrup or second best choice honey to the tea.

To make the simple syrup, mix together equal amount of sugar and drinkable water. You need to use low heat to warm up the water so that the sugar will dissolve completely. Try to store the simple syrup in the fridge and wait till cold before use in drinks.

I didn't add any extra syrup or honey for my tea. The natural sweetness from the plump lychees I got was enough. Also when biting into the lychee flesh, you'll get a a sudden pop of sweetness from it, really enjoyable. 

Extended reading:

• Apple and honey black tea (the blender way)

Apple and Honey Black Tea (The Blender Way)

What do you use when making juice? Blender or fancy cold press juicer? I've only got my old blender here so I had to add some water when making apple juice. However, if you're using juicer, lucky you to have a more condensed and sweeter apple juice to incorporate to the final drink.

Apple and honey black tea - 

Ingredients (for 3 portions)?

• 1 to 2 tablespoons black tea leaves (or tea bags)
• 1200ml hot water 
• 4 medium apples
• 2 to 3 teaspoons honey
• 2 cups icy cold water
• Some ice cubes (optional)

How?

Let's start with brewing the black tea. Simply follow the instruction for the tea leaves or tea bags using and make two big glasses of tea. 

I used 1200ml hot water for the tea and used about 2 tablespoons of tea leaves. The brewing time varies too. Also if you prefer a stronger tea flavor, try to brew for extra one minute.

Strain out the tea leaves or remove teabags once done. Transfer the hot tea to the fridge and wait till completely cool-off. You can use the leftover tea leaves or tea bags to brew more tea to drink along the way if the flavor still holds.

Peel the apples and slice some fine cubes on the side. The rest cut into chunks and add to the blender. 

We are using about 4 cups of apple cubes. Also pour in 2 cups of cold water to the blender and blend till smooth. Strain the juice and leave the pulp aside. Try to press down the pulp to draw out more juice. 

The portion is about 600ml of cold black tea plus 1 cup of apple juice plus 1 to 2 teaspoons of honey if using. Add that to the clean blender and blend till evenly incorporated.

Add about 1 to 2 spoonful of tiny apple cubes to the serving glass then pour over the prepped fruity tea. It's up to you if you would like to serve with ice cubes or not.

So what to do with the leftover pulp? I actually saved them and stored in the fridge. Sometimes I would just take a spoon and eat the pulp plain like a healthy snack. But you know what? The best way to utilize the pulp is to either marinade the pork with it or use in pork braise. 

Apple pairs really well with pork, so when use in a marinade, it'll not only provide flavors but also slightly tenderize the meat. If use in a stew or braise, the pulp will act like a minimal sweetening agent, especially good when used in an Asian soy sauce based stew. 

Other drinks recipes:

• Cucumber and pineapple juice with a touch of mint leaves
• Blueberry and mint lemonade (using lemon sparkling water)

Eye-Caring and Vitamins Booster Juice

I guess that age has finally come. Some friends started to ask me if I have been experiencing symptoms of presbyopia. Perhaps yes, but I'm not quite sure the focusing issue and tiredness are because of that, or I just over-worked my eyes. 

For sure I need to cut back on phone time, stop checking Instagram and Facebook that often. Need to try to get some quality sleeping hours. Also start taking eye-care tablets. What else can I do, perhaps putting up an eye-caring combo while making juice at home?

Eye-caring and vitamins booster juice -

Ingredients (about 2 to 3 servings)?

• 1 1/2 loosely packed cups papaya
• 1 loosely packed cup carrot
• 1 loosely paced cup spinach
• 1 orange
• 1 green kiwi
• 3 cups cold water
• Some honey (optional)
• 2 walnuts (optional)

How?  

Only using the meaty part for the papaya, that means not the skin and not the seeds. Cut into chunks. Peel and slice the carrot to smaller pieces, destem and section the spinach, peel and separate the orange segments, scoop out the kiwi flesh and not using the skin. 

Add all the prepped ingredients to the blender. 

Along pour in 3 cups of cold water. For a sweeter taste, pour in some honey too. I actually added one tablespoon of honey here. Toss in couple walnuts if available.

Blend, pour, and serve. Use more water for a thinner consistency. However, I'd like to see heavy pulps when having homemade juice, feel much healthier that way.

By the way, for the orange, if you can't find seedless version, use other citrus instead. Just try to get the seedless variety to save up some works in the kitchen. 

Extended reading:

• Mixed fruit and vegetable juice using kale, carrot, blueberry, pear, and apple
• Cucumber and pineapple juice with a touch of mint leaves

Mixed Fruit and Vegetable Juice Using Kale, Carrot, Blueberry, Pear, and Apple

I usually buy whole fruit instead of precut ones whenever possible. However, when making smaller portion juice, sometimes the already-prepped assorted fruits sold at the market can be a real helper. 

There's only peeled and cubed pears the time I went grocery shopping, so I got some of that. Along the way I've also picked up other ingredients which I think should pair with pears in a tasty and nutritious way.

Mixed fruit and vegetable juice using kale, carrot, blueberry, pear, and apple - 

Ingredients (about 2 to 3 glasses)?

• 2 loosely packed cups kale
• 1 loosely packed cup peeled and cubed carrot
• 1 loosely packed cup blueberries
• 2 1/2 loosely packed cups peeled and cubed pear
• 1 1/2 loosely packed cups peeled and cubed apple
• 2 cups icy cold water

How?

Prep all the fruits, such as peel the carrot, apple, and pear if needed then cube them for easier blending. 

Add all the listed ingredients to a blender. However, if the blender can't hold as much, simply split these ingredients in half and blend separately. You can combine the blended batches to a big pitcher in the end. 

Blend the juice till smooth while still seeing tiny bits throughout. Pour and serve right away. 

Because of oxidation, my super fresh juice started to turn brown soon after I pour it out from the blender. But the taste was still crisp and great. Use one more cup of icy cold water for a thinner consistency, or use one more cup of icy cold water plus one more apple for bigger servings. 

I would highly recommend not to strain the juice for its maximum benefit. It's a shame if all these nutritious bits are going to waste. 

Extended reading:

• Cucumber and pineapple juice with a touch of mint leaves

Cucumber and Pineapple Juice With a Touch of Mint Leaves

I'm seriously thinking about getting a mint plant at home. The main reason is that every time I need to use mint leaves in a recipe, usually one or two sprigs will do. However, if I buy it from a grocery store, the price for a small handful, which is way more than I actually need, is usually around $3 USD. A small pot of mint plant also costs the same in Taipei's local plant nursery.

What's preventing me from getting a potted mint plants is bugs, caterpillars to be exact. Nonsense as one might say. Believe me or not, the last mint plant I got actually attracted quite a number of unwanted "residents" and of course I gave away that plant pot as a result. I can't handle caterpillars, especially the whole purpose for the pot is that I want to eat the mint leaves, usually use them raw too.

Buggy memories kept coming through my head. Ok fine, I guess I'll just keep spending a little extra buying cleaned mint leaves for now. 

Cucumber and pineapple juice with a touch of mint leaves - 

Ingredients (for 1 big cup or 2 medium cups)?

• 1 cup trimmed and loosely packed pineapple
• 1 cup peeled and loosely packed apple
• 1/2 cup peeled and loosely packed cucumber
• Some mint leaves
• 2 cups ice water
• Some sugar water (optional) 

How?

Prepare the fruit by trimming/peeling and slicing them into smaller chunks. Peel and cut the cucumber into chunks too. Pick out about 1 sprig of mint leaves.

If you prefer a sweeter taste, then you might need some sugar water. Simply blend equal part of granulated sugar with equal part of water. Once the sugar has been fully dissolved, there you have it, the simple sugar water.

Bring out a blender, add 1 cup of pineapple, 1 cup of apple, 1/2 cup of cucumber, mint leaves, and 2 cups of ice water.

Blend till smooth, but there will be some specks of green from the mint leaves, which I find appealing. 

Taste and see if sugar water is needed. I like my juice the simple way so I didn't use any. On top of that, the pineapple used was quite sweet already.

Strained the juice if preferred. Again, I like to keep the pulps not just because it's healthier, in fact it's pretty delicious.

Pour to serving cups or glasses then garnish with fresh mint leaves on top. 

The use of cucumber and mint leaves definitely added that extra refreshing element to the juice. Think the other way around, It is also a bit like drinking herbal water glamoured with the sweetness from the pineapple and apple. 

I think I really nailed it this time. Mister loved the cucumber and pineapple juice, he finished the whole thing in like...two minutes!

Extended reading:

• Blueberry and mint lemonade (using lemon sparkling water)

Blueberry and Mint Lemonade (Using Lemon Sparkling Water)

A bottle of lemon sparkling water has been sitting in my fridge for months. It came along with a house guest, who brought over some soda, beers, and sparkling water. Well, soda was gone instantly. Beer, still one left and no one wants to touch it. Lemon sparkling water, we don't really drink sparkling water at home, but if mixing it with something fruity, something sweet, I should be able to see that bottle gone in no time.

Blueberry and mint lemonade -

Ingredients (for 2)?

Simple syrup:

• 1/4 cup drinking water
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 drops vanilla extract 

Lemonade:

• 280ml lemon sparkling water
• 100 grams fresh blueberries (plus extra for garnish)
• 1 to 2 sprigs mint leaves
• Few lemon slices
• Some ice cubes

How?

Mix 1/4 cup drinking water with equal amount of honey and 2 drops of vanilla extract. Stir till the honey has been fully dissolved in water.

Transfer fresh blueberries to a food processor and purée till smooth.

Use a jug for mixing if available. Add in blueberry purée and lemon sparkling water. Give it a few stir. Take a fine-mesh strainer and pour the juice through it to a pitcher set below. Push the pulp down to get more juice from it.

Even though we don't need the pulp here, doesn't mean it's worthless. In fact, I simply scoop it out with a spoon and eat it right away. Packed with antioxidants, of course I'm going to have few mouthful of such nutritious boost. 

Pour some simple syrup to the pitcher and mix till blended. Taste and add more simple syrup if a sweeter taste is preferred.

Pour to individual serving glasses. Add in few ice cubes in each glass, garnish with fresh mint leaves, lemon slices, and extra blueberries.

If you're not sure how much simple syrup you're going to use, you can always make more and store unused portion in the fridge. Just remember the basic idea is equal amount of sweetener to equal amount of water.

A success transformation for the lemon sparkling water to a much upgraded and desirable drink. Now all I have to do is trying to figure out how to get rid of that beer.

Extended reading:

Strawberry lemonade for two

 

Sipping and Tasting - Strawberry Lemonade for Two

Believe it or not, I couldn't find any squeezer so indeed it was truly freshly "squeezed" lemon juice, by hand. A little workout before sipping on my lemonade.

Strawberry lemonade -

Ingredients (makes 3 medium portions or 2 medium/large portions)?

• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 1/2 cup hot water
• 1 1/2 cups cold water
• 2 tablespoons strawberry jam
• 2 tablespoons raw cane sugar
• 1 shiso leaf
• 2 to 3 big ice cubes

How?

Squeeze lemons and get 1/2 cup of juice. Julienne shiso leaf.

Take a pitcher, mix in raw cane sugar along with hot water. Mix or cover with lid and shake till the sugar has been fully dissolved.

Pour in lemon juice and 1 cup of cold water, shake or stir to mix. On the side, mix the strawberry jam with 1/2 cup of cold water till almost dissolved. If the jam used comes with chunky fruit, just let it be and don't bother too much to break them apart perfectly. Pour that into the pitcher and shake or stir till incorporated again.

Store the lemonade in the fridge to speed up the cooling process, or just add ice cubes to serving cups then pour in the lemonade. Garnish with shiso leaf, it'll add an elegant herbal note to the drink. Mint leaves work just as well.

This recipe yields a more sourish lemonade, so if a sweeter taste is preferred, go ahead and double the amount used for either cane sugar or strawberry jam.

Two tablespoons of sugar plus sweet jam, that means 1 tablespoon of sugar for one larger serving. Sounds like a lot of sugar? You'll be amazed, or so scared by knowing how much sugar actually put in sweetened drinks. I'm not telling you to quit sugar completely. After all, we all need that happy boost in life once a while. But do try to lower the sugar intake once a while, yep?

Other recipes using fresh lemons:

• Steamed salmon fillets with Thai style dressing
• Lemony roasted chicken legs
• Veggie sticks with garlicky yogurt sauce
• Cod fillet with colorful tomato basil sauce

Something Sweet for Yourself - Single Serving Hot Cocoa Recipe Using Chocolate Chips

Valentine's Day is coming up but with or without a companion, this hot cocoa will definitely make the day better, and sweeter.

Single serving hot cocoa using chocolate chips -

Ingredients (for one, simply double the amount for two servings)?

• 1 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 oz. bitter-sweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup whole milk
• Some whipped cream
• Some unsweetened cocoa powder
• Some cinnamon powder (optional)

How?

Pour the milk into a small/medium pot and turn to medium low heat. Add in half of the chocolate chips mixture and start whisking. Do not bring to a boil, just warm enough to melt the chocolate.

Once melted, add in the remaining chocolate chips and whisk till fully combined. Pour into a mug -

Add some whipped cream and dust with cocoa powder or cinnamon powder -

Again, with or without a companion, for sure this cup of hot cocoa is not going anywhere.


Other sweet treats recipes:

• Quick snack in 15 minutes - French toast with Nutella sauce
• Bittersweet chocolate chip brownies - chewy kind, no oil needed
• Make ahead dessert recipe - creme brulee 2.0
• Sweet tooth weekend - Danish toast with melted dark chocolate and Gouda
• It's afternoon tea time! Coconut madeleines, recipe courtesy of Ina Garten from the Food Network
• Chocolate truffle torte infused with a little bit of coffee and cognac - recipe from the "Chocolate Box"
• Chocolate and banana bundt cakes (recipe using two 3 cups bundt cake molds)

Avocado and Milk Puree / Avocado Milkshake - My Dad's Nutrition Booster Creation

My dad rarely cooks nowadays, but accordingly to my mom, he can actually recreate quite a few classic Asian dishes that taste just like the ones from the restaurants. Unfortunately, only my mom had the chance to savor these foods from who knows how many years ago.

As time passes by, my mom became the master chef in charge of our household's daily meals. As for my dad, it seems like he's only willing to prepare all sorts of "liquid" form items such as soup, dipping sauces, and juice blends. Even though I might never find out how good his actual cooking is, but at least I can say that the deliciousness of all these liquidy creations are guaranteed.

Dad's nutrition booster - Avocado and milk puree/avocado milkshake -

Ingredients?

• 4 ripe avocados
• 1 cup of mixed walnuts and almonds
• Some organic whole milk
• Some honey
• Some fresh dragon fruit/pitaya or pear

How?

I'm not quite sure how should I name this recipe. It's not as runny as milkshake and not as thick as puree. So I've decided to leave both names up there. You can simply adjust the number of avocados used to achieve the consistency of your likeness.

In a regular sized blender, add in 4 avocados, 1 cup of mixed nuts, 1 to 2 tablespoons of honey, and pour in the milk all the way to the top. Blend till smooth. Taste and see if more honey is needed.

Use only 2 avocados if you prefer a more milkshake-like consistency. The recipe here yields a more puree formed avocado and milk blend, which is better served with a spoon and eat like a healthy afternoon treat.

Top the mixture with some freshly chopped white meat dragon fruit/pitaya. If you can't find fresh pitaya, a nice and crunchy pear will do the same trick.

This puree/milkshake can also be served as a breakfast item. Just pair with some toasted bread, lettuce, and turkey slices. What a way to start a healthy day!

Metabolism Boosting Juice with Mixed Berries, Banana, Apple, Carrot, Walnut, Milk, and a Splash of Honey

Well....I was having a little metabolic issue after traveling from Taiwan to the states. On top of time changes, sleeping schedule, weather, etc, the most suspicious cause lies on the diet. My diet consists of a minimum of 5 types of vegetables daily plus a glass of freshly made juice from my dad (Thank you!). However, that amount of fiber intake was reduced drastically during the first few days of my arrival.

I've got to do something to save my ever bloating tummy. So here is it, I took whatever that was available in the kitchen combined with my dad's healthy juice idea, and the tummy savior was born.

Energy boost juice with mixed berries, banana, apple, carrot, walnut, milk, and a splash of honey -

Ingredients (for 2 to 3 full cups)?

1 handful of strawberries
2 tablespoons of blueberries
1 apple
1 ripe banana
1/2 stick of carrot
3 to 4 walnuts
Some 2% reduced fat milk
Some honey

How?

Peel the apple and carrot. Chop the banana, peeled apple, peeled carrot into bite sizes and toss into the blender. Remove the stems from strawberries, cut in half and add to the blender. Add in the blueberries too.

Toss in 2 to 3 walnuts along with some honey to sweeten and smooth out the acidity -

Pour in the milk till all the ingredients are submerge underneath. You can substitute the milk with soy milk or even water. The amount of liquid used depending on how thick you would like the juice to be. I prefer mine condensed and unstrained, that's how I got all the nutrients in one glass. Blend till smooth, should take less than one minute.

My metabolism and ...well..."bathroom" schedule turned normal again only one day after having this juice. And yes, hello my happy tummy, good to see you couple sizes down again!

Something Refreshing - Carrot and Apple Juice/Granita

I don't wanna appear as a whining baby here,
But the weather is seriously getting off the charts,
104 degrees Fahrenheit yesterday!? What?
The number can only gets higher moving towards the inland area,
Maybe 110?
The heat is definitely penetrating my skin and frying up my brain (Pzzz"")

So why don't we save up the steak and hot pot recipe till the weather turns more tolerable,
Instead, let's talk about juice or granita (even better!).

Ingredients (for 2 to 3 people)?

1 pink lady apple (about 1 1/3 cups)
1 medium sized carrot (about 1 cup)
1 cup of ice cubes
1 cup of milk
1 1/2 tablespoons of amber honey

How?

You don't really need to peel the carrot but I did, feel cleaner that way,
So chop the carrot and apple into smaller cubes,
Toss them into the blender along with ice cubes, milk, and honey,
Blend till fully incorporated.

The original recipe yields a pretty dense juice without filtering,
I personally like it that way,
If you want a more "regular" juice, here's what you need to do:
Use 2 cups of milk instead of one,
You might need to add one more tablespoon of honey to bump up the sweetness of the juice,
After blending, take a drainer and drain out all the larger bits,
Then you'll end up with nice and smooth carrot/apple juice, with a hint of honey!

What about granita?
Using the original recipe, follow the steps here to make the granita,
I bet it's a good way to get your kids eating more veggies!

Cindy's Rating: 8

Apple and Carrot Juice

Ingredients?

1 Organic apple

1/3 Carrot

1 Cup of water

How?

Just toss everything in the blender for 2 minutes and it's done.

Only filter it if you want a smoother taste.

I always keep the remaining fruit chunks because those are the healthiest part of the juice.

You can also add honey to make it sweeter, or ice to make frozen juice.

Cindy's Rating: 7