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(Alcoholic) Italian Soda

(Alcoholic) Italian Soda - Roni's Blog

It’s been a long week. And despite the pour weather forcing us to stay inside, I decided it was time to crack into the liquor cabinet. Why not? It’s almost summer (and supposedly spring). I figured I might as well practice some of my summer drinks. Must be prepared for the pool opening and cocktail hour.

I’ll be honest, I’m not a really good bartender. I couldn’t tell you what’s in half the drinks they serve at the bar, and when I do get something other than a craft beer, it usually consists of only two ingredients (rum and coke or vodka and soda). So I’m branching out so that this summer, we’re a little less bored with pitchers of Sangria. Although, I do make a mean Mojito if I do say so myself. Pitchers of those usually go over pretty well.

So we tried something new, called an Italian Soda. I used to have Italian sodas in the upstairs coffee house bar at the bookstore as a kid. These had no alcohol though, just simple syrup and seltzer, often a rose or yellow color depending on the flavor I chose. So to make it a little more adult, we added some vodka. And believe me, this one is easy to make. No seventeen ingredient drink and certainly less complicated than the real Italian sodas I used to drink.

(Alcoholic) Italian Soda

Ice
Vanilla Vodka
Ginger Ale

Fill a small tumbler half with ice. Add 1 1/2 oz of vanilla vodka. Fill the rest of the glass with ginger ale. Stir and serve.

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April 27, 2014 by
Fitness, Food, Health, Savory

Green Drinks, Do or Don’t?

How to make a Green Drink Easy

“We’ll make the high-octane version one for you. You can handle it.”

Apparently my new healthy living and running kick was something my Florida cousin was aware of. Hence the famous last words before he decided to introduce me to the all-mighty kale and “green drinks” trend. He had lugged a NutriBullet into the kitchen, followed by bags of kale and spinach as well as informative tips on why drinking your days worth of veggies in a smoothie was both healthy and easy.

I threw my poker face on, added a quick “Bring it on,” and awaited what I anticipated to be a very unpleasant experience. I mean, he was filling a cup with spinach, kale, baby bok choy, Swiss chard, only half a banana, very little strawberries, I think 1 blueberry, and a very tiny slice of cantaloupe. (I might be over exaggerating on the lack of fruit.) And then topped it with protein powder and something called a “superboost” (Chia, Goji, Cacao, and Maca) and water.

A quick puree in the NutriBullet and pouring the green contents into a glass I was advised to drink it like a beer – chug. Unfortunately, as I am out of college I’m a little bit rusty on that part, meaning I drank it as quickly as I could, but didn’t exactly get it down in record time. (I was told the longer it sits, the “frothier” it gets and has an unpleasant consistency.)

And to be honest, with all that anticipation, I was pleasantly surprised that instead of a chalk-like substance, I could actually drink it without so much as a twinge. So, it didn’t taste like a strawberry and banana smoothie and wasn’t filled with ice cream or sugar, but it did get me way more vitamins than I probably get in the average day.

I also learned that kale has more iron than beef, more calcium than milk, and 10 times more Vitamin C than spinach. It’s good for the eyes, skin, helping lose weight, as well as lowering cholesterol.

Perhaps a NutriBullet will be in my near future. Let’s see how ambitious I get.

Make your own with the basics: 2 cups of greens + 2 cups of fruit + water to the fill line. A sprinkling of SuperFood SuperBoost and a small scoop of protein powder.

How to make a Green Drink Easy

What was in mine? A combination of:

Spinach
Kale
Baby Bok Choy
Swiss Chard
Strawberries
Blueberries
Grapes
Cantaloupe
Half a banana
SuperFood SuperBoost
Whey Protein Powder
Water

Note the not fruit juice or ice cream. It’s not a smoothie, it’s a vegetable and fruit blend. Don’t add sugar when you don’t need to. You’re sweet enough!

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April 24, 2014 by
Food, Savory

Quesadilla Cheddar Burgers

Quesadilla Cheddar Burger

Turns out you don’t need a burger bun to make spring grilling happen. Learned that when I was craving a hamburger, but didn’t want to go to the supermarket to pick up any hamburger buns. Instead, as I was looking through the fridge, I found a plethora of flour tortillas. Not surprising, since I probably eat about 2 or 3 Mexican-inspired dishes a week. Plus, they seem to last longer than a loaf of bread.

But anyway, I decided the best answer to my craving was a taco-like burger on a tortilla. So I mixed some spices, diced onions, and green peppers into some ground beef, cooked up a patty, and then melted it with some cheese between two tortillas. Yum! I might just have to find a way to make mini versions of these Quesadilla Cheddar Burgers for a summer party!

Quesadilla Cheddar Burger

Gather
1/2 pound of ground beef
1/4 of a sweet onion, diced
1/4 of a green pepper, diced
1/4 tsp of black pepper
1/2 tsp of cumin
1/4 tsp of garlic powder
1/2 tsp of chili powder
4 small-sized flour tortillas
1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 Roma tomato, diced

Mix ground beef, spices, diced onions, and diced green peppers. Form meat into two patties, making them almost the circumference of the small flour tortillas. Place on the grill or in a heated saucepan and cook on both sides until cooked through (or however you enjoy your burger). Remove and let rest for 4 minutes.

On a flour tortilla, place a sprinkling of cheese and diced tomatoes. Top with burger. Add more cheese and another flour tortilla. Add to medium-high heated pan or grill and cool on one side until tortilla is golden brown and cheese had started to melt. Flip. Cook the other side until  golden brown and cheese has melted. Remove from heat and let rest.

Make a second burger in the same fashion.

Serve and enjoy! Goes really well with a side of guacamole, too! Or fresh salsa!

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April 21, 2014 by
Food, Sweet

Peep Fruit Kebabs

Fruit Peep Kebabs | How to get rid of those extra Peeps

So my brother decided to help me with my Easter blog post. And he also decided we needed to do something with the pink Peeps he got in his Easter basket, create something sweet, but different – Peep Fruit Kebabs.

So following three mini Easter egg hunts, a game of catch, and lounging in the spring sun, we tackled the fruit and Peep pile in the kitchen. A few slices here, arrange them in a pretty order, top with a Peep, and there you go! Side dish!

Kinda cute, not going to lie.

Peep Fruit Kebabs

Gather
Peeps
Strawberries
Grapes
Sliced cantaloupe
Sliced orange pieces
Kebab skewers

Slice fruit into bite-sized pieces, but keep grapes whole. Example, take a peeled orange, separate slices, then quarter each slice. Fill a kebab skewer with fruit, alternating variety, then top with a Peep. Simple, easy, fun for the kids. And you can totally swap out the fruit for others you like, perhaps kiwi?

 

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April 20, 2014 by