BLUEBERRY BUZZ
Why not enjoy a drink on the patio that helps with your immune system as well as relax you and looks like a world class drink! This drink is made with organic turmeric made into a syrup and added to either soda water, or alcohol. I usually make the turmeric syrup and store it in the fridge and use as I need it.
All you need is blueberries, soda water, limes, mint leaves, organic turmeric, organic cane sugar and water for a non-alcoholic drink. If you want to add alcohol, add dry gin and elderflower liqueur.
To make the turmeric syrup: add 1 cup organic cane sugar to 1 cup water and bring to boil for 5 minutes. Take pan off the heat and stir in the turmeric. Set aside for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Store in a sealed container and refrigerate until ready to use.
Muddle 5 of the blueberries and mint in a cocktail shaker. Add lime juice, turmeric syrup, (if using alcohol, add gin and elderflower liqueur) and ice and gently shake all ingredients. Pour into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top off with a lime wedge and blueberries on a skewer or cocktail pick.
BLUEBERRY BUZZ
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 2 hours
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
INGREDIENTS
20 fresh blueberries
1 oz lime juice
6 mint leaves
1 oz turmeric syrup
Soda water to finish
For Turmeric Syrup
1 cup water
1 cup organic cane sugar
1 tablespoon organic ground turmeric
INSTRUCTIONS
For the turmeric syrup, combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan and boil for 5 minutes to make a simple syrup. take the pan from the heat and stir in the ground turmeric. Set aside for an hour, stirring occasionally. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.
Muddle 10 of the blueberries in a cocktail shaker. Add lime juice, 1 oz of turmeric syrup and if using alcohol (3 oz gin and 1/2 oz elderflower liqueur.) Add ice and lightly shake to mix and chill ingredients. Pour into a Collins glass filled with ice. Top off with soda water and garnish with a lime wedge and the remaining blueberries on a cocktail pick or a skewer.
Enjoy!
HOT AND SPICY MANGO MOJITO (NON-ALCOHOLIC)
During the summer months, I am always looking for colourful fruity and spicy drinks. This hot and spicy mango mojito will do the trick every time. Enjoying this drink on a nice sunny day with some guacamole and tortilla chips on my patio listening to some latino music is the best way to spend a nice evening. This drink is diluted with sparkling water and has no added sugar or alcohol (if you need to spike it, substitute the sparkling water for more mango juice and add rum or tequila.)
Ingredients you need are unsweetened mango juice, lime, jalapeño, mint leaves, himalayan salt, sparkling water or club soda.
Chop lime in quarters and slice 2 for garnish, slice 1/2 a jalapeño, and chop 4 mint leaves.
In a mortar and pestle mash up the lime, jalapeno and mint adding 1/4 tsp of Himalayan salt. Scoop out the mashed ingredients and add to 1 cup of unsweetened mango juice.
Add 1 cup of sparkling water or 1 cup of club soda and 6-8 ice cubes.
HOT AND SPICY MANGO MOJITO (NON-ALCOHOLIC)
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 cup unsweetened mango juice
1 lime chopped in quarters ( reserve 2 semi circle slices for garnish)
1/4 to 1/2 jalapeno sliced in circles (the more you use, the spicier)
7 mint leaves (chopped fine and reserve 3 for garnish)
1/4 tsp.Himalayan salt
1 cup sparkling water or club soda
INSTRUCTIONS
Place 2 glasses in the freezer and chill for 10 minutes. In a mortar, add lime chopped into quarters, sliced jalapeños, chopped mint leaves, Himalayan salt and mash with pestle till all ingredients are meshed together. Add all ingredients to mango juice, then add sparkling water and ice and stir and pour into chilled glasses. Garnish with jalapeno slices, mint leaves and a slice of lime.
Enjoy!
SPICY MANGO SALAD
Mangoes were always sold on vendor carts in Uganda -split and sprinkled with lots of hot chilli powder and lemon salt. Memories of walking home after school during my childhood always include spicy mangoes. The mangoes were either raw, sour and crunchy or ripe, soft and sweet. When mangoes are in season here, I normally take advantage of using them in refreshing salads, salsas and drinks.
My recipes are rather on the spicy side as my memories of mangoes always include “hot and spicy”. One of my favourite salads in the summer is a good mango salad. I have tried various ingredients like jicama, cucumbers, peppers but I always loved the combination of green apples, red onions, jalapeños and ripe mangoes.
The ingredients sliced thin and evenly will make the salad more appealing and enjoyable. Jalapeños can be sliced long or chopped fine depending on your spice taste buds! For me, the spicier the better.
SPICY MANGO SALAD
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 2 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 20 minutesRating: 5.0/5 ( 1 voted )
INGREDIENTS
1/2 green apple thinly sliced
1 ripe mango thinly sliced
1/2 red onion thinly sliced
1/2 jalapeño thinly sliced
1 garlic clove mashed
1/4 tsp cumin ground
Himalayan salt to taste
Juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
1-2 tsp TrueNosh Ghost pepper sauce
INSTRUCTIONS
Slice all ingredients evenly and mix all ingredients together. True Nosh hot sauces are sugar free, preservative free and gluten free and perfectly spicy for my salad.
Enjoy!
BABA GANOUSH
My favourite go to appetizer or snack is either baba ganoush or my Indian eggplant bhartho which is also one of my shared recipes. Baba ganoush is a really healthy plant-based snack with it’s main ingredient, eggplant. It is full of flavour and a great source of vitamin B, vitamin E, and fibre. When I entertain and my theme is Mediterranean, you can bet that Baba ganoush will be at the centre of the table with hummus, olives, pita, carrot sticks, cucumber sticks and red wine of course!!!
BABA GANOUSH
Serves: 4-6
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 dome eggplant
1 garlic clove minced to a paste or 1 tbsp of dried garlic minced
2 tbsp tahini
2 tbsp greek yogurt (or a non dairy yogurt)
1 tsp Himalayan salt
Juice of half a lemon
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp sumac
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat stove to 350 degrees
Wash the eggplant and remove the leaves leaving the stem intact. Brush oil all over the eggplant then cut one slit 1 inch deep from top to bottom and place on a baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes and increase temperature to broil. Broil for 10 minutes and turn the eggplant to broil the other side for another 10 minutes. Turn off the stove and let the eggplant rest for about 8 minutes in the stove. Remove the eggplant and let cool till you can handle it. Carefully remove the skin from where the slit was made and place the mushy eggplant in a bowl. Mash up the eggplant with a knife, fork or masher and add all the ingredients and mash till it looks like a yogurt dip ( I like it chunky). Place in serving bowl and carve out a little circle in the middle for the olive oil to sit in. Drizzle the olive oil, sprinkle the sumac and put an olive in the centre and voila!! Serve with pita bread, olives, red peppers, carrots and cucumber sticks.
INDIAN EGGPLANT AND YOGURT BHARTHO
I have always loved the combination of eggplant and yogurt. Growing up in Kampala, Uganda, my grandmother always made a family favourite passed down from her grandmother in Gujarat, India . She used to make me this amazing refreshing combination of eggplant, yogurt, some spices and fresh paratha which would be ready for me after school on a hot day. This snack was a family favourite and my son always asks for it when he comes home from afar. This refreshing dish is similar to the Lebanese, Baba Ganoush which is also one of my favourites and also on my blog.
INDIAN EGGPLANT AND YOGURT BHARTHO
Serve: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 dome eggplant
1/2 tsp garlic paste
1/2 tsp green chilli paste (hot chilli pepper ground in a mortar and pestle)
1 tsp Himalayan salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 cup yogurt (dairy or non dairy)
1/4 cup green onions chopped
1/4 cup cilantro chopped
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat stove to 350 degrees
Wash the eggplant and remove the leaves leaving the stem intact. Brush oil all over the eggplant then cut one slit 1 inch deep from top to bottom and place on a baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes and increase temperature to broil. Broil for 10 minutes and turn the eggplant to broil the other side for another 10 minutes. Turn off the stove and let the eggplant rest for about 8 minutes in the stove. Remove the eggplant and let cool till you can handle it. Carefully remove the skin from where the slit was made and place the mushy eggplant in a bowl. Mash up the eggplant with a knife, fork or masher and add all the ingredients and mash till it looks like a yogurt dip ( I like it chunky). Garnish with cilantro and serve with pita bread, vegetables, or spicy paratha.
Enjoy!