Topher's Horchata

Horchata

Topher's recipe from David Lebowitz' site.......

About 6 cups (1.5l)

Adapted from Paletas (Ten Speed) by Fany Gerson

I used rice milk since I like the flavor of it and it is a bit lighter than regular milk, although there are versions of horchata that use plain milk (whole or skim), coconut milk, or even sweetened condensed milk. Feel free to use what you’d like, although if using coconut or condensed milk, sweeten the horchata to taste.

Speaking of which, on first taste, I thought this was a little sweet. But after pouring it over ice, I realized the sweetener was just right. The original recipe called for the full cup,bBut you may wish to start off with the smaller amount sugar (or even less) and add more if you wish.

2/3 cup (120g) white rice (see Note)

3 cups warm water

One 2-inch (5cm) cinnamon stick

3/4 to 1 cup (150g-200g) sugar

2 cups (500ml) rice milk or regular milk

Ground cinnamon, for serving

1. In a blender, grind the rice so it is in fine pieces, roughly the consistency of very coarse polenta. (If your blender won’t go that fine, that’s okay and just break up the rice as much as possible.)

2. Transfer the rice to a bowl then pour warm water over it and add the cinnamon stick. Cover and refrigerate at least eight hours, but preferably overnight.

3. Pluck out the cinnamon stick then puree the rice and water until it’s as smooth as possible. Strain the mixture through a sieve lined with a few layers of cheesecloth, squeezing it relatively firmly to extract as much of the rice flavor as possible.

4. Stir in the sugar and milk, mixing until the sugar is dissolved. Taste, and adjust sweetness, if necessary. Refrigerate until completely chilled.

Serving: Serve over ice with a sprinkling of ground cinnamon on top.

Storage: Store the horchata in the refrigerator for up to four days.

Note: The original, and most other horchata recipes I’ve seen, recommend using long grain rice. However I used short grain rice, and was pleased with the results. In Spain they make horchata withchufa, which are not easy to find, depending on where you live.

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake

this is sooo good. pumpkin pie is just a'ight for me, but this is glorious. topher....its just like a pieshake from sammy's.

1/3 C pumpkin, canned or homemade
1/4 - 1/2 C milk
1/4 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
1/16 t cloves (just use a 1/8 t measure and fill it half way, or do a pinch)
1/16 t nutmeg
2 T brown sugar
2 C vanilla ice cream
1-2 graham crackers

pop everything but the ice cream and graham crackers in a blender. start with 1/4 C milk and then slowly add more if needed to make the blender process it all. i like to mix all the powders to make sure they blend then add the ice cream.

once its blendeded you can sprinkle on some grahams and enjoy.

its sooo good.

drinks drinks and more drinks

i stumbled onto this site and so far am loving it....so i thought i'd share.
i love drinks, and always love finding festive new ones to try. you could try a new drink everyday! so here it is...enjoy!

http://www.drinksmixer.com/cat/8/

Brazilian Lemonade

Brazilian Lemonade

4 juicy limes (try and find ones with thin, smooth skins; they're the juiciest and the thin skin cuts down on the chance of your drink being bitter)
1 c. sugar
6 c. cold water
6 Tbsp. sweetened condensed milk


Mix cold water and sugar very well and chill until ready to use. This step can be done ahead of time.

Wash limes thoroughly with soap (I just use hand-dishwashing soap or regular hand soap); you need the soap to get the wax and pesticides off of the limes because you're using the WHOLE lime, baby. Cut the ends off the limes and then cut each lime into 8ths.

Place 1/2 of the limes in your blender.

Add 1/2 of the sugar water, place the lid on your blender, and pulse 5 times. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a pitcher (the one you'll serve the lemonade in) and pour the blended mixture through the strainer and into the pitcher. Use a spoon to press the rest of the liquid into the pitcher. Dump the pulp and stuff in the strainer into the trash. Repeat with remaining limes and sugar water. Add sweetened condensed milk; DO NOT leave this step out unless you will die of a horrible sweetened condensed milk allergy because this is the secret ingredient! You may want to taste test it at this point; I used giant, thick-skinned limes tonight and didn't test it and it came out a little bitter. If it's bitter, just add some more sugar and maybe a little more milk.
Serve immediately over lots of ice. This does not keep well, so don't make this in advance (although you can cut the limes, mix the sugar water, and measure the sweetened condensed milk in advance). Serves 4, although I can pretty much guarantee you that people will want more; I usually plan on 1 1/2 servings at LEAST per person.