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Ice cream for breakfast

Ice cream for breakfast! Click here for mango lassi ice lolly recipe ;-)I’m feeling really really hopeful for the summer to come. Hey Summer, don’t keep us waiting here!

Anyways, I am still passionate about ice cream and not having great great weather does not put me off from having some for breakfast. This particular ice lolly I tried making the other day is actually specifically for breakfast. It’s pretty easy to make too! Just what you need when a sunny morning does finally come :-).Ice cream for breakfast! Click here for mango lassi ice lolly recipe ;-) For these breakfast ice lollies you will need mango lassi that can be bought, although it is so easy to make it yourself. This is how I made mine….

MANGO LASSI adapted from good old Jamie Oliver

  • 3 cardamon pods, seeds out and crushed
  • 1 ripe mango, pealed and chopped
  • 250g natural yogurt
  • 50g ice cubes (if serving straight away)
  • runny honey (just a drizzle)

1. Place all the ingredients into food processor, whizz a little and voila!Ice cream for breakfast! Click here for mango lassi ice lolly recipe ;-)2. Serve with fresh mint Mango lassi Mango lassiMANGO LASSI ICE LOLLIES

  • Mango lassi (recipe above)
  • Hand full of granola (can be shop bought as well)
  • Fresh mint, finely chopped

1. Mix the mint into the lassi.

2. Pour the lassi into ice lolly mould and sprinkle granola on top.

3. Freeze for at least 4 hoursIce cream for breakfast! Click here for mango lassi ice lolly recipe ;-) Ice cream for breakfast! Click here for mango lassi ice lolly recipe ;-)Happy hot weather longing ;-)

Rasa xoxo

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My favourite breakfast smoothie

Blueberry Breakfast SmoothieA long long time ago I got this Juice recipe book from a sale and for a while I was following it religiously (sometimes I set myself a goal to try every recipe in the book). Unfortunately I never managed to try all the juice and smoothie recipes (one of the reason was that I did not have all the needed juicing equipment for it), but I did find some smoothies that I still make sometimes these days. The Blueberry breakfast smoothie is one of them, because the flavours are not what you get in a regular berry smoothie. So please have a try!Blueberry Breakfast SmoothieBLUEBERRY BREAKFAST SMOOTHIE adopted from Juice! by Pippa Cuthbert & Lindsay Cameron Wilson

  • juice of 1 orange
  • 2 handfuls blueberries (fresh or frozen)
  • 4 tbsp plain yogurt (love Yeo Valley natural yorgurt, not promoting just saying!)
  • 2 tbsp quinoa
  • 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tbsp runny honey

Blueberry Breakfast SmoothieBlend the blueberries with orange juice, yogurt, quinoa, oil and honey! Thats all! If you want to make it pretty then sprinkle the smoothie with some quinoa and blueberries.Blueberry Breakfast Smoothie Blueberry Breakfast SmoothieEnjoy!

Rasa xoxo

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My favourite mulled wine recipe this year

jam mulled wineI lost the count how many mulled wine glasses (or bottles) I drank this year. Many many glasses for sure! That’s because I like mulled wine very much. So of course I have experimented with it a lot. Because I don’t always have ready mulled wine in hand, I often make my own when in need. I have been inspired by Jamie Oliver mulled wine recipe this year. I came up with very smooth and thick mulled wine because of that. It almost taste like a spiced jam! jam mulled wineJAM MULLED WINE

  • 2 clementines, cut in half
  • 2 handfuls of mixed berry mix (frozen works well)
  • 100g sugar
  • 3 cloves
  • 1 star anise
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 bottle of red wine (I like merlot most)

1. First heat sugar with clementines, berries and spices. Mash clementines and berries so the juice come out and the sugar dissolves in it.

jam mulled wine2. When everything dissolves, pour the wine in. Heat further till it warms but does not boil (you want to make sure that alcohol does not evaporate!). jam mulled wine Pour the mulled wine into the glasses and enjoy Christmas!

Rasa xoxo

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Strawberry milk

Strawberry milkStrawberry milk is a treat that we used to have as kids in Lithuania during hot summer days. I can’t quite explain what it is, but it is similar to a milkshake (only nicer) and you do not drink it, but eat it like a soup with a pastry or sweet bun. Really worth to try, I am still loving it!… ah, its so good to remember childhood memories like this ;-).   Strawberry milkSTRAWBERRY MILK

  • 1 handful strawberries
  • 1-2tbsp sugar
  • 150-250ml milk
  • a pastry (I love cinnamon swirl!!)

1. Wash the strawberries and cut them into pieces.

Srawberry milk strawberry milk

Strawberry milk

2. Cover the strawberries with sugar and mash them with the fork.

Strawberry milk Strawberry milk3. Pour milk over the strawberries and that’s it!Strawberry milk Strawberry milkEnjoy

Rasa xoxo

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Apple & Rhubarb Elderflower cordial

Apple & Rhubarb Elderflower Cordial recipieIn case you did not noticed (did not use my advice to go and enjoy outdoors): the elderflowers are out!!! So I could not wait but make my first cordial batch! This time I did it with the twist, I added apple and rhubarb :-). Apple & Rhubarb Elderflower Cordial recipieAPPLE & RHUBARB ELDERFLOWER CORDIAL

  • 20 heads freshly picked elderflowers
  • 1.30kg sugar
  • 1l water
  • 1 Bramley apple (or something similar), sliced
  • 3 rhubarb stalks, chopped
  • 60g lemon salt or citric acid (absolutely essential)

1. Place the flowers, sliced apples and rhubarb in the large bowl or saucepan.

2. In separate, large, heavy-bottomed pan, heat the sugar and water until it boils and then allow to boil for about 5 minutes to form a thin syrup.

3.When the syrup is ready, remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature before pouring over the flowers. Add citric acid, cover and leave for at least 24 hours before straining.

Apple & Rhubarb Elderflower Cordial recipie4. Sterilise your jars by heating them in 180C oven for 5 minutes. Pour strained cordal into the jars. This should keep for up to a year.Apple & Rhubarb Elderflower Cordial recipieApple & Rhubarb Elderflower Cordial recipieEnjoy! Summer is coming soon ;-)

Rasa xoxo

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Blueberry mulled wine

Blueberry mulled wine

During weekend we visited Winter Wonderland in London Hyde Park, which was really fun evening out. I even had my first mulled wine there! One thing I noticed that there are many flavours of mulled wine, well beyond the original spiced warm wine drink. Here is my new version with blueberries.

blueberry mulled wine

BLUEBERRY MULLED WINE

  • 1 bottle of red wine (I used Merlot)
  • 500ml apple juice (not from concentrate and good quality)
  • 60g caster sugar
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 star anise
  • 1 vanilla bean (already used)
  • 1 tsp fresh grated ginger
  • 1 orange
  • 2 handfuls blueberries (can be frozen)
  • 2 shots of vanilla rum (optional)

1. Pour the wine and apple juice into a large saucepan and add the sugar, cinnamon stick, star anise, vanilla bean and grated ginger. Heat gently, stirring time to time, until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Just before serving, throw in sliced orange, blueberries and vanilla rum.

Enjoy your week!

Rasa

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Spiked cinnamon malted drink

spiked cinnamon malted drink

I tried this drink last Monday after my friend Selina shared the recipe on Facebook. I loved this combination as it makes perfect cup for an evening or even weekend afternoon!

SPIKED CINNAMON MALTED DRINK

(makes one cup)

  • 30g (2 tbsp) malted drink powder (e.g Horlicks, Ovaltine)
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 250ml milk
  • 45ml (1 shot) almond liqueur (e.g Disaronno, Amaretto)

1. Spoon malted drink powder into the mug together with cinnamon and mix to a smooth paste with a little water.

spiked cinnamon malted drink

2. Heat the milk and froth it a little bit if you can, this will make your drink taste just a little more smooth.Pour the milk into the mug together with the shot of almond liqueur.

3. If you want you can sprinkle some cinnamon/sugar mixture on the top.

spiked cinnamon malted drink

Enjoy your weekend ;)

Rasa

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Make your own tea bags

Bird tea

When I used to dream about opening my own cafe (still dreaming about it), I had this idea of serving tea with these teabags that had a little bird sitting on the cup rim. You never know I might still use this idea, but for now I thought it would be a waste not to share it! Here are the printable bird tags.

So first you need to find a loose tea mix to package it. Or you can make your own! Here is one of my favourite: camomile chai tea that is naturally decaf (good for chilly autumn evenings!). This recipe has been given to me by my friend’s Amy’s flatmate Gurmit. She usually “cooks” the herbs in water to really infuse the tea, but after doing some testing I realised that the teabags work just fine.

CAMOMILE CHAI TEA MIX

(makes 15-20 tea bags)

decaf chai tea mix

  • 1 cup dried camomile flowers
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp cardamon seeds
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves

(other things you will need to make the tea bags)

  • bird tags (printed and folded)
  • tea filters (you can get those from e-bay)
  • cotton embroidery tread (thick and smooth)
  • stapler
  • scissors

Things you will need

1. make the tea herb mix.

2. package the tea mix into the tea bags. Insert 2 tsp of mixture into one tea filter, fold it to close, staple it together with the tread. Staple the other end of the tread onto the bird tag, tie it with the knot.

making tea bags

8. You can make as many tea bags as you want to package it as a gift or for future tea drinking!

gift teabags

decaf chai

Enjoy the tea drinking and a lovely weekend!

Rasa :)

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Elderflower Cordial

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As mentioned on last post, I made cordal from the Elderflowers I collected by the river Lea. The recipe is bellow.

ELDERFLOWER CORDAL

Ingredients: 20 heads freshly picked elderflowers
1.30kg sugar
1l water
2 lemons
60g citric acid or lemon salt (I bought mine in one of the Turkish shops in London)

1. Cut the flowers and place them in large bowl or saucepan.

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2. Add sliced lemons and citric acid

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3. In a large, heavy-bottomed pan, heat the sugar and water until it boils and then allow to boil for about 5 minutes to form a thin syrup.

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4. When the syrup is ready, remove from the heat and allow to cool to room temperature before pouring over the flowers. Cover and leave for at least 24 hours before straining (I left it for two days).

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5. Sterilise your jars by heating them in 180C oven for 5 minutes. Pour strained cordal into the jars. This should keep for up to a year. Serve with water or anything else that you come up with. I dropped some strawberries into mine!

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There are so many uses for Elderflower cordal such as jelly or poppyseed cake. I am defiantly trying baking with it sometime soon! Let me know if you tried anything interesting with it yet ;)

Rasa xo

 

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