Frozen Lemonade

Ughhh... I swear summer came early this year....but, then again, it is practically summer all year long here in Los Angeles ...hehehe.... I guess it was silly of me to complain.  Unlike the rest of the continental US, the weather here in LA remains pretty constant all year long save for some very occasional rain and a few cool nights in the winter.  Other than those, it is sunny most part of the year. This is great for most people but this is torture for me.  Ha! that coming from a girl who grew up in the tropics :0  It also does not help that daylight saving time is in effect because the sun is out really early in the morning and is still up until about 7p.m. Aigoo, pure torture...

Having lived in LA for over 10 years, I still cannot seem to get adjusted to the weather.  I usually do my errands in the morning to avoid the scorching heat and keep the air conditioner running most part of the year (approximately 10 months).  The temperature these past few days was rather high and it does not help that my living room get the afternoon sun.  even with the air blasting, I can still feel the warmth coming in from outside despite having closed both the vertical blinds and drapes. 

Because of the unusually warm weather, I made some lemonade and lemon-limeade yesterday which are both great thirst-quenchers.  I made too much lemonade that it didn't fit in my pitcher so I poured some in several ice trays and popped them in the freezer.  I checked on them this afternoon and they froze nicely so I made this delicious looking frozen lemonade.  Instead of lemonade ice cubes, you can also make limeade ice cubes which are great as they can be used for frozen margaritas...just add tequila into the mix, coat the glass rims with salt, and you're ready to party...

Ingredients:

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 whole lemon
3/4 cup sugar (may adjust according to taste)
4 + 1 cup water
ice cubes
Mint leaves (for garnish)

1. In a small sauce pan, add 1 cup water and 3/4 cup sugar. Heat until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and let it cool. Set aside.

2. Using a juicer, extract juice from enough lemon to produce 1 cup of lemon juice.

3. Combine lemon juice, sugar syrup, and water.  Mix well.

4. Pour some of the lemonade in an ice tray and place in the freezer until frozen. Chill the rest in the refrigerator until ready to use.

5. To create frozen lemonade, remove lemonade ice cubes from freezer and place on a blender. Add three or four regular ice cubes and about 1/4 of a cup of chilled lemonade.

6. Blend until smooth.  You may add more ice cubes and lemonade to adjust taste based on your preference.

7. Transfer to tall glasses and garnish with mint sprigs. Serve immediately

Persimmon Smoothie

My brother-in-law returned my Korean drama DVDs yesterday and brought a box full of persimmons, kalamansi (Philippine lime), and a couple of guavas. The persimmon and kalamansi was from the fruit trees in their backyard while the guavas was from his office mate. My brain was working double time churning possible dishes that I could create from the goodies that I got. Will post update of them when I get a chance to make the dishes that I planned. The fruits of their persimmon tree is really great because it is sweet and crispy. I love eating them raw but I think I will use some of them to make persimmon jam and bread.

Kalamansi is the Philippine version of lime which is a citrus fruit. Like its American counterpart, it is slightly sour but the taste is slightly different. I can't really explain the difference but it has a distinct flavor that sets it apart. The juice is often mixed with water, ice, and sugar to serve as a juice/ beverage. The juice, like lemons and limes, can also be used in dishes such as part of a marinade for beef, pork, and chicken. It can also be combined with soy sauce and served as a dipping sauce. Normally, kalamansi do not grow very tall but my brother-in-law's kalamansi tree is almost as tall as their persimmon tree which bears so many fruits. Fresh kalamansi fruits are hard to come by even at the Filipino store but you can purchase it frozen and comes in small sachet which cost a fortune :(

Ingredients:

1 ripe persimmon, peeled and chopped
1 frozen banana
1 cup milk
sugar, according to desired sweetness
3-4 ice cubes

1. In a blender, combine persimmon, frozen banana, milk, and sugar.
2. Blend until smooth then add ice cubes.
3. Blend some more until smooth.
4. Transfer to a tall glass and serve immediately

Banana Avocado Smoothie

I bought unripe avocado last week because they were on sale at one of the supermarket that I go to and they have ripened really well so I made some smoothie today. I used both avocado and banana which is a perfect combination. I also added milk and a few ice cubes. They result is a very creamy smoothie which has the consistency that is almost similar to soft serve ice cream.

I think the frozen banana really did help to make it very thick and creamy. I bought a little too many bananas (again) last week which ripened almost all at the same time. I intended to make some banana-nut bread but I was just not in the mood to bake so I ended up with too many bananas that were really ripe. I was going to throw them away since I am not really a big banana eater but it was such a waste since there was too many so I peeled and cut them in half. I then wrapped them individually in waxed paper, placed them in freezer bags, and popped them in the freezer. Wrapping them in waxed paper prior to placing them in freezer bags made removing easier since it prevented the bananas from sticking to each other when frozen. This little trick is a keeper for me. It also cut down the amount of ice cubes which I needed to add for the smoothies.


Ingredients:

1 ripe avocado
1 frozen banana
sugar, according to desired sweetness
1 cup milk
3 ice cubes


1. Cut avocado in half then scrape the flesh using spoon and place in blender.
2. Add frozen banana, milk, sugar and blend until smooth.
3. Add ice cubes and blend some more until smooth.
4. transfer to glass/es and serve.

Papaya- Asian Pear Smoothie

I have a ripe papaya and asian pear which I got from the Korean market and they look really yummy but I didn't feel like munching on so them so I turned them into smoothie which is an easier way for me to get my daily fruit requirements. They are so easy to make and involves just a few steps but they are packed with nutrients and are so good.


Asian pears are basically the same as their counterparts which are sold at the regular American store except that they are shaped like an apple They are naturally sweet and juicy. Papaya, on the other hand, are abundant in Asia as well as South America. They can be consumed raw or used in dishes. They can also be eaten unripe or ripe depending on the dish. In most some asian cuisines such as that of Vietnam and Thailand, unripe papayas are served as salads. In the Philippines, they are used in dishes such as tinolang manok (chicken soup with papaya) and achara (pickled papaya).


Ingredients:

1 small (about 1 lb) papaya
1 Asian pear
sugar, according to taste
ice cubes

1. Peel papaya. Remove seeds using spoon and then cut into chunks.
2. Core and peel Asian pear and cut into chunks
2. Place Papaya and Asian Pear in blender. Add sugar according to desired sweetness.
3. Puree fruits and sugar until smooth.
4. Add ice cubes and about 30 to 60 cc water and blend until smooth. NOTE: the proportion of pureed fruit to ice cubes should be 1 cup of ice cubes for every cup of pureed fruit mixture or you can adjust it according to your taste.
5. Transfer to tall glasses and serve immediately

Refreshing Cantaloupe Smoothie

Ah the summer that refuse to end...October is just around the corner yet the weather here in Sunny LA is stillas warm as it was in the summer. Why??? I really long for the weather to cool down a little bit, not much, just enough to allow me to turn off the air conditioner even at night. Yesterday, I turned the AC off at around 1030 in themorning which was okay since the house was still cool. I fell asleep on the couch at around 130 pm and woke up drench in sweat about 3 hours later. WhenI checked the thermostat, it registered a whooping 84 degrees..yikes! I cannot live in that kind of temperature which is really surprising since I came from a tropical country where it is perpetually summer all year long except of a couple of months of rainy season and occassional storms. But it has beena long time ago since I left Pinas...


I woke up this morning starving because I did not eat dinner last night as I was finishing yet another school paper. Graduate school is really no fun since we have so many homeworks and papers to write :( I would be so glad when this is over...might take a few months to a year break before I embark on tackling the doctorate degree. Hmmm, but then again, I might just stop when I finish grad school... hehehe... Anyways, I had some cantaloupe slices which were leftover from last night and has been chilling in the fridge so I thought of making a refreshing drink to fill me up before I start cooking lunch. This is quite easy to make. All you need is about half a cup of cantaloupe puree, sugar, ice cubes, and lemon juice ...blend them all together and presto! Instant breakfast/refreshment.


Ingredients:

1 Cantaloupe - peeled,chopped, and seeded
sugar according to taste
1 cup ice
15 ml water
1 1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice


1. Chop cantaloupe coarsely and place in a bkender. Add water and blend until pureed. Transfer to a clean container.
2. Measure about a cup of cantaloupe puree and return to blender.
3. Add sugar and lemon juice. Blend until sugar is dissolved.
4. Add ice and blend some more until smooth.
5. Transfer to a tall glass and serve immediately

Apple and Raspberry Smoothie

This was part of my very fruity breakfast today. Hmmm...2 more and I would reach my 5 fruits a day quota...hahaha. THis is a nice refreshing drink albiet needs a little bit more work than my usual shake recipe. I had to strain myapple raspberry mixture after I pureed them to get rid of the raspberry seeds and apple skin. The resulting mixture looks like an apple-raspberry sauce. I had to rinse my blender before I returned the strain mixture and finish the shake. The overall taste and outcome though was quiet nice. The shake might be a little too early for breakfast but who cares? certainly not I...hehehe...besides I really needed it since it was already too warm outside by the time I went out. This is the only way that I would be able to "drink" my juice since I am not a big juice drinker :)



Ingredients:

1 apple, cored and chopped roughly
1/2 cup raspberrries
sugar according to taste
100 ml water
ice cubes

1. Place chopped apple and raspberry in a blender.
2.Add about 50 ml water and puree.
3. Strain mixture in a bowl and rinse blender. Discard what is left on the strainer.
4. Return apple raspberry mixture to the blender.
5. Add sugar ( according to desired sweetness) and the rest of the water and blend until sugar is dissolved.
6. Add crushed ice and blend until smooth.
7 Adjust sweetness , if needed
8. Transfer to glass and serve.