Happy Holidays! - Eggnog

There are certain things that belong to every family's holiday traditions. My mother's inexplicable purchasing of eggnog belongs to this category. While I didn't really mind it, I was never really a fan of the stuff. Nonetheless, I would get a glass handed to me at random intervals. A few years back, I hosted a holiday party, and a friend who had access to eggnog brought over a carton. The other people at the party loved it. I make no effort to recreate the gelatinous viscosity of ready-made eggnog. I instead prefer something that is rich, creamy and a taste of holiday indulgence.

Eggnog
4 eggs, separated
1/2 c sugar
1/2 rum
1 1/2 c whiskey
1 1/2 c milk
1/2 c cream
nutmeg to garnish

Beat egg whites with 1/4 c sugar until soft peaks form. Beat egg yolks separately with remaining sugar until the sugar is disolved. Fold the whites into the yolks.
Slowly add milk and liquor. Whip cream until soft peaks form and fold into the eggnog.
Chill.
Garnish with nutmeg.

I experiment with the liquors. This year, I didn't want to use the good rum, so I used some honey-flavoured rum from the Canary Islands. I also used a little bit of Spanish brandy. The 1.5L of drink are now gone, and although it was great, I'll have to wait until next year to do it again. For now, it's back to work to finish off things for 2009 & you can bet I'll be dreaming of a glass of eggnog in the office.

Monday Morning Vitamins

Somehow, I bought too many groceries this weekend. It happens from time to time. Normally, I have no idea when I'm going to cook and eat all of this stuff. This time, I was at a loss as to where to put it all. Most of the stuff was frozen but an unpleasant by-product of work stress last week was the purchase of an obscence amount of ice cream, which resulted in a lack of freezer space. There were things that had to go. The bananas I was saving for banana bread: gone. The bag of berries that I am yet to turn into smoothies: your time has come.

Banana Berry Boost
1 frozen banana
1/3 c mixed frozen berries (blueberries, raspberries, currants, strawberries)
1/2 c orange juice
3 Tbsp mint
2" piece of ginger, peeled
1/3 c cooled white or green tea

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend. Pour into glasses, garnish with any extra mint you may have.

I have a funny feeling I'll be drinking these for the next few days, which isn't all that bad. It keeps me away from the ice cream.

For the Next Family Get-together

A while back, I had to visit the family. It wasn't a happy circumstance, but sometimes you have to do things you don't want to do. Afterwards, it's much better. Because it's family, and in spite of everything, you have been spoiled. If only because you spoiled yourself.

I spoiled myself. The last time I was home, I saw a bottle of Canadian Club whiskey at the duty free store in Pearson airport. While I normally buy Canadian Club there, this one was special. This was not the 12-year old CC Classic, it was the special edition. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of Canadian Club, they released a 30 year old special reserve. At the time, I thought that $180 was WAAAAAaaaaaaaaaay too much to pay for a bottle of anything. But I kept on thinking of that whiskey. A few months later, I was still thinking of it, and considering how much money I saved on the flight, well, it's a steal. Right? Right?

As said, I normally drink the 12 year old Canadian Club Classic. For Christmas, I got the 20 year old. It was smooth. The 30 year old, smoother. Mild, fruit notes, vanilla, general yum. I was into it. I don't know if I'll be buying any more any time soon, but it made the best of the situation. I hope there are no simmilar situations coming up soon. My credit card might break soon.

Banana, Be Gone!

I thought I was going to use my bananas for some smoothies. I guess I was right, but this was more of an emergency situation: I've been noticing fruit flies & I want to eliminate any potential habitat. I have this theory that fruit flies bite. They're so little that no one would really notice. They don't have vampire fangs or anything.

Every now & then, I buy fruit. I don't really know why. It's good for me, it's full of vitamins, but I'm more of a vegetable girl. The fruit I buy sits on the counter & looks very pretty & gives guests the impression that I've grown out of my university years, when the diet consisted of Dr. Pepper & Mr. Noodles. (Why, if I was so well acquainted with them, were we never on a first name basis?) Often the fruit simply waits until it's time has come, in a painful, real-life sort of 17th century painting. A reminder of the passage of time. That sometimes leaks.

It was to be the deforestation of my kitchen counter. The bananas and the mango were about to go. I had some ginger, a whole lot of mint (that lives outside & is allowed to have as many fly friends as it likes) and a little bit of white tea leftover from breakfast.

Banana Mango Smoothie
2 ripe bananas
1 ripe mango
2 thumb sized pieces of ginger, peeled & cut into chunks
7-8 ginormous mint leaves (or more, if your mint is not a mutant like mine)
1/4 cup cool white or green tea
10-15 ice cubes

Mix everything in the blender. Pour into glasses. Garnish with more mint.

As I tried to photograph the drinks, a big bee-like insect came out by & hovered nearby. I think I'm better off without this insect attraction. I'm certainly better off for having actually eaten my fruit, instead of having an artistic reminder of the passage of time on my counter.

Vitamin Boost for Meetings

I have a slew of meetings scheduled for today. I also have a hangover. Thankfully, I picked up a chunk of watermelon from the Turkish supermarket on the way home last night (perhaps my hangover was premeditated). The plan was to have watermelon juice.

The first time I had watermelon juice, I stole it from a friend in Kuala Lumpur. This friend had been living for a while in Kuala Lumpur and knew what to look for in watermelon juice. Apparently, you do not want them to add sugar syrup. He even makes it at home himself when he can, and gave me detailed instructions on the telephone how he does it; he uses a blender. That's it. Frankly, I've never been a watermelon person (bad memories of bubble gum) but I thought that the watermelon juice was pretty good. Watermelon is supposed to be full of antioxidants, vitamins & it's full of water. In short: it's made for a Tuesday morning hangover.

Watermelon Juice
Place cut chunks of watermelon in blender, discarding rind (I used about 1 Kilo, including rind). Blend. Add lime juice.

It's kind of frothy, most likely better for me than a cappucinno. My hangover was better within minutes and I think the meetings would have been less torerable had I not had the juice.