Blended Blueberry Cream Soda

A berry-full, satisfying and refreshing drink.  Better than a store bought soda, any day!

Blended Blueberry Cream Soda

• 2 Cups Frozen wild blueberries
• Lemon juice
• 2 mini-scoops Trader Joe's 100% Organic Stevia Powder
• 2 Tbs. Cream
• 5 drops of Real Vanilla
• Sparkling Water

Blend Blueberries, Vanilla and Lemon Juice and Stevia into an icy mixture (A Ninja is perfect for this).  Scoop into glasses and stir in the sparkling water gently so you don't lose the fizz. Pour a small circle of cream in the center of each one and run your spoon down the center to form a heart.  Voilà!  It is done and ready to enjoy.  Very cool and refreshing.

Ginger Nog

Delicious Cool Ginger Nog

Ingredients:

• 3/4 Cup Half and Half
• 3 Tbs. Cream + 2 Tbs. for topping
• 2 Tbs. Ginger Syrup (see  "Grocery Shopping and A Quick Brunch Afterwards")
• Pinch Chinese 5 Spice
• Pinch Ground Cloves
• Pinch Tumeric
• 6 Drops Vanilla
• 2 Drops Maple Flavoring
• Allspice for topping

Also needed:

• 2 tall glasses
• Ice
• Sparkling Water

Whip 2 Tbs. cream until peaks form. Set allspice aside for the topping. Mix all the other ingredients thoroughly. Pour over ice into tall glasses. Add sparkling water.  Top with whipped cream and a pinch of allspice.   You may add curls of freshly sliced ginger for garnish.

Grocery Shopping and a Quick Brunch Afterwards

Melorange from +Sam's Club

Our shopping trip to +Sam's Club  was quick and uneventful except for finding a new fruit, which seems the norm lately.  Last week we found +Apriums, which my youngest son renamed Plumpercots.  This week we found +Meloranges.  As you can see from the photo, the one we cut up disappeared rather quickly  even before I had time to remember to take a picture.  They are a firm slightly less melony version of a Cantaloupe.  My first thought as I bit into it was vanilla ice cream.  It would be so yummy if you scooped out the seeds and replaced it with a scoop of some really creamy vanilla ice cream.  Would be perfection, actually.

Fresh cherries in bulk from +Sam's Club

We found some in season cherries at a decent price, so we had to buy some.  They are sweet and of good quality.  If any survive until tomorrow I will freeze some of the darker ones to add to drinks or to top my yogurt.  Cherries are one of my favorite fruits.  I love boysenberries, raspberries and blueberries as well.  My mouth has become more sensitive to the real sour fruits like mango, kiwi, pineapple and raspberries.  I develop small tiny blisters around my lips so I try to avoid those fruits except for the occasional taste.
As soon as we got back home, we threw one of the dual packs of Applewood Smoked bacon from +Sam's Club into our large iron skillet and got it started cooking while we put the groceries away.  Everything was finally put away except that I had left out the double-pack of French Green Beans and the pack of Roma tomatoes.  I like to let the tomatoes ripen on the counter before putting them in the fridge.

 

 French Green Beans cooked in Applewood smoked bacon.

I had bought the bacon thinking of making a B.L.T.'s with avocado without the bread, so it would be more of a salad, actually.  Then I thought of green beans cooked in bacon and then adding a fresh cut Roma tomato.  It was a deliciously satisfying brunch dish.  The photo above really does not do it justice.  I served it with a homemade ginger ale.  Ginger powder, stevia, vanilla and sparkling water served over ice.

 

My homemade ginger ale after I downed half.

 We browned the bacon in a large iron skillet.  When done we removed the bacon to a plate and added the washed French Green Beans to the hot pan and stir-fried it in the bacon fat, scraping the bottom frequently to get the flavor all through the beans.  When the beans were heated through we served them in a shallow bowl, topped it with a few slices of bacon and freshly sliced Roma tomatoes and a few sprinkles of salt. 

The Ginger Ale can be pre-made or made individually as you need it.  For a pre-made syrup: I mix large amounts of powdered ginger (to taste), organic green leaf stevia (to taste), a few drops of vanilla to a small amount of very hot water in a wide mouth mason jar and stir thoroughly.  I keep it in the fridge to add over ice and then I pour sparkling water over that.  I like a lot of ginger so I pour a lot of syrup over my ice.  Some people just like a bit of syrup for a slight ginger taste.

All in all we had a great morning shopping and cooking.  Happy Eating!