Fresh Cherry Drink
Try this fresh beverage made from in season cherries. You can even store this drink for colder months around the bonfire!
This is the recipe adapted from the Cherry Soup recipe created by Ullenka the Fruit Queen on Instagram. this is the perfect recipe to create while cherries are in season. My version can be described as warm and cozy and lends itself to a cool night with a campfire or to cooler fall months. If you are skilled at canning you can totally just can this. I, however, am not so while I did put my beverage into mason jars and tops that have been sterilized, I put them in the refrigerator to use during the week. I don’t care for it cold but suspect creating it without the cinnamon or nutmeg might remedy that. The rest I put in containers and in the freezer where it should keep for a few months, no problem
You know I am a huge fan of creating your own experience and this is no exception. Play around with your favorite flavors and create your own version. This is mine:
About 3lbs of cherries (you can pit them if you have the patience. I don’t!)
Distilled or Spring Water
One large orange or Two Small
A chunk of peeled fresh ginger
1/2 lemon
2 teaspoons of almond extract
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
Dash of nutmeg
Sweetner (I used 1/2 honey 1/2 unrefined sugar but agave or Stevia will work if that’s your preference)
I put everything in a soup pot and made sure the water came about an inch over the cherries.
Bring it to just the boiling point (not a heavy boil) cover and then put the top on and let keep it at a soft boil for about 20. If you don’t have the top on you will loose a lot of liquid. If it just simmers you won’t get the full flavor.
I just kept tasting it until it got to the flavor I liked. I did take out the lemon 1/2 through the process because I didn’t want any more lemon flavor than it was by that time.
When I put it in jars I did put the cherries in with it to keep getting whatever flavor from them might be left but honestly they really have no real taste by then but you could still eat them if you preferred.
Ullenka made hers as a soup to eat with a spoon. I would rather put even broth in a mug and drink instead of the spoon thing. For me to like it as a soup I would have to add something like coconuts, mandarin orange slices, maybe even a nut of some sort. In other words, I would need more texture for me to consider it a soup.
And that’s it!
Sorry if you want more detail then that but I totally serious that anyone can do this and make it their own version! If you try it let me know!! I want to know if you changed it or made it as is! Also check out Ullenka on her Instagram, she does amazing things with fruit!
Recipe - White Chocolate Peanut Butter Quinoa Drops
Learn how to make this quinoa creation I cooked up! The perfect snack packed with protein for an energy boost!
I’ve been trying to get down with quinoa for about 4 years now and I just never was able to make it at home in a way I liked. Between the total lack of flavor and it being a bit watery, it always fell flat. Well there’s nothing like dietary peer pressure to keep you going! A friend of mine has quinoa at least 3 times a week and raves about it constantly so I’ve had an eye open for a really good recipe to try.
Enter Gwyneth Paltrow’s cookbook “It’s All Good.” I’m not really sure how I feel about her but I am a Goop follower. Love her or hate her I’d say the info she brings up and suggests is worth a look. I feel it only takes some self awareness and common sense to know what parts of Goop to leave on the shelf. That being said, I have always found her cookbooks and recipes to be legit as far as taste, and easy to execute. So when I found her cookbook on sale, I grabbed it without hesitation. And am I glad I did because it included one sentence that changed my life in regards to quinoa. “Place a dry towel between the pot and the lid and let the quinoa sit for at least 5 minutes.” That’s it! It’s that simple! And my quinoa is perfect! So perfect in fact I challenged my friend to creating new recipes using this chameleon grain.
This is my first creation, Quinoa Drops. They’re perfect marble sized and refrigerated. I now keep a bowl of them in the fridge. I made these with Peanut Butter & Co’s White Chocolatey Wonderful but any nut butter will do. Though I don’t know how many, these must be packed with protein and antioxidants. Even a yes for you Keto krazies out there!
The other thing that makes them amazing is it’s a recipe with just a little of this and a little of that. No measuring required!
Ingredients
About 2 cups of quinoa
About 1 1/2 cups of nut butter
About 1/4 cup of dark chocolate chips
About 1 teaspoon of Himalayan pink sea salt or favorite sea salt
Assemble
Put quinoa in a bowl and mix with the chocolate chips and salt.
Make a well in the middle of the mix. Add the nut butter in the well. With a spoon turn and pat the quinoa, slowly mixing with the nut butter. You want the quinoa to stick as well as possible without all the nut butter showing through.
Once it’s mixed well refrigerate for about 20 minutes. Once chilled, use a spoon to pick up about a teaspoon of the mixture and roll into a ball using your clean hands.
Place on a piece of parchment or on a plate and chill once again. Keep refrigerated and eat when ready.
Can also be frozen.
Makes approximately 12 drops.
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#JoyLifeTribe Recipe - Chocolate Chip French Toast Casserole
What really is the difference between a French Toast Casserole and Bread Pudding? At this moment I’m not completely sure, I’d have t get back to you on that one! Regardless of the name, this was the best one I’ve made so far, and I’ve made a few over the years.
I do what I like to call “The Grandma Method,” with cooking and even baking, when possible. That means I eyeball and estimate amounts. This recipe is the perfect one to try The Grandma Method.
Tips to Perfection:
Brioche. You cannot make a good bread pudding or french toast casserole with brioche. This time I used a chocolate chip brioche loaf.
Ghiradelli Chocolate chips because well, #ghiradelli
Adding a bit of condensed milk, helped keep optimal moisture, and texture.
Dousing the brioche pieces in melted butter. No one said this was low fat!
Letting sit overnight before baking.
Need to know before beginning:
The egg to total milk ratio you are achieving is about 1:1
Total milk is a combo of 1/2 dairy milk, half almond milk. You can change to all dairy milk, all almond milk, or all whatever milk you like. Be aware however, the richer your milk, the better the recipe. So I would NOT recommend using rice milk. or skim dairy.
Ingredients
9 x 12 glass pan with bottom and sides buttered
One loaf of Chocolate Chip Brioche
Butter (about 3 tablespoons)
5 to 6 eggs
2% Organic Dairy Milk
Almond Milk (omit if not an almond milk person)
Condensed Milk (about a 1/4 cup) Optional
Cinnamon (a dash)
Unrefined, Organic Sugar (about 3/4 cups)
Vanilla Extract (about a teaspoon)
Chocolate Chips (about a 1/2 cup)
Organic Brown Sugar (about a handful)
It should look like this before baking!
Chop up the brioche into small squares and put in the 9 x 12 glass pan that you have buttered on the bottom and the sides. Melt about butter and pour over the bread pieces. Gently toss around the bread pieces to make sure they are as evenly coated as possible.
In bowl combine eggs and milk to achieve a 1/2 and 1/2 ratio, condensed milk (if using), vanilla extract, unrefined sugar, and cinnamon. Whisk until completely blended, you don’t want to see any whites of the yoke.
Sprinkle chocolate chips over chopped brioche and then pour the egg mixture right over it. Gently move around bread pieces making sure all pieces are covered and there are no dry points sticking up.
Put in refrigerator overnight.
Sprinkle brown sugar over coated bread and put in a 450°F oven, not preheated. Remember, not all ovens heat the same. Adjust the temperature accordingly.
Remove when it’s golden brown and inflated.
Swirl a little chocolate syrup on a plate before adding a slice, then top with whipped cream.