I never buy any canned sodas, but sometimes a fizzy drink hits the spot on a warm day. Soda is easy to make at home, by just mixing any kind of syrup you like with sparkling water. I love ginger, so today, with the warm sunny weather returning to the Pacific Northwest, I decided to make some ginger ale.Ginger Syrup
1 cup water
2/3 cup agave nectar ( I used an organic amber one)
generous 1/2 cup ginger, thinly sliced
15 peppercorns
20 cardamom pods
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon lime juice
To make the syrup, combine all ingredients in a sauce pan, bring to a simmer and let it cook gently for 20 - 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the syrup steep while cooling. When cool, strain out the ginger, peppercorns, and cardamom. Add in lemon and lime juice and store in the fridge until use. To make the ginger ale, mix 2 parts syrup with 4 parts sparkling water, or adjust to taste.
ginger syrup mixtureThis would also make a great mixer for a spicy cocktail.
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Hi Rose,
ReplyDeleteGreat idea using agave in homemade ginger ale that hadn't occured to me. I haven't made ginger ale in ages, and when I did I used regular sugar. I think the recipe I used had a cinnamon stick and little cayenne in it. The addition of cardamom definitely appeals to me. What type of sparkling water did you use, Pellegrino or seltzer?
Did you save the ginger? When I used to make ginger ale I dried out the ginger in a low oven and it made great candied ginger with more flavor due to the spices.
Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. I will be adjusting my recipe very soon with agave and cardamom.
Alicia
I didn't save the ginger, but that's a great idea...I'll do next time. I just used a naturally sparkling water. Next time, I think I'll use a real hot pepper. Cinnamon would be yummy too.
ReplyDeleteActually, the next homemade drink I want to try is cinnamon tea from this blog:
http://sweetbeetandgreenbean.net/2009/07/23/simply-cinnamon-tea/
The photo looks so appealing.
I'm trying to figure out what to make for dinner and use up some corn, broccoli, squash, and corn tortillas. I'm thinking of a vegetable stack using corn tortillas as the layer dividers.
Rose,
ReplyDeleteI was hoping I posted the comment before you threw the ginger out. Sorry I wasn't quicker.
When I locate the recipe I used I will send it/or post it. I think it was on paper. It has been a while so I am not certain where I found it.
The vegetable stack sounds good and pretty. Are you thinking of some sort of sauce with the veggies?
Alicia
I want to use a tomato sauce and some other sauce that will make it sort of rich and creamy...any ideas?
ReplyDeleteI was thinking maybe a thick soy or almond milk white sauce with saffron and chunks of tomato.
ReplyDeleteThat's sounds excellent...I'm out of saffron, but could work around that...I'm sure there's a great white sauce recipe on your site...I'll search for one.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't like the saffron white sauce what about a plain white sauce with either mushrooms or peas?
ReplyDeleteI like the combination of tomato and white sauce if you hadn't noticed.
I think I'll use your morel crespelle filling sauce.
ReplyDeleteI mean, I don't have any morels on hand, but I'll use that sauce w/o the mushrooms and add tomato chunks instead. Thanks so much for the suggestion!!!!
ReplyDeleteI don't know that I have posted a white sauce yet. Mine are pretty basic. I used 1 cup of soy of almond milk to 1 tablespoon of fat (olive oil or EB) and 1 tablespoon of flour and then cook to reduce. If you don't want to wait for it to reduce increase the flour and fat. Sometimes I flavor them with white wine, other times Marsala. Like I said, nothing spectacular just plain before the flavors.
ReplyDeleteThe morel and white wine sauce may be more blond than you want visually. I would probably reduce the wine by half and increase the milk by the same amount.
ReplyDeleteWill do, I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the tip. :)
ReplyDeleteWill do, I'll let you know how it turns out. Thanks for the tip. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks, you knew I would want to know how it turns out.
ReplyDeleteBTW, my husband is getting the biggest kick out of us doing this. He finds it quite entertaining. I think it is a guy thing.
I must say, I really enjoy having an east coast blog buddy ;)
ReplyDeleteYou aren't the only one ... me too. It is a shame we don't live closer to each other.
ReplyDeleteUpdate on last night's dinner: fruit salad.
ReplyDeleteIt was after 10 when I got into the kitchen to start cooking last night. My husband suggested we eat something quick and easy, so as to not be eating dinner at midnight. We usually eat dinner on the later side...but not quite that late.
We ended up eating a salad of nectarine and canary melon. I think given the circumstances, it was a good choice; I woke up today feeling all light and healthy.
Anyway, The corn tortilla stack is on my list of things to make this week, and I'll let you know how it turns out when I make it.:)
All I could do was laugh when I read this. I can't tell you how many times that sort of thing happens at our house. Dinner gets changed many times before I actual make something. It drives my husband crazy.
ReplyDeleteAlicia