Mocktails featuring: pineapple

You guessed it folks, I bought a pineapple at the store today, so here are some more mocktails featuring everyone's favorite Hawaiian import. These are large-batch recipes so you can force your friends to finish our Drynuary with you, haha!

Pineapple-Jalapeno Mocktail

Serves 4

4-5 pieces of small pineapple pieces
1 jalapeno
few cilantro leaves
2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 cup pineapple juice
1/2 chilled sparkling water or soda
1 teaspoon sugar or agave (optional to adjust sweetness)

In a small mixing bowl, muddle a few pineapple pieces, a small piece of jalapeno, some lime juice, a few cilantro leaves and agave. Divide the muddled mixture into four serving glasses. Add ice cubes followed by Pineapple juice and then top with sparkling water or soda.

*****************************************

Pineapple-mint Shrub

Serves 6

1 pound fresh pineapple chunks (about 2 cups)
2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons finely diced fresh ginger
1 cup roughly chopped fresh mint
1 1/2 cups apple cider vinegar
club soda or seltzer

Mix the pineapple chunks, sugar and fresh ginger. Put in a container with a lid and refrigerate for 1-2 days.

Macerate the fresh mint. Add it to the pineapple, sugar, and ginger mixture. Continue to refrigerate for another 1-2 days.

Add the apple cider vinegar, stir and refrigerate for another 1-2 days. It helps to keep the timing written on the container top, so you know when you added each ingredient

When ready to serve, (straight or on the rocks) strain out the fresh mint and add club soda or seltzer to taste.

Gimme somma that sweet, Sweet Poppy Seed Slaw

Last week I made kimchi, and I had too much cabbage. The result was this lovely slaw, which I have been eating all week. (Hint: the dressing is great on its own and keeps well in the fridge, too.)

Sweet Poppy Seed Slaw

1/2 head green (or red, or mixed) cabbage, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, shredded
1 tablespoon chopped red onion

poppy seed dressing:
1/4 cup white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon grainy mustard
3 teaspoons mayonnaise
1/4 cup olive oil

Combine all dressing ingredients and whisk thoroughly.  Add vegetables and stir to coat evenly.  Refrigerate at least one hour (and then give it another stir) before serving.

What's it good with? 

Last week's Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice recipe

Kalua Pork

On top of fish tacos

Red Beans and Rice, hold the meat (unless you want it)

I always forget how great canned chipotles in adobo sauce can be--smoky, earthy. and spicy--and how little I need meat if I put them in a dish.  (However, Field Roast's "Mexican chorizo" is also kinda the bomb if you're into vegetarian "sausages"...)

Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice

Serves 4-6

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
5 celery stalks, finely diced
1 large green bell pepper, finely diced
1 pound dry red kidney beans, soaked in water overnight, drained, and rinsed
3 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, chopped
2 teaspoons hot sauce (I like Franks Red Hot), more to taste
6 cups vegetable broth or water
Salt, to taste
Cooked rice and sliced green onions, for serving

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium high heat. Add in the onion and cook until very tender and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes.

Add the garlic, celery, and bell pepper, and continue to cook until just softened, about 3 minutes.
Add the soaked and drained kidney beans, bay leaves, thyme, oregano, cayenne pepper, black pepper, chipotle peppers, red pepper sauce, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about two hours, or until the beans are very tender.

Season with additional salt and hot sauce. Serve with cooked rice and top with sliced green onions.

Mocktails for January

If you have been reading this blog for a while, you already know of my penchant for cocktails, craft beers, and wine of (pretty much) every price point.  So it feels a little funny to be writing this, but I'm trying to drastically cut back.  Those news articles talking about all the kinds of cancers my happy hours are going to give me are freaking me out. (Here's one to keep you from sleeping tonight.)

I always rolled my eyes at Drynuary, which I first started hearing about a few years ago, and I'm not doing it now.  But I am planning on going from having 1-2 drinks 5-6 nights per week to 1 drink 2-3 nights per week. I started this week, and I'm finding that I have two difficulties:

1. I miss happy hour! I love the excuse to push back from the computer at 4:30pm, crank up some tunes, make a nice cocktail, and enjoy with a little snack while going over the day's dramas with the hubs.
2. Alcohol tastes so much more interesting than everything else.  I don't mean I need to be drunk (I rarely get drunk thanks to my steady tolerance-building I have maintained since college). I mean, there's so much more depth of flavor in a nice whiskey than in a glass of juice.  Juice is so BORING!

So, in order to keep my nice little hygge ritual and have a little fun while swallowing liquids, I'm amassing a Mocktail menu. Here's what I've got so far:




Cider, Thyme + Tonic Mocktail
Serves 1

3 ounces apple cider
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
tonic water 

thyme sprig and lemon slices for garnish

Pour apple cider and lemon juice into a highball glass and stir. Top with tonic water and garnish with thyme and lemon

Ginger Mojito Mocktail

Serves 1 

8 fresh mint leaves
2 ounces fresh lime juice
Ice cubes

1 teaspoon brown sugar
8 ounces ginger ale
3 ounces club soda

In a tall glass, muddle together the mint leaves and lime juice.  Add the sugar and fill the glass with ice cubes. Add the ginger ale and club soda, and stir well.
Garnish with a lime wedge before serving (optional).