Lemonade with a Twist

While whipping up yesterday's Coconut Cream Brownie Delight, I also decided to concoct a fancy schmancy lemonade to entertain guests. So here I am to share my secret recipe with you. Invite the girls over for a relaxing afternoon on the porch and you'll knock their socks off with this delicious combo!


1st mix up some Classic Lemonade:
1 1/2 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice (I use limes)
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. water
Stir in a pitcher until the sugar dissolves and add in about 5 more cups of water. Garnish we lemon slices and plenty of ice.

Now try this twist:
Lemon-Mint Cooler (add to the classic recipe)
1 c. torn fresh mint leaves
2 12 oz. cans club soda

But wait - you're not planning on having the girls over any time soon? It's ok, make some of these for a sweet treat around the house.

Lemon-Mint Ice Cubes
1 1/3 c. water 8 tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 tbsp. sugar
a handful of fresh mint leaves

Combine the water, lemon juice and sugar in a small pitcher and stir until the sugar dissolves. Pour the mixture into a standard ice cube tray and add 1 mint leaf to each slot. Freeze. Add to an glass of water, sip and enjoy.

Now if all this talk of summertime goodness has got to super exited, then don't fret. It's not over yet! Here are a few more variations on good 'ole classic lemonade that will be sure to schmancy up your summer days!

Tropical Lemonade
(add to the classic recipe)
2 6-oz. can of pineapple juice
1 12-oz. can of apricot nectar
2 12-oz. cans of ginger ale

Ginger Zinger
(add to the classic recipe)
1 3-inch piece of fresh ginger - peeled & grated
1/4 c. honey

Farmers' Lemonade
(add to the classic recipe)
16 oz. fresh strawberries (stemmed and pureed)
1 c. heavy cream

Loco for Coco

A while back in Colorado, I across this recipe a while back in a Real Simple magazine of clipped it out and added it to my recipe scrapbook. I'm not really sure why we brought the recipe scrapbook along to Guatemala - we must have been thinking we'd have tons of free time to try out new recipes - but because it's here we do try to make use of it. A couple of months ago I was flipping through looking for a fast and easy dessert recipe when I came across berries in coconut cream. While I don't really love eating pure coconut, I do love anything that is coconut flavored. I remember having seen some Ana Belly Crema de Coco for just a couple Q in the Bodegona (our local grocer) and everything else I had on had.

Berries and Coconut Cream
2 lbs. berries (whatever kind float your boat)
2 tbsp. granulated sugar
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. cream of coconut

In a large mixing bowl, gently toss the berries sugar and lime juice. With an electric mixer (I did it by hand), beat the heavy cream and cream of coconut until soft peaks form. Serve with the berries. The first time we did try it with the berries like the recipe suggests, but there was so much left over we had to do something else with it. Hmmm.....well it was sort of like icing, so why not try it on top of brownies. It turned out great! Add a couple of sliced up strawberries and you've got a delicious, easy, breezy dessert! Since then we've served up this strawberry, coco, fudge delight several times.


I've tweaked the recipe just a bit too by adding the sugar and lime juice into the creamy mix. I love the citrus tang and plus it's a great way to use up some of our tons of limes that we always seem to have around. I was thinking about whipping up my specialty for any impromptu Semana Santa gatherings that may happen, but after a stroll through the market this afternoon I returned home without having scored my strawberries. Ben brought home a big bag of mangos the other day though (a gift from Otto), so maybe I'll slice them up and see if it's any good. I have a feeling that it is pretty hard to mess up coconut cream brownies!


Is all this talk about chocolately goodness making you thirsty? Stay tuned for tomorrow's post on a little something to wet your whistle while chowing down on your coconut cream brownies!

Dani knows best

Our friend Dani had the best idea ever this weekend. Let's make ceviche. And so we did. A Salvadoran that grew up just a hop skip & a jump from the sea, Dani knows ceviche. And now after a quick lesson, I do too!

Without further adieu....

Dani's Ceviches (serves 5)
6 tomatoes (diced)
1 red pepper (diced)
1 red onion (diced)
Juice from 8-10 large limes
1 small bunch of fresh parsley (diced)
1 can veggie cocktail juice
1 lb. calamari
2 lbs. pealed shrimp
2-3 tsp. white vinegar
2-3 tsp. worchestire sauce (salsa inglesa)
salt & pepper to taste (start with 2 tsp. each).

*Technically the lime juice will "cook" the shrimp & calamari, but if you would rather play it safe, you can cook them first.

Cook the calamari in boiling water for about 1 minute then drain. Cook the peeled shrimp in boiling water for about 1 minute (or until slightly orange) then drain. Mix all the ingredients together and chill for 20 - 30 minutes. Serve with saltine crackers, avocado & a cold brew. It's delicious!

*You might want to leave the condiments on the table so your guests can "adjust" the flavor to their liking (worchestire sauce, ketchup, salt, pepper, lime, & maybe even cilantro)

slice & dice all the veggies

calamari adds a special flavor

lots and lots of cute little orange shrimps

the magic ingredient

worchestire sauce

presentation is key

and some friendly neighbors are the icing on the cake!

Frijoles Refritos

It's becoming increasing apparent that we have become part Guatemalan. When we first arrived in Xela and were fed black beans at every breakfast, lunch & dinner, my stomach protested and I thought I just may turn into a black bean. Now, we love them! We have refined the recipe for preparing frijoles (beans still intact) and frijoles refritos, or "goo" as I like to call it (the black bean puree), that comes in both runny and paste like consistencies.

Last weekend Alejandro shared some of the fresh frijol that he has been growing at the ADU office and we whipped up our specialty. They are delicious, taste great with just about everything & are even on the list of super foods.



Frijoles Refritos
3-4 cups cooked black beans with broth (short cut with canned beans if you need to)
1/2 white onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
3 tbsp. canola oil (or bacon grease)
sea salt to taste
1 tsp. ground red chile (optional)

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and fry for about 5 minutes, until soft and golden, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and cook another couple of minutes. Raise the heat and add the beans and broth 1 cup at a time, smashing the down with a potato masher or molino. This process takes about 10 minutes, but if you use a stick blender or regular blender it can really speed things up. Add salt and chile to taste. We think the beans are best served immediately with crumbled cheese sprinkled on top. If you can find it, try queso fresco. If not, feta is good too. Serve them up with rice, eggs, chips or just about anything!

Buen Provecho!

Aguas con sabor?

Here in Mexico (& Guatemala too) they tend to call all beverages except for beer, aguas (waters). It's gets a bit confusing when you really do want water and request agua in a restuarant. Generally you have to specify agua pura or agua natural (pure or natural water). For some reason or another only limonada (lemonade) and naranjada (orange juice-like lemonade) have their own names. And with these you also have to understand that they could be made with pure water or soda (Sprite), both being equally tasty. Anyway, all of this rambling is getting me to my bigger point. Along the lines of lemonade, "aguas" can be made from pretty much any fruit. One morning in Tuxtla, Kim whipped up a blender full of watermelon water and I've been craving it ever since! We stumbled into it again here in San Cristobal, this time with a twist of pineapple. Delicious!

Since I'm hoping she won't mind, I thought I'd share the recipe with you. I personally can't wait to try mixing it up a bit with lots of different fruits. Don't you think it sounds like a great way to ring in the summer months?

Watermelon Water
half a blender full of water
a bunch of watermelon chunks (sans seeds)
a handful of pineapple pieces (for the combo juice)
sugar to taste
a dash of fresh ginger (Kim's secret ingredient, if you so please)

Blend and strain (if you'd rather no pulp). Chill & serve!

Fresh & Easy

Even though we happen to be temporarily living in our car, we don’t necessarily always want to eat Ramen noodles or Ma & Cheese (especially because we’ve been listening to the audiobook Omnivore’s Dilemma during our drives). We also don’t want to spend a lot of money eating out all the time. Instead, we try to buy local, especially when it comes to produce and cook a healthy meal at “home” whenever we can. Since we both love the surf & sun, lately we’ve been inspired to add a tropical flare to our meals. Here are a few of our easy recipes.

Mango Salsa
1 mango
3 tomatoes
1 spring onion
a few springs of cilantro
a bit lime juice
salt to taste

Dice it all up, squeeze on the lime juice, stir in the salt and serve over fresh seafood or brown rice.

Camarones (shrimp) a la Benjamin
½ kilo fresh shrimp
vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic
1 spring onion
a dash of soul food seasoning
a splash of Pacifico beer

Peel & wash shrimp, sautee with garlic & onion in oll, uncovered for 5 minutes. Add beer and cover until cooked completely.

Smoothies Mazatlán
5-6 chunks of mango
1 banana sliced
a splash of milk
a handful of ice
a packet of Emergen-C (1000% vitamin C)

In a glass, add in the following order: ice, mango, banana, milk, Emergen-C. Blend with stick blender. Yum! Breakfast in a cup with easy cleanup!

Smoothies Todos Santos
Basically the same as Smoothies Mazatlán, but since we didn’t have milk at the time we used more ice and a bit of yogurt.

pineapple chunks
1 kiwi sliced
ice
a splash of water or juice yogurt (if you like it a bit thicker)

Blend together in a glass and sip in the sun somewhere inspiring.