Zinfandel Grape Juice

For non-alcoholics only. 

I don't know about you, but I absolutely abstain from buying bottled juice such as Welch's. I just like everything fresh and made from scratch. I prefer to drink juice that I know does not require preservatives to remain fresh. Hence, I blended some Zinfandel (or I think they are, or maybe Merlot or some other cousin... they all look alike!) grapes which are meant for wine, but hey, I haven't gotten interested in wine tasting just yet, and secondly, I want to stay sober for morning breakfast.

Anyhow, here's what I did. I blended on high setting a plate full of grapes. You're probably thinking, there are a bunch of grape seeds and skins blended all together! I purposely kept the seeds and skins because of the high antioxidant content, and I personally believe it's a better choice than grape seed extract. Although the juice had a fair level of crunchy bits of seeds, it was actually quite tolerable when chilled with ice and paired with a snack. Well, cheers to a good morning!

Cold-Brewed Iced Coffee

I had a two-pound bag full of San Francisco Bay French Roast grounded coffee beans. I wanted to get rid of it after drinking the same hot coffee with milk over and over again. After reading this post, http://www.putaringonannie.com/2013/08/cold-brew-iced-coffee.html#more, I knew just how to get rid of the coffee. Yes. Cold brew is my new obsession. It tastes way better, since it is less acidic and more sweet than hot brew (in which the hot water causes a chemical reaction in the process that makes the coffee more bitter). And the steps are really easy to follow:

Ingredients

1 cup grounded coffee beans

2 cups cold water

How to Make

1. In a lid container, pour the 1 cup grounded coffee beans and 2 cups cold water. Stick it in the fridge and let soak overnight.

2. Place a coffee filter over a sieve. Pour the grounded coffee beans + cold water mixture through the sieve into another container.

3. Let drip. (This takes a while, so be patient!)

4. Serve with ice, milk, etc.

Coconut Melon Juice

Melon + coconut juice is delight.

I recently bought a 9-pack box of young coconuts at 99 Ranch for $10 dollars. Such a great deal! So after I sipped all the yummy coconut water, I didn't want to waste the coconut flesh inside. I decided to incorporate the coconut flesh into the melon juice, and it is such a great treat right after a run in the summer heat.

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

2 (1-inch) slices of honeydew melon

1 young coconut meat

How to Make: 

1. Scoop out all the coconut meat from 1 young coconut.

2. Blend the coconut meat first.

3. Then, add the honeydew melon, blending on high variable setting.

Enjoy!

Hibiscus Tea [Jamaica]

Hibiscus Tea Flowers (Dried)

How it turned out!

I love drinking this agua fresca, or "fresh water," on a hot summer day or when I'm eating really spicy Mexican food. The taste is tangy, sweet, and refreshing. I usually buy a cup of jamaica, or "hibiscus tea," for around $2 dollars at a Mexican restaurant or fast-food place such as Gordo Taqueria. I squandered my money on this drink, until I realized I could make jamaica on my own! It is super easy!

I took a trip to an organic foods market and found hibiscus flowers sold in the bulk foods aisle. I bought 1 cup of dry hibiscus flowers which cost about $1.60.

I adapted the recipe on: http://www.muybuenocookbook.com/2011/03/agua-de-jamaica-hibiscus-tea/ and halved the recipe since I didn't buy enough flowers:

Ingredients:

1 cup dry jamaica/hibiscus flowers

3/8 cup granulated sugar (I found that less sugar tasted better)

3 cups water

How to make:

1. Wash the flowers.

2. Boil the water.

3. When water boils, add the dry hibiscus flowers and sugar.

4. Cook for 1 minute.

5. Turn off heat.

6. Cool & drain the tea.

7. Refrigerate.

8. Ready to drink!

It came out to about 2 glass cups of hibiscus tea, which is cheaper than buying store-made and super easy to make. Next time I will use less sugar because it came out a tad bit sweet/ tasted a little like sweet grape juice. Overall, I am satisfied with the turnout and can't wait to save a little more by making this drink.