Sweet & Spicy Summer Slushy

We right smack in the middle of summer and in case you have not noticed or been away at Antarctica, IT IS HOT!  One of my favorite ways to cool off and have a delicious and healthy snack is to make myself a sweet and spicy slushy.  What I love about this recipe is that it is highly customizable.  If you don't like any aspect of it (such as the fruit used, or the spicy seasoning) you can omit or change it!  Here are some of the things you will need:

FRUIT!!  Pretty much any fruit you enjoy can work for this.  You can mix and match as you like.  For this version I used fresh peaches, blueberries and strawberries.  Another popular mix I like to use is oranges, pineapple and mango.  If you don't want to bother with fresh fruit or it is not in season you can always use frozen fruit.

You will also need to use some kind of liquid to help make your slushy, well, slushy.  I like to use juice that compliments the fruit.  In this case I used a blueberry pomegranate acia.  If juice is unavailable, plain water is always an option.  Just keep in mind it will not add an extra flavor. 

For the seasoning I love to use just a bit of sweetener (I use Splenda to avoid added sugar) and a combination of the salty spicy condiments called chamoy and Tajin.  These last two are completely optional if those flavors are not your thing.  The sweetener helps bring out the flavor of the fruit.

As far as hardware goes, you will need a blender, a long spoon, and several glasses to pour your slushy into.

So, to review, here is what you need to make your slushy:

approx, 2 cups of fruit fresh or frozen.
1- 1 1/2 cups of liquid
1-2 tbsp sweetener
1-2 tbsp each of Tajin and chamoy
1-1 1/2 cups of ice

These ratios are not set in stone.  You can play around with them to your own personal tastes.  If you want a sweeter slushy, then add more sweetener. If the idea of adding the Tajin or chamoy does not suit your tastes, then you can leave it out.  The point of this is to find your slushy flavor profile.  These are just guidelines. 

The first step to make your slushy is to put your fruit in the blender.  I like to add it first because it it soft and will blend well at the bottom vs the hard frozen ice.  If you are using frozen fruit, I would use less ice and perhaps a little more liquid.  It is also a good idea to cut the larger fruit into smaller pieces as they will blend better.

Next add your sweetener as well as the Tajin and chamoy.

After that add the liquid as well as the ice.

Now just blend away!

Make sure to check the consistency of your slushy.  The long spoon serves this purpose as well as giving you a way to taste test your concoction.  If the slushy is too stiff and hard add more liquid.  If it is too loose, add more ice.

The last step is my favorite.  After you have gotten your slushy how you want it, serve and enjoy!

Lastly I will leave you with some suggestions for variations on this simple treat.  My personal favorite is using the Dole frozen tropical fruit blend with orange juice as my liquid.  Berry blends also work really well together.  Lastly, I have found that for the more adult readers out there, this is a great way to make a delicious frozen sangria.  Just use your favorite bottled sangria with maybe a little bit of orange juice and whatever fruit you would normally enjoy with said sangria.  Give it a whirl in the blender and there you go!

No Velveeta? No Problem

As you may have undoubtedly already heard, according to Kraft there is a Velveeta shortage this year.  And of course this comes at the most inopportune time of Super Bowl Sunday.  Well, what if I told you that you need not worry.  There are plenty of ways to still make a cheesy delicious dip that does not require Velveeta but instead just a little know how.  And if you don't want a cheesy dip, then let me offer you some alternatives as well.

A simple cheese sauce is not hard to make.  It also give you the freedom to make it how you want to.  Purists will probably stick to cheddar or American cheese, but for the more adventurous you can try different cheeses or even cheese combinations.  To make a simple cheese sauce you will need:

1 quart whole milk
3 oz AP flour
3 oz butter
8 oz cheese, shredded
Salt and White pepper to taste

The first step is to heat your butter and add your flour.  Allow it to cook slightly to make a roux on medium to medium low heat.  Once you have allowed the roux to form, add your cold milk to the sauce pan stirring the entire time to avoid lumps.  Once the roux and milk have been completely incorporated and the mixture has thickened turn down the heat to low.  Now you can start to mix in your cheese.  The key here is to add it SLOWLY.  Don't dump it in all at once as this will make your cheese sauce grainy.  Add a little cheese, mix and allow it to melt, then add some more.  After you are done adding your cheese then add your seasonings.  This allows your to adjust to your tastes.  If you want to make your cheese sauce fancy, you can always try adding a dash of Worcestershire sauce, some dry mustard or some hot sauce.  To make a queso dip, try using Asadero, Oaxaca, or Chihuahua cheese as well as some pico de gallo or your own favorite salsa.

Now if you don't want a cheese sauce or you want something else to accompany it, here are some alternatives:

How about some delicious guacamole to accompany your queso dip.  All you need is
2 medium ripe (soft) avacados
1/2 white onion diced or minced
2 jalapenos or serranos stems and seeds removed and diced
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
2-3 tbsp of lime juice
1 large tomato diced
salt and pepper to taste

First just mash the avocados to your desired consistency.  If you like your guacamole chunky don't mash them up so much.  For a creamier guacamole you can even use a food processor if you'd like.  After that just fold in all of your other ingredients and season to your liking.  If you like you can even add a tablespoon of cumin for extra flavor.  Oh, and if you are truly lazy or pressed for time, just take the avocados and mix them with pico de gallo or salsa. I once made a "guacamole" with nothing but some under ripe avocados, a blender, and the contents of my friend's spice rack.

Now one dip you might want to give a chance is hummus.  It is not hard to make and so adaptable and customizable it might as well be a Honda.  What you will need is

2 cans of cooked chickpeas, cooked
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 garlic cloves minced
2-3 tsp cumin
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
paprika for garnish

Just combine the first five ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.  While processing, slowly drizzle in olive oil.  Reserve about a tablespoon of the oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Pour the hummus into a serving bowl.  Drizzle with the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with paprika.  If you want to give your hummus a little kick, add a bit of cayenne pepper to it.  Like I said earlier, you can really customize your hummus.  Add anything from roasted red peppers to a Mediterranean olive spread.   Or get crazy and add black beans, or even feta cheese.  Yum.

Hopefully this will leave you better prepared for Super Sunday, even without the Velveeta!

Perfect for a cold winter's day: Mexican Hot Chocolate

With the weather still being cold especially in Houston, I was reminiscing about some of my favorite cold weather foods. One of my favorites when I was growing up was hot chocolate.  However, since I grew up in a Mexican household, we would often drink Mexican hot chocolate.  It is very similar to your everyday variety, except that traditional Mexican hot chocolate includes semi-sweet chocolate, cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla. In Mexico, hot chocolate remains a popular national drink. Besides the instant powder form, hot chocolate of this type is commonly sold in circular or hexagonal tablets which can be dissolved into hot milk, water, or cream, and then blended until the mixture develops a creamy froth. The two most common types of Mexican chocolate sold in tablets are Abuelita and Ibarra.

If you can't find these two brands at your local grocer, you can scour the internet and find a litany of recipes that you can make on your own.  The one common factor amongst all Mexican hot chocolate is that it is chocolate that has been spiced with other things not typically found in most common hot chocolate recipes.

Making hot chocolate from the tablets is really quite simple. All you need is a sauce pan, some milk, the chocolate itself and a whisk.  In Mexico a wooden whisk called a molinillo is used to whip up the froth on the finished chocolate. 

The first step is to heat up your milk. Back in the day hot chocolate used to be made with hot water instead (thus the title of the popular novel Like Water For Chocolate) Usually you need about 2 cups for every half tablet of chocolate.  You want the milk nice and hot, about a simmer.  You definitely don't want to scald the milk or have it boil over as this will give your hot chocolate a less than idle flavor.  When I talked to my mom about how to make the hot chocolate, she said that my grandmother would add a little cold water(just enough to coat the bottom) to the pan as primer to help protect the milk from scalding.

As the milk comes up to temp, you can cut your chocolate into pieces as it will be quicker and easier to dissolve the chocolate in pieces instead of one big chunk.  Once the milk is hot enough, you introduce the chocolate into the milk whisking rapidly to dissolve and incorporate the chocolate.  Always be mindful of the heat of your milk.  You still don't want it to overheat and scald or burn the chocolate.  Once all the chocolate has been introduced, you can cut the heat and just continue to whisk until it completely dissolves and the chocolate begins to froth up.  As soon as that happens, serve and enjoy!