Mango Smoothie

I love mangoes! I grew up eating mangoes in the Philippines.Sometimes we got it for free from friends. But here, I have to pay around $5 for 6 mangoes from Costco. (so that's like around 215 pesos.) Lol.

I have 2 mangoes left in my fridge so I decided to make a mango smoothie for breakfast.

Mango Smoothie

1 cup diced fresh mango
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tbsp honey
1/2 cup plain yogurt
6 ice cubes

Directions
Blend eveything together for 1 minute on high or until ice is slushy. How easy is that? ;)

Homemade Strawberry Lemonade

Making homemade strawberry lemonade is easy so don't be lazy, grab some strawberries  and be merry.
Hmm... I think I just embarrassed myself. Haha! I am not good with rhymes at all.

Anyway, I made this homemade strawberry lemonade last summer. I picked the strawberries at a local farm. I had fun and I can't wait to do it again this year. :)

To make the strawberry lemonade you will need:

8 cups of water
8 lemons - 7 lemons-squeezed  then 1 lemon sliced
1 and 3/4 cups sugar
1 lb  fresh strawberries, hulled and halved (set aside some for garnish)
ice cubes

In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of water and sugar to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Add lemon juice, stir, and remove from the heat. Let cool completely.

In a blender, puree the strawberries and add to the pitcher with the lemon juice. Stir well. Add the remaining water and stir well to combine and refrigerate until well chilled. Pour over glasses filled with ice and serve, garnished with a sliced lemon and strawberries.

Linking to: Little Brick Ranch Foodie Friday, Friday Potluck

Papaya Smoothie

When I bought papayas at Costco, I didn't finish eating them all. So I peeled and seeded the 2 papayas left and put them in the freezer.

And then, I decided to make a papaya smoothie one morning.

Papaya smoothie

1 1/2 cup ripe papaya (peeled, seeded and frozen)
1/2 cup orange juice (I used odwalla but you can use any orange juice you like)
about 3-4 ice cubes
honey or sugar to taste

Mix together using a blender. It's good and refreshing! Enjoy!

Salabat aka Ginger Tea

My dad used to make this drink for us whenever we're feeling sick or if we have a terrible cough. Do I like this drink? Heck NO! Maybe, I should say, I dont like how my dad make it. He just basically boils water then add the sliced ginger then drink it.

Well, 2 weeks ago, I was coughing like crazy. Hated it. Cough drops didn't work and I HATE syrup medicines. So I decided to buy fresh ginger at the store nearby.

Did I make it like my dad used to make it? Heck no. I made it better. Lol

So I boil 8 cups of water then add the sliced ginger (approx. 1/4lb). Then strained it so when you drink it, u won't be chewing the sliced ginger. (You won't like that. Believe me.) Then add honey to taste. Honey is the secret ingredient. Lol.

Of course when I was making it, my husband didn't like the smell of the boiling water with ginger. When I was drinking it, I asked my husband to taste it. He said NO for like 50 times but I made him tasted it. lol. He took a sip and said, "that's disgusting"! I said, no it's not. It's good and i know it will soothe my itchy throat". Lol. Thanks husband for being a good sport.

Salabat

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P.S. I miss my dad. I don't know where you are but I would be happy if ever you decided to contact me. I would love to tell you that you're a grandfather now. I already forgave you for leaving us. I love to cook now and maybe I got it from you! =) I miss you. I love you.

Horchata

Making horchata (rice milk) is alot of work for me but it is all worth it. I really hope you would understand the procedure I wrote. My husband is sleeping right now so I can't ask him if I wrote the procedure right. (grammar wise)

You will need:
1 cup- long grain rice
8 cups of water
1- 12 oz. can evaporated milk ( I suggest to put 6 oz. of evap first so u can add more if you want more milk)
2 sticks of cinnamon sticks
3/4-1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)
ground cinnamon
iced cubes
strainer/seive
a pitcher
large bowl or another pitcher
cheesecloth
and lots of patience straining the rice. lol

Procedure:
1. Soak long grain rice in water overnight.
2. Discard the water.
3. Put the rice in a blender with 4 cups of water then blend it.
4. Using a strainer/sieve, slowly strain the mixture to a large bowl.
5. Put the rice that u strained back in the blender then put the other 4 cups of water in. Blend.
6. do #4.
7. Strain again the mixture in the pitcher using the cheesecloth.
8. Place the sugar, evaporated milk, cinnamon sticks and vanilla in the pitcher and stir well.
9. Pour the horchata over iced cubes and a generous ground cinnamon.
10. Enjoy drinking it.

Well, the very first time I had horchata when I was working at a mexican restaurant. The cook showed me how to make it fresh. Of course he was eyeballing the ingredients. So grateful they hired me to work there eventhough I didn't have any experince waitressing at that time. They even showed me how to cook mexican rice. Never tried making it but if I am motivated enough, I will try to make it in a couple of days or so.