Category Archives: beverage

vitamix smoothies and drinks

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Grandpa’s morning smoothie
Recipe By: Marcus Samuelsson

1 banana
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup nonfat milk
1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt
2 tablespoon flaxseed meal
1 cup ice

Optional flavorings: 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg,
2. Combine

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Lea Anne’s V8 Juice

1/2 lemon Peeled
a vegetable bullion cube
tsp. of sea salt
tsp. of Blend It Up Spice (the same spice I use for Tortilla Soup)
a SMALL amount of carrot (or leave it out – carrot makes it very thick and orange)
2 stalk of celery
1/2 cucumber
lots of tomatoes
a thin slice of onion
a thin wedge of cabbage
zucchini
yellow squash
Ice (2 cups or so)

1. If this need thinning, I thin with cucumber. If I were making this at home I would freeze cucumber into chunks and use in place of ice.

2. Remember, if you like room temperature drinks you can still start with frozen ingredients (and you should) and blend until it is the temperature that you like – at shows I blend ice into steaming hot water when it is slow and I can’t draw a crowd. When someone comes over and asks what I am doing I tell them, “I am turning ice into hot water so that the sound will draw attention and I can get someone like you to come over to my booth – would you like to see what a blender that can turn ice into water can do?” 😉

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Orange Julius
Recipe By: Betsy Burtis

1 cup Orange juice
1 cup Water
2 egg whites
3/4 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1/4 cup superfine sugar
1 cup Ice

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a blender set on High speed

2. for exactly one minute.

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Sweet Potato Smoothie
1 cooked sweet potato (-skin)
1 1/2 cup homemade yogurt
3 tablespoon real maple syrup (from an organic farm
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1. All blended together. This is so good! No brown sugar and I still feel like

2. I’m cheating! I should have topped it with pecans from my tree. I also think

3. this would be good as ice cream.

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Emerald Ecstasy” Green Smoothie
Recipe By: Lea Ann Savage

Put Ingredients into the Vita-Mix in the following order:
2 cup of Green Grapes
1/4 of a large Pineapple or 1/3 of a small Pineapple
1 Whole large Banana
1/2 of an Apple
2 big handfuls of Spinach (at a show I add a touch of Kale and Parsley too)
2 cup of Ice

1. This will make 2-3 LARGE servings or 4-5 smaller (juice glass size) servings.

2. Blend according to the instructions in my Fruit Juice section (until the icy slushy mixture turns into a smooth liquid). This is a “beginner” Green Smoothie. As you get used to the taste of the greens, you can increase the proportion of greens to fruit, try out some of the “stronger tasting greens” (remember, Spinach is one of the “magic veggies”), and use fruits that are not as sweet – like berries for instance.

Notes: This is the Green Smoothie that Lea Annmake at the VitaMix shows.

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Frappuccino
6 coffee ice cubes
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon powdered sugar
salt
3/4 teaspoon cocoa
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cashew butter or peanut butter

All of this is done in the VitaMix…sprinkle with cinnamon
I cut back the peanut butter to 1/2 T
Added a second tablespoon of sugar.

I’m not sure how much frozen coffee I used but I think it was a little over a cup. After I buzzed it in the VM i added a bit of today’s coffee which was slightly warm but not hot to thin it out. It melts fast so it probably didn’t need the extra coffee.It’s pretty darn good. Not too far off Starbucks either.

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Strawberry Lemonade1 large lemon (peeled)
4 frozen strawberries
4 tablespoon sugar
2 cup ice
As much water as you need as you blend I used about 3/4 cup

Blend until smooth in VitaMix.

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Sipping Chocolate from food52

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15592864174_11b891eb0e_b2 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon honey
3 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon chili powder
1 tablespoon orange zest

  • Add all of the ingredients to a medium saucepan and heat on low, stirring with a whisk until the chocolate has melted.
  • Continue to heat until the sipping chocolate has turned a nice dark brown color and is warm (10 to 15 minutes), stirring occasionally. Do not heat the milk to boiling.
  • Strain the sipping chocolate into 4 cups. Serve immediately.  serves 4

Dorie Greenspan’s Hot and Cold Chocolate

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  • 2015_0202_dorie_greenspans_genius_hot_chocolate_as-208 15818222153_9437fb4ee3_b3cups (750 grams) whole milk
  • 1/3cup (80 grams) water
  • 1/3cup (65 grams) sugar
  • 6ounces (175 grams) bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
  1. To make hot chocolate: Bring the milk, water, and sugar just to the boil in a medium saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the chocolate. The hot chocolate needs to be blended at this point. At Ladurée, this is done with a hand-held blender (also called an immersion blender). If you have this tool, leave the hot chocolate in the saucepan and whip it with the hand-held blender for 1 minute. If you don’t have a hand-held blender, transfer the chocolate to a traditional blender and whip on high speed for 1 minute. (When blending hot liquids, be sure to remove the center insert from the top of the blender, and cover the top with a folded kitchen towel to allow steam to escape.) The chocolate should be served immediately, while it is still very hot and frothy. Alternatively, you can pour the chocolate into a container to cool; the cooled chocolate can be reheated or served chilled. (The chocolate can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept tightly covered in the refrigerator.)
  2. To reheat chilled hot chocolate: Working in a medium saucepan over low heat, warm the chocolate, stirring gently, just until the first bubble pops on the surface. Pull the pan from the heat, whip the chocolate for 1 minute with a hand-held blender (or in a traditional blender), and serve immediately.
  3. To make cold hot chocolate: Chill the hot chocolate until it is very cold, then stir in 3/4 cup (200 grams) cold milk. Whip the cold chocolate for 1 minute with a hand-held blender (or in a traditional blender). Serve the cold hot chocolate over an ice cube or two.
  4. Keeping: Once blended, the hot chocolate can be cooled and refrigerated in a tightly sealed jar for 2 days; reheat gently, or serve as cold hot chocolate.
  5. Cold hot chocolate makes a fabulous ice cream float. Greenspan whips the cold chocolate to froth, pours it into a tall glass — beer glasses are great for this — and adds ice cream. While the traditional go-with-chocolate flavors, like vanilla, coffee, vanilla-fudge, and chocolate in all its renditions, are always good, her favorite floatable flavor is Ben & Jerry’s Cherry Garcia. serves 4

Lillet Blanc and Gin

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IMG_5715-998x664
3 parts Lillet Blanc
1 part Plymouth gin
Lemon or orange peel for garnish (or neither)

Pour the gin and Lillet into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake enthusiastically until cold, and strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with lemon or orange peel – or a twist if you’re looking for a bit more visual pizzazz. The cocktail will take it from there

Very Berry Basil Mojito from the chew

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3 Fresh Strawberries; hulled and sliced plus more to garnish
1 ounce Lime Juice
1/2 ounce Strawberry Simple Syrup
1/2 ounce Black Raspberry Liqueur
1 1/2 ounces White Rum Basil Seltzer

3 Fresh Strawberries; hulled and sliced plus more to garnish
1 ounce Lime Juice
1/2 ounce Strawberry Simple Syrup
1/2 ounce Black Raspberry Liqueur
1 1/2 ounces White Rum
Basil
Seltzer

Strawberry Simple Syrup
1 cup Boiling Water
1 cup Sugar
1 cup Sliced Strawberries Muddle Strawberries and Basil. Pour over Ice with other ingredients; shake. Top off with Seltzer. Garnish with Strawberry and Basil.

To make Strawberry Simple Syrup: Combine the Boiling Water, Sugar, and Strawberries. Allow the mixture to cool down to room temperature then strain the Strawberries from the Syrup. Keep refrigerated until use.

Helpful Tips:
1. Same simple syrup recipe, but add a cup of strawberries.

Adult Raspberry Lemonade from the chew

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1/2 gallon Lemonade
1 bag Frozen Raspberries
2 cups Vodka
Ice Cubes; for serving

1/2 gallon Lemonade
1 bag Frozen Raspberries
2 cups Vodka Mix Vodka with Lemonade. Add Raspberries and let chill in the fridge.

Ice Cubes; for serving Fill mason jars with Ice Cubes and top them off with the “adult” Raspberry Lemonade.

Helpful Tips:
1. Make the raspberry lemonade, and keep the vodka and ice to the side so people can add it in as they please.

Watermelon Mint Sangria from the chew

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2 pounds Seedless Watermelon; peeled and cubed plus 1/2 pound Watermelon cut into balls with a melon baller and skewered on picks
1 bottle Dry White Wine
6 ounces Vodka
4 ounces Cointreau or other Triple Sec
4 ounces Citrus Syrup; simple syrup + Lemon Zest + Orange zest + Mint
Ice
Mint
In a blender, puree the Watermelon cubes. Pour through a fine strainer into a pitcher. Add the White Wine, Vodka, Triple Sec and Citrus Syrup. Stir and chill for at least 2 hours. Serve in glasses and garnish with skewered Watermelon balls & Mint.

Helpful Tips:
1. Simple Syrup: 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar. For this, add mint and orange peel.
2. Strain out watermelon solids.
3. Don’t put ice in the pitcher: it will dilute the drink!

Old Vermont Cocktail – Bobby Flay

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vt cocktail

1 1/2 ounces gin
1/2 ounce grade B pure maple syrup
1/4 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 ounce freshly squeezed orange juice
2 dashes bitters, such as Angostura
Ice
Orange rind

Combine the gin, maple syrup, lemon and orange juice and bitters in a cocktail shaker. Add some ice and shake a few times. Strain the drink into a martini glass and garnish with the orange rind.

Beet Kvass – Sally Fallon

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kvass

This drink is valuable for its medicinal qualities and as a digestive aid. Beets are loaded with nutrients. One glass morning and night is an excelent blood tonic, promotes regularity, aids digestion, alkalizes the blood, cleanses the liver and is a good treatment for kidney stones and other ailments. Beet kvass may also be used in place of vinegar in salad dressings and as an addition to soups.

  • 3 medium or 2 large organic beetroot, peeled an chopped up coarsely.
  • 1/4 cup whey made fresh from raw milk, leave raw milkon the bench it will turn to cheese and whey within a few days (if fresh whey is not available just add another tablespoon of sea salt)
  • 1 tablespoon sea salt
  • filtered water

Place beetroot, whey and salt in a 2-quart glass container. Add filtered water to fill the container. Stir well and cover securely. Keep at rooom temperature for 2 days before transferring to refrigerator.

When most of liquid has been drunk, you may fill up the container with water and keep at room temperature another 2 days. The resulting brew will be slightly less strong than the first. After the second brew, discard the beets and start again. You may, however, reserve some of the liquid and use this as your inoculant instead of the whey.

Note: Do not use grated beetroot in the preparation of beet tonic. When grated, beets exude too much juice resulting in a too rapid fermentation that favors the production of alcohol rather than lactic acid.