Green Tea, Lime and Ginger Slushie

I've used gunpowder green tea in the past as the base for Mint Tea but change is good and I've teamed it this time with  lime and zingy ginger. To make it extra refreshing I've par-frozen the mix to give it a soothing slushie texture.

Weekend Herb Blogging #373 Hosting

Elena from Zibaldone Culinario who will be hosting both the English and Italian editions of Weekend Herb Blogging.

While it's called Weekend Herb Blogging we don't limit ourselves to just posts dealing with herbs - we celebrate vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, flowers, grains - in fact if it is plant based, then we'll love to hear more.

Your posts can either be informative and/or include a recipe where your featured ingredient is the main ingredient of the dish. If you've found a new way to cook an old ingredient or discovered a new ingredient, you're more than welcome to share it with WHB.

Posts can be written anytime during the week but need to be sent to the host by the appropriate deadlines.

Send your entries to zibaldone.culinario AT gmail.com
with WHB#373 in subject line and the following details:

• Your Name
• Your Blog Name/URL
• Your Post URL
• A photo: 400px wide

Your entries need to be received by:

• 3pm Sunday - Utah Time
• 10pm Sunday - London Time
• 11pm Sunday - Rome Time
• 9am Monday - Melbourne Time

Lime Syrup Cake

Terry from Crumpets & Co is hosting both the English and Italian editions of Weekend Herb Blogging and this week my focus is on limes.

Agua Fresca de Jamaica

It's been a bit on the warm side here for the last week, so finding ways to keep cool and refreshed has been a priority. I found an excellent answer in one my latest cookbooks, Mexican Cooking by Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee, that puts to use one of my favourite ingredients - Dried Hibsicus.


You can find dried hibiscus in two forms - on the left, the loose petals shown and to the right, the whole calyces which I've previously used - and for this recipe, either can be used.



Agua Fresca de Jamaica (Hibiscus Punch)
(Sourced from Mexican Cooking by Cecilia Hae-Jin Lee)

4 cups water
½ cup caster sugar
½ cup whole dried hibiscus flowers or ¼ cup loose hibiscus flowers
fresh lime juice, to taste
fresh mint leaves, to garnish
Place the water and sugar into a pot over a medium heat - stir until the sugar has dissolved and then allow the mixture to come to the boil. Once boiling, remove from the heat and stir in the dried hibiscus. Let it steep for 15 minutes, then strain - store in a glass container, seal and place in the fridge to cool completely.

When ready to serve, stir in freshly squeezed lime juice to taste and pour into a jug with lots of ice and sprigs of fresh mint.

If you're after a little bit of a kick, then try adding vodka or gin.

Weekend Herb Blogging #372 Hosting

Terry from Crumpets & Co will be hosting both the English and Italian editions of Weekend Herb Blogging.

If you're new to Weekend Herb Blogging or haven't joined in for a while, here's a quick recap of the rules.

You have the week to post about any herb, fruit, vegetable, seed, nut, flower - in fact if it is plant based then we'll love to hear more. Your post can be informative, spotlight a particular ingredient and/or include a recipe where your chosen ingredient is one of the primary ingredients in the recipe.

Entries must be submitted by:

• 3pm Sunday - Utah Time
• 10pm Sunday - London Time
• 11pm Sunday - Rome Time
• 9am Monday - Melbourne (Aus) Time

Send your posts to abbbella74 AT gmail DOT com
with WHB#372 in the subject line and the following details:

• Your name
• Your Blog/URL
• Your Post URL
• Your Location
• Attach a Photo: 400px wide

Bábovka

The first L'abbecedario Culinario della Comunita Europea was a great success receiving almost 70 terrific dishes celebrating the food of The Netherlands. This time the focus is on Slovakia and our host is Terry from Crumpets and Co.

I've decided to make Bábovka, a type of pound cake.

Beetroot and Goat Cheese Tart

Graziana from Erbe in Cucina (Cooking with Herbs) is hosting both the English and Italian editions of Weekend Herb Blogging and this week I've found myself with a lovely bunch of baby beetroot.

Weekend Herb Blogging #371 Hosting

This week Graziana from Erbe in Cucina (Cooking with Herbs) will be hosting both the Italian and English editions of Weekend Herb Blogging.

It's very easy to join in - you have the week to post about any herb, fruit, vegetable, flower, nut, seed or grain - in fact if it is plant based we'd love to know more.

Your post can be informative, spotlight a particular ingredient and/or include a recipe where your chosen ingredient is one of the primary ingredients in the recipe. To find out more just check out the rules.

Entries need to be submitted by the following times:

• 3pm Sunday - Utah Time
• 10pm Sunday - London Time
• 11pm Sunday - Rome Time
• 9am Monday - Melbourne (Aus) Time

Send your posts to scrivi AT erbeincucina DOT it
with WHB#371 as the subject and the following details

• Your Name
• Your Blog/URL
• Your Post URL
• Your Location
• A photo, 300 px wide

Raspberry Brownies

Lynne from Cafe Lynnylu is hosting Weekend Herb Blogging and with Valentine's Day occuring next week, something a bit sweet and decadent seems to be in order. For me, I've found the answer in these gooey Raspberry Brownies.

Oolong Tea

The subject of this teas-day is a traditional Chinese tea - Oolong.

Weekend Herb Blogging #370 Hosting

This week Lynne from Cafe Lynnylu will be hosting Weekend Herb Blogging.

While it's called Weekend Herb Blogging we don't limit ourselves to just posts dealing with herbs - we celebrate vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, flowers, grains - in fact if it is plant based, then we'll love to hear more.

Your posts can either be informative and/or include a recipe where your featured ingredient is the main ingredient of the dish. If you've found a new way to cook an old ingredient or discovered a new ingredient, you're more than welcome to share it with WHB.

Posts can be written anytime during the week but need to be sent to the host by the appropriate deadlines.

Entries must be submitted by:

• 3pm Sunday - Utah Time
• 10pm Sunday - London Time
• 11pm Sunday - Rome Time
• 9am Monday - Melbourne (Aus) DS Time

Send your posts to lynnylu AT gmail.com
with WHB#370 in the subject line and the following details:

• Your name
• Your Blog/URL
• Your Post URL
• Please include a photo sized:400px wide

Don't forget that the Italian edition of Weekend Herb Blogging is hosted this week by Brii from Briggishome.

Purple Carrot Cakes

Cristina from La Cucina di Cristina is hosting Weekend Herb Blogging and this week I'm featuring purple carrots.