a patriotic 'mocktail' & brownie kebabs

 

Happy 4th of July! These two pins are 'red, white & blue' related in honor of our nation's birthday!

Here is the direct link for: A Patriotic 'Mocktail' for the Kids! 

This drink is a fun science experiment as well as a refreshing-looking drink. The drink is layered in such a way that it stays put: bottom (red - fruit punch), middle (blue - Gatorade) and top (white - diet 7-Up). I say this hesitantly because our first drink was completely purple. The secret is pouring in the liquid very slowly and having lots of ice.

This pin comes from the blog, BabyCenter. The pin is originally adapted from the Family Fun magazine. Lindsay Weiss, the BabyCenter blog's author, says this about the magic of the drink's layering, "tell the family that the secret is in the sugar! It separates by keeping the drink with the highest sugar content on the bottom, and the least on top." This is a fun idea, but you have to really LOVE fruit punch cause that's all you taste. I do not like that much red in any drink! My family, especially my kids, liked the idea and the taste.

Here is the direct link for my second pin: Brownie Kebabs.

The brownie kebabs idea comes from the blog, Mel's Kitchen Cafe. They are easy enough to put together and even easier to eat, a nice light dessert idea.

We used the fudge sauce as a dip rather than for drizzling. I store-bought the brownie bites to save time and less heat in the kitchen.



 
The red pin award goes towards the brownie kebabs! Anything chocolate always wins in my book.

The drinks were not worth the expense, sorry to say.




Happy pinning! 

minty mojitos

Here is the direct link for: Minty Mojitos.

The recipe for this cool, refreshing favorite drink comes from the blog, Poet in the Pantry. The blog's author, the poet herself, writes quite the essay about growing mint in her garden. A delightful read.

Her recipe also includes how to make a Simple Syrup, a sugar-water syrup, the base of a mojito, that she infuses with a bunch of fresh mint. The syrup alone is wonderful! She enjoys mock mojitos (without alcohol), but suggests for the real thing, simply add 1-1/2 ounce of white rum to each drink.

The poet herself adds, "For an extra minty flavor, you can also muddle 8 or so mint leaves in the bottom of the glass into the simple syrup (basically, crushing the mint in the syrup with a pestle or the back of a spoon to release the oils . . . before adding the ice, lime juice, and tonic water/club soda." She uses her mini tart shaper for this job. I just happen to have a tart shaper from a Pamper Chef party years ago. What a great idea!

FYI. My mojito, in the end, was quite refreshing. I added the rum to mine, but no extra muddling of mint leaves. I realized afterwards that I actually do like a 'minty-looking' mojito. The sprig of mint as a garnish just wasn't enough visually for me. Next time I would do the muddling. For another website with a slightly different recipe using more mint leaves and fresh limes, check this out: The Yummy Life.

The red pin award for refreshing!

I would choose this drink, without the rum, over a glass of lemonaide any day!



Happy pinning!