Coconut Lime Pops

 Hot days call for cold treats. Everybody knows this. But I've been so distracted with summer that I have been forgetting to make popsicles that I planned on so many months ago when it was still wintry in PDX. Recently I followed through, though, with Coconut Lime popsicles:

Peanut Sauce goes with everything, right?

Well, I sure think so. I even licked this right off of my spoon after mixing it altogether.

The List:
1/2 C crunchy peanut butter
1/2 C coconut milk
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 Tbsp Tamari soy sauce
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated
juice of 1/2 good sized lime (probably optional)
1 Tbsp Thai Siracha Chili sauce added slowly to taste
1/2 water

In a small sauce pan I sauteed the ginger and garlic in a tiny drop of oil on medium for a couple of minutes to cut their spiciness. Then I added everything else and mixed. Easy! With the chili sauce, I added it little by little so that I didn't overshoot my spice level. I feel like with peppers, one minute you can't taste anything and the next your sinuses are completely cleared and running uncontrollably.

Next time I won't let the sauce heat for so long. I dilly-dallied while adding the chili sauce and the peanut butter started separating. I don't mind stiring it (or heating it) before eating, though, because it still tastes wonderful.

I also dipped Rye crackers into this sauce. And it was, predictably, very good with rice noddles, baked tofu and fresh cilantro.

Homemade Soda Making

These days, I have sugar cravings in the form of soda. I don't know what's gotten into me! I've been able to satiate myself with some wonderful Columbia Gorge juices (Red Ginger Limeade is such a winner!), but now I think it is time for the real thing: homemade soda.

Ginger ale is very easy to make:
1 empty 2 Liter plastic bottle
~ 1 C of sugar
~the juice of 1 lemon (or lime. I love lime!)
1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
2 Tbsp. finely grated fresh ginger
water, to fill the bottle almost full (a couple inches from the top)

The levels of ginger, citrus, and sugar can all be changed according to personal preference. For example, for an extra bite in my soda I add more ginger and less sugar. Today, I realized I had barely any ginger, so I added the juice of 1 lemon AND 1 lime. I had maybe a teaspoon of ginger so I added that too. My hope is that it will be a more Sprite/7up taste with a slight zing of ginger in the end.

After putting all the ingredients in (dry stuff first, then the lemon and ginger) I swish them around in the bottle before filling it with water. A note: Yeast feeds off of sugar. So I want to make sure the yeast is evenly distributed in the sugar and juices and that's why I swirl everything around before letting it all sit. The mixture then sits for about a 1.5-2 days in a warm dry place. My bedroom.

Another note: The plastic 2 liter is important because this mixture becomes pressurized as it ferments. A glass bottle could explode if you left the bottle capped for days and days. But it shouldn't get to that point, the soda is done after a maximum of 2 days.

When the soda is ready, the bottle with be very VERY firm. Put it in the fridge overnight to stop the fermentation process (this works because the yeast gets too cold to be actively eating the sugars. Brrr.). The bottle should be opened with care so that it doesn't explode everywhere. Just like any other soda, open it pole, pole (slowly, slowly) as they say in Sawhili. I even take it a step further and open it over a sink. But, I am cautious person.

Pour the soda over a strainer and into some glasses and your are done! Photos to follow...