SC - Alternative Drinks recipes - FINALLY!!!

[Alma Johnson]

Sorry for the long wait on these.  Life tempoorarily got in the way.

Here they are:

Milk of Almonds

(Proportions vary according to taste.  Here is the recipe I used.  Tasted
fine to everyone.)

1 1/2 cups ground almonds
3 3/4 cups water
4 cups sugar (or more, but if the syrup is being made to last, use AT LEAST
4 cups)
2 tablespoons orange water (I used more, to my taste)

Put ground almonds in a bag made of several layers cheesecloth.  Tie
securely, leaving enough room for the almonds to move freely.  Soak the
ground almonds in the water in a large bowl for about an hour, fubbing,
squeezing and shaking the cheesecloth with both hands at intervals.  Allow
the water to penetrate the almonds and sok them, then squeeze it out again,
taking with it the milk of almonds, beautifully white and fragrant.  When
you feel that the almonds have given out as much "milk" as possible, squeeze
them dry.  Pour the almond milk into a saucepan, add sugar and orange
blossom water (if you haven't already), and bring to a boil slowly, stirring
until all the sugar has dissolved.  Let cool completely. Serve diluted with
ice-cold water.

Rose Water Syrup

2 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons red food coloring (makes it look rosier)
1/4 cup rosewater (the cheap lebanese stuff works great)

Make a thick sugar syrup by simmering the sugar, water and lemon juice
slowly, stirring, until it coats the back of a spoon.  Add the coloring and
stir well.  Then stir in the rosewater and simmer for 1 or 2 minutes
longer.Allow to cool completely.  Serve diluted with ice cold water.

Tamarind Syrup
(Preparation is a bit much for this one if you're considering making large
amounts.  Kind of gross, too.)

Use 1 lb. tamarind pods to 2 to 4 cups sugar (again, at least 4 if you're
making this well in advance.  Also, tamarind is really tart, so more sugar
will make it more palatable to american tastes, although I like the sour
drink.)

Clean and wash the pods thoroughly.  Soak overnight in 3 1/2 cups cold
water.  They will become very soft (insert the words squishy and slimy
here).  Rub the pods through a fine strainer, squishing them with a wooden
spoon.  Hard seed and fibers will be left behind.  Strain the pulp back into
the soaking water.  Now strain the diluted pulp through cheesecloth into a
saucecpan, squeezing the pulp as much as possible with your hands.  Cool.
Serve diluted with ice water.

All the above recipes, minus my comments, are from "A Book of Middle Eastern
Food" by Claudia Roden.  She also offers a recipe for Sekanjabin, which may
be similar to Cariadoc's, but I used his from the "Miscellany".  I hope you
all enjoy making and trying these.  We had a lot of fun with them.

Again, I apologize for my tardiness.  I never meant to be a spoon tease.

Rhiannon Cathaoir-mor
"Confidence in Creating Deliciousness. This Tastiness Cannot be Carried,
Even by Both Hands"
(I love the Japanese; this is a slogan from a box of chocolate cakes -
they've no clue at all!)

============================================================================

To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".

============================================================================