The Dirty Soda Craze

 Just when you thought there couldn't;t be another drink here comes the dirty soda This is a lush take on those frothy creamy dessert like coffee drinks but with9out the coffee . It's an easy to make drink and the perfect foil for a very hot day.

How did the dirty soda come into being? It all started in 2012 in Utah.It was a reaction the the Mormon ban on coffee ,tea and alcohol.  This includes all those tasty iced  mochas and cappuccinos too. Iced tea is off the table too .That leaves soda albeit ,like coffee and tea most colas are caffeinated - a definite no in the Church of Latter Day Saints. Many Mormon colleges and households didn't  have soda for decades because of this. However in 2012 the Church released an official statement clarifying that the health code does not prohibit caffeine consumption . Tha['ts only for hot drinks that was listed in their scriptures. High sugar syups, dairy creamers and soda bases are entirely compliant with church rules. Dirty sodas could also be categorized as mocktails which fits in nicely with the non alcohol ban in the religion and heavy regulated throughout Utah. The craze brought forth a number of soda shops with names like Sodalicious Fizz, Thirst Drinks and Quench It! Sodalicious offers a menu that includes all the popular sodas ,from Coke to Mountain Dew and Dr.Pepper and then a variety of added in from coconut and raspberry to name a few to cherry and chocolate.

A dirty soda is an easy make at home. Take a ice cream soda glass and fill it nugget ice. These are small pellets of ice which are usually made in an expensive ice machine. However not to worry Target, WalMart and Shein sell nugget ice trays so you can make them at any time. Then fill the iced filled glass with  the soda of your choice. It can be anything from Coke to Pepsi to Sprite or Mountain Dew. You can even use Diet soda if you want. The next steps the creamer. Coffee Mate has gotten in on this craze and even came out with a dirty soda flavored creamer.It's basically a coconut lime mix that should be added to Dr Pepper (or any soda.)  They also came out with an orange creamsicle flavor that can be added to any orange soda from Crush to Fanta.Hoever if you just want a plain one ,then use a vanilla flavored creamer instead. Stir with an ice tea spoon or a stainless steel cocktail stirrer. You could also make an ice cream less root beer float. Sub in the iced cream with ice and vanilla ice cream with the ice pellets and vanilla creamer. You could add some toffee syrup for a richer flavor.

A dirty soda is a fun way to celebrate the simmer. Whip up one with your favorite fizzy drink and falvritings. Then sip and enjoy.

It;'s Mocktail TIme

 Hot weather deserves a cooling sip. Mocktails fill his need .They can be chocolate-y ,fruit and/or minty. What they have in common is that they're perfect for the steamy days ahead.

One mocktail I'm enjoying now is peaches and cream. This is a yummy mix of peach nectar and vanilla flavored seltzer/It's just taking a tall glass and filling a third of it with a rich, thick peach nectar (Stop and Shop has the best and its; in an easy to our container) and then topping it with two thirds of the seltzer.This has gotten me through quite a few hot June days.I [an on making a non alcoholic Sunrise using it too. This  is mixing the nectar with lemon-lime flavored seltzer.  You can also mix the peach nectar with ginger ale for a kind of Bellini. These are perfect for a brunch with the kids. Keep in mind that apricot nectar can also be used in these drinks as well. Other fruits can be used in mocktails as well. This is blueberry season so think drinks with these bright blue little gems.Muddle or crush the blueberries until they're fully crushed and fragrant. It;s then adding a good splash of lemon seltzer and maybe just a drizzle of honey to sweeten the drinks (some of the berries will be bitter)> Garnish with a fresh mint leaf or two.

Yes, you can make a chocolate mocktail without the alcohol. This is a decadent fix after a summery seafood dinner.This is an easy mix of boiled milk with chocolate chips and a pinch of sea salt.  Add vanilla coffee syrup and mix well. The drink is then poured into glasses and chilled (think frozen hot chocolate). Serve in martini  glasses or tumblers that are rimmed with chocolate cookie crumbs.Another fun cocoa flavored mocktail is one that sort of would be in place at an ice cream parlor. Add a good squirt of any chocolate syrup (Bosco is great here) and some milk or cream. To give it fizz and oomph , top off with cherry flavored seltzer(It's basically an egg cream with something extra). You can also do the same with another fruit of the season - strawberries.Puree three or four strawberries and then add milk to them . Mix in equal parts chocolate syrup and plain seltzer.Stir until the drink is thoroughly mixed. Serve in a tall glass with a sliced strawberry on the rim.You can also make a simple strawberry syrup for this by cooking together white granulated sugar and Walter. Strawberries are added and crushed as  they're cooking . Strain out the pulp and seeds. This syrup can also be used in fruity mocktails too.

Happiness is a cold drink on a hot day. Make any of these mocktails to beat the beat. Sit back and sip.

Food For The Common Good

 Can a restaurant make an impact on it's surroundings and the people who visit it? Absolutely especially when the owner and manager want to create a safe space for all those who visit. The restaurant is Post Modern Times.. The community is Minneapolis  - a city that's had it's fair share of government induced problems,

Regular contributor Brett Anderson wrote about the fascinating eatery in yesterdays' New YOrk Times Wednesday Food section. The Post Modern Times diner's owner Dylan Alverson decided to stop charging for food during the January siege of his city. His decision came amid his standing in the middle of tear gas and flash bang grenades. Te original intent came from a disgusted American citizen and to stop paying taxes to a government he said was "actively inflicting daily harm to its citizens" The restaurant stood a few blocks away from where Renee Good and George Floyd were murdered. The pay as you wish eatery would also have a new name: Post Modern Times. The restaurant thrived despite that most visitors cannot pay.it is a vision in performing arts.  He is stepping out of the system, deciding that maybe making a profit isn't really a good thing after all.In the years before the pandemic Mr. Alverson was making a ten per cent profit margin but never exceeded it. He sees is days as a young punk anticipating societal collapse as an asset in confronting forbidding odds as a restauranteur.

Having a no pay restaurant is nothing new. ocker Jon Bon Jovi  owns Soul Kitchen  where  diners pay what they can and if they can;t they can help put in some way . However what makes Wisconsin born  Mr/ Alverson;s Post Modern Times novel is his determination to center his business on expanded concept of hospitality driven by more than economic survival The country is a fascist economy where independent can;t get by,. There's a catastrophic failure of the restaurant industry.His pessimistic analysis is not that crazy. Some forty-two per cent of fellow eatery owners said their businesses weren't profitable according to a report from the National Restaurant Association. A February survey of three hundred members of the Independent Coalition formed during the pandemic  shows that one in four are in serious threat of closing. Even worse for Mr. Alverson is that neighbors are complaining that the restaurant's patrons may being in a criminal element,. Yet that's not true. There are people who bring their kids even if they can;t pay.It's a place of comfort with good food and diversity according to one regular customer ,Mallory Alekan an music teacher.

Yet Post Modern Times and Mr Alverson are making a difference. They're providing healing in a government broken city. Food heals . The city and its' people need that.

The Coolest Summer Meal.

 The days are going to become unbearably hot,Cooking and even food shopping should be kept to a bare minim um.Yet can a meal and a dessert and a mocktail be made under these skimpy conditions? Yes! A full course meal, light yet filling can be made.

Regular contributor and chef David Tanis wrote about and created recipes that require only a trip to the pantry in today's New York Times  Wednesday section. The salad is as simple mix of charred white beans and seared tuna steak,taken from classic Italian antipasto.The tuna is seasoned with a special mix of sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, coriander and fennel seeds.Cayenne can be added for some heat if desired. The tuna is seared in a cast iron skillet and the interior will be rare. A vinaigrette always makes a salad and Mr. Tanis gives a great one. This is a mix of red wine vinegar and olive oil along with a finely diced red onion and two tablespoons of Dijon  mustard.Everything is mixed with the vinegar first, left to stand and then the olive oil  is added in.Thembeans are marinated inthe dressing for twenty minutes while the tuna is being seared. Keep in mind to have the rare steak each one is only seared for two minutes on each side or until lightly browned.It's then cut crosswise into half inch thick pieces, The veggies and beans are assembled fist with the tuna piece being artfully arranged on the sides

Dessert is a refreshing  lemon ricotta cake. This is a very lemony and moist cake that Mr. Tanis bakes the night before.It can be baked the morning of the dinner.It is a very buttery cake using twelve tablespoons of butter.It is also very creamy thanks to the addition of one pound of whole milk ricotta. Two lemons, their juice and zest are needed along with almond extract for more flavoring. Four eggs are also added for body.The whole mix is whipped in a standing mixer.It's baked in a Springform pan and the finished cake is brush with warm apricot jam . The dinner deserves a palate cleansing mocktail too. This is blended cucumber ,green apple and grated fresh gingerThis is blended in a blender with  two and a half cups of ice water.One teaspoon of sugar is added to emphasize the other flavors.Once, thoroughly blended add only a speck of cayenne for some zing along with the juice from two limes. Salt and peer is added to taste as well as a shot of seltzer for fizz. Ice cubes should be tossed in to give it a refreshing chill.

A summer meal should be both delicious and easy.Try these three recipes to achieve just tha.tThey are perfect on a hot day.

A Kind Of Paella

 There's an alchemy between veggies spices and rice. They all work together to form a wonderful dish. The SPaniush have been making this for centuries  -.Paella, This is a wonderful meld of those three ingredients.

I wanted this dish  yet didnt want all the work with it. It starts with a melange of different cut veggies, tomatoes , boiled  potatoes, bell  peppers squash and Japanese eggplant.It's not exactly a traditional paella base but it is delicious.

These were first cooked down in a  generous mix of butter and olive oil.All this takes a while to cook down.Paella requires spicing namely oregano.

I used abiut a good two tablespoons of it. and sprinkled it all over the veggies. 

I also added a good an=mount about a tablespoon of onion and garlic powders along wit more olive oil. Two cups if water are also added to create a kind of sauce.

Cooking them down does tale time - about twenty to thirty  minutes to get all the veggies tender.

At the same time I made Goya Yellow Rice.It's not saffron rice that would traditionally

This takes longer to cook than traditional white rice but it is tasty. It was a good twenty -fie minute boil under the rice was thoroughly cooked and absorbed the oil and water.

It was a good mix of veggies and rice. I can also have the veggies as a kind of ratatouille with French bread too,.

The Goya Yellow Rice was the perfect foil to this . It was kind of like a veggie based paella ,I would make it again, but with vegan chicken and chorizo for a more authentic taste.

There's a definite alchemy between veggies, spices and rice This kind of paella is proff of that. Try it to enjoy the produce of the season

A Tasty Quick Stir Fry

 The temps are heating up and that means easy dinners to make and to eat,One of the easiest stir fry and Nasoya Vegan meals has a great one. This is shredded plant based chicken with a honey garlic sauce. What's gret too about it is that ti can be paired with anything..from rice to noodles and veggies.

This is perfect for vegans because it;s not only meat free but also bee free too.The honey is an artificial that tastes like the real deal.

It;s an easy skillet cook. First cook the chicken bits until they're golden in olive oil. These will be crisped in a few minutes. It's then adding the sauce for another two minutes of cooking.

I served mine with the Little Potato Company/s microaewavable potatoes .It was just adding the accompanying spices and a good two tablespoons of Melt.

This was a great SUnday night dinner and I think I'll be serving it with either sticky rice or noodle for a more authentic Chinese meal .The potaotes were good ,though and a great foil for the chicken I will probably get their Korean barbecue the next time around.It's good to have Nasoya tofu products for the hot weather ahead.

Hot weekends call for easy cooking. Try Nasoya's garlic honey chicken with a tasty side for an simple and quick Sundsy supper. It's a great way t beat the heat.

Vegan Sausage- A Nice Saturday Meal

 It seems vegan hot dogs reign right now thanks to barbecue season.Yet vegan sausages are also perfect - for any kind of meal. They're great on a Saturday  - where there's limited prep.

I just made Field Rest fennel garlic Italian style ones. There's a  fieriness to them that's reminiscent of chorizo,It's a nice change up from hot dogs.

Sausages should be grilled or griddled and I did just that. I used an ample amount of Melt plant butter. which gave thema crispy skin usually associated with meat sausages.,

This was a quick cook, taking at the most five minutes to get the sausages crispy and hot.

I had mine on CLover Valley hot dog bun from Dollar General, however next time I may make a quick paella with them using saffron rice and various veggies. A side salad works here. You need something simple and mild tasting to counterbalance  the sausages's spiciness.

These sausages work pefectly for a simple Saturday supper. Try them on a bun or a bed of spicy rice. They are just the right meal for an easy meal.