Italian-style Rose Milk soda/creamosa (sugarless for children)

We were entertaining last weekend and one of our friends visited us with her two children, a 10 year old and a 3 year old. The 10 year old, understandably, wanted soda along with dinner. To avoid the little(r) ones from feeling left out I modified the rose-milk, we made for little ones, into Italian-style soda. I had tasted these flavoured milky sodas a while ago and liked them. The 10 year old and all the adults really enjoyed it while the little ones enjoyed their rose-milk. If the little(r) ones want to try a little this one (without sugar), it is still far healthier than regular sugary drinks. But the little ones here really did not care for the Rose milk soda, but, they really enjoyed their plain rose-milk :)

You will need (serves 2):
Ice-cubes as needed
150 ml Rose-milk made according recipe here
150 ml Carbonated water

Pineapple iced-tea

This post is dedicated to all my friends and family in India who are experiencing the infamous Scorching Summer...

With temperatures here reaching around 12 degree Celsius, we are enjoying ourselves by spending as much time as possible outdoors. Naturally, doing activities outside leaves us craving for a refreshing drink and what is better than iced-tea? Anjalie's favourite fruit is pineapple and so I thought I can make a variation to the regular iced-tea (with lemon) by adding pineapple juice to it. Yesterday, Anjalie's little friend came over for a visit/play-date with her parents. We all enjoyed a nice day out playing football and having fun outside in the garden. When we got back inside I had cold pineapple iced-tea waiting for us in the fridge. A few ice cubes made it extra cold and totally refreshing. It was a super-hit yesterday with all of us. We all agreed that it was the perfect drink after a day spent outdoors. So here I am sharing the recipe with you all. I used ginseng in adults' iced-tea due to the many health benefits of ginseng. However, I do not recommend giving ginseng to children. I have read a lot of controversial opinions on it. So I suggest that we play it safe. I had added peppermint to the children's tea instead and made their iced-tea with decaf tea bags. You can totally skip peppermint if you wish. I used cane molasses to sweeten our iced-tea instead of regular sugar. In India, cane molasses is believed to have cooling effect on the body. But I tend to use it due to the anti-oxidants in it. You can use regular granulated sugar or honey or any of your favourite sweetener. Here is the recipe...




You will need (for 2 adult-size/ 4 children-size servings):
2 teabags (use decaf tea for children)
1.5 cup water
1/4 cup pineapple juice
1 tsp lemon juice
sugar/molasses/honey/golden syrup to taste
ice cubes as needed
1 ginseng/peppermint tea bag

Pina-colada smoothie for children (Non-alcoholic)

The weather has now got considerably warmer and spring is in the air. With April showers starting on time we are very much looking forward to a wonderful summer, fingers crossed! Mean while, Naz commented that I was teasing him with the pineapple rasam last night and now he feels to have something cold with pineapple. Anjalie asked for a smoothie tonight and I decided to please them both with a pina-colada smoothie. This recipe below is for the whole family including children so I have skipped alcohol and sugar. But you can add it in yours if you wish. This definitely was very much appreciated tonight and was very refreshing without being overwhelming, so, would be a perfect summer drink.

You will need:

200 grams of pineapple chunks

1-2 scoops of coconut ice-cream (for home-made recipe, look here)

125-150 ml milk

ice cubes as needed

caster sugar/honey to taste (optional)

1-2 tsp dessicated coconuts (skip if your child does not like bits).

Sukku-Malli coffee (spiced coffee)

On days when one suffers from flu, cold or sore throat, just doing normal activities get a bit challenging. Back home I will be given spiced tea and coffee to combat the cold and flu. I am not sure that it actually helps with curing these illness, but, it does however help with the symptoms so I can get on with my daily routine. The smell of the spices also helps with perking up my mood. The sukku-malli coffee, although called coffee, can be made without any coffee and hence is appropriate even for children. I give this to Anjalie with a lot of milk when she has a runny nose (which seems to be going non-stop forever) without any coffee or sugar. This morning, in particular, I needed this more than ever. With it being Good Friday holiday, and Anjalie staying home, the last thing I need was this flu bogging me down. Here I am after a few cup of these spiced coffee with one of them made with actual coffee.

You will need (for 2 cups) :
1.5-2 cups of water/filter coffee (2 cups if you drink black coffee)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp coriander powder
Instant coffee if using as needed
sugar/jaggery/honey/molasses to sweeten according to taste (optional)
warm/cold milk as needed (optional)
**Skip coffee and sweeteners for children

Spiced Chai/Tea

Spiced chai/tea, also known as masala chai in Chennai, is one of the best comforts that I know of during a bought of flu, cold, sore throat etc. The spices in it give the right amount of perk to the mood, while the drink helps to keep ourselves hydrated. Even Anjalie loves this tea. I make this tea for her with decaffeinated tea bags, go a little easy on the spices and add no sugar. For us adults, I like to sweeten our tea with jaggery (whole cane sugar). You can sweeten with honey/sugar/molasses according to taste. We like the spices to dominate and have a bite. You can adjust the amount according to taste and/or add other spices such as star anise, freshly grated nutmeg etc.

For 2 cups of tea you will need:
2 cardamom pods
4 cloves
1 tsp black pepper corn
1 long cinnamon stick
2-3 inch piece ginger/ 1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp fennel seeds
star anise, freshly grated nutmeg etc
1-1.5 cup water (depending on how milky you like your tea)
2 tea bags/2 tsps of tea leaves/dust
1/2 to 1 cup milk (warm or cold)
jaggery/honey/sugar/molasses to sweeten according to taste

Rose Milk

Rose flavored milk is one of my childhood favorites while growing up in India. Many children including your's truly will wait around for the summer just to enjoy the cold, fresh and bursting with flavor "rose milk". Even children who are fussy about drinking milk usually love rose milk. I have not yet come across anything like it any where else in the world. We have pink milk here, in the UK, and the USA which is usually strawberry flavored. With spring just around the corner (hopefully!) I wanted to try and see if Anjalie took a liking to this flavorful milk. Anjalie loves milk and milk products. So I have no reason to substitute her normal milk intake with this one. But I just wanted to introduce a variation, for once in a while, to make things interesting.  Also, I guess I was feeling nostalgic hearing, from Mum and Dad, about how "summer" has already started in Chennai. In India there are many brands of "rose milk essence" being sold, but, many of them come with preservatives and other unnecessary additives including sugar. I usually do not add sugar in drinks for Anjalie (she is only 3 and does not need it). But you may add caster sugar according to your taste if you like. Here goes the recipe for the quick, easy and refreshing drink from my childhood (minus the additives :))

You will need:
1 part cold milk
1/8-1/4 part rose water (I used 1/8 - triple strength)
1-3 drops pink food coloring
caster sugar to taste (optional)
decorations (optional)- avoid for children less 1 year old.
ice cubes according to your liking