NEW SUMMER COOLERS

SUMMER COOLERS 

Continuing with the next set of Summer Coolers that are a little spicy-sweet, peppery and lemony-flavored, and to those who want a sweeter flavor, a little sugar or a fruity syrup is always the option! 

The taste of the summer drink is flexible as per your choice of sweet, lemony, peppery, or a little spicy!

Also while the measurements are given you can decrease or increase the quantity as per the number of people. 

I love cold Tomato Juice with an extra dash of pepper, lime, and no sugar. This time I decided to experiment with Cinnamon instead of sugar, cloves, and a pinch of dry ginger.

1. TOMATO SPICE COOLER Tomato Juice - 4 cups 

SPICES :

Cinnamon: - 1 big stick 

Cloves -4 

Pepper- 4 

Dry ginger - 1/2 to 1 teaspoon 

Lemon - 1/2 lemon juice to add after blending 

Sugar to taste ( optional) 

Salt to taste 

METHOD 

1. Boil the Tomatoes with the Spices.

2. Cool and blend in the mixer and strain 

3. Add lime and mix well.

4. Add sugar to taste if you want.

5. Dilute it with about 4 cups of cold water 

6. Pour into a glass with ice and drink

7. Serve cold with lemon wedges on the rim of the glass and a few mint leaves

Health : 

It is said to ease inflammation, boost the immune system, lower cholesterol levels, prevent blood from clotting, and may help prevent strokes. Tomatoes are rich in vitamins A, C, K, and Potassium. 

They are rich in antioxidants - like the presence of  Lycopene is said to reduce the risk of heart disease and certain cancer. 

Freezing Tomatoes: It is always a good idea to freeze tomatoes (as sometimes they are out of season and yellowish, or we just run out of them and unexpected guests arrive. 

If frozen in advance you can pull them out of the freezer and use them in curries or make juice any time. Whole Tomatoes become soggy when we thaw them so they are best used in curries, soups, and casseroles.

Before Freezing the whole Tomatoes :

 # Boil the whole tomatoes for a few minutes and then remove the skin. 

#Cool and then pack them in Freezer containers and freeze.

#They last for about a year or so.

We can even freeze Tomatoes in the  Puree form 

# Boil tomatoes for a few minutes and peel the skin and remove the hard part and seeds. Simmer again in the same water and cool. 

#Blend the tomatoes, strain, and puree to a smooth mixture.

#Then pour the puree into freezer boxes.

#They last for about 6- 8 months 

# Before using the Puree, defrost it at room temperature.

Note: Always label and date the boxes to know the use before date.

Beauty Tip : 

For shrinking enlarged pores:
Add a couple of drops of lime juice to one tablespoon of Tomato Juice and apply on the face and remove after 15 minutes 

For removing sunburns: 
Add 2 teaspoons of Tomato juice to 4 tablespoons of buttermilk. Apply and remove after half an hour.

2. WATERMELON  JUICE

I love eating Watermelon. Though some people love cold watermelon juice try a slight change in the plane Jane - add rose syrup or Rooh Afza and it makes a nice sweet fruity concoction! 

INGREDIENTS :

# Deseeded Watermelon pieces - take a medium to a slightly bigger  watermelon

# Rooh Afza / Rose Syrup - about 3 tablespoons

# Sugar to taste ( or sugar not required as the syrups are sweet ) 

# Water 

# Ice Cubes

# Lime Wedges

# Salt 

METHOD

# Slice Watermelon and keep a few pieces aside.
# Blend the remaining watermelon pieces along with either Rose syrup or Rooh Afzaa, ice cubes and if you want little sugar or even without sugar is your choice.
# Rub a lime wedge on the rim of the tall glass and invert it on a plate with salt. The rim will be covered with salt.
#Add the watermelon pieces kept aside and pour the blended watermelon juice on top.
# Serve Chilled.

Health : 

Benefits of Watermelon:  it keeps you hydrated, is an antioxidant, is good for nerve- function, prevents cardiovascular disease, and fights inflammation.

Beauty Tip :

  Watermelon for freshening the skin: 

• Squeeze out the juice of watermelon and apply it on the face and neck for 15 minutes and then wash off. This lotion freshens the skin.
  
  

3. GINGER & LIME COCKTAIL :

Chopped Ginger -250Grams

Lime Juice from 25 Lemons

Sugar -5 Cups

Water - 4 cups of water 

Mint few leaves for garnishing

METHOD: for the Concentrate

1. Chop Ginger coarsely 

2. Run in the blender with little water and extract juice by straining.

3. Keep aside the strained ginger for a few hours(1 to 2 approx ) till the sediment settles.

4. Take the top portion 

5. Squeeze lime and keep the juice separately 

6. Strain sugar to remove waste before boiling 

7. Then Boil sugar with water to the sticky consistency 

8. Remove from fire and allow to cool at room temperature 

 9. Then mix strained ginger juice and lime juice

10. Mix well and store the concentrate in a dried bottle 

11. when you want to drink the cocktail - Pour 1 measure into the glass, add water, and refrigerate.

12 Serve cold and garnish with Mint 

Freezing Lemons:

1. Wash and dry whole lemons and store them in Freezer containers. Lemons have a freezer life of 1  year. Before use Defrost whole lemons to room temperature for an hour or two.

2.  Alternatively slice the lemons and open freeze them in trays. Then transfer them to Freezer containers and freeze them.

3. We can even freeze lemon juice in ice trays and later use it to make lemon juice by removing the cubes as required.

Health: High in Vitamin C . Plenty of lime/ lemon juice helps in building our immunity and keeps frequent colds away. they are antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial and prevent kidney stones.

Beauty with Lime /Lemon :

These are good for : 

For very oily skin:  Squeeze lemon juice in a bowl of iced water and splash this over the face. Massage for about five minutes and then wash off with water

For improving a dull and greasy complexion: Mix half a teaspoon of lime juice with one teaspoon of cucumber juice and a few drops of rose water. Apply on the face and after 15 minutes wash it off.

To relieve tired eyes: Take 4 tablespoons each of lime juice and iced water. Dip cotton pads in this and place them over your closed eyelids for 10 minutes. 

GINGER :

Health :

Ginger has medicinal properties and aids in digestion, reduces nausea, and fight s common flu and cold 

Ginger contains Gingerol which makes it anti-inflammatory and an anti-oxidant.

4. MIXED FRUIT COCKTAIL:

Chopped Apples - 2 cups  ( rub them with lemon and salt to prevent discoloration)

Deseeded Oranges segment - 2  1/2 cups

OR Juice of  4 Maltas - 2 1/2  cups 

Pineapple Juice -1 cup 

Lemon juice - a few drops 

Sugar to taste ( Optional )    

Water to blend 

METHOD 

1. Blend together Apples, Orange segments / Malta juice, and Pineapple Juice with a little water 

2. Sieve the blended mixture 

3. Then again blend the pulp with little water and sieve and then mix with the combined mixture.

4. Mix cold water with the juice 

5. Add Salt and Pepper 

6. Chill and garnish with a few orange segments and Mint before serving.

 Health :

 ORANGES:

The vitamin C in oranges helps your body in lots of ways: They are good for the skin, eyes 
Protects your cells from damage, and helps your body make collagen,  heals wounds and gives you smoother skin, fights anemia. Boosts your immune system, Slows the advance of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss, and may help fight cancer-causing free radicals

Malta has plenty of vitamin C which is said to help prevent anemia, joint pain, bleeding gums, and tooth loss brought on by vitamin C deficiency. It strengthens the immune system, fights against diseases develops, and repairs all body tissues  

Freezing Oranges:

Oranges and lemons can be frozen whole, unpeeled. When defrosted they are suitable for making juice.

Oranges and lemon peel are much easier to grate while still frozen. 

Orange can be cut into quarters and frozen and then given to children as ice blocks .

APPLES : 

An Apple a day keeps the doctor away!  Good source of Vit C and fiber. Contain anti-oxidants like
Vit E and polyphenols provide nutritional benefits  

Freezing Apples :

Wash and peel the apples and chop them into pieces. Then stew them sweetened or unsweetened with little water. Cool. Once cooled puree the stewed Apples and pack them in Freezer containers.

Baked Apples can also be frozen. Cook them and then cool them completely and freeze them without wrapping them until they are firm. Then pack the apples in a freezer container and divide them with a sheet of greaseproof paper.

While defrosting keep the containers of puree unopened at room temperature. Heat Baked apples through from frozen at 190 degrees Centigrade for 20 minutes.

Frozen Puree lasts for 6 months and baked apples for 3 months 

Apple slices can also be frozen - Slice the fruit in salted water then rinse and pack with sugar in an alternate layer. into Freezer containers. For 1.5 kg fruit layer 500gm of sugar and leave 1 cm headspace.

Frozen Apple slices last for 6 months.

PINEAPPLES :

Health : 

Loaded with nutrients pineapples help especially when you have a bad cold so make it a point to eat them, it is said to strengthen bones, help digestion, be good for the eyes, reduces symptoms of arthritis 

Freezing Pineapples :

Pineapples freeze well either in a sugar syrup pack or in a dry pack. Slice or dice the fruit after removing the skin and the core. 

1. Pack the Pineapple in freezer containers in sugar syrup - 125gm sugar to every 500gm sugar 

OR

2.  Pack Pineapple pieces in freezer containers in cold syrup - 250 g sugar to each 500ml water.

Cover with Crumpled fill so as to immerse the fruit in the liquid and leave a 2cm headspace before sealing 

5. MANGO & CURD SMOOTHIE COOLER 

 Mango Puree of 1 medium mango 

1/2 cup yogurt 

1 1/2  cup water 

METHOD:

1. Make Mango Puree in a blender

2. Once smooth add the curd and water and blend again 

3. Serve chilled.

Health : 

Mangoes are packed with immune-boosting nutrients, support heart health, and contain magnesium and Potassium.

Do try the new summer coolers and give me feedback on my Blog.

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Look out for more on Freezer tips, health, and beauty tips, and summer salads in my next post, and for the rainy weather, there's food too!