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D r i n k s
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DRINKS

As we have lived in mostly hot tropical climates, we
have found many ways to refresh ourselves with cold
icy drinks. I have always hated having the only option at
mealtime to be the normal soft drink selection. I like to
be different and therefore the same old thing is not very
appealing to me. Steven would argue of course, as
everyone who knows him well knows that the name
Steven Nicaud and Diet Coke go hand in hand. He
converts anyone who gets close enough to him to
drinking the stuff.  I like a little more variety and prefer
a few more choices.

Water has always been a problem for us. We have had
to buy bottled water because the tap water (if there is
any) anywhere we have lived has not been drinkable.

Beverages can be a social event. Coffee and Tea have
long enjoyed that status. In Mexico drinking a coke at
the local store likewise has social merit. It is my opinion
that some of the unique glasses or bowls of elixir you
will find in this section can also enjoy that place in the
social game.
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L I M O N E S

The small citrus fruit that we call Limon in Mexico is neither a lemon nor
really a lime. It can best be compared to the Key Lime of Florida. It is acidy,
yet slightly sweet. It has a flavor all its own and is wonderful. It is a very
important part of the Mexican diet and is not only used for consumption but
is esteemed as a folk medicine as well as cosmetic.
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S T R A W B E R R Y   L I M E A I D E

I like to make this drink frozen. If you do not have small key limes available
to you than you can use regular limes.

4 large limes
4 strawberries
1 ½ Cups sugar
2 trays ice cubes
32 oz of water
Roll and smash the whole the limes on a cutting surface before you cut them.
This helps get all the juice out of it.  Slice it in half and squeeze out the juice.
Do this with 3 limes. Add the juice of the limes and the strawberries into the
jar of a blender with sugar and half the water and half the ice. Blend on high
speed adding the remaining ice and water as it begins to incorporate.
Slice the remaining lime into pretty citrus rounds to decorate the glasses.
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C H O C O L A T E

I don?t think that I have ever met anyone in any culture who does not enjoy
chocolate. Again, this is yet another contribution made to the world by my
beloved Mexico.

It was used back in the Aztec Empire as money as well. Cortez once raided a
room where he believed Montezuma was storing gold, only to discover it was
the bean of the cacao.

The cacao fruit is the pod that contains the waxy beans we call the cocoa
bean. The individual beans were the Aztec legal tender. 100 beans could buy
a slave or a wife.

Aztecs drank chocolate as a drink. It was prepared with Mexico?s native
vanilla bean and sweetened with honey. Sometimes it was thickened with
corn flour. There was also a fermented version of this. I have enjoyed a great
many different forms of chocolate in the streets of Oaxaca, Mexico. Oaxaca
is the central processing city for today?s Mexican chocolate empire.
European missionaries so loved chocolate that they returned to Europe with it
and developed new ways to experience its wonderful flavors.

Even the humble vanilla bean, which was only used to enhance the
chocolate, was developed into the flavor we now enjoy today. I guess Cortez
did indeed find great treasure in that room.

In modern Mexico I will be the first to admit that the chocolate bar made in
Mexico is not really a treat. In fact an ashtray full of ashes may be a better
thing to waste calories on. I do not like Mexican chocolate candy.
Missionaries did a great job by bringing this gift to the world back to Europe
to find the best way to process it for it?s true wonderful flavor and texture.
Mexico has perfected it as a drink. Which was how they enjoyed it in the first
place.

I have been to the factories where chocolate is processed in Mexico. You can
go in and choose your grade of beans. It is then delivered to a machine,
which roasts and grinds it into a thick dark liquid. Then it is blended with
sugar, almonds, and true cinnamon. It is then poured into molds and left to
cool and packaged.

To make the drink you heat milk and melt in a bar of the chocolate. Then
you whip it with a chocolate whip until a nice froth forms on the top. It is
poured into a bowl and drank. It is a wonderful flavor that cannot be
matched by anything else. This recipe is a close match but nothing will really
taste like it tastes in Oaxaca. It is an experience all its own.
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H O T   C H O C O L A T E

Since most people are used to opening an envelope of ?Swiss Miss? powder
they are less inclined to try the real thing. Please believe me that the Aztecs
never had any idea we would destroy their empire by placing marshmallows
a float their precious drink of the gods.
This is a recipe so enjoyable that you will probably desire more than one
serving. I often keep this in the fridge and reheat it when I would like a cup.
It does not usually last around my house for that long.

1 cup of sugar
½ cup Hershey?s cocoa powder
½ tsp almond extract
2 sticks cinnamon (canela if you can find it)
1 cup water
1 can evaporated milk
1 quart milk

In a saucepan heat everything except the milks. The water will allow all the
dry ingredients to melt. Once it is all melted begin to pour in the milk
whisking with a wire whisk. Lower the flame as you will not want this
mixture to come to a full boil but rater just get really hot. Now add the
evaporated milk. You should get sort of a froth on top. Remove the
cinnamon. Ladle it into mugs. We like to use bowls, much like how the
French use bowls to drink café au let. But use whatever you like.
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CINNAMON TEA

I am sure that I am beginning to make you wonder if my culinary history
may be slanted, but yes cinnamon is yet another spice that enjoys a place of
esteem in Mexican society.

What we call ?canela? in Mexico is actually true cinnamon and the thicker
stick found in the U.S. is what is really classified as Cassia. If you
remember, the Lord commanded Moses to make the ointment using both.
They are very similar in appearance and flavor.

On a Cold morning in the kitchen of Victor and Ruth Ann Martinez you will
often find a pot of canela tea on the stove. It is a simple infusion of canela
quills and sugar steeped with boiling water.

Canela or True cinnamon can be found in the Hispanic section of your
grocery in the spice isle. It is flakier than the cinnamon sticks we are
accustomed to and lighter in color.

1 cup sugar
1 quart water
1 handful canela.

Combine the ingredients in a saucepan and boil. The fragrance will be lovely
and the color is pretty. This tastes very good on a cold morning, especially if
you are feeling a bit under the weather.
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G I N G E R

Ginger is one of the first Oriental spices to reach Europe. It is a rhizome and
not a root as it is often referred to. It is an extremely versatile spice. In Asia
it is used commonly. It is candied and taken as a folk medicine. It is used in
the spiciest of curies and the sweetest of teriyakis. It is pickled and it is
served in Chai (Hindi for tea).

The British enjoyed it for it?s sweet characteristics. When blended with
molasses it has a delightful flavor, which certainly invokes the thoughts of
Europe. Ginger beer however is very spicy and will take your breath away if
you?re not careful.

I really enjoy it but many times here in India I find it to be over used. I like it
very much in this refreshing drink.
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H O M E M A D E   G I N G E R   A L E

1 nice firm ginger peeled and sliced.
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
Club soda and ice
Limes

In a small saucepan melt the sugar in your water and add ginger simmering
for a few minutes. Turn off the heat and cover it allowing the syrup to steep.
Remove the ginger by pouring the syrup through a strainer.
This has to be made to taste. I like to put about ½ cup of syrup in an ice tea
glass and pour in some soda. It will foam up so be careful not to over stir
and loose all your fizz. Add ice cubes and a squeeze of lime.
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TEA

This is really for a book all its own. I will not go into a big section on this
topic, as it truly deserves more attention than I have room to dedicate here. I
can say this. No other nation on earth has dedicated so much toward this
empire as India. The crop often exceeds 1 billion pounds annually. The
industry provides jobs here in India for roughly 2 million people. Darjeeling,
India boasts the finest tea in the world. It is called the Champagne of Tea. It
has raised kingdoms and taken them down. Wars have been fought over it
and peace treaties have been ratified because of it. It is the one commonality,
which all Indians share, the mighty Chai.
Chai is the Indian name for tea. You can find it being sipped in small glasses
in every city across the nation. Each patron in any business is offered a cup
of tea regardless of weather he buys something or not. It is made by
combining water, lots of sugar, milk and ginger with the tea-leaves of
preference. Tea bags are rarely used as the tea that fills tea bags is normally
of a low quality. Tea bags vs. loose tea leaves are rather like the difference
between instant and ground coffee.
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