Take a watermelon. Remove pips. Put in blender with a tray of ice. Blend. 

OMG yum. 

One watermelon normally makes two blenders full. 

Hint: How to get pips out of watermelons

Use two bowls and a sieve. Scoop out the watermelon flesh into one of the bowls, then use your hands to grab out bits of flesh. The pips will come off easily. Use the sieve to collect the watermelon water at the bottom of the bowl while avoiding the pips. 

Spinach, orange and apple shake

1 cup of fresh spinach leaves
2 oranges
1 apple, peeled
1 cup chilled water
4 cubes of ice

Peel and chop the apple and orange. Put all ingredients in the blender and blend! So fresh and energizing. Spinach love!

This is a sweet green drink with a slightly tart/bitter undertone. Very nice. Beware of the green moustache! 
 
Got spinach?

This is the smoothie of the hour. I think it’s the mint leaves and dash of lemon which give this smoothie the edge.

Put the following in your blender.

• A ripe banana
• Two ripe peaches (stones removed of course!)
• Dash of lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons of yogurt
• A couple of small mint leaves finely cut

Then add milk. For two people I add milk till the total of ingredients in the blender is 750mls.

Drink. Mmmmmm.

I’m currently not going to the gym as I broke my finger. Damn. I’ll probably make the smoothie again soon anyway though I’ll need to get Thomas to do the chopping for me.

Kim at the Parnell Chocolate Boutique with chocolate denso.

Aucklanders, Heaven in a cup is waiting for you.

We’ll be providing chai as well as other refreshments at KiwiBurn next year. We were thinking that we’d have to try out a few different recipes before finding the perfect chai. Not so, this one is great. Using soy means it’s also vegan friendly (anyone know if vegans eat honey? If not I guess we could replace the honey with brown sugar).

Rowena served the chai on a cute little tray in cute mugs purchased at an Op shop.

Put the following in a pot:

1 Tbsp anise seed
6 green cardamom pods
12 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1/4″ ginger root, sliced thin
1/4 tsp black pepper corns
2 bay leaves
1/2 cinnamon pod
7 Cups water

Boil 5 minutes, then steep 10 minutes:

Add:

2 Tbsp Rooibos tea (or your favourite) then bring to a boil, and simmer 5 minutes:

Add:

6 Tbsp honey or brown sugar
1 Cup soy

Serve!

Bzzzzt. Wrong.

It was a traditional Chinese breakfast drink made up of black sesame, black rice, walnut and sugar.

She brought a packet into work for me. I tried it as instructed (stirred in boiling water) it was nice although slightly too sweet for me. Being from the land of dairy I tried it again the next day for breakfast with milk instead. I also used only half the amount of recommended sesame seed paste. It was really sweet, rich and satisfying, the kind of drink I’d love to have on a cold night just before bed.

It’s marketed as a health drink although I’m not convinced as sugar is the largest ingredient. On the plus side one serving contains 16% of your recommended daily intake of iron.

During the discussion at work about breakfast cereals we found out that Ying had never tried Weet Bix. I left this on her desk (with instructions!).

The next day I found her dipping them into her milo : – )

I think it’s partly good for the feeling of being looked after (thanks Thomas!). So if you have anyone with winter colds in your household this recipe is for you. Make them feel loved.

Lemon, Ginger and Honey Drink

• Juice of 1 and 1/2 lemons
• 1 tsp of honey
• 1 tsp of grated ginger root

Add all ingredients to a cup of boiled water.

Warning: I like my lemon drink tart so you may need to reduce the lemon or add more honey!

Also, if you’re feeling adventurous you can add 1/2 tsp of crushed garlic. It’s surprisingly good