July Fourth Drink Recipe: Agua Fresca
By now, we all know (or at least we should know) that soft drinks are terrible for us and especially for children. Those “fruit” punches are only slightly better. Even 100% fruit juice has way more sugar in a single serving than children need.
So what’s a loving mom to do? The Mexican street beverage, Agua Fresca, is the answer. In essence it is just watered down fruit juice. By mixing 2 parts water to 1 part of your favorite fruit juice you can make a refreshing and healthy drink for your kids. Plus by having a cool name like Agua Fresca (aka Aguas de Frutas) your kids may not realize they are drinking something healthy. You can also make it by pureeing fresh fruit with water in your blender (honeydew and cantaloupe are great for this).
Imagine getting a whole week out of one small bottle of juice and it only takes seconds to prepare. Plus you always have fruit juice on hand for gastriques and other fancy reduction sauces.
The Agua Fresca pictured was made by mixing 1 quart orange/pineapple juice and 2 tablespoons raw local honey with 2 quarts water. Some of my other favorites include mango, blueberry/pomegranate and honeydew. Mixing in the raw local honey will add ample sweetness to boost the flavor of the drink without adding unhealthy processed sugar. Honey is remarkably healthy. Agave nectar is another healthy option. Additionally, fresh squeezed juice is better than buying bottled juice but is not always practical.
Be sure to check out my full Easter Brunch Menu HERE.
Recipe: Creamy Creole Potato Salad
Here’s a freebee from Third Coast Cuisine. You’ve heard the phrase “less is more?” Well this potato salad is a prime example of that mantra. It is ridiculously easy to make.
The first time I made this for my mother she looked at it and said, “There’s no onions. It’s not potato salad without onions.”
I said, “Try it first.”
She said, “I just have never liked a potato salad that didn’t include onions.”
Again I suggested, “Try it.”
She continued to protest, “I’ve never understood why people leave onions out of their potato salad. It’s . . .”
As rude as it was I interrupted her, “Stop talking and try it.” I presented a spoonful to her.
“Ooh, wow, that’s good, son. That’s really good. There’s so much garlic!”
Lots of fresh crushed garlic is really the secret. And it is so simple to make. Well, see for yourself:
Creamy Creole Potato Salad
1 pound red skin potatoes, boiled
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup Creole whole grain mustard
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup bacon bits
Cut potatoes into 1/2” dice. In a large bowl combine mayonnaise, mustard, garlic and bacon bits. Gently fold in the warm potatoes and coat completely with dressing. Chill for an hour before serving.
Tips: Adding bacon bits is always acceptable. Even some chopped up boiled egg would be OK as well. Garnish with bright colors like diced yellow peppers or cherry tomatoes.
Easter Brunch Recipe: Seafood Gumbo
In the South it is not at all uncommon to find seafood gumbo as part of a traditional meal like Christmas dinner or Easter brunch. It is the official soup of the Gulf Coast and highlights the local ingredients especially oysters and crawfish which are at their peak in early Spring. Before giving you my recipe for gumbo I’ll invite you to watch this short film from the Dauphin Island Gumbo Cook-off in which Alton Brown was in attendance and even offered his approach to making roux. If you don’t care to watch the video just scroll on down for the recipe.
Recipe: Seafood Gumbo
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice
- 1 lb shrimp
- 1 lb crabmeat
- 1 lb crawfish tails
- 1 pint oysters
- 1 med onion, diced
- 1 bunch celery stalks, rough chopped
- 1 bell pepper, diced
- 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 lb okra, sliced
- 1/2 bottle Louisiana Hot Sauce- a whole bottle if you like it HOT! Omit for sissies.
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 4 tablespoons butter
- Salt, cayenne pepper, File’, white pepper, & black pepper to taste
- Bay leaves
- 1 quart fish stock or shrimp stock
Instructions
- Boil rice in well salted water with a bay leaf and set aside.
- In a large stockpot melt butter and add flour to make a roux cook until chocolate brown, roughly 20 minutes.
- Add onions, celery, bell peppers, and a little water if needed and simmer a few minutes then add hot sauce, tomatoes, bay leaves, salt, both peppers and fish stock. Simmer for about half an hour.
- Add okra and seafood and simmer about another twenty minutes.
- Remove bay leaves. Serve hot over rice, and garnish with a sprinkle of file’.
Quick Notes
Gumbo is the African word for okra therefore okra is the one ingredient that cannot be omitted from the recipe. However you can get creative with it if you just are not a fan like pulverizing it in a food processor or using fried okra as a garnish. Also, smoked sausage or the French summer sausage Andouille are common additions.
Be sure to check out my full Easter Brunch Menu HERE.
