Sweet Sticky Rice with Mango and Nectarine

This is a great dessert- when I chose to make it I thought it would be light and perfect for summer. Admittedly, you can make this for any time of year. Andrew and I both agreed that my version tastes a lot like peach cobbler and not sweet sticky rice with mango and peach.

So, this recipe is a modification of the famous Thai dessert with sticky rice, coconut cream/milk, and mango. Enjoy = )

Sweet sticky rice:
Rice (short grained- think sushi rice) cooked per it's own directions (which happened to be 2 cups rice, 4 cups water, a splash of olive oil and salt- boil then drain).
Drain rice.
Pour rice in container.
Add 1 tbsp rice vinegar.
Fluff.
Let cool 10 minutes.

Sweet Mango and Nectarine mixture:
In a saucepan combine
1/2 cup soy milk (this is often when coconut milk or coconut creme is used)
4 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 Mango, sliced thin or as desired
1 Nectarine, sliced thin or as desired
Bring to boiling, then
Simmer on low heat for 6 minutes, stirring the slices of mango and nectarine

Add the sweet mixture to the sticky rice- it should evenly coat it like a syrup and not drown the rice.

Personally, I think this called for some ice cream. It definately reminded us of peach cobbler so ice cream or something creamy and cold would just make this luscious. Enjoy = )

Lively Mint Lemonade

I love lemonade. It's summer and I always feel inspired when summer hits. This year, Andrew bought me a (chocolate) mint plant. I have been trying to find various uses for it. So here are a few including the Lively Mint Lemonade recipe!

1. Bathor foot soak: With use of a cloth (most people seem to prefer cheesecloth with bath soaks), you can create a tea bag effect by closing the cloth with a rubberband and hang it from the faucet for hot water to rinse through or let it float around. You could also purchase a loose leaf tea 'thing' lol. No, I don't know the term but we have a couple (because we have an entire drawer + some just for tea alone). You can take mint, rosemary, lavender, whatever and make a bath soak this way. Mint is supposedly good for oily skin and stinky feet = ) It also makes people more alert. If you don't want to get a mint plant and don't mind a temporarily brown tub, you can put a mint tea bag in.

2. Minty tea or coffee: We use the little loose leaf metal 'thing' and place some mint leaves in it. This really compliments hot chocolate too!

3. Lively Mint Lemonade!
There are different ways to make flavored lemonades or teas. The popular way seems to be combining the ingredients and simmering them. Let cool then refridgerate. But, I like to make my lemonade in 2 minutes without turning on a stove. So here is what you'll need:
1/2 -1 cup lemon juice (by taste preference and budget)
1/2-1 cup sugar (by taste preference, budget, diet, etc.) and of course you can just use a sweetener instead per their own directions (i.e. Stevia, for example).
A way to strain liquid, such as the infamous loose leaf tea metal 'thing' = )
Hot water!!!
A pitcher/liquid container

Tip: I don't like to waste water so I do something with the water until it becomes hot (like use it to water my mint plant = )

Combine all ingredients but instead of simmering you just add very hot water to the pitcher. Stir. Add ice cubes to glasses if you want to drink quickly. Otherwise, you can either refridgerate or make it sun lemonade by placing it outside or in a window and let the sun do the job for you.

If you don't have fresh mint, you can always do this with a mint tea bag and make a 'mintea lemonade" hehe.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. It really helps on a hot, summer day without being too overloaded in sugar or calories.