Lemonade and childhood stories

In my previous post, I wrote about how apple juice (cider) and books had a connection in my mind. Another juice that is also connected to books in my life is: Lemonade. I found out about lemonade by reading children fiction books. In these stories, children my age would have lemonade stands where they would sell cold lemonade in jugs during the hot summer. Or they would pour themselves a glass of cold lemonade from a jug, at home, in the afternoon while they thought on very important children issues.

 
So of course I wanted to make some lemonade. I learned from these books that lemonade was lemon juice. So I got some lemons, water, and sugar and made myself some. As I drank it, I probably imagined myself as a book character, enjoying a (room temperature) lemonade and thinking about the issues of life.

 
It may be summer where you are, so why not make yourself some cold lemonade and think about the issues of life? And if it isn’t summer where you are at, but you want to do some simple activities with your kids, well then watch the video below on how to make some lemonade with an interesting twist.

 

Apple juice and fantasy worlds

I love fantasy books. I have always loved them. One thing I love about them is the otherworldly ambiance they create with their talking animals, the magical systems, the creatures that don’t exist on this earth, the different races of people like mermaids, dwarves, elves etc and the foods and drinks. One drink that particularly denoted fantasy world to me was the drink: Cider.
I would imagine what this drink tasted like as I read about characters drinking spicy cider from vats. Oh, I wanted to drink some cider. Then I found out that cider was actually apple juice!
So if you want to feel like you are in a fantasy world, then make some cider (apple juice) and drink some, picturing yourself talking to elves and dwarves in a magical forest.

How not to have a Coro-baby ep. 4

I have a question: Are the fruits in your country sweet?

I ask this because when I came back to Nigeria, I was pleasantly surprised at how sweet the fruits are. The oranges are almost always sweet. The grapefruit are sweet&sour, and the mangoes are deliciously sweet. However, there is one fruit that tops them all.

Tongue, Tongue in my mouth
Who is the sweetest in the South?

My Tongue: Body yellow as the sunflower, hair shaped as a crown, skin orange as the sun?

Can you guess? Watch the video below to see what I’m talking about.

How not to have a Coro-baby ep. 5

One of the flowers that I could name even as a young 5/6 year old was the hibiscus flower. There were many hibiscus trees around, and several of my peers and I would pluck the flower, pull out the ‘cap’ that covered its bottom and suck on the sweet juice that was within the flower. In university, I saw a flower that was similar to the hibiscus and in a rare moment of ‘live wild and free’, I tried to do the same thing. Well, I had a nasty surprise, and I came to my senses.

Anyways, growing up, my mom used to make a juice called Kalkade. It was a very dark reddish purple-ish colour that she made by boiling some leaves. It tasted really good when sugar was added to it and drinking it hot or cold was fantastic either way.

I was surprised ( and this time pleasantly) to find out that Kalkade was actually made from dried hibiscus flowers. And it is also called by different names in different countries : Kalkade, Zobo, and Sorrel

Watch the video below to see how it’s made and an alternative sweetener to sugar.

How not to have a Coro-baby ep. 3

My mother likes to make fruit juices, and when I was growing up, she would make orange juice, guava juice, etc including fruit salads were loaded with the juices of the fruits in them. I enjoyed drinking these juices for the most part.

However, there was one juice that she made that my siblings and I did not like: Papaya ( Pawpaw) juice. I couldn’t stand it. It was just ughhhhh!

Then one day, I was hungry, went to the fridge, and all there was was papaya juice. So I drank some. And I drank some more and some more until I practically finished the jug of Papaya juice. I say ‘practically finished’ because my brother saw me downing the juice and decided to have some as well.

My mom was shocked. “How did this papaya juice finish so fast?” (since it usually took a long time to finish as we kids never drank it) She asked me rhetorically? I shrugged and told her that there was something about the juice this time; it just tasted good. My mom with a pleased smile said: “I added a *secret ingredient * to it.”

Watch the video below to find out what the *secret ingredient* is.

How not to have a Coro-baby ep. 2

I like sweet things. In fact, it is deeper than that: One to two hours after lunch, my body begins to desire something sweet. Sometimes, I would take another bite of food to relieve those sugar pangs, but my body didn’t want a meal, it wanted something sweet. So I would end up with a full belly and unabated sugar cravings.

Or I used to would buy some processed snacks like cookies, candy bars, and the like to help curb those sugar cravings. I’m sure you already know the downside to that:
1. It chipped away at my wallet.
2. It was unhealthy; I was consuming a lot of sugar.
3. It was never filling, so I stayed hungry.

Thank Jesus for fruits. I came to realize that the natural sugars in many fruits satisfied those sweet pangs. And one of the sweetest fruits around is the BANANA. In fact, you can use the banana as a sweetener. And making a banana juice/ smoothie is even more fantastic than eating it. The benefits are:
1. It is really filling.
2. It’s not expensive.
3. It’s HEALTHY.

So guys watch the video below and make the recipe yourself.