Dropping in to say hello and share a favorite cocktail recipe! I haven’t been cooking at home as much as usual because I’ve been cooking double-time at The Curious Kitchen… hence the long pause in posting. My daughter/business partner and I, along with our wonderful team, have been super busy with our 4th year of Kids Summer Cooking Camp. 8 sold-out weeks! It’s so fun and gratifying to be surrounded by eager children who want to learn about cooking and baking. Lots and lots of baking.  ? ? ?

I’m home relaxing tonight with an Old Fashioned. This drink is really good made fresh!

Old Fashioned Cocktail

Muddle: Cherry, Orange slice and 1 oz simple syrup*

Add in: 2 oz Bourbon & 2 dashes of Angostura bitters

Shake with ice and dump in bucket glass… garnish with a slice of orange and a cherry

*Simple Syrup is made with equal parts water and sugar. Place over medium heat and simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

We just moved from Los Angeles to Tennessee ~ and it’s hot here! Not just hot, but humid, as well. I’m so not used to it!! Nothing cools me down as fast as a delicious, ice cold, shake… except jumping into the pool!  

Not really a recipe where you have to measure, but here’s my recipe to make this super yummy shake! It tastes so creamy you’ll feel like it must have lots of calories & fat, but it’s super healthy, too!

INGREDIENTS
2 Mangos
2 Bananas
2 cups fat free Frozen Yogurt
1/2 cup fat free or low fat Milk
1/2 cup Mango Juice

METHOD
Place peeled mango, banana, frozen yogurt, milk and mango juice into the blender.
Blend on high until everything is creamy and smooth.
Enjoy right away!!

This is a healthy alternative when you get the urge to have a shake! It tastes so rich and creamy you will definitely be more than satisfied.

Once the shake was blended I put it all in the soft serve ice cream maker to get it really super cold!

You have a lot of flexibility with this recipe. You can use prunes instead of dates, more banana if you want more banana flavor, ditto with the peanut butter. You could use ice cream instead of the frozen yogurt. Any type of milk will work, including soy, rice, almond, etc. It would be yummy to use almond milk, and use almond butter instead of the peanut butter. See where I’m going here… make it your own. I think Nutella would be really good instead of the peanut butter, then use chocolate ice cream. My mind is already on the next shake!

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
10 to 15 large Dates, pitted
1 Banana
1 Tbsp Peanut Butter
2 scoops Frozen Vanilla Yogurt
2 cups Milk of your choice
a little whipped cream as garnish, optional

METHOD
Add all the ingredients into the blender and blend/pulse until smooth.
Add more milk or frozen yogurt if you want the consistency thinner or thicker.
Serve immediately, with whipped cream on top (if desired).
Enjoy!