Hot Lemonade

Juice of 1/2 Lemon or 1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
Honey to Taste
2 Cups Hot Water

Boil a two cups of hot water. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into your favorite mug and fill with hot water. Add honey to taste and stir until it is disolved. Enjoy!

Halloween is one of the best nights to have some good old fashioned hot chocolate after an evening of trick or treating in the cold. Why not add a little halloween twist to the classic treat by making it with white chocolate and using food coloring to make it orange? It’s a quick and easy recipe that you can make ahead and throw into a thermos until you are ready to pull it out at the fireworks!

Halloweeny Hot Chocolate

Serves 2

2 cups milk
2 cups half-and-half cream
8 oz white chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

Pour milk and cream into a heavy- bottomed pot and heat it over a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in white chocolate, sugar and vanilla extract until it is melted. Add red and yellow food coloring until you get the desired color…just remember, you will need to add about 6 drops of yellow for every drop of red because the red can be a little bit over powering. Garnish with chocolate whipping cream and chocolate sauce for a real Halloween look!

Green Goblin Smoothies

Makes 2 smoothies

1 cup Apple juice
1 cup Pinapple juice
1 Kiwi (peeled)
1 banana
1/2 avocado
Large handful of spinach

Put everything together into a blender and puree until it is all smooth. Serve with eyeballs!

Hot lemonade is also great if you`re sick. The extra boost of Vitamin C won`t hurt you and the honey has a soothing effect on sore throats and coughs.

Hot Lemonade

3 Tblsp lemon juice
1 Tblsp honey
hot water

Dissolve honey in lemon juice and fill cup to top with hot water. Stir and drink. You can add more honey if needed.

Summer Lemonade

1 cup lemon juice
3/4 c. sugar
3 cups of water

Dissolve sugar in the water and add lemon juice. Stir and serve. Add a couple slices of lemon to the pitcher along with ice for a more elegant look.

Lemonade Variations

Surprise and wow your guests this summer with some tasty lemonade variations.
Mint Lemonade: Add 3 Tblsp. crushed mint leaves and steep for 2 or more hours before serving.

Limeade: Use lime juice instead of lemon.

Strawberry Lemonade: Add 1/2 c. sliced berries to the pitcher of lemonade.

Peach Tea Lemonade: Combine 1 cup lemonade with one cup of iced tea and once cup of peach juice.

photo by boo licious

Dragon fruit or pitaya, is a bizarre fruit, indeed. The outside looks, well, kinda like a dragon, with thick, leathery red skin that forms large, green-tipped scales. Cut this fruit open and you`ll find either white or bright purple-red flesh, speckled with tiny black seeds.

You`re most likely to find dragon fruit in the Oriental markets, though it is actually native to Central and South America. Dragon fruit grows on cacti that thrive in the drier tropical areas, but has been cultivated with great success in Asia.

So, now that you know what this sucker is . . . what do you do with it?

The best way to eat dragon fruit is to simply peel it and eat it raw. The taste is similar to a kiwi, but less acidic and usually sweet. Since they don`t last long, you`ll want to eat it the day you bring it home from the market. The flesh should be fairly firm, but give with a squeeze of the fruit.

For something a little more exotic, try one of the following recipes:

Dragon Fruit Smoothie

1 dragon fruit, peeled and diced

1 banana

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup orange juice

Blend all together in a blender and serve. This is infinitely more colorful if you use the red variety.

Fruit Salad in Dragon Boats

2 dragon fruit

2 kiwis, peeled and cubed

1 cup sliced strawberries

Sugar to taste

Vanilla ice cream

Cut the dragon fruit in half, lengthwise and carefully remove the fruit without damaging the skins. Cube the flesh and toss with remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Place a small scoop of ice cream in the center of each dragon fruit skin half and heap the fruit salad on top. serve immediately.

Want more? Make a dragon fruit pizza, jelly mooncake, or a simple salad.

Photos in order are by: J. Fisher, Denise Soong, Jerry Daykin