Ingredients:

1l Champagne (or Sparkling white wine)

1 1/2Tbsp powdered gelatine

1 cup sugar

4 strips lemon zest

4 strips orange zest

250g small strawberries

250g blueberries

Fresh cream and mint leaves for decoration (optional)

Method:

Pour 500ml Champagne (or Sparkling white wine) into a bowl and let the bubbles subside. Sprinkle 1 1/2Tbsp powdered gelatine over the Champagne in an even layer and leave, without stirring, until the gelatine is spongy. Place another 500ml Champagne in a large saucepan with 1C sugar, 4 strips lemon zest & 4 strips orange zest, and heat gently, stirring constantly for 3-4 minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved.

Remove the pan from the heat, add the gelatine mixture and stir until dissolved. Leave to cool completely, then remove the lemon and orange zest. Divide 250g small strawberries, hulled and halved & 250g blueberries among eight 125ml stemmed wine glasses and gently pour the jelly over the top. Refigerate for 6 hours or overnight, or until the jelly has fully set. Remove from the refrigerator 15 minutes before serving.

For a true Christmas look add on top a layer of fresh cream and mint leaves just before serving.

Ingredients:

(serves 6)

1 bottle inexpensive, medium-bodied red wine

6 tablespoons unflavoured Schnapps, vodka or brandy (optional but good)

1-inch piece whole dried ginger (or fresh ginger, peeled and bruised)

2 sticks cinnamon

2 cardamom pods, bruised

6 cloves

1 long strip dried orange peel (or fresh, if you can’t find it)

6 tablespoons brown sugar, or to taste

6 tablespoons raisins

6 tablespoons almonds, blanched, peeled and left whole

Method:

1. Place the wine, Schnapps/ vodka/ brandy, all the spices and orange peel in a non-metallic saucepan or bowl. Leave to marinate for at least 6 hours or overnight.

2. When you are ready to serve, divide the almonds and raisins between 6 mugs.

3. Add sugar to the wine mixture, and heat it gently until it is almost boiling. Do not let it boil, or the alcohol will evaporate. Use a cooking thermometer if you want to be accurate.

4. Taste the hot wine to ensure that it has the right amount of sugar and spice for your taste; then dilute the wine with water, or add more alcohol or sugar if you wish. Pour the wine through a small sieve into individual glasses. Serve immediately.

Note: This potent drink is the Swedish version of mulled wine or gluhwein. It is served in small glasses at festive parties, alongside saffron and raisin buns or gingerbread with blue cheese. Water is not normally used to dilute it, but you can add a cup if you wish. For a non-alcoholic version, follow the recipe using blackcurrant or red grape juice.

Ingredients:

(per one demistasse cup)

1 cup water

1 tbs sugar

1 tbs finely ground coffee

Method:

1.Measure water and sugar in small saucepan (jezve). Dissolve the sugar in the water by bringing the mixture to a boil stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in coffee. Return to heat and bring slowly back to a boil.

2.When the coffee begins to rise up remove from heat. Do not boil it. There should be a thick sediment on the bottom and a brown froth on the top.

3.Best way to Drink: Serve the coffee by pouring gradually into each cup to evenly distribute the sediment. Amount of sugar can be adjusted to taste.

Note: This is not coffee for faint-hearted! It is strong, but with full flavour. Coffee itself has to be finely ground into a powder (many modern grinders can’t grind so finely, so having one of the old-fashioned original style grinders is good idea).  As it is not filtered, let the sediment settle and then sip over it. Traditionally, and ideally, it is cooked in copper jezve (conical coffee pot with a long handle) which enhances the flavour of coffee and is served in small demistasse cups. Serve with Turkish delight and glass of water aside.

Ingredients:

4 cups cranberry juice

1 ½ cups sugar

5 cups pineapple juice

3 cups orange juice

2 tablespoons almond extract

1 liter ginger ale

4 lemons, thickly sliced

3 baby limes, thickly sliced

Whole cloves

Mint leaves

Method:

Chill all ingredients. Slice each lemon into five thick slices, and stud the rind with about six cloves per slice. Slice one lime into thick slices. Use the remaining limes whole. Circle each lime with mint leaves by securing the leaves with cloves. Set the fruit aside.

Combine the first six ingredients in the punch bowl. Float the whole limes in the punch, and add about 10 slices of lemon and lime to the bowl. Use the remainder as glass garnishes.

Ingredients:

2 kg ripe watermelon (weight after removing rind and seeds)

50g to 75g caster (superfine) sugar, depending on the fruit’s sweetness

3 tablespoons tequila (optional)

Method:

1. Roughly dice the watermelon and puree it in a food processor.

2. Transfer the puree to a large bowl. Stir in the sugar to taste, and the tequila, if using. Mix well to dissolve the sugar.

3. Place the fruit mixture in the freezer and chill for about 2 hours, or until it begins to freeze around the edges and across the top.

4. Remove from the freezer and whisk to break up and mix in the ice crystals. Return to the freezer and chill for about 2 hours more.

5. Once again, remove from the freezer and whisk again, breaking up the ice crystals and remixing into an evenly granulated mixture. Cover with a plastic wrap and return to the freezer until frozen through – from another 2 to 3 hours, up to several days.

6. Remove from the freezer 45 minutes before serving so that the ice softens enough to spoon it out. Serve in attractive glasses, sundae dishes or paper cones.

Note: The tequila is optional, but it does more than add flavour- the alcohol prevents the mixture from freezing so solid that you can’t spoon it out without completely defrosting it. You can use cantaloupe, honeydew or any other type of melon in this recipe, or even substitute mangoes or berries. However, the watermelon gives it a richly seductive, scarlet colour. This simple, 3-ingredient watermelon ice is typical of what you would buy from a street vendor in Mexico. Everywhere in Mexico you see vendors proffering fresh fruit. The fruit may be peeled, sliced and ready to eat, or pureed and blended with mineral water for liquid refreshment, or even poured over crushed ice and served as a slush in a wax-paper cone. Whatever the form, the basic notion is essence of fruit. Watermelon ice is delicious served with cookies for a dessert: Mexican wedding cookies, lime cookies or chocolate cookies are all ideal.

Rose cooking entails using delicate roses to flavor and garnish a variety of menu items.

Rose baking is nothing new, however. The practice of using roses in cooking dates back centuries. Roses, in fact, have been used extensively in Middle Eastern cuisines to enhance the taste of foods and beverages.

Using edible flowers for culinary endeavors is gaining a wider audience, and roses, with their subtle, sweet taste, make a pleasing recipe ingredient. Correspondingly, rose recipes have become popular.

Where to Find Rose Products?

* Rosewater, rose syrup, or rose liqueur can be obtained from specialty shops

* Culinary roses can be found in gourmet markets

* You can obtain packets of dried rose petals online that can be used in rose cooking

Growing Your own Edible Roses:

Some people opt to grow their own roses. This is a good way to make sure the flowers haven’t been contaminated with chemicals or pesticides and ensures a supply of fresh rose petals on hand.

How to Make Your own Rosewater:

* To make your own rosewater, fill a pot with clean rose petals. Pour boiling water over and cover with a lid. Allow to stand. Place the cooled mixture in the refrigerator overnight. Strain. You’ll have a beautifully colored liquid that you can use in recipes that call for the addition of rosewater.

* Pour leftover liquid into ice cube trays and freeze. Store ice cubes in a plastic bag for future use. Thaw the cubes each time you need rose-flavored liquid.

Rose Cooking–Getting Started:

Pick freshly opened flowers in the early morning or in the cool part of the day. Detach the petals and place them in a bowl or strainer and rinse well. When detaching rose petals, pull gently as they bruise easily.

* Use your rose petals immediately for rose baking

* Store extra petals in a plastic bag in the refrigerator

* Spread rinsed petals on a clean towel to air dry. Store in a tin.

Rose recipes call for fresh or dried rose petals or for rosewater.

How to Cook With Roses:

Rose cookery incorporates the characteristic rose flavor into a variety of foods-

* Sprinkle rose petals in salads

* When making homemade jam, add rose petals to enhance flavor

* Add crushed, dried rose petals to spice blends for flavoring either meat or sweet

* Rosewater or rose infusion or syrup can be used to flavor whipped cream, fillings or icings, cakes, cookies, and pastries

*Beautiful Rose Petal Soup: Decorate a chilled fruit soup with rose petals or place a rosebud in the center of a cream soup for rose petal soup.

*Rose Decorations:Making candied rose petals is a facet of rose cooking that produces stunning decorations. Dip petals into egg white that has been whisked with 1 tbsp. of water, then dip petals into sugar. Allow the sugared rose petals to dry and use them to adorn cakes, muffins, or pastries.

Exotic and Delicious Rose Dessert Ideas-

* Rose infusion can be added when making homemade ice cream

* Rose syrup is delicious drizzled over vanilla ice cream

* Fill the center of a rose with whipped cream or ice cream for a show-stopping finale to any meal

Roses taste just as they smell so they make a tantalizing flavoring ingredient in rose baking. Trying recipes that call for the addition of rose petals or rosewater will result in wonderfully flavored menu items. Roses offer us far more than just their beauty. Cooking with roses is an exciting way to add interest to meals.

Ingredients:

* 3 cups vodka

* 6 lemons (make sure they’re organic and not sprayed, you’re using the peel!)

* 2 cups water

* 3 cups caster sugar

Directions:

* Wash the lemons thoroughly – scrub them clean of all residue and dry.

* Using a peeler, take off the skins being careful not to get any of the white lemon “pith” onto your peelings or it will add bitterness to your limoncello.

* Put the peels into a large, open-mouth jar with 2 cups of vodka and seal the lid tightly.

* Put the jar in a cool, dry place for three days. You’ll notice the color of the liquid changing to yellow and the color of the lemon peels fading.

* Dissolve the sugar completely in water by heating it on the stove and cook into thick syrup. Then cool the sugar-water mixture to room temperature and add to the peel mixture.

* Leave for two days in a cool dark place, then add remaining cup of vodka and leave for additional two days. Strain the lemon peels out of the alcohol.

* Pour the mixture into bottles which can be sealed tightly and store them in the fridge. If the limoncello is kept “frozen” until serving it becomes thick and syrupy.

Tip:

This is a ‘fast’ version of traditional recipe that takes about two months to prepare, but the aroma and taste are rich and full.  I believe once when alcohol extracts all aroma out of peel, there is no need to keep it longer (it actually gets more bitter).

As I am lucky to have not only lemons, but also limes and clementines in my garden which are not sprayed I’ve trialed the same recipe on all of them and … IT WORKS! It is very nice to have all of them with their specific aromas and shades of yellow, green and orange.  Great range for cheering the guests!

drinks | serves 4-6
Ginger beer is one of my favourite things in the world, especially blooming good in the summer when it’s getting hot. I can’t think of anything more sexy than having a big jug of iced ginger beer on the table with a barbecue on a hot day. The classic real ginger beers use a starter, and these are fantastic but slow, so here’s my shortcut for getting amazing results taking hardly any time.

First of all you need to grate your ginger on a coarse cheese grater – you can leave the skin on if you like. Put the ginger with its pulpy juice into a bowl and sprinkle in your muscovado sugar. Remove the rind from 2 of your lemons with a vegetable peeler, add to the bowl, and slightly bash and squash with something heavy like a pestle or a rolling-pin. Just do this for 10 seconds, to mix up all the flavours. Squeeze the juice from all 3 lemons and add most of it to the bowl. Pour in your fizzy water or soda water. Allow to sit for 10 minutes and then taste. You may feel that the lemons are slightly too sour, therefore add a little more sugar; if it’s slightly too sweet, add a little more lemon juice. To be honest, these amounts are always a little variable so just follow your own taste. Pass the ginger beer through a coarse sieve into a large jug and add lots of ice and some sprigs of mint.