Coconut Rum Horchata

So on my way home from work today, I got into a car accident.

Really it was just a fender bender - both cars were completely drivable, and thankfully no one was hurt.

And, it was in no way my fault.

Yessssssssssss.

(Just sayin'.)

But get this - I was hit by a woman making an illegal left turn into a Dunkin' Donuts.

Who, as it turns out, did not even have a license to drive a car.

I guess she really needed some donuts?

I can kinda relate though.

After waiting an hour in the heat, humidity, and impending thunderstorms for the officer to do his thing, I was wishing like Cher that I could turn back time and pour me some of this coconut rum horchata I made over the weekend.

I mentioned I had something up my sleeve for "Rum Day" at the beach, and let me tell you - this drink did not disappoint.

If you've never heard of horchata, it is a traditional sweet Mexican drink made with rice and cinnamon.  Which sounds kinda weird, but trust me when I say it basically tastes like rice pudding in liquid form.

Now I honestly have no idea how 'traditional' the original recipe is that I adapted, but I decided to take it to another level and use coconut milk & coconut rum.

Holy smokes.

Even people who said they do not like coconut thought this drink was awesome.

FYI - it's also quite scrumptious without the rum, so don't feel compelled to add it.

Unless you had an afternoon like mine.

In that case, feel free to double the amount!

Coconut Rum Horchata

• 1 C. uncooked long grain rice
• 2 quarts warm water
• 1/2 t. ground cinnamon
• 1 C. coconut milk
• 1/4 C. fat free half & half
• 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 1/2 t. pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 C. coconut or light rum, or to taste (this is optional – drink is great virgin!)

Mix the rice and warm water together in a bowl, and let stand for half an hour. Reserving the water, drain, and place the rice in the bowl of a food processor. Add the cinnamon and process until a paste forms. Return the rice to the water and let stand at least 2 hours, stirring occasionally as the water turns milky white.

Strain the rice through a very fine sieve (I used a coffee filter) into a bowl or pitcher, and discard the solids. Re-strain liquid to ensure all particles are removed.  Stir in coconut milk, half & half, condensed milk, vanilla, and rum (if desired) until evenly blended. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving.

To serve, divide ice cubes between eight glasses, and pour the chilled horchata over the ice.  Serves 8.

Recipe Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Strawberry Basil Mojito... and a giveaway!

*The giveaway has now ended.

I was contacted a couple weeks ago by the publisher of a book entitled DIY Cocktails: A Simple Guide to Creating Your Own Signature Drinks, asking if I would be interested in reviewing it for my blog.

(PS I know there are many bloggers out there whose in-boxes are brimming with emails like this, but me... not so much.)

I responded, "Sounds great, I will give my honest opinion though - if you're still interested, here's my address."

And... then I ever heard back.

So imagine my surprise when I get home from work on Friday evening to find a copy of the book on my doorstep!

Which was extra great because as I've said before, I'm not much of a drinker - so if I'm gonna do it, 95% of the time it's on the weekend.

Saturday afternoon I thumbed through, checking out all the photos and recipe titles, and the Strawberry Basil Mojito jumped out at me.  (Much like coconut and chocolate peanut butter, you can always entice me with a recipe that has fresh strawberries.)

The recipe definitely did not disappoint, and honestly neither did the book.  What I like about it is the fact that along with the recipe they give you the ratio of ingredients that should be in the drink- like '3 parts strong, 2 parts sweet, 1 part sour' etc.

This is an especially handy tool for people (i.e. me) who need Cocktails for Dummies because they have no idea what goes well with what.

For this one I just followed the recipe exactly as it was printed, but it's nice to have the option to customize your beverage with different ingredients using the ratios as a guide.

Hence the name "DIY Cocktails" I suppose?  (Ah ha!)

I also specifically looked up Sangria, another of my favorite adult beverages, and they have a lot of tips for putting flavors together.

All in all... this Cocktail Dummy gives the book two thumbs up.

So while I was feeling sassy on mojitos, I decided it would be fun to do a giveaway of the book (sponsored by yours truly by the way - I'm just barely cool enough to get one copy of the book for free so let's not push it.)

If you are interested in entering the giveaway, please leave me a comment below telling me your favorite cocktail... and make sure you leave me a way to contact you if it's not in your Google profile!

To get extra entries, you can also:

• become a follower of V&B, and leave me another comment telling me you became one or you already are
• follow Vittles & Bits on Twitter and leave me a comment that you did or that you're already doing so
• "like" Vittles & Bits on Facebook and leave me a comment that you did or that you're already a fan
  
  

You'll get one entry for each of the above.  I will choose the winning comment randomly - which means Pam you can enter the giveaway too (that's my mother-in-law :).  The giveaway ends this Sunday, May 15 at noon, EST and I'll announce the winner later that day.

So get to it.

And if you're not interested in entering, I'm not hatin' ... but give the Strawberry Basil Mojito a try anywho.  It has fruit & green things in it so technically it's good for you.

At least that's what I like to tell myself?

Strawberry Basil Mojito

• 3 basil leaves, torn
• 3 small strawberries, sliced
• 1 1/2 oz. white rum
• 1 oz. simple syrup (see note below)
• 1/2 oz. lime juice (from 1/2 medium lime)
• 4 oz. club soda

Muddle basil, strawberries, and simple syrup at the bottom of a highball or Collins glass.  Add rum and lime juice, then fill with ice.  Top off with club soda.

*To make a simple syrup, you can place 1 part sugar with 1 part water in jar or coverable bottle and shake vigorously until sugar is dissolved.  If making in advance, you can also boil water, then add sugar & simmer until dissolved.

Recipe from DIY Cocktails, by Marcia Simmons & Jonas Halpren

Note: While I did receive a copy of the book, I did not receive any other compensation to write this post- the opinions are my own.

Choco-Almond Chai Tai

Tea is one of those things that I always think I might enjoy, but I just don't.  Other than super sweet pre-packaged iced tea, it really does nothing for me.

But my mom loved tea, and it always smelled delicious when she made it, so every now & again I would decide to give it another try.

And no matter what flavor it was, it always tasted the same- yucky.

I even tried adding honey... or sugar... or milk and honey... or milk and sugar... and it was still just not good.

So I eventually threw in the towel and decided tea is just not for me.

Which has basically been my tea status for the past few years, until I recently received a free sample of some Chai Tea from this new place in the mall called Teavana.

Holy smokes.  It wasn't yucky.

It was awesome.

And let me tell you something.  It takes a lot to get my attention away from certain menu items at a Dunkin' Donuts or Starbucks (like coconut iced coffee and vanilla lattes).

But since I entered Teavana, I have occasionally exchanged my morning iced coffee for an Iced Chai Latte.

!!

(I know.  I thought I might walk out of Starbucks and see a pig fly by, but there were none to be found.)

Then yesterday, I entered this other new place called Walvana.

Well actually I think its just called "Super Walmart," but to a bargain-lover like myself this is basically the highest level of enlightenment one could hope to attain.

The best part is that I didn't realize that they turned a nearby Walmart into a Super Walmart (with a full grocery section in addition to their usual goods) until yesterday.  This is our first conversion to Walvana in the area - and this is not my usual go-to location - so the renovations were unbeknownst to me until I walked into the store and was greeted by scent of freshly baked bread and the sight of a veritable sea of produce.

The people behind me must have thought I was a lunatic.  I walked in, stopped dead in my tracks with my mouth hanging open (and maybe even some drool trickling down) and then abruptly went back out the entrance.

I got so excited I ran back out to get myself a cart (not a basket, but at cart) and the irony is I ended up forgetting what I was I originally went there for.  But I got some neat stuff, including this Tazo Chai Latte Concentrate - which I believe Starbucks uses for their Chai Lattes!

Oh my goodness, I'm getting giddy just recounting the story.  Good thing Mr. V's not home, this could get embarrassing!

So today we had Rum Day Part Deux at the beach, and in the midst of all this "excitement," I was trying to think of what type of rum cocktail to bring.

Mr. V had an idea to bring a New Orleans drink called a Hand Grenade, which he says is delicious.  So we looked up the ingredients, and saw that it has a mix of rum, gin, vodka, grain alcohol and melon liquor.

In other words... Pure Alcohol Drink of Death.

Which I guess is fine when you are a 20 year-old frat boy like he was the last time he drank this concoction.  But considering the point of Rum Day is to try a myriad of drinks over the course of several hours, this might have had us all in the E.R. by noon.

So until yesterday, I fully planned on making another fruity cocktail like I did for the original Rum Day a couple months ago.  But after perusing some recipe ideas for rum cocktails online, nothing was really tickling my fancy.

Then I got an idea.

Chai tea is spiced.  They make rum that's spiced.  Why not combine chai and rum?

So I did some experimentation.  I made one batch with:

• 1 C. of the chai concentrate
• 1 C. of milk
• 2 oz. dark rum
• 1 oz. Malibu rum
• 1 oz. of Bailey's Irish Cream

(This is the recipe I actually took to the beach, because after the Hand Grenade shutdown I let Mr. V pick the one he liked better.) 

The below recipe tastes similar, but it doesn't have coconut rum and it uses chocolate almond milk instead of regular milk.  (You could also use regular chocolate milk if you prefer, it doesn't have to come from almonds.)

This version was my favorite because I think you can taste the spices more in this recipe and I also like the hint of chocolate. It's also a little sweeter.

Although Mr. V will almost always pick vanilla over chocolate, and I'm the exact opposite, so go with whichever one you like :)  I promise you can't go wrong with either!

As my dad so nicely put it "You could probably mix bacon grease with rum and someone will drink it."

Enough said.

Choco Almond Chai Tai

• 1 C. Tazo Chai Latte concentrate
• 1 C. chocolate almond milk
• 3 oz. dark rum
• 1 oz. Bailey's Irish cream

Blend in a pitcher or shaker, serve over ice.
 
Original Recipe

Chocolate Rum Bundt Cake

I'm not much of a drinker these days.

There are few things in the average person's life that feel worse than a bad hangover. 

But now that I'm older and wiser, and (for the most part) have learned to drink in moderation - I would say that the number one reason I drink infrequently is because most alcoholic beverages just don't taste good.

Now Mr. Vittles and probably most of the men (not to mention about half of the women) I know would argue that beer is amazing, but I beg to differ.  Just my own personal taste.  So I just stick to the occasional glass of wine or fruity cocktail (like pina coladas or margaritas -yumm!).

You see, I need every single calorie I consume to be devoted to delicious foods and drinks.  I can't be wasting them on things that taste bad (unless its something healthy - then at least I'm getting something out of the deal).

Now somehow, Fourth of July turned into the Weekend of Rum.  And thankfully, I can say the booze calories were definitely not wasted.

This was the weekend of the barbecue where I made this rum cake (and the sugar saucers).  The cake was pretty awesome - dense and rich with a hint of rum.

Also, family friend Bob Vittles decided that the 4th was going to be Rum Day at the beach I go to, along with my dad & stepmom and their friends.

The drinks all tasted awesome (meaning - the other stuff covered up most of the liquor taste!)  I made Rum Punch to share, and other rum drinks on the 'menu' were Dark & Stormies, Hurricanes, Key West Splashes, and some Mango Rum Mixers.

Not to mention, another beach-goer offered us margaritas... made with 151.

!!

Needless to say... after a few of drinks out in the hot sun, I was feeling pretty Dark & Sleepy.  I had to actually pass on one round because I wanted to make sure I could drive myself home.

Good thing I learned from Pappy Vittles to 'go easy"!

Chocolate Rum Bundt Cake

• 1 C. unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process) plus 3 tablespoons for dusting pan
• 1 1/2 C. brewed coffee
• 1/2 C. dark rum
• 2 sticks (1 C.) butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 2 C. sugar
• 2 C. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 t. baking soda
• 1/4 t. salt
• 2 large eggs
• 1 t. vanilla

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325°F.  Butter 10" bundt pan well, then dust with 3 tablespoons cocoa powder, knocking out excess. (Note: If your pan is not 10" its ok - I used a 9" bundt pan and made a tiny cake in a small glass pyrex dish with the leftover batter.)

Heat coffee, rum, butter, and remaining cup cocoa powder in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, whisking, until butter is melted.  Remove from heat, then add sugar and whisk until dissolved, about 1 minute.  Transfer mixture to a large bowl and cool 5 minutes. 

While chocolate mixture cools, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl.  Whisk together eggs and vanilla in a small bowl, then whisk into cooled chocolate mixture until combined well.  Add flour mixture and whisk until just combined (batter will be thin and bubbly). 

Pour batter into bundt pan and bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes.  Cool cake completely in pan on a rack, about 2 hours.  Loosen cake from pan using tip of a dinner knife, then invert rack over pan and turn cake out onto rack. 

You can dust the cake with powdered sugar, glaze it, and/or serve with fresh whipped cream.  (As you can tell in the picture, I attempted to glaze it  - but the glaze turned out really thick.  It tasted good, it didn't look so pretty!)

Recipe Adapted From Epicurious.com