Drinks

Chapman

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In 2010 while i was job hunting, i took a short cocktail course and the first thing i learnt to make was Chapman.

I started my business Fontaine De Vie as a virgin cocktail business till it evolved to a healthy beverage option company.

Chapman is arguably indigenous to naija. At the time an internet search for “Chapman” would on lead you to names of individuals. Meanwhile it was so popular as a Cocktail at Nigerian parties.

First time i had Chapman was in 1993 or 94, at the restaurant of D’Rovans hotel. Chapman started out as a hotel and bar fixture then made it’s way to the party scenes.

In fact the Coca-Cola bottling co., sampled a variant of Fanta in the 90’s, they called it “Fanta Chapman”. It was my favourite next to “Fanta Ginger Ale”.

Chapman has a signature Sunset Orange colour which comes from mixing Fanta with Grenaldine. It’s Sweet, slighty tangy with a very subtle undernote of bitter. Best served with ice.

Recipe

Serves 5

1 Fanta/Mirinda (50cl)

1 Sprite/7up (35cl)

1 Schwepps/Teem or Limca (35cl)

80ml of Tasty Time Blackcurrant (or any blackcurrant cordial drink)

100ml of red Grenadine syrup

5ml of Angostura Bitters

* 20ml Campari (if you want to make it alcoholic, skip the angostura)

5 slices of a medium sized Lemon A couple of slices of Cucumber for garnish

Procedure

Mix all drinks in a tall glass pitcher adding the angostura bitters last, add 3 slices of lemon, 3 slice of cucumber and allow the flavours to infuse for at least 30mins.

Serve with ice.

Chapman bottled on a client’s request. See the Lemon and Cucumber infusing in there.

Mango Liqueur

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A simple homemade alcoholic recipe for Mango lovers

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 3 medium sized Mangoes
  • 750ml Dry Gin or Vodka

Procedure

  • Wash and clean your mangoes.
  • Chop it up into sizes that fit into a bottle.

I usually chop with skins for more flavour.

  • Use a clean sterile glass bottle.
  • Put the chopped mangoes in the bottle and pour your Gin or vodka into the bottle. Shake and cover.
  • Store the bottle in dark place for not less than 3 days to let the mango infuse. I usually let my fruit liqueur sit for 2weeks at least, for intensity of flavour.

  • Shake the bottle up regularly when it’s being stored

Serve with ice! Enjoy

Tea Time; Let’s Have Homemade Herbal Tea

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Did you know you can make your own tea using a blend of your favorite herbs and spices?

I do that all the time and i want to share one of my mixes with you.

The beauty of this is that, this is made with locally grown spices readily available in the market, especially from the Hausa spice vendors.

Tea is a beverage so popular it’s one of the most consumed in the world. It’s an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured tea leaves. Mostly had for breakfast, however in some cultures, tea is had at any time of the day.

In Nigeria tea is most popular as tea bags, and because of our British colonial past, we have our tea with a handsome helping of milk and sugar.

I really like using Zobo leaves to make tea, not only because it makes such a beautiful colour of tea, it’s also very aromatic and zingy.

Health benefits of this herbal tea.

Herbal teas are good detoxifiers. So is this tea. All the ingredients play a key role in metabolism, detoxification of xenobiotic and flushing toxins out of the body

It Aids in digestion, Treats nausea & headache, Prevents respiratory disorders, Aids in breast feeding, Helps in weight loss, Helps allergies , Improves skin health, Improves kidney health.

Increases Immunity;
The presence of vitamin C in sorrel is pretty impressive.
Vitamin C also referred to as ascorbic acid, increases the production of white blood cells and stimulates the immune system, which is the first line of protection against pathogens and other free radicals present in the body, hence helping to prevent cancer.

Ingredients

  • Dried Zobo leaves (Hibiscus Sabdariffa, Roselle, Red Sorrel, or Jamaican Sorrell.
  • Fennel Seeds
  • Dried Mint leaves
  • Cinnamon

Procedure

Blitz them all together in the dry mill of your blender, a food processor or coffee grinder. I don’t have a measurement for this. Just eye ball it and go with your gut.

To make a brew

  • Add 1/2 teaspoon of the tea a cup of boiling water. Allow it to infuse. You can use a tea infuser or strain using a seive.

Sweeten with honey or any non-nutritive/zero calorie sweetener e.g Stevia or Truvia.

You can enjoy hot or cold. Do not add milk to this tea because the acidity in the zobo it will cuddle the milk.

Mango Lassi

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#UnrepentantMangoAddict

The season came early this year and I’ve been enjoying every bit of it. A facebook friend even sent me the most precious delicious tasting mangoes all the way from Benue State. Oh i had a ball!

On the way back the Lagos from Ilorin, were my family and i spent our easter holiday, we stopped on the Ogbomoso highway to buy freshly harvested premium Ogbomoso mangoes.

I’m even brewing some Mango liqueur, which will be read in a few weeks and I’d be blogging about it.

Lassi (pronounced [ləsiː]) is a popular traditional yogurt-based drink from the Indian Subcontinent.[1] Lassi is a blend of yogurt, water, spices and sometimes fruit. (Culled from wiki)

Recipe

  • 2 medium Mangoes (Peel and dice)
  • 1 cup unsweetened Yogurt
  • *1/2 cup Coconut Milk
  • 1 teaspoonCardamom seeds

Instructions

  • Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend to a smooth puree.
  • Serve in highball glass and garnish accordingly

Lemon Grass Iced Tea

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The perfect  way to soothe my cravings for juice . I’m currently doing the LCHF diet aka Keto, and I had a serious craving for a sweet drink this afternoon. As fruit juices are not Keto Compliant I had to think up another fix. 

See I’m on a one month challenge to lose the extra 7kg I gained recently. This is the heaviest I’ve been sans pregnancy. This my sweet tooth won’t let me be great, sweets and decadent stuff are my achilles heel. Now my sister’s wedding is coming up in a few weeks and I must look smoking hot and fit into the dress I’m going to wear. No sweet tooth can stop me.

Recipe

Ingredients 

•     A bunch of fresh Lemon grass Leaves or stalks.

•     A few slices of lemon (optional )

•      Any natural sweetener of your choice. E.g. Stevie,  Honey, Date Syrup etc.   (No sugar, nothing that contains aspartame.)

•     Ice Cubes

Procedure

–     Wash the Lemon grass to get rid of sand.

–      In a pot or kettle,  add enough water to cover the lemon  grass and boil.

–     Let it cook till it boils. Turn off the heat and add the slices of Lemon.

 
–     Leave it to cool, strain and add your sweetener

I used Stevia as sweetener

–      Serve with Ice Cubes or Refrigerate before you serve. 
*You can store the rest in an airtight bottle for up to 1 week in a fridge. 

Lemon Grass Iced Tea

Mango / Banana Lassi

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Happy Valentine’s Day All.
My waist line is obviously in serious trouble today. Le hubs ordered the most decadent Red Velvet/ Chocolate Cake with Cream Chess frosting, strawberry glaze, chocolate chips ….. all those things that are not diet friendly! I have to spend a whole week in penitence for these sins.
After one slice of cake I made Mango/ Banana Lassi

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A classic Mango Lassi recipe includes yogurt but I can’t add that to mine after that cake.

Recipe 
•    1 Cup Mango Juice (the mangoes I have are still quite thready so I juiced it first)
•    2 Small Bananas
•    1/8 tsp Cardamom seeds (just about 1 clove)

Freeze all ingredients and in a blender, blend all till smooth.

Serve and garnish as you like.

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I garnished this using banana cut into heart shapes, I soaked some in liquid red food for effects.

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See the picture below for how to make heart shaped banana slices.

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Now this is waistline friendly.

P.S Mangoes are now in season so you should give this a try.

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