Rein-Beers

A few years back, I made these wonderful rein-beers for the Simmering Seoulmate, and then a year later I made them again for his father. They absolutely loved them and they’re ridiculously easy to make, which makes this DIY perfect for any man on your list. All you need is a glue gun, some pipe cleaners, googly eyes, pom-poms and of course his favourite beer! You can also use non-alcoholic bottled drinks or a soda drink for kids at your next holiday party.

These are the ones I made for the Simmering Seoulmate's father a few years ago.

What you need:
6 bottled beers
12 googly eyes, any size
6 red pom-poms
40cm brown pipe cleaner per beer, so I used 240cm.
scissors
hot glue gun, extra glue

What to do:
Take a 40cm long piece of pipe cleaner and cut two 8 cm pieces off. Wrap the longest piece around the top of the bottle and bend the ends up. Then, take the two small pieces and tie each one around the bent ends creating an antler shape.



Next, use the hot glue gun to glue on the eyes and pom-poms below the antlers. That’s it! You’re finished. You can go the extra step and cover the beer case with wrapping paper.

Check out the rest of my holiday posts by clicking here.
Check out my other DIY post by clicking here.

Apple Cider Cocktails

In my last post, I wrote about my adventures in making homemade apple cider. If you haven’t read about it yet check it out here. Since I was only able to make about two cups of apple cider, I decided to make some cocktails, to warm anyone up on a cold day. These cocktails could be served up at your next holiday party and don’t require too many fancy alcohols or ingredients. Feel free to substitute store bought cider if you decide to try these out yourself.

The first cocktail was simple and made me feel quite classy. This cocktail only required two ingredients, hence it’s super thoughtful name.

Champagne Cider

What you need: Champagne glass, a dry brut champagne, one shot of apple cider, sprig of rosemary (optional).
What to do: Pour the shot of cider into the bottom of a champagne glass and top with champagne. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary for bonus class. (I didn't have any L)

Serves: 1
Taste: 3/5  I think I prefer my champagne solo.
Difficulty Level: 1/5
Classiness Factor: 5/5

The next cocktail was a bit manlier for those men out there who think cocktails are lame. This drink is a variation on a Shandy, which is a beer mixed drink that is mixed half and half with a carbonated beverage or juice. I really enjoyed the taste or this one, and again it’s super easy to make with only two ingredients.

Cider Spice Shandy

What you need: Glass beer mug, a pint of Lager beer (I used a Stella Artois) and 1/2 cup apple cider.
What to do: Fill your beer mug up to a little less than half with apple cider and top with your lager. Clink beer mugs with a friend. Enjoy!

Serves: 1
Taste: 4/5
Difficulty Level: 1/5
Classiness Factor: 3/5

The last cocktail is perfect for curling up next to a fire or, in my case, under my electric blanket and reading a book. It reminds me a lot of mulled wine, but the gin adds a different kick, with a slight warming sensation on the way down.

Cider Gin and Tea

What you need: Your favorite mug, a black tea bag, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 shots of gin, about 3/4 cup apple cider, and a lemon wedge for garnish.
What to do: Bring cider and vanilla to a boil in a small pot. Remove from heat, add tea bag and steep for 3 minutes. Add gin. Pour into mugs and add lemon wedge to the rim.

Serves: 2
Taste: 4/5
Difficulty Level: 3/5
Classiness Factor: 4/5

Cheers!

Homemade Apple Cider

Last weekend, I was in an adventurous mood. I have always wanted to try to make apple cider from scratch and since I still had a ton of apples left from my trip, I thought, why not try it out. After looking up several recipes, I decided it wasn’t too difficult. Lies! This was definitely a struggle, based on several kitchen mishaps, but more on that later.  First, I cut up the apples into quarters and place them into a large pot. Then, I added enough water to cover the apples and poured in some sugar. I tied my spices up in the closest thing I could find to cheesecloth in Korea. The cloth I bought is used to make tofu, but unfortunately it’s not quite as permeable as needed for this task. Also another note, after making this cider, I don’t think it is necessary to use the cloth to wrap the spices. Just let them float freely in the water and pick the cinnamon sticks out later.

I have a pretty big pot, but it turns out it was just slightly too small. When I began boiling the apples, the water kept splashing over the edge. That was the first small mishap. 

The next step was to let it cook for what seemed like an eternity. The first hour involved cooking the apples on high. Almost all the water had evaporated and I was left with a pulpy mess. I added about a quarter cup of water and then, following the directions of my recipe, I turned the temperature down to low and waited for two more hours. Finally, the cider was done right? Nope. The next step is to strain the apple mush over cheesecloth to separate the liquid from the pulp. This proved to be extremely difficult with the particular cloth that I had. I tried squeezing with all my might and only managed to get a few tablespoons into the bowl. Since I had spent almost all afternoon on this project, I didn’t want to give up. I tied the cloth around a glass pitcher, squished the pulp down and threw it into the fridge to let drain overnight. I woke up in the morning to a disappointing sight. The glass pitcher looked like there was only about a cup’s worth of liquid in it. Boy was I angry. The cloth I was using was two layers so I cut it so it was only one layer and the Simmering Seoulmate and I took turns squeezing by hand. Finally, after about twenty minutes of struggle and frustration, I called it complete. There was about two cups of liquid. It tasted very sweet, so after adding some more water to dilute, we enjoyed a small shot glass taster portion. I don’t really enjoy super sugary drinks, so I have decided to use the cider to make some delicious cocktails.

All in all, I probably won’t be making this cider again in Korea, but I might try making it again with the proper tools back home in Canada. I’m still calling this adventure a success, because now I can warm my belly on a cool fall night with a delicious cocktail or two. Plus, my house smelled absolutely heavily the entire day. Check out the full recipe below and let me know if you’ve ever tried making your own cider.

Apple Cider

Ingredients

8-10 apples

1/2 cup sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1/4 tsp ground cloves (ground or whole)

Directions
Cut apples into quarters. Don’t worry about peeling and coring the apples. Next, place the apples in a large pot and fill with enough water to just cover the apples. Stir in the sugar. Wrap the cinnamon sticks and cloves in doubled up cheese cloth and place in the pot. Boil uncovered on high heat for one hour. After an hour, turn heat down to low and let simmer for another two hours. Remove spices, and mash mixture with a potato masher. Last, squeeze mixture through cheese cloth into a bowl and discard remaining pulp. This recipe only made about 500 ml of cider.

White Wine Sangria - Party Sized!

For summer vacation, I went home to Canada for the week. The weather was cooler than Seoul, but it was a refreshing break from the heat. My mom and dad threw me a lovely barbeque filled with food, friends, and fun. I thought it would be nice to make a classic summer drink to enjoy, so I took advantage of the Ontario fresh fruits and whipped up a HUGE party sized white wine sangria.

Fresh veggies from my parents garden!

A delicious artichoke and cream cheese dip.

Ingredients

2 bottles of dry white wine 1 bottle of sparkling dry white wine
2-3 cans of soda water
1 lemon
1 lime
1 peach
1 pear
1 granny smith apple
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1/2 cup raspberries
1/2 cup strawberries

Cut all of your fruit into slices or small chunks and throw into a large pitcher. Pour one bottle of white wine, sparkling wine, and one can of soda water over top. As you drink the sangria add in more soda water and the remaining bottle of white wine. Don’t forget to enjoy the delicious liquor soaked fruit!

This recipe made enough sangria for about 8 people to have 3 to 4 glasses of it and there were still leftovers!

Fruit Infused Water

Apologies for the lack of posts recently. I went home to Canada for my summer vacation and had a busy week back in Seoul following that. The hot summer temperatures continue in Seoul and boy is it humid! Just last week the weather report indicated that it would be 32 degrees and 97% humidity.What IS that!!! With it being so hot, I've tried to increase my water intake. Our school has lots of water coolers for me to refill my bottle daily, but I've haven’t been doing such a great job.

Last year, a friend of mine showed me her CitrusZinger and I was intrigued. It’s a water bottle that essentially has a citrus juicer built into the bottle. All you have to do is pop a lemon or any other citrus fruit inside the bottom and fill it with water. The Simmering Seoulmate had noticed that I was interested and got her to pick one up for him. He surprised me with it and I've been using it ever since. I mostly use it with lemons, but recently I've been using grapefruits and WOW is it good!

I've wanted to increase my water intake at home as well, so I made some fruit infused water in a jug. I made it with nectarines, sliced blueberries and of course grapefruit. All you have to do is fill a large pitcher half full with ice. Then, add about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of your desired fruit and fill with water. Leave in the refrigerator for a couple of hours and enjoy.

Drink Up!

4 Easy Vodka Cocktails

Summer is now in full swing, and with that comes hot weather and outdoor events. What better way to keep cool than to have a fancy cocktail? I whipped up four vodka based drinks for you to try at your next brunch, BBQ, or party. Don’t worry, all of these drinks are super easy and quick to make.

Sparkling water is so nice sometimes. It’s refreshing and makes you feel like you are drinking something fancier than just plain old water. Perrier is my go to sparkling water at home in Canada and although it is available in Korea, there is a Korean alternative called Trevi. It’s much cheaper and comes in lemon or lime flavours, and the original unflavoured version. I like to use sparkling water in many of my cocktails as an alternative to sugary juices or pops. For the first drink which is perfect for any brunch, I made this classic morning punch. All you need is some leftover wine (I know, I know, who am I kidding, who has leftover wine?), orange juice, some sparking water, and a glass! This is an easy way to elevate any weekend brunch and goes perfectly with all your breakfast food essentials.

Orange Spritzer
1 part white wine (I used Chardonnay)
1 part orange juice
splash of sparkling water
* The size of the glass you are using will depend on your exact measurements.*

Fill just under half of a glass with orange juice and then add the same amount of wine. Fill the remaining space of your glass with a splash of sparkling water. Feel free to add more or less of any of the three ingredients, and enjoy!

Grapefruits are readily available here in Seoul and I’m loving it! I've kept my fridge stocked with them for the past couple of weeks. Recently, I have been infusing my daily water with grapefruits and was surprised at how much better it tastes than your classic lemon water. This inspired me to make a nice refreshing cocktail. If you enjoy citrus drinks that aren't too sweet, than this one is for you. This is a guilt free (almost) drink for your next cocktail party or summer BBQ!

Grapefruit Fizz
1/2 large grapefruit
sparkling water (I used lime flavoured Trevi)
1 shot of vodka
ice cubes

Fill a glass with ice. Pour in 1 shot of vodka. Squeeze the juice from half of a grapefruit into the glass. Top with sparkling water and give it a stir. Sip and enjoy!

 One of my favourite fruits is peaches. Unfortunately, the Asian variety of peaches that can be found here in Korea, aren’t quite the same as the juicy, fall-off-the-pit, ones back home in Canada. Luckily, they do have nectarines, which are a close second to peaches. I decided to make a blended drink, because who doesn't like a slushy on a hot day? This drink had the right amount of sweetness from the nectarine and when blended with ice it was a real treat!  

Naughty Nectarine
1 nectarine
1/2 shot triple sec
1 shot vodka
1/2 cup of ice

Cut your nectarine into about 6-8 wedges and peel the skin off. Add your ice, vodka, and triple sec to the bender. Add your cut and peeled nectarines and blend until smooth. Pour into a glass and dream of paradise!

Lemon blueberry is a delightful flavour combination. The muffins I made turned out great, so why not add that combination to a drink!? This drink is quite tart and because I’m not really a fan of sweet drinks, it was one of my favourites. However, if you are someone who enjoys sweeter drinks then I’m sure you could add some simple syrup or lemonade instead of sparkling water.

Blueberry Lemonade
1 shot vodka
1/4 cup ice cubes
1/2 shot lemon juice
1/4 cup lemon flavoured sparkling water
1/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Add ice cubes, lemon juice, vodka, and blueberries to your blender and then blend until smooth. Pour into a glass and top with the sparkling water. Give it a stir and pucker up!

For any cocktail recipe, remember to add something fun for presentation purposes. A straw, mini umbrella or a slice of fruit will do the trick. Good luck in your cocktail endeavours and cheers!

*All recipes make a single serving*

Blueberry Lemon Muffins

Happy Sunday! I hope you've all have a nice relaxing weekend. Summer is finally here! In Korea, rainy season has just begun. It’s really not that bad, you just get used to carrying an umbrella with you everywhere for a few weeks. It doesn't usually rain all day either. Last night, the Simmering Seoulmate and I braved the rain and sticky heat and went out for dinner with a friend at our favourite Mexican place in all of Seoul, Gusto Taco. It’s a small restaurant right next to Sangsu station that serves up excellent tacos, nachos, burritos and one of my personal favourites, taquitos, which come served in a cute cauldron of cheesey goodness. Of course they serve delicious cocktails too. 

The night was filled with rain, friends, food, and a little debauchery in Hongdae of course. All in all a great way pick me up.

With summer finally here, blueberries are finally in season, and while still expensive, I thought I’d buy a package and whip up something delicious. While I debated for a long time about using them in the pancakes I made recently, I decided to go with muffins instead. I also had a bunch of lemons in the fridge so those are the flavours I went with. This recipe also uses yogurt, which I found quite interesting. It made the muffins perfectly moist and they tasted amazing. They also froze well, which made them last longer! I will definitely be making them again! Yum!

Blueberry Lemon Muffins
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Ingredients
1 egg
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
zest of one lemon
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen, I used fresh)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 ̊ F (190 ̊ C). In a large bowl combine the butter and egg and beat with an electric mixer until smooth. Pour in yogurt and heavy cream and mix together with mixer for about 30 seconds. In a medium bowl, sift together sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture a half at a time. The mixture will be quite thick, more like a cookie dough consistency. Fold in blueberries. Line muffin pan with paper liners and spoon mixture into each one. Pop into the oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and come out clean.

Makes 10 muffins.

P.s. If you enjoy Mexican and are in Seoul, defiantly check out Gusto Taco. I know I will be back there again very soon!