Category: Non-alcoholic (Page 1 of 2)
Peach Kompot
July 16th, 2016 in Beverages, Non-alcoholic by Julia Volhina
It is a peach season and I managed to acquire big box of Georgia peaches which are very sweet and tasty and don’t have long shelf life.
So a portion of these peaches made their way into this Peach Kompot (in Russian “kompot” stands for a boiled fruit drink).
As any kompot, Peach kompot is pretty easy to make: just boil peaches with a bit of sugar and cool it down to infuse.
Removing skin from peaches makes them nice to consume, but you don’t have to do it if it seem like a hassle: just slice peaches in halves and remove pits, skin will get separated during boiling process by itself.
Blueberry and Ice Cream Milkshake
July 18th, 2015 in Beverages, Non-alcoholic by Julia Volhina
Not complicated recipe for homemade drink to enjoy this hot summer: a milkshake made of fresh (and colorful) blueberries, ice cream and milk, you will also need a stand blender.
Fresh berries are just great for this. But they can be replaced with frozen ones to make it more affordable or when fresh blueberries are out of season.
Listed ingredients will yield about 3 portions. Work in batches to make more in case you have 48oz blender cup like I do.
Sour Cherry Kompot
June 7th, 2014 in Beverages, Non-alcoholic by Julia Volhina
I was hunting for fresh sour cherries to prepare this one for few years. Then I discovered a package of frozen pie cherries (tart cherries, sour cherries) in a store (yea, I know, should have checked freezer section long ago).
Anyway, now there is no need to wait for fresh ones anymore, since these will work the same good for the kompot, they are a lot cheaper and are much easier to find.
Disclaimer: usually sour cherry kompot is made of fresh sour cherries (if you have access to them by a sane price) with pits in.
Removing pits (or using pitless ones) makes it easier to consume cherries from the kompot (even though I kind of like when pits are in, maybe it reminds me of the sour cherry kompots imported from Bulgaria which we were getting occasionally for winter holidays are kids).
Fruit and Berry Kompot
February 1st, 2014 in Beverages, Non-alcoholic by Julia Volhina
This recipe gives me another chance to advertise the benefit of homemade drinks over store sold soda full of sugar and god knows what else: making drink for yourself gives you control over how much sugar it has exactly.
Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries are nice choice for this kompot, strawberries are nice addition too. I used frozen berry mix – it is cheaper and easier to get, however fresh berries will work the same well.
Fruit and berry kompot taste great warm, or cooled down to room temperature, or iced, whatever you prefer more. Fruits from the kompot taste great too, you can serve them with or without kompot.
Rhubarb Kompot
May 4th, 2013 in Beverages, Non-alcoholic by Julia Volhina
This is another drink from my childhood. I must say I didn’t like it back when my grandma cooked it. But it changed since then.
I saw rhubarb stalks in store and it reminded me of her, so I decided to share this recipe with you.
If the taste of kompot is a bit too sour for your liking, add a bit more sugar.
Kvass (Russian Fermented Rye Bread Drink)
December 3rd, 2011 in Beverages, Non-alcoholic by Julia Volhina
Kvass (kvas, quass) is probably a bit of unusual drink to this part of the globe.
Indeed, if you read ingredients list: dried rye bread, water, sugar and yeast – it probably will not strike you as something delicious. However this is one of soft drinks which is, according to Wikipedia, popular in Eastern Europe countries, especially Russia, since ancient times.
It is not hard to prepare kvass at home: you just need 2 big cooking pots, a funnel, cheese cloth, rye bread (which can be a bit of challenge to find) and about 3 days. Any type of rye bread will work.
I recently discovered good borodinsky bread in nearby european store, we liked it a lot and now buying pretty often. I dice the bread leftovers and heels and dry them for 10-15 mins in oven; that way I always have dried rye bread for the next patch of kvass ready to go when I need it (and I also don’t need to throw bread out).
Prepared kvass can be stored bottled in fridge; serve it as soft drink or use to prepare okroshka soup.
Dried Fruit Kompot (Uzvar)
January 2nd, 2010 in Beverages, Non-alcoholic by Julia Volhina
Uzvar is a kompot made from dried fruits: mainly apples, pears and prunes, however various recipes include raisins, dried sour cherries and even dried apricots.
Even though this drink is traditionally served to Christmas Eve dinner in some countries of West Europe (e.g. Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Lithuania), I really can’t find a reason why it can’t be a great better choice to drink before all those sugary-artificially prepared sodas people consume so much those days.
Uzvar, or as it also called in ex-USSR countries – Kompot made from Dried Fruits, is very refreshing, tasty and easy to do. I highly recommend this drink to everybody, prepare it for your kids – they will love it!