Hey all! I hope that you’re having a great summer weekend. It’s been so, so hot and steamy here. The only cooking I’ve been up to is on the grill and that’s with a mandatory cold beverage in hand. I’m constantly scheming up different cool and refreshing drinks to keep us hydrated, and this slightly tart version of the ever-present pink drink is my latest favourite. It has fresh raspberries, hibiscus tea (that perfect pink hue!), and vanilla. It’s tart, sweet, mellow, creamy, and just so pretty to look at.
Here’s a few more refreshing beverages for you from the archives: Chamomile and Vanilla Iced Latte, Double Coconut Cold Brew, and Minty Cucumber Limeade.
Here’s a few links to check out when you’re chilling by the pool/on your porch/parked in front of a high speed fan in your living room this weekend! ;) Let me know in the comments if you read, saw, or listened to anything particularly great this week. Sending all my hugs.
-Have you tried mantra meditation?
-Millennials are rejecting fast fashion (great!), but Costco is rising as a fashion retailer because their parents still opt for fast fashion (not so great).
–Elizabeth Gilbert on the Forever 35 Podcast! Bonus discussion of plant-based cooking in this episode.
–Tree planting ‘has mind-blowing potential’ to tackle climate crisis
-I LOVE this article about garlic presses. To a certain degree, it’s true that we’ve been conditioned to despise convenience cooking or shortcuts of any kind. For what it’s worth, I go in phases of using my Zyliss one.
–Botanica is one of my favourite LA restaurants and this pantry tour with its founders is seriously educational. Obsessed with that kitchen too.
-“When diners are more interested than ever before in the foods of nations that have been ignored by history, how do we properly and intelligently review these restaurants?”
Raspberry and Hibiscus Pink Drink
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup fresh raspberries
- 1 teaspoon hibiscus tea, secured in a loose leaf tea bag or other tea steeping apparatus
- 1 cup boiling water
- sweetener, to taste (agave nectar, maple syrup, honey, stevia etc)
- 1 cup plant-based milk of choice (I used homemade cashew)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ice, for serving
Equipment
Notes
- Separation is natural since we aren’t using any gums or stabilizers! Just keep stirring it up with your little stainless steel/glass/silicone straw :)
Instructions
- Place the raspberries and hibiscus tea bag in a liquid measuring cup with a minimum 2-cup capacity. Pour the boiling water over the raspberries and hibiscus tea and let it steep for 5 minutes.
- Remove the tea bag and pour the tea and raspberries into an upright blender. Add any sweetener you’d like to use, along with the plant-based milk and vanilla. Blend the mixture on high until totally smooth.
- Run the pink drink through a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag to catch all of the raspberry seeds. Place the strained pink drink in the fridge for at least an hour.
- Before serving, give the pink drink a good stir (separation is natural). Then, pour it over ice. Enjoy!
I had a (rather horrifically) texturally challenged batch of coconut milk whipped cream left over from last night. I used some in lieu of the sweetener and regular plant based milk. It blended up nicely with the hibiscus and raspberry mixture and made a delightfully decadent drink, and nothing had to be thrown out. Thanks for the inspiration!
This sounds amazing and perfect for the current heatwave!
Love this idea. I’ll definitely try it next week with the kids.
Girl this pink drink is on point! Can’t wait to try it!
I loved the article about tree-planting and heartily agree! I live and work at a little Buddhist community in Quebec with a fruit and nut tree nursery – called Hardy Fruit Tree Nursery. I arrived there first as a volunteer and ended up staying long-term. The aim of the nursery is to grow trees that are adapted for cold temperatures, so as to allow people living in cold climates to still be able to be a bit more independent by growing their own fruit. Planting a tree is so wonderful, because at least if it is planted in nature the tree is something that can take care of itself and sow its own seeds for the next generation. Nature is SO generous – just give it a bit of time and from one seed that you have planted it gives you back thousands more that you can plant!