How to Make Your Own Lewis Road Creamery Chocolate Milk

 Lewis Road Creamery Chocolate Milk has been a bit of a sensation here in NZ hasn't it? Supermarkets can't keep up with the demand; as soon as they get stock in, it sells out. People have queued for hours to get a bottle of the stuff!

Why all the fuss? Well, it IS yummy (I know cos I've tried it. I spotted it in the drinks fridge at Petite Kitchen's cafe). Yep, it's good. Mostly I think it's gotten famous because there's almost nothing to it. No preservatives, no nasties. Just whole organic milk and the best chocolate in the world - Whittakers.

Anyhoo, the other day Dash was home from school and we were out getting stuff at the supermarket and he said, "Hey mum can I get some of that famous chocolate milk to try?"

Of course they were sold out. Of course they were.
But they did have plenty of the plain white stuff in stock.
Which gave me an idea - the famous chocolate milk is meant to be just Whittakers Chocolate in Lewis Road Creamery Milk, so why not make my own?

I did, and here's how you can make your own too. Queueing be damned!

Make your Own Lewis Road Creamery Chocolate Milk

INGREDIENTS

• 1 x 750ml bottle of Lewis Road Creamery whole milk*
• 1 x block (or share pack) of Whittakers Milk Chocolate

*(or some other whole/organic/unpasteurised milk if you can't get Lewis Road Creamery Milk where you are)

METHOD

• Pour the milk into a small saucepan and place on the stove, on a medium heat; stir (or find an assistant stirrer).
• Break up the chocolate into smallish chunks and add to the milk; keep stirring. (You can vary the amount of chocolate according to taste; half a block will give a pleasant chocolaty flavour, a whole block is like drinking liquid gold)
• The chocolate will begin to melt into the milk; keep on stirring.
• When all the chocolate is melted into the milk remove saucepan from the heat. **Do not allow to come to the boil**

Now you have two options:

1. Drink it warm (it will slip down like silken liquid chocolate, warming the cockles of your heart) OR
2. Pour it into a suitable container, chill in the fridge and sip it cold on a hot day.

Either way it's GOOD.

[We poured our homemade brew back into the milk bottle and chilled it in the fridge]

Let me know if you give it a go!

OTHER FAVOURITE DRINKIES

• Old Fashioned Lemonade
• Sangria for Young and Old
• Easy Eggnog
• Green Tea fruit Punch - Delicious Fizzy & Sugar Free

Sugar Free | Delicious Green Tea Fruit Punch

A few people have asked for my recipe for delicious sugar-free green-tea fruit punch.  So although I have included the recipe in my various impromptu party posts, I thought I'd single it out for some special attention and give it a post of it's own.

I invented this concoction myself, and it has been guzzled with glee by kids and adults alike. The drink is light, refreshing and - dare I say it - good for you.

It's a great alternative to fizzy drinks at birthday parties, satisfying the little people's desire for something fizzy while satisfying the concerned mamas' need avoid their littlies bouncing off the walls. The use is not limited to parties OR children though,  oh no.

This is the perfect light refresher to serve chilled on a hot summer's day, any day of the week. You can serve it up at barbeques, at lunch, or sip it as you're reading in a sunshine-dappled hammock, with a gentle breeze wafting through... (we can but dream).

Without further ado, here's the recipe for my Green Tea Fruit punch - in two versions Berry and Apple. Feel free to adapt, add your own flavours, get creative and ENJOY!

Berry Fizz (green tea punch with a berry infusion)

BERRY PUNCH BASE:
1 litre of boiling water
4 green tea teabags
zest and juice of one lemon
1 cup of frozen berries
Two tablespoons of runny honey.

First dissolve the honey in the boiling water; then add the green teabags, lemon and berries and steep overnight in the fridge.
The next day strain your punch base into a drink dispenser (or large jug) and add 1 litre of sugar-free berry fruit juice (e.g. "Juice Juice" Strawberry & Kiwifruit or Blackcurrant & Apple)
Add 3 litres of chilled soda water and voila - a delicious healthy fizzy drink.
So light and delicious, with no artificial colours or flavours and refined sugar free.

(NOTE: Never put berries in the drink dispenser as a pretty garnish. They clog it up and force you to ladle out the fairy fizz with a scoop! Gah).

Apple Fizz (Green tea punch with an apple infusion)

APPLE PUNCH BASE:
1 litre of boiling water
4 green tea teabags
zest and juice of one lemon
1 large grated apple
Two tablespoons of runny honey.

First dissolve the honey in the boiling water; then add the green teabags, lemon and apple and steep overnight in the fridge.
The next day strain your punch base into a drink dispenser (or large jug) and add 1 litre of sugar-free apple juice (e.g. Just Juice which has no added sugar).
Add 3 litres of chilled soda water and serve.

OPTIONAL: Add a drop or two of natural green food colouring for a green-tinted drink; perfect at Star Wars parties as Yoda Soda and the like.

..............

OTHER FAVOURITE PARTY DRINKS:

Old Fashioned Lemonade

Sangria for Young and Old

Easy Eggnog

Easy Delicious Addictive Eggnog

I always used to think the idea of eggnog sounded disgusting. Who wants to drink raw egg, right??

So what if it's a posh drink consumed by the aristocracy. I just couldn't get past the rawness of the egg.

But in my search for delicious traditional things to wow my British mother-in-law with, I decided to give eggnog a try this year and began to google search for a recipe. Something simple. And easy. With the ingredients I could muster.

This is the recipe I share with you now, as modified by me.
The recipe for eggnog that has me dreaming of more.
The recipe for eggnog that has all-comers licking their lips and proclaiming: We love it! Raw egg be dashed!

It's so easy. And oh so delicious... Like a creamy spicy milkshake...

Ingredients:
4 eggs
1 cup of milk
1/2 cup cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brandy or rum (I used Baileys)

Put all the Ingredients in a blender and whiz until mixed and creamy.
Pour into glasses and garnish with a sprinkle of nutmeg on top.

Serve to any rellies you want to impress.
Mmmmmmmm.... yummo!

{serves four people; add an extra egg per person, plus proportionally extra milk/cream liquor etc to serve more guests}

This is traditionally drunk at Christmas but I think I'll be serving it up on New Years Eve as well!

Sangria for Young and Old...

This recipe is my version of traditional Sangria. It's very delicious and I always get major compliments when I serve this up at a party or BBQ...

I also make a kids version so the sproggies don't feel left out...

Sangria for Grown Ups

In a glass Jug put...

• 1 sliced up lemon
• 1 sliced up orange
• a handful of frozen berries
• a dessertspoon of sugar
• a splash of Rum (or Malibu)

Then pour in some Ginger Ale until the fruit is just covered.

Get a wooden spoon and mash the fruit a little bit to release the flavours... then allow to sit in the fridge for at least half an hour (or as long as it takes your hubby to run to the shop for some red wine).

Add a bottle of cheap red wine (or up to half the jug) then top up with soda water.

Serve outside on a balmy summers evening to some good friends...

(or have a Spanish Theme dinner)

Sangria for Kids

In a colourful jug put:

• 2 handfuls of frozen berries
• 1 cup of lemonade
• then top with sparkling pink grape juice...

Mix and serve in plastic wine glasses to kids with nice manners who will happily go off and play while you chat to your good friends on the balmy summers evening... :)

Old Fashioned Lemonade Recipe

To Make the Syrup:

Rind and juice of 3 lemons

3 cups sugar

2 Tablespoons of Citric Acid

1.2 litres of boiling water

Peel the lemon rind off the lemons and whizz in the food processor with the sugar. (If you have no food processor, grate the lemon rind off and mix together instead).

Dissolve the sugar/rind mixture and citric acid in the Boiling Water.
Stir in lemon juice.

This makes 1.5 litres of concentrate which, once cooled, can be bottled and kept. Dilute with soda water for a fizzy lemonade: 1 part concentrate to 3 parts water (or dilute still further for a lighter drink).

Made up this way you will have 6 litres of deliciously tangy Old Fashioned Lemonade.

Serve with ice cubes and lemon slices. Mmmmm! A yummy and healthy fizzy drink for parties or anytime.