Tag: Ginger

Stem Ginger Biscuits | How to Be Awesome on $20 a Day

Stem Ginger Biscuits

Renee 2 Comments

Stem Ginger Biscuits are packed with ginger heat. Plus, they’re the perfect combination of crispy and chewy. You’ll love them.

Stem Ginger Biscuits | How to Be Awesome on $20 a Day

Things got a little personal on the blog this week. I’m not gonna lie. It felt a little weird to be talking about serious life stuff with all of you. It’s been a long time since we’ve dug deep and found our inner awesomeness. Maybe we should make it a thing.

I feel much more comfortable back in the realm of butter and flour. Cookies are something I know about. A subject upon which I can speak with a modicum of authority. Because you know I’ve eaten a lot of cookies in my lifetime. Like a lot a lot.

Okay, technically I’m calling these biscuits because it’s a British recipe, but they feel more like a cookie when you eat them. I don’t know if the difference is anything other than regional semantics, but in my mind, a biscuit is more dry and crisp, and a cookie is more chewy or cakey. Maybe I’m not an expert on this after all.

Stem Ginger Biscuits | How to Be Awesome on $20 a Day

Perhaps we should have waited until December to talk about cookies, but I feel like these Stem Ginger Biscuits transcend season. They’ve got that glorious ginger warmth, and the addition of chopped stem ginger adds a chewy texture and depth of flavor.

One of the things I like about this recipe is that you use melted butter and golden syrup (or you could substitute light corn syrup). That means you don’t have to wait for butter to soften before getting started. No creaming butter and sugar, either, so we can make the whole thing in one mixing bowl with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. So simple.

Stem Ginger Biscuits | How to Be Awesome on $20 a Day

There are very few situations in life that can’t be improved with tea and biscuits. If you’ve got these Stem Ginger Biscuits in your biscuit tin or cookie jar, happiness is sure to follow.

This recipe is from The Great British Book of Baking by Linda Collister.

Rum and Ginger Beer with a Twist

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Rum & Ginger Beer with a Twist | How to be Awesome on $20 a Day

Ooph. It’s been a week, kids. I need a drink. Like now. Nothing complicated. No syrups or shrubs to prepare. N fancy rims or garnishes. I don’t want to think. I just want to drink.

One drink, maybe a piece of chocolate. Fifteen minutes to feel sorry for yourself. Then you have to take a deep breath, let it go, and move on. Here’s to saying no to taking onto other people’s emotional baggage. Here’s to pulling back, going internal, and allowing yourself to relax and let go. Here’s to knowing there’s every possibility that tomorrow will be better.

Rum & Ginger Beer with a Twist | How to be Awesome on $20 a Day

I’ve made you a real life drink today. Three ingredients, and you’re well on your way to a spicy, flavorful drink that will have you totally chilled in no time. We’re mixing up our favorite spiced rum with ginger beer and a squeeze of fresh lime. Pour it all over ice, and you’re done.

Let’s be honest, this is the way we really drink most of the time? I mean, how often do you actually want to stand in the kitchen muddling up fruits and herbs after a stressful day? Fancy Instagram cocktails are beautiful, but this is real life, and this Rum & Ginger Beer is a real life drink. No apologies.

Rum & Ginger Beer with a Twist | How to be Awesome on $20 a Day

Cheers, my friends, to confronting where you are in life right now, and making the most of it. A little rum should help.

Rum & Ginger Beer with a Twist

Yield

1 serving

Prep time

5 minutes

Difficulty

Easy

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Ingredients

  • 1 ounce spiced rum
  • 4 ounces ginger beer
  • 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
  • Ice
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Instructions

  • Add ice to a short glass. Pour over the spiced rum, top up with ginger beer, squeeze in a wedge of lime, give it a gentle stir, and enjoy.

Mistletoe Mocktail

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Mistletoe Mocktail | How to be Awesome on $20 a Day

Christmas is almost here, and I can’t wait. As I write this, I have basically another half day of work left before I get to take over two weeks off. I’m looking forward to being utterly idle for hours at a time, watching all the movies and tv, reading all the books, and cooking something every day. Come by for copious leftovers.

It’s just Geoff and I for Christmas this year, and Geoff doesn’t have much time off work, so this will be an oddly solitary holiday season. I’m not remotely mad about it.

For most, though, Christmas break is all about getting together with family. From newborns to centenarians, you’ll likely be feeding people of all ages all at once during the holidays. So today, I’m offering you a versatile drink that can make a lot of people happy.

Mistletoe Mocktail | How to be Awesome on $20 a Day

This Mistletoe Mocktail is a lime and ginger delight. If you’re too young to drink or don’t drink for any reason, this will be absolutely awesome. Sweet and tangy, with a touch of heat from ginger beer, you can easily make this for one person or twenty. 

If spending so much time with your family is making you desperate for a bit of booze, or if you just want to make your holidays a little more merry, you could easily add a shot of vodka or maybe even rum to your glass to make this a legit cocktail. 

Happy holidays, friends. May your days be merry and bright.

Mistletoe Mocktail

5 minutes

Easy

Adapted from Nigella Christmas by Nigella Lawson

Vanilla Ginger Mojito | How to be Awesome on $20 a Day

Vanilla Ginger Mojito

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Vanilla Ginger Mojito | How to be Awesome on $20 a Day

Are you getting legit fall weather where you live yet? In Scotland, summer is a distant memory, and it’s been chilly and damp for weeks now, but I know other parts of the world are just now seeing those delightfully crisp autumn days. October is up there as my favorite time of year. The autumn leaves are in full show, and you still get some sunny, albeit cold, days where you can get outside and feel alive. They don’t have apple picking or pumpkin patches or hay rides here in Scotland, but at least there’s still boots and sweaters and all things toffee. 

Today I’ve made you a cocktail that is the perfect transition from summer to fall. Mojitos bring to mind steamy beach vacations, short skirts, and salsa music. But this version has some beautiful fall flavors that are perfect to sip in front of the fire after a day of crunching through leaves. Okay, maybe you can’t pick the mint from your garden, but you can definitely make this happen.

Vanilla Ginger Mojito | How to be Awesome on $20 a Day

This Vanilla Ginger Mojito is one of the best cocktails I’ve made in a long time. I splurged on a whole vanilla bean to make the syrup, and it was totally worth it. This cocktail is so beautifully fragrant, I wish it was a perfume. I also made that vanilla bean do double duty. The recipe calls for vanilla rum, but that wasn’t available at my grocery store, so I just popped the vanilla bean into my bottle of white rum and presto, vanilla rum. 

This recipe is two stage and involves several fresh ingredients, but it’s in no way complicated to make. And I assure you it is an absolute pleasure to drink. It’s all for the best that this recipe only makes two cocktails because you could easily drink a bucket of these.

Vanilla Ginger Mojito | How to be Awesome on $20 a Day

Cheers to autumn, friends. Make yourself a Vanilla Ginger Mojito and enjoy these awesome days.

Vanilla Ginger Mojito
Serves 2
This Vanilla Ginger Mojito is the perfect drink to take you from summer to fall with a smile on your face.
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
5 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
5 min
For the syrup
  1. 1/2 cup water
  2. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  3. 1 vanilla bean, sliced in half with seeds scraped out
  4. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  5. 1 inch chunk fresh ginger, peeled
For the cocktail
  1. 2/3 cup fresh mint leaves
  2. 4 ounces vanilla rum
  3. 2 ounces soda water
  4. 2 ounces ginger ale
  5. 2 ounces lime juice
  6. Lime wedges for garnish, optional
For the syrup
  1. Add the water and sugar to a small saucepan. Stir together the water and sugar, then add the scraped out beans from your vanilla bean, along with the whole bean, the vanilla extract, and the piece of ginger. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar, and reduce the heat to simmer for about two minutes.
  2. Remove the pan from the heat and let it sit for about fifteen minutes to steep. Remove the vanilla bean and ginger.
For the cocktail
  1. Add about a third of a cup of fresh mint leaves to two glasses. Add two ounces of vanilla rum to each glass and muddle the mint in the bottom of the glass by giving it a good smash with something blunt. I use the handle end of a butter knife.
  2. Fill each glass with plenty of ice, then divide the remaining ingredients between your two glasses.
  3. Garnish with a wedge of lime and some additional mint. Give it a good stir before drinking.
Adapted from Seriously Delish by Jessica Merchant
Adapted from Seriously Delish by Jessica Merchant
How to be Awesome on $20 a day http://awesomeon20.com/

Cranberry Mule | How to be Awesome on $20 a Day

Cranberry Mule

Renee Leave a comment

Cranberry Mule | How to be Awesome on $20 a Day

By the time this post goes live, it will be 4:00 in the afternoon in the Pacific Northwest where my family lives. I was just there last week, and I’m still feeling the jet lag. We were awake for a solid 32 hours this weekend with only the occasional nod off on the plane. I managed to curl up on the floor of Heathrow airport in a nest of coats and almost sleep for about 20 minutes. When I got up, I had forgotten for a moment what city I was in.

Anybody who tries to tell you jet lag isn’t real is a damn liar. I feel like I should have been given at least two sick days as I attempted to recover. Instead, I worked for 12 hours yesterday and have another 11 hour day to look forward to tomorrow. If my boss ever tries to tell me I’m not dedicated, I might scream. It’s a good thing I don’t drive or operate heavy machinery because I definitely would have accidentally killed someone this week. 

Cranberry Mule | How to be Awesome on $20 a Day

The afternoon before Thanksgiving might be the exact perfect time to have a sweet and festive cocktail dropped into your life. This Cranberry Mule will be the perfect start to your Thanksgiving weekend. It’s so fun and goes down easy. There’s a bit of a bite from the ginger beer, and a tart hint from the cranberry juice. Mix up a pitcher of these, and your family will never notice you gave them cranberry sauce from a jar.

Incidentally, it’s so easy to make your own cranberry sauce, you could probably do it while drinking a Cranberry Mule.

This drink can easily be scaled up or down. Mix it in parts and make as much or as little as you like. And if you really want to go all out, freeze some cranberries to use in place of some of the ice in your glass. If you happen to have some of those fancy copper mugs, what better time to break them out? I wish I was as cool as that.

Cranberry Mule | How to be Awesome on $20 a Day

Cheers to family and turkey and cranberries and booze. Hope you have a lovely holiday.

Cranberry Mule
Cranberry Mule is the perfect sweet, festive cocktail to get you through the holidays.
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Prep Time
5 min
Prep Time
5 min
Ingredients
  1. Ice
  2. 2 parts vodka
  3. 1 part cranberry juice
  4. 5 parts ginger beer
  5. Lime juice
Instructions
  1. Add vodka, cranberry juice, and ginger beer to your desired vessel. If you're making this one glass at a time, start out with the ice in the glass. Otherwise, mix up a pitcher and pour the drink over the ice as you serve. Add a squeeze of lime juice to each glass, from an actual lime wedge if you planned ahead, or from the plastic squeezy lime if you're being more spontaneous.
Notes
  1. If you start with all your ingredients well chilled, your drink get as watered down by the ice.
Adapted from Christmas by Nigella Lawson
Adapted from Christmas by Nigella Lawson
How to be Awesome on $20 a day http://awesomeon20.com/



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