Elysian The Immortal IPA

price: unknown

While visiting with a friend of Spindle's, he handed her a bottle of beer.  "Try this," he tells her.  "You'll like it!  Just make sure you don't drink it cold.  It tastes terrible cold!"

Advice appreciated and taken.

The Immortal is an India Pale Ale with a rather high-for-beer alcohol content of 6.3% by volume.  It is "refreshing, hoppy and well-balanced", the label tells us.  A "classic English style" that's got a "New World hop flavor and aroma."

What that means, exactly, I don't really know.

Now, I am not a beer drinker at the best of times.  Spindle likes her brew, and is baffled by my inability to enjoy the stuff.  I still like to try new beers, though, in hopes that one of these years, I'll discover the answer to why beer is such a popular drink.  Perhaps this beer will be the one?

At first quaff, I thought for a moment that the answer had been found.  As I first sipped, the ale was smooth and gently flavoured, and I dared to think, "wow!  I might actually like thi..."

And then that "New World hop flavor" hit, stomping on my taste buds like a dry and bitter old geezer, gleefully shouting "psyche!"

Okay, so maybe it wasn't that bad.

It wasn't good, either.  In fact, I'd be hard pressed to find anything, other then that first touch of ale on the tongue, that made it different from any other beer I've ever tried.

But what did Spindle think?

Not much either, it turns out.  She was left with really nothing to say about it.  It didn't look, smell or taste any different then any other IPA.

I suppose it's a good thing we didn't try it cold.

Maple Bacon Latte

Roast Coffeehouse and Wine Bar
Cost: under $5 for a medium

Not far from our place we have been watching the transformation of an old building.  It has been empty since before we moved out here.  It's a really interesting looking old place, and we were glad to see things happening there.

Recently, two new businesses have opened.  Mercer Tavern, which we have yet to visit, and Roast Coffeehouse and Wine Bar.

Spindle had already checked out Roast with a friend and they absolutely loved it.  Today she dragged me out into the pouring rain to check it out.

It was worth it.

The coffeehouse itself is beautiful.  They did a great job with the interior design.  There's lots of space, and it's bright, open and comfortable. 

I am not actually a coffee drinker - in fact, I hate coffee as a beverage - but when we saw a Maple Bacon Latte on the menu, I just had to try it!  Lattes, I can usually do.

The bacon was supposed to stay floating on the top, apparently.  When it sank as it was being brought to us, the barista came back with a saucer and spoon so I could fish it out!  Spin and I both gave the bacon a try, first.  It was delicious!  The maple part of the maple bacon was a candy-like coating that made taking a small bight a bit of a challenge, since it wanted to stick to the teeth.  Normally, I can't stand that, but not today!

As for the latte itself, it was really delicious!  Sweet, but not anywhere near cloying, with a just the right balance of coffee flavour and smooth creaminess. I loved it!

This is a place we're going to have to come back to, often!  The only down side is that the place is not wheelchair accessible, so I won't be able to take some of my friends there, but I was told the entire building is going to be made fully accessible in the near future. 

If you have the chance, I highly recommend checking them out!

Fentimans Dandelion & Burdock Float

Where: Soda Jerks
Price: $5.75

At soda jerks, one can make any soda selection into a float. My personal favourites are red birch beer and dandelion burdock, the latter of which prompted a waitress to once ask if I was 'really sure' that's what I wanted. Yes, it is. It's delicious, loaded with ice cream and dandelion flavour, thick and thirst-quenching. Try it out!
-spindle, via insufferable phone keyboard.

Amaranth Atole

Traditional Atole Amaranth Flour Recipe
(source: versagrain.com)
Ingredients (Thick Hot Drink, Serves 5-6)

· 1/2 cup Amaranth flour

· 5 cups milk or water, according to taste

· 1/4 cup piloncillo (Mexican sugar cones), chopped fine or grated (or dark brown sugar)

· 1 stick cinnamon (or 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon)

· 1 vanilla bean (split lengthwise) (or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)

Directions

In a large saucepan, whisk the milk or water into the flour, little by little, until completely mixed and free of lumps.

Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it just begins to thicken.

Add piloncillo (or brown sugar) and cinnamon stick (or ground cinnamon).

Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into pan (or add vanilla extract). Stir frequently until sugar is dissolved, then bring to a boil, stirring constantly to keep it from becoming lumpy.

Remove the cinnamon stick. Serve hot in mugs.

Substitutions and Additions


To turn this Amaranth recipe into a chocolate confection, do the following:

After removing from the heat, stir in approximately 3 ounces of chopped, Mexican chocolate (or any chocolate you desire). Stir until everything is well blended and the chocolate has melted. Then whisk until frothy. YUM!

So, in an effort to tame my loathsome gut, I've been switching up my diet some. Been eating lots of eggplant, learned how to make kale-chips, and I picked up a bag of Amaranth flour. I'm sure some of you know quite a bit about Amaranth, but I didn't, I just wanted to try it out. My attempts at making pasta were.... questionable, but it made good eggplant-breading!

Now onto the next recipe down the list: Atole.

The instructions and ingredients are dead simple, and it took about fifteen minutes from start to serving. The texture turned from grainy to pleasantly creamy as soon as I brought the mixture to a boil and, as pictured, the resulting drink looks frothy and thick.

Now, onto the flavour.

....Do you like Amaranth?

I mean, it's good, but it has a very aggressive flavour. One that I would describe as a cross between hazelnut and corn, with a touch of grassiness. My sister rejected it outright, my mother describes it as "weird", and I, after my initial reaction of what-the-heck-why-does-it-taste-like-corn-no-no-no find it rather pleasant. Odd, but pleasant. The chocolate version sounds interesting.

Overall, I would give it a try. Just don't make a full batch of it unless you're already a fan of Amaranth flour.

Krupnik

Another Polish offering for you - Krupnik.  This is a drink that goes back in my family for quite some time.  I still remember when my parents discovered it locally and just had to get a bottle.  It's not every day that you find a drink with your name on it, and butt-kicking booze is way cooler then soup.

It's been a long time since I've had any - the last time we made the road trip to visit my parents, I believe (my mother likes to add it to her tea - I highly recommend it), but I've regaled my children with the story of it, joking that it was an old family recipe.  It isn't, though my mother does have a Polish cookbook with a recipe that my father used.  It was quite the thing to see, and it left the house smelling of honey and spices.

Being a rather cheap sort, I haven't actually bought a bottle for myself in years, though we did find a liquor store that sold it at a much more reasonable price - about $25, or $5-$10 less then anywhere else I've seen it of late.  This particular bottle was a Mother's Day gift. :-D

This is a drink that I've seen classified as a whiskey, liqueur or mead - though the recipe to make it at home calls for vodka.  I've also heard it called honey or fire whiskey.  It is typically drunk straight (though as I mentioned, it does go well with tea) warm, at room temperature or on ice.  At 40% alcohol, it packs quite a kick.  The warmer it is, the more powerful the hit, and the more flavourful.  Sipped from a cognac style glass, allowed to warm in your hand, the vapours rising up are enough to make the eyes burn!  Especially if you wear glasses.  The taste is sweet and wonderfully spiced with cinnamon and cloves.  It's warm and smooth on the way down, and the heat and flavours linger.  This is not the sort of drink to be drunk quickly.  Sip and savour!  I definitely recommend giving it a try.  

Zubrowka Bison grass vodka

So there we were, traipsing through the liquor store (as one does) when suddenly... fur. Green fur. Green suspiciously muppet-esque fur. After a moment of speculation, my mother uttered a happy cry and picked the offending object up.

"Zubrowka!"

Zu-what-now? It's got a bison on it. That's pretty cool.

Zubrowka, as it happens, is a very well regarded Polish vodka that my mother may or may not have tried before but was obviously familiar enough with to be excited. I like vodka well enough, so we brought it home. It was about then that it fully sank in exactly what "bison grass vodka" is.

The answer is "literal".

So yes, not only does it contain a very nice blade of grass but it is very chipper about that fact. It's grass from a primordial forest! Handpicked! Imparts a flavour and colour! And underneath that information was a wealthy list of recipes, most of which included apple. We chose the simplest one. (One part Zubrowka, one part apple juice, with ice, garnished with an apple slice.)

One its own, Zubrowka has an ever-so-faint green tint and is crystal clear. 

We all agreed that it tastes a bit floral, goes down smoothly (for a vodka, so I'll leave that to your discretion) and has an exceedingly pleasant aftertaste. I'd say a little lilac-y.

With the apple juice, the flavours marry beautifully into a light, clear honey flavour.

There was another recipe that involved cinnamon, and I imagine that being a perfect combination. We'll have to try it sometime.

Overall, I would highly recommend it. We got the bottle for under thirty dollars and I plan to pick it up again in the future.

(Are you supposed to eat the grass, though? Is it like the tequila-worm? Mysteries.)

Oh, and we're baaaack~!

Genmaicha and Durian Milkshake

Spindle and I had an opportunity to try out a place I've been curious about for some time, Jasper Sushi and Noodle House.  It's in the same building as our doctor's clinic, and every time I've walked past it, it has tempted me.  Spindle does enjoy her sushi, so I dragged her along for my doctor's appointment, just so we could stop by after for a snack.

Immediately after being seated, we were brought the most adorable little teapot and cups.

The tea is complimentary, which is always nice. :-)  It had a very distinctive flavour, which had me wondering what kind of tea it was.  A quick glance into the strainer in the teapot had me perplexed.  What on earth were those brown... things?  They looked like swollen grain.

When I had the chance, I asked our waitress about the tea.  She tried to explain it to me, then decided it would be easier if she just brought out the bag.  The only thing on the package that was in English was the ingredients list, which helped.  It turns out that the stuff in the strainer that confused me was toasted brown rice.  No wonder it was difficult to explain. Not something I would have associated with tea!  There was quite a mix of things in there, including popped rice, which looked a bit like very tiny popped corn. 

I recognised the bag as something I've seen in some of our local Asian grocery stores and had been curious about, but there was no way I would have associated what I could see in the bag with what I saw in the strainer!  The rice absorbed a fair amount of liquid, and we couldn't see any of the green tea leaves at all.  

It made for excellent tea, though!  It had its own mild sweetness, and the toasted rice added its own distinctive, nutty flavour.  It's something we'll be picking up for home when we get the chance.  We both recommend it.

While perusing the menu, Spindle spotted something interesting in the drink menu.  Durian milk shakes!  This is another food we've been curious about but have not quite been willing to actually buy.  They're not exactly a small fruit, and I would hate to have it go to waste if it turned out to be something we didn't like.  But in a beverage?  That would be small enough that we could share one and finally find out what durian tasted like.

Here's our Durian Milkshake ($3.95), after sampling. 

What to say about this??

The first thing you notice is the smell.  Durian has a reputation for being foul smelling, but it wasn't a bad smell, exactly.  It wasn't even a strong smell.  It was definitely noticeable, though.  I can't even begin to describe what it smelled like.  I simply can't think of anything I can compare it to. 

Then we tasted it. 

Oh. 

Oh, dear.

How to describe this?

Well, it was definitely milky.  Lightly sweet.  Smooth and thick, like a milkshake should be, yet more so.  I've heard durian's texture described as custard-like, and I could certainly get that out of it.   

It was also... fleshy. Which is an odd word to associate with the texture of a drink, never mind the flavour, yet we both agreed that fleshy was the best way to describe it. 

Again, I just don't have anything else I can compare the flavour to.  Nothing even comes close.

It was wrong on so many levels.  Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I managed three sips before I gave up entirely, as each sip was increasingly stomach churning, throat closing, bile raisingly abhorrent.   Spindle was braver.  She managed to bring the glass down to the half-way mark or so.  Then she washed the taste away with tea.

My goodness, we were glad for that tea!!

The worst part of it was that, for hours later, any time one of us burped, we would taste it again!  It was horrible.  Disgusting.  I don't understand how anyone could like it!  Obviously, enough people like it for it to be on the menu, but my goodness!  I can't even imagine it being an acquired taste. 

Never again.

Never, never, never again!

As for the restaurant:  the food was very good, as was the service.  Prices are quite reasonable, and their maki was incredibly generous in size.  We look forward to going back. 

Just not for the durian milkshake!!