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Ingredients: [Print this Recipe]

• 4 whole jalapeño peppers, large and firm, stems removed
• 1 tbsp canola oil, to lightly coat the peppers
• 1 1/2 tsp sea salt
• Heavy cast iron skillet

That is it. Three ingredients that when combined, will knock your socks off. Let me also state that these peppers can be hot, so if you are into the hot food, this is great. Remember, the seeds are in there, but if you eat around the edges, you should be just fine.

Begin by adding the peppers to a mixing bowl. Add in the oil, and mix around until you know all of the peppers have been coated with the oil.

Add these to a cast iron skillet, and heat on medium to medium-high heat. As the skillet comes to temperature, begin moving the peppers around in the skillet, making sure all of the sides become roasted. This should take anywhere for 8-12 minutes for them to roast.

As soon as the peppers are fully roasted, carefully move them to the mixing bowl and shower them with the salt, gently mixing. Add them to a serving bowl and have your guests (that like hot and spicy) add one to their plate. You simply eat them whole, starting with the smaller tip, and eating your way down.  These can be served alongside just about anything, and they go perfect if you and your friends are drinking beer.

The flavor, although mildly spicy in my opinion, is really amazing. Something about the salt and the roasted flavor of the chile really get the meal going. Simple, fun, and delicious. What could anyone else ask for? Enjoy.

Agua frescas are basically fruit flavored water refreshments that can range from pretty much any fruit you put your mind to, but as my daughter has been on a strawberry and raspberry rampage lately, I decided to give her something different and expose the strawberry in a different light. This drink, in its purist form, is simply fruit and water, with a bit of sugar, and let me tell you, it makes the heat go away. Lets get started on this wonderful and refreshing drink.

Ingredients:

• 2 pints of strawberries, hulled
• 1/2 to 1 cup of sugar (taste how sweet or sour your strawberry is)
• 1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves
• 8 cups of water
• Ice

Begin by macerating your strawberries. Add them to a bowl, add the sugar, mix, and let them go for at least two hours. You will notice that they begin to release their liquid and turn into something wonderful.

Next, add the bowl of macerated strawberries to a blender, add in the mint and water, and give it a good blend, almost into a puree.

Now you need to strain the mixture. If you have a fine wire strainer, use it and place over a bowl.

Slowly pour in the mixture and with a wooden spoon or other utensil, begin slowly moving it around, separating the pulp from the water.This will take a few minutes to do.

Once you have strained everything, you are left with a very refreshing strawberry water. Pour this into a pitcher, and place in the refrigerator for a couple of hours to let it get nice and cold. Otherwise, if you do not have time for that, fill up your glass with ice, pour the strawberry agua fresca inside, and head outside.

Enjoy that sun. Enjoy that heat, and better yet, enjoy that strawberry agua fresca. There is nothing like it, so enjoy every moment of it!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of Bing cherries, pitted
• 1 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 cups of water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup of brandy

Start by pitting your cherries. This takes some time. If you have a pitter, use it. I do not, so I used a pairing knife to carefully wedge in by the pit to remove it.

Next add the water and sugar to a pot. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from the heat and add in the vanilla and the brandy. Stir. Let cool then add in the cherries. Store in a sealed tight container, in the refrigerator for up to 4 weeks.

The end result is what I expected, and very similar to that of the distillery. Cherries that were sweet, delicious, soft, and ones that were perfect in dessert as well as a refreshing cocktail.

But with that said, I have a lot of mint and I am always thinking of ways to continuously use it up. I have even offered it up to folks in the neighborhood, because after all, who should have to go to the store and pay three dollars for a small bunch of wilted mint? Come clip some, use what you want, because I know it will grow back.

So knowing my daughter loves mint, I decided to have her make a refreshing batch of limeade. It is finally warming up in Wisconsin (as sad as that sounds), and this great use of mint allowed for a refreshing drink for both her, me, and a handful of others. Simple, delicious, and a drink that now screams summertime.

Ingredients:

• 6 whole limes, halved, juiced
• 1 lime, zested
• 1 cup of light brown sugar
• 2 cups of ice
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup of fresh mint leaves
• Tequila (optional, but delicious on a summer day)

Get a blender out, and add the ice, water, sugar, zest, and juice of all of the limes. Toss in the mint leaves. Blend.

That’s it. Simple right? The fun part about making limeade is not only how delicious the end result is, but it is watching my daughter pick the leaves, and juice the limes. It was her drink.

It was her drink that she loved. That I loved. A drink that was beyond the idea of a mojito. It is something that is just really refreshing when poured over ice. Something about this just created the start of our summer in Wisconsin.

Give it a shot, and heck, try lemons with the mint, because who knows, your creativity might just pay off. Happy summer everyone.

I will admit that I typically do not eat watermelon, but a recent stop at the grocery store really attracted me to the seedless watermelon. For one, I knew my daughter would love it, and I wanted to make another attempt at my boys trying watermelon. For some odd reason, both of my boys refuse to eat watermelon. So what a better idea to make a granita and see if they would go that route. Still failed.

The boys really missed out as this granita was super refreshing on a hot July afternoon.

Ingredients:

• 1 large seedless watermelon, cleaned and rind removed
• 1 lime, zest and juice
• Simple Syrup (see below)
• Mint leaves (optional)

Begin by making the simple syrup.  Take 3/4 cup of sugar and 1 1/2 cup of water and bring to a boil, making sure the sugar gets dissolved. Remove this from the heat and let it cool.

During this time, break down your watermelon. Place this in a food processor and add the lime juice and zest, and simple syrup. Pulse everything down in the food processor.

Transfer the mixture into a shallow baking dish and place uncovered in the freezer. About every 30 minutes, check on the mixture, using a fork to stir the granita mixture.  Continue to freeze and repeat the process, for up to 3 hours. Don’t worry if you do not have this time. If it hardens completely, just take it out of the freezer and let it sit on the counter for about 20-30 minutes, then scrape with a spoon.

Serve in a nice glass, add some chopped mint, and serve with a spoon.

Fresh melon flavor, cold and refreshing. Enjoy.

I am no stranger to the pork crackling, but I was to the story I was about to hear. This is where the excitement was coming in, and to be honest, I was quiet amused about this excitement, to telling of a story about food, and how good it is.  As she was telling the story, her husband was also excited about this dish that they commonly eat for breakfast.

At first, I was thinking pork cracklings for breakfast? With rice? What? Now, I am also no stranger to the Filipino breakfast, as I have had many with my father-n-law, typically a really great dish called Sinangag, a fried rice dish with garlic, and eggs. But chicharones? I had to find out more, and give this one a try, as they talked about ‘dizziness effects’.  Later I found out that this can also be served as a snack, and can be treated on the same line as Sisig.

Well, I had this for breakfast, and I will admit, it is really good. Unhealthy of course, but really good.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup of pork cracklings
• Cooked rice, warmed
• 3 tbsp White vinegar

Begin by bringing a small pan of oil to a medium-high heat, roughly 5 minutes. Toss in the cracklings, and let puff a bit, only a couple of minutes. Remove them with slotted spoon, and place them on a paper towel to drain off any excess oil. Place on a bed of rice, and serve with a small bowl of vinegar. Now, dip the fried pork skin into the vinegar, eat, and then throw back a little rice. The combination of the vinegar and the pork skin is truly amazing.

Now, I have to gather my Filipino relatives, with hopes on their islands, to gather around some pulutan and some cold beer.

Obviously, I had to learn more, and as the Vietnamese store was right across the street, I picked up the ingredients. The trick to this drink is a Vietnamese coffee press, and some really strong coffee. You can go with an expresso here, or if you are doing it right, use a chickory coffee such as Cafe Du Monde.

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp of Chickory coffee, or a strong dark roast
• Vietnamese coffee drip (Amazon)
• Sweetened Condensed Milk (to taste)
• Ice

Bring water to a boil. Pack the coffee into the bottom of the coffee drip. Screw on the top.  Add to the top of the glass with condensed milk. Slowly add the boiling water into the drip, and let it do its thing, slowly drip into the glass. Add more water as needed.

When you have the amount of coffee into the glass, stir in the condensed milk, creating a great dark, golden color. To another glass, fill it with ice, and pour the coffee into the glass, creating cafe sua da, a truly killer drink.

Not only will you love the flavor of this coffee, but the burst of energy that come along with it. Enjoy.

P.S. If you do not have a coffee drip, you could brew a strong batch of coffee, and go that route as well.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of uncooked long grain rice
• 4 1/2 cups of water
• 1/2 tbsp of fresh ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup of sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups of milk

To a blender, add the rice and water. Blend for roughly one minute or so until the rice cracks. Let this mixture set for about three and a half hours. Strain the rice, reserving the water. Add the remaining ingredients, mix, and let sit in the refrigerator overnight. Serve over ice.

Now, let me state how delicious this drink is. It is sweet, but not too sweet, creamy, and the flavors of cinnamon and vanilla are spot on. I turned my wife onto this, of who has never tried horchata. She warms it in the microwave, and has added it to her chai tea as well. Trust me, it is a must make.