Grass Jelly Drink

I can feel the heat and spirit of summer. My son loves to play outside *Of course after months playing inside the house during winter time* One day he played ball and bubbles excitedly. He might want to be a soccer player ^_^.

On a hot and sunny day, usually I need something cooling and refreshing.

Grass Jelly with ice cube and palm sugar syrup with Pandan Leaves flavor is very satisfying for me.

Grass jelly is made by boiling the aged and slightly oxidized stalks and leaves of Mesona chinensis^[1][2] (member of the mint family) with potassium carbonate for several hours with a little starch and then cooling the liquid to a jelly-like consistency.^[1][3] This jelly can be cut into cubes or other forms, and then mixed with syrup to produce a drink or dessert thought to have cooling (yin) properties, which makes it typically consumed during hot weather. The jelly itself has a slight bitter taste, a light iodine lavender flavor, and is a translucent black. It can also be mixed with soy milk to produce a milky white liquid with black strands in it. (Source : Wikipedia)

Ingredients :

1 can grass Jelly, cut into small cubes

Syrup :

6 tbsp of sugar

125 grams of palm sugar

2 pandan leaves

Water

Method:

Prepare the syrup by dissolve sugar into boiling water (eye ball the amount of water), and also put pandan leaves into the mixture. Let it cool.

Mix grass jelly with the syrup, add ice cube or crushed ice.

Colorful Rum Ball

Last Monday we went to Hampton Beach to see Sand Sculpture Exhibition. On the way to the beach there were some stores who sell colorful summer dresses. They displayed the dresses near the road. They hung the mannequin along their deck. I just loved the color. It looks so festive.

Inspired by their festivity...I remember my colorful chocolate sprinkle (meises Ceres from Indonesia). I've planned to make rum ball to use left over whipped cream that will be expired soon. I use colorful sprinkle instead of regular chocolate sprinkle.

INGREDIENTS :

Any cake (yellow cake, or chocolate cake)

whipped cream

chocolate chips

rum

METHOD :

1. Crush all the cake using food processor until it become powdery. Set aside.

2. Make ganache : 1:1( whipped cream : chocolate chips) : Heat them in microwave, 30 seconds and stir, repeat this step until all melted and blended.

3. Mix no.1 with ganache and rum, using food processor until they become like dough and easy to be formed. Just eye ball the amount of ganache you'll use.

4. Form the mixture into small ball ( 1 tbs), roll into chocolate sprinkle. Put the ball in paper cup. Put in the fridge 1-2 hours to make it firm.