Chamomile Liqueur Spritzer

In April, I decided to try making several liqueurs. One of them was with my home grown chamomile flowers.  Chamomile Liqueur sounded like a nice drink to sip in the evening so I made some. Click here if you would like to see my recipe.

I'm not sure if it was the brand of vodka I chose, but the results was quite strong in both alcohol content and taste. So here is what I came up with to make it more to my taste.

Chamomile Liqueur Spritzer

Fill a large glass with ice (crushed or cubes)
Pour in one jigger (1.5 oz.) of Chamomile Liqueur
Add one packet sweetener or sugar equivalent
Fill glass with 7-Up

Chamomile Liqueur Spritzer

The sweetener mellowed the alcohol bitterness and the 7-Up lightened the drink. It has a distinctive chamomile flavour and is great in the evening, or on the porch on a hot summer day.

Do you have any favourite summer drink recipes? -- Margy

Banana Bran Muffins

Here's another recipe from my files when I used to cook lots of bran muffins with Mom.  She loved bananas, but sometimes all of them would ripen at once.

I used my allrecipes.com iPad app to get some ideas. What scrolled to the top was Banana Bran Muffins by Shelley Mitchell.

BANANA BRAN MUFFINS

Mix together:

2 eggs
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil

Add dry ingredients and mix:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup oat bran
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice

Stir in by hand:

1 cup mashed ripe bananas
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 cup raisins soaked in
warm water to rehydrate

Using a brush, coat the inside of muffin pans liberally with oil. Fill the pans about two-thirds full to give them room to rise. This was one step that Mom could help me with. She loved to cook and bake, so it was important to find ways she could keep her "finger in the pie" so to speak.

Mom always gave me a helping hand.

Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes or until puffed up and light brown on top. Check at 10 minutes and adjust time as necessary. I also swap the pans from top to bottom in the oven.

Remove and let cool for 10 minutes. Loosen the edges with a knife and let cool completely before storing.

This recipe made about 36 small muffins. They freeze well for future use (if they last that long). -- Margy