There was some near-record heat in Los Angeles this weekend and, even though it’s cooling down a bit now, it was the first time this year that I really felt like summer was upon the city. In some ways, I’m not looking forward to the heat of summer because as much as I dislike being cold, it’s a bit tough on those 110F+ days. Mostly, I like the heat. I don’t have a problem running my oven because my kitchen is well ventilated, breads rise very quickly and I get to make lots of homemade frozen treats.

I also get to make some cold, refreshing drinks to keep me going. Coffee drinks are - and quite possible always will be - my drinks of choice, but I can’t resist a good smoothie or root beer float, either. One drink I particularly like is a lassi. A lassi is a traditionally Indian drink that is made with yogurt and a variety of spices, sweet or savory. I’ve noticed that fruit lassis are probably the most popular and are easily the most widely available type at the Indian restaurants I’ve been too. They are often smoothie-like in consistency and use yogurt, milk, fruit and a sweetener. I believe that more traditional lassis have a thinner consistency than the milkshake-like variety. I prefer the thinner type because, to me, it is more complimentary to a meal, while a very thick drink will fill you up before you take more than a few bites of food.

I used plain yogurt and fresh spring strawberries for this lassi, and added only a bit of honey as a sweetener. I find that plain yogurt has a really nice tang that makes the drink very refreshing. I actually used thick Greek-style yogurt here and still found that the consistency of my drink was not too thick. The consistency will vary slightly based on the type of yogurt used. If you prefer yours thinner, simply add a bit of milk or honey. Conversely, if you prefer yours to be thicker, add more yogurt or berries.

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I probably should have posted this back for St. Patrick’s Day, but I really don’t think that Irish coffee should only be a once-a-year treat. The drink is so tasty that, while it might be best for special occasions, it is certainly worthy of more than just a single holiday.

Irish coffee is the label applied to hot coffee that is enhanced with a shot of Irish whiskey and a bit of sugar to sweeten everything up. Since it usually gets served as an after dinner drink, often in lieu of dessert, lightly sweetened whipped cream is almost always used to finish off the drink’s presentation.

I do my Irish coffee a little bit differently than tradition dictates. I prefer to drink my coffee black, so I don’t particularly care for sugar in my coffee even though I don’t mind a bit of sweetness. So, I use a shot of Baileys Irish Cream to sweeten up the drink, take the edge off both the coffee and the whisky and add another layer of flavor to everything. I use equal parts whisky and Baileys (I have a preference for Baileys with a Hint of Caramel, if you can find it in your area) and alter the amounts to suit (a) the time of day and (b) the size of the glass I’m working with. And I never forget the whipped cream.

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Since St. Patrick’s Day is tomorrow, I wanted to make up something to celebrate the holiday, something in addition to the Bailey’s Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes that I baked a few days ago.  Irish soda bread is my fallback for this holiday, either plain or with raisins and carraway seeds, but even that favorite wasn’t really tempting me. I wanted something green and, taking a hint from my inclusion of Bailey’s in my cupcakes, I wanted a cocktail.

I ended up with some Grasshoppers. They’re not Irish, but they do have a beautiful light green color to them that made them fit my St. Paddy’s day bill. The retro cocktails are not nearly as popular as they once were these days. The drink is a mixture of creme de cacao and creme de menthe - both strongly flavored spirts - that is tempered with a bit of light or heavy cream to mellow out the otherwise fairly aggressive mint and chocolate flavors. Creme de menthe comes in clear and green versions, and creme de cacao comes in clear and brown. Green, obviously, is the best choice for the creme de menthe and clear is the best for creme de cacao.

For me, the best part of this drink is actually the dark chocolate shavings piled on top. They float on a thin layer of foam created by shaking the cream up in the cocktail shaker and serve to intensify the chocolate flavor of the cocktail as you drink. I piled mine up for effect in the cocktail in the photo above, but you can spread them out more evenly if you prefer. Use a microplane/zester to get the best shavings. You won’t need much chocolate, so buy a good-quality brand and feel free to snack on any leftovers.

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While there is something to be said for a big, blended margarita on a really hot day, those drinks tend to be tequila-spiked smoothies more often than not and I think I will always prefer to have my margaritas on the rocks when given the option. The blended margaritas are often too sweet and I simply like the way that you can get more flavor from the simpler, shaken drink.

A margarita should be sweetened to some extend, otherwise we’d all just do tequila shots with a slice of lime on the side. Since I use fresh lime juice in my margaritas, rather than opting for a premade sweet and sour mix, I’m open to using any kind of liquid sweetener that will complement the drink. I recently got ahold of a bottle of Partida Tequila’s Agave Nectar, which they use as the sweetener for the company’s signature margarita - the recipe for which is conveniently printed right on the back of the bottle.

The margarita was delicious. The agave blended well with the tequila’s flavor and was sweet enough to take the edge off of the fresh lime juice. It dissolved quickly in the drink and had a much rounder flavor than, for instance, straight sugar syrup. Depending on how sweet your limes are, you might want to adjust the amount of agave used, but I’m planning on sticking with this recipe for a while.

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I like to remake versions of my favorite coffee shop drinks at home when I can. It saves money, it’s easier than running out to pick one up at the coffeehouse and it allows me to play around with my options a little bit more than I could otherwise. In the past, I’ve done Mexican Spice Ice Blendeds, Pumpkin Spice Mochas and winter-spiced coffee. This drink is a remake of the gingerbread latte, a popular item at Starbucks (and other coffee shops) around the holidays.

The Starbucks gingerbread latte is a typical latte - espresso and steamed milk - made with a spicy gingerbread flavored sugar syrup. I have used both espresso and regular drip coffee for this drink and it is good both ways. The recipe below calls for drip coffee, but feel free to use espresso if you have an espresso machine. I stuck with tradititional gingerbread elements for mine, using ground spices and some molasses for flavor. Because the flavor of molasses can be very strong, I balanced it out by adding some regular sugar to mine, as well. This is where the customization comes in, as you can use more or less molasses in your own version depending on the size of your mug and personal preference.

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I’ve done it before with tortes, cakes and cookies, and given the heat, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my Labor Day than lounging around with a refreshing, mexican-spiced ice blended drink.

The drink is a simple mixture of coffee, milk, ice and a chocolate/spice blend, which includes sugar, cocoa, ground chocolate and small amounts of vanilla, ancho chile powder and almond. It’s certainly a little bit more exotic than the usual offerings at Starbucks! Now, while I’m always in favor of homemade versions of products (especially mixes) you can buy elsewhere, and usually make ice blended coffee drinks from scratch at home, I actually used a mix for this drink. The Mocafe Azteca D’oro Mexican Spiced Ground Chocolate powder is a favorite of mine. I first encountered it in a cafe in Berkeley where they used it as the standard flavoring for mochas and ice blended drinks similar to this one. The spice mix is right on target and it goes well with both hot and cold drinks, dissolving easily both in mugs of steaming coffee and blenders of milk and ice.

I recommend keeping an eye out for the Mexican Spiced Chocolate mix the next time you’re in the market (I’ve found it at most Whole Foods markets), or for the hotter ancho chile-version, if you want something even spicier. If you can’t find it, you can still make your own version at home using the ingredients from the mix as a guideline. You can buy ground ancho chilies online, but can substitute a pinch of another ground pepper (for a similar kick but a different flavor) if you can’t get it elsewhere

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