Natural Pink Pineapple Lemonade

For Sunday Suppers or special occasions like when we’d visit, my grandmother always added crushed pineapple to pink lemonade. It was especially welcome in the hot summertime. 

My grandmother and grandfather worked hard every day. Running their own store and appliance repair service made it a challenge to take time off. In fact, I don’t recall that they ever took a vacation except to visit us once when we lived overseas. Looking back, I have no idea who they would have left in charge. They did love it when we’d come to visit though and the refrigerator was always stocked with our favorites from ice cream sandwiches to cookies to hot dogs.

Back in the olden days, we could take a train from Houston that would stop off in New Iberia, on its way to New Orleans and other points east. I remember going to spend a week or two with my grandparents, often taking a friend with me. We’d either ride the train there and Mom would come for a visit as well and pick us up, or she’d bring us and we’d take the train back home again. What was a four- or five-hour car ride took a couple of extra hours on the train. But we didn’t care! We were on our own with a packed lunch, books to read and snacks – no adult supervision! – and riding the train was an adventure. I just checked out the Amtrak schedules and that route is still do-able and reasonably priced, but children under 12 must have an adult traveling with them now. More's the pity.

We’d arrive parched from the heat, the clackety clack of the rails still echoing in our ears, and Mo would mix up a big pitcher of pink lemonade, made from a canister of instant lemonade powder – you probably know the one – and add a can of crushed pineapple and ice. Talk about refreshing! Pink lemonade with pineapple was one of her favorite drinks to serve at lunch on Sundays as well, or other special occasions.

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I’ve figured out that if I make regular fresh lemonade and add some cranberry or pomegranate juice, I can get the pretty effect of pink lemonade without the pink food dye. It’s not as pink as my grandmother’s concoction, unless you add a bunch of red juice but it’s probably better for you.

Ingredients for one 2 quart or 1.89 liter pitcher
1/2 cup or 100g sugar
1 (15 oz or 425g) crushed pineapple in light syrup
1 1/2 cups or 355ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
3/4 cup or 177ml (or more to color to your liking) cranberry or pomegranate juice
Cold water
Ice

Note: If you can only find the crushed pineapple in heavy syrup, you might be able to skip making the simple syrup. The pineapple syrup should sweeten the lemonade enough without additional sugar.

Method
Make simple syrup by dissolving the sugar in 1/2 cup or 120ml of hot water. Set aside to cool.

In your large pitcher, combine the crushed pineapple with its syrup and lemon juice. Add some ice and water to almost fill your pitcher. Remember that you need room for the cranberry or pomegranate juice and some simple syrup. Stir well.

Add the red juice and taste the lemonade.

Add enough of the simple syrup till it’s sweet enough for your liking. (See note above if using crushed pineapple in heavy syrup.)

Stir well before you pour each time to get the pineapple moving. Serve over ice.

Enjoy!

As a bonus, if you happen to have a small hand crank ice shaver like those ones they sell at Pampered Chef, this pineappley pink lemonade freezes great and makes wonderfully refreshing shaved ice. You can use it for popsicles as well, but the pineapple ends up near the top of the popsicle.

Nostalgic summer recipes are our theme for this week’s Sunday Supper. Many thanks to Coleen from The Redhead Baker for hosting! What’s your favorite summertime food memory?

Summertime Recipes

Beverages

• Blueberry Lavender Lemonade by Beauty and the Beets
• Natural Pink Pineapple Lemonade by Food Lust People Love

Breakfast

• Rhubarb Muffins by Wholistic Woman
• Strawberry Cream Cheese French Toast by Cindy's Recipes and Writings

Appetizers

• Gazpacho Shooters by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Grilled BLT Kebabs by Eat, Drink and be Tracy
• Strawberry Fruit Dip by Books n’ Cooks

Main Dishes

• Classic Shrimp Roll Sliders by Crazed Mom
• How to Cook Hot Dogs by Life Tastes Good
• Wiener Schnitzel by Caroline's Cooking

Side Dishes

• Baked Beans with Bacon by Magnolia Days
• Creamy Ranch Potato Salad by Dash of Evans
• Grilled Zucchini Salad by Sunday Supper Movement
• Seven-Layer Salad with Bacon and Peas by The Hungry Goddess
• Southern Fried Squash by Peaceful Cooking
• Spätzlesalat (German Spaetzle Pasta Salad) by Tara's Multicultural Table
• Summer's Best Tomato Cucumber Salad by Delaware Girl Eats

Desserts

• Ambrosia Salad by Angels Home Sweet Homestead
• Bavarian Almonds by Palatable Pastime
• Blueberry Cobbler by Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Boardwalk Funnel Cake by The Redhead Baker
• Buttermilk Pound Cake by Renee's Kitchen Adventures
• DIY Drumsticks by A Mind Full Mom
• Double Corn Buttermilk Cake by What Smells So Good?
• Frosted Grapes by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Gluten Free S'mores Magic Bars by Cupcakes and Kale Chips
• Homemade Banana Pudding by Cooking with Carlee
• Homemade Drumsticks by Pies and Plots
• Japanese Melon Ice Cream by Ninja Baker
• Lemon Coconut Bars by The Finer Cookie
• Lemonade Pie with Sugar Cone Crust by Dizzy, Busy and Hungry
• Poke Cake by Our Good Life
• Maple Sugar Candy by Grumpy's Honeybunch
• Mom's Rhubarb Cake by Monica's Table
• Nana’s No-Bake Cheesecake Squares by The Crumby Cupcake
• Pineapple Upside Down Cake by The Freshman Cook
• Pudding Pops by Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks
• Root Beer Float Ice Cream Sandwiches by My Imperfect Kitchen
• Sherbet Float by Cookin' Mimi
• Strawberry Jello Angel Food Cake by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Strawberry Jello Pie by Tramplingrose
• Tita’s Fruit Dessert by Basic N Delicious
• Toasted Coconut Puppy Chow by Helpful Homemade
• Watergate Salad by Flavor Mosaic

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Tali Machchi - Goan Spicy Fried Fish #FishFridayFoodies

Tali Machchi is a spicy fried fish dish from Goa, India made with firm white fish, coated in spiced flour and shallow fried. 

Often when I’m sitting on an airplane, I think of that Louis C.K. standup bit where he talks about the miracle of flight and how we still complain. (Here’s the audio link. I find it hysterical, because it’s true, but I must warn you the language is rough, to say the least.) Not that I don’t do my share of moaning about jet lag and the like, but I am awed by the age in which we live.

The host of my Fish Friday Foodies group can say, for instance, make a southern fried fish dish this month. And I can put those search words into my amazingly small computer (relatively speaking) and it gives me a long list of recipes to choose from, many of which I have never heard before. I mean, at all. Not even in passing. From a part of the world where I have yet to travel. Waaaaay south of here. (Although Goa’s on my list. Almost everywhere is on my list.) I am able to compare and contrast any number of recipes and merge them into one that I feel will work best. If that’s not amazing, I don’t know what is!

If you are looking for a simple seafood dish with loads of flavor, you’ll love tali machchi. It got two thumbs up at our house and even a “would order again” from my husband. Bonus: It's also quick.

Ingredients
1 pound or 450g firm white fish (I used local grouper, called hammour here.)
2 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons plain flour
3 tablespoons besan (also called gram or chickpea flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 – 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
2 cups or 480ml canola or other light oil for frying
1 large egg

Serve with lemon or lime slices, garnished with cilantro

Method
Wash and dry fish fillets. Cut into bite-sized pieces.

Toss gently in the fresh lime juice and sprinkle on one 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Mix well.

Mix flour, chickpea flour, the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, garam masala, turmeric and cayenne together in a shallow plate.

Heat oil in deep frying pan until smoking hot. Dip fish chunks in the beaten egg.

Then roll them in the spiced flour.

Fry the pieces in at least two batches to make sure you don't crowd the frying pan. Cook on one side for 2-3 minutes.

Turn and cook another couple of minutes on the other side, until the pieces are brown all over.

Drain on paper towels or on a wire rack resting on paper to catch the drips.

Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro and extra wedges of lime or lemon.

Enjoy!

Many thanks to our host, April of Angels Home Sweet Homestead. Check out the other recipes this miracle we call the internet has brought right to this spot for you from my fellow Fish Friday Foodies.

An InLinkz Link-up

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Savory Zucchini Cheesecake #BundtBakers

A cheesecake with a difference, this savory zucchini version is perfect sliced up and served on toasted bread or crackers. 

The best part of belonging to groups like Bread Bakers and Bundt Bakers is the challenge of creating a recipe to fit each month’s theme. We have a lot of talented bakers in both groups and sometimes it seems like they are trying to outdo each other when they host! The rule is that the host gets to choose the theme. If you’ve been reading along, you know that just in the last couple of months, we've baked Bundts inspired by the tales of Scheherazade and retro desserts, just to name two creative themes.

This month our host is Padmajha from Seduce Your Tastebuds and she has gone in an unusual direction for baking in a Bundt pan: Savory! I immediately thought of the little savory shrimp cheesecakes I baked a couple of years ago for Sunday Supper and I knew a larger Bundt would be delicious. Since summer is the season of an overload of zucchinis (courgettes to my Australian/British readers), I decided to incorporate them to help those gardeners with the surplus. You are welcome!

Ingredients
Drizzle of olive oil, for oiling the Bundt pan
2 cups or 230g zucchini, unpeeled & grated
1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 large eggs
leaves from few sprigs fresh thyme
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup or 35g minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 fresh jalapeño, minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups or 485g whole milk ricotta cheese
1/2 cup or 50g freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Optional, to garnish:
Zest of one lemon
Thyme leaves

Tip: Use a microplane to zest the lemon onto a paper towel and set it aside early in the process. When it's time to sprinkle the lemon zest on your savory Bundt, it will be quite dry and sprinkle-able. Damp zest tends to clump together. 

Method
Preheat oven to 325°F or 163°C. Drizzle about a teaspoon or so of olive oil in your 10-cup Bundt pan. I used this square one from Nordic Ware. (<affiliate link) The square design makes cutting slices to top bread or crackers much tidier. Use a pastry brush to get the oil in all the little corners and crevices of your chosen pan.

In a colander, toss the grated zucchini with the salt and set it aside to drain either in the sink or with a bowl underneath. It’s amazing how much liquid comes out.

Whisk your eggs with the thyme leaves and a good sprinkling of freshly ground black pepper in a large bowl.

Add in the onion, garlic and jalapeño and mix again.

Squeeze the grated zucchini to get out as much liquid as you possible can, then add it to the bowl.

Add the lemon juice and the flour and mix well.

Now fold in the ricotta and the Parmesan. Give the whole thing another good few grinds of black pepper. Can you tell I am a fan?

Spoon the cheese mixture into the pan and smooth out the top.

Bake in your preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until the cheesecake is still just set. It will set more as it cools.

Leave it on a wire rack for about half an hour or until it looks fairly firm. Now here’s the tricky bit. You need to put your serving plate on top of the pan and turn the whole thing over in one swift but steady movement. You do not want one side of the cheesecake to fall out before the other. I ran a toothpick around the edges and tipped mine from side to side to loosen it first. (Don’t use a knife or you might mar the non-stick finish of a Nordic Ware pan.)

Mix your thyme leaves and lemon zest together and sprinkle them both on the cheesecake.

Serve with sliced baguette or crackers. And perhaps a celebratory beverage.

Enjoy!

Many thanks this month to our host, Padmajha. Making a savory Bundt was a great challenge! Many thanks also to Renee of Magnolia Days who made sure this all ran smoothly.

Check out all the wonderful ways my fellow Bundt Bakers met the challenge.

• Bacon Cheddar Beer Bundt by The Queen of Scones
• Blue Cheese and Pear Mini Bundt Cakes by Patty's Cake
• Breakfast Bundt Cake by Making Miracles
• Dukkah, Herb & Cheese Monkey Bread by All That's Left Are The Crumbs
• Ham, Carrot & Beer Bundtlettes by I Love Bundt Cakes
• Mexican Breakfast Bundt by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Mini Meatloaf Bundts and Sliders by Magnolia Days
• Rosemary, Olive Oil & Polenta Bundt by The Cinnamon Scrolls
• Sausage & Apple Cornbread Bundt Cake with a White Gravy Drizzle by The Freshman Cook
• Savory Zucchini Cheesecake by Food Lust People Love
• Southern Honey Drenched Jalapeño Cornbread by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Stromboli Bundt Cake by Palatable Pastime
• "Tastes Like Pizza" Bundt by Sew You Think You Can Cook

#BundtBakers is a group of Bundt loving bakers who get together once a month to bake Bundts with a common ingredient or theme.  Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on the Bundt Bakers home page.

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