Color Changing Lemonade

 So here is a delicious and colorgasmic goody for all ages. Also, if you want to go this route (and you should) a cool science lesson.

The PH scale pretty much consists of two sides, acids and bases.. generally everything is one or another. Now whether something qualifies as an acid or a base, pH itself is a bit of a word puzzle. The p itself is not actually the letter p but a stand-in for a mathematical formula.  (pH = - log10[H+]) and the H stands for Hydrogen. Pretty much,  it measures the amount of Hydrogen particles a substance releases.    The pH scale spans from 1-14, with pH7 being completely neutral, (example: water). A substance with a very low pH is acidic, while substances with a high pH are alkaline. There are various simple tools that the average layman can use to measure the pH of a substance, most notably you can buy little strips that will change color depending on the balance of any liquid you stick it into. Often you can find them in the pool section of your local mass goods store or at pool specialty sites or stores. 

Now that we've covered the pH scale (barely) let me introduce you to a lovely loose leaf tea called Butterfly Pea Tea ( I know that felt like a hard 180 turn but stay with me)  Pretty much they are these beautiful little blue flowers that when brewed creates a very mild but a stunningly deep blue tea. But wait... that's not all. On top of just being pretty the Butterfly pea tea has a cool trick up its sleeve. It changes color when it is exposed to acids. The more acidic a liquid the more the color of the tea will change from a deep dark blue into a beautiful purple and then pink. To be clear. No one should never ever ever attempt to digest anything that is at either far end of the pH scale. However, we do consume foods and drinks that are closer to the neutral mark but are still definitely acids or bases. Acids are sour to the taste while bases tend to be bitter. One particularly yummy acid (and if you've read the title of this blog I'm sure you've already guessed it) is lemonade. 

Pretty much I said all of that to say this. Butterfly Pea Tea and lemonade make for a really pretty drink. 

Here is what we did. 

I chose to introduce the BFPT to the lemonade via a slow release process (aka: ice cubes) so that we could get a more prolonged and cooler looking color change. (though you can add your tea to your lemonade however you see fit.)  So I brewed the tea, and then transferred it into ice cube trays. Once the tea was frozen it became pretty self-explanatory. glass+ blue ice cubes + lemonade (+vodka in mommy's) =  an easy and amusing bit of refreshing fun for N and I. Seriously, it tastes good and it's sooooo pretty... and without a drop of food coloring too. 

Making Landscapes

We had another snow day so I set N up with some homemade playdoh. We wanted to build our own nature and landscape. We went outside and picked out some fun elements that we could find in our yard. We created a bit of a mound witth the playdoh and then I let her make her own little wonderland however she wanted to. This amused her for quite a while. Afterwards we threw our tidbits back outside and  dyed the playdoh in to different colors for future play. 

I'm so grateful for the Hot Toddy.

As I said earlier this week; my household has suffered through a plague recently. Enter the Hot Toddy. Long thought of as a home remedy, it may not actually cure you, but it will warm you up and give you a bit of a buzz so you don't mind as much. Sick or not, it's a satisfying fall/winter drink. I have toyed around with variations of it until I've found a  version that I like.   It's 1/8th lemon juice, 2/8ths whiskey, and 5/8ths camomile/cinnamon tea. Add one tablespoon of honey, 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg, lemon wedges with whole cloves and a cinnamon stick.  Toy with the variations until it's to your personal taste. 

Tonights Clean Tilapia

I try to cook the vast majority of our meals. Health and food are important to me. I know that a lot of people care, but life give us a lot of legitimate hurdles to be able to feed ourselves the way we would like.  Eating well is often incredibly expensive and time consuming, but it doesn't have to be. Case in point tonight's dinner. I like to take one day a week to sit down for a few hours with a glass of wine and  good podcast.... and prep meals. This mostly consists of chopping veggies, but an also include preparing marinades and portioning out meat. So when it comes to putting a plate together, it can happen in a cinch.  Tonight's tilapia was salted and peppered. I served it on a plate of lightly cooked spinach (in olive oil and garlic), along side boiled carrots, thinly sliced and grilled zucchini, artichoke hearts and sauteed (in fig balsamic vinaigrette, basil and oregano) cherry tomatoes. It was incredibly easy, refreshing and tasty.  Give it a try.