benazir's blog

Aguas Frescas Tamarindo

I’m sorry I hadn’t posted in a while. I just moved last month and a dear friend I have known since childhood passed away and so did one of my sister in laws. I am still not in a very good headspace and really am struggling on trying to keep it together. This move broke me mentally. Also my body hurt all over from the move. Plus I did all of the organizing with the packing and unpacking.

It has been extreme hell and the toll it has on me. I told everyone I am going to go have myself commited if I have to move ever again. Especially not while I am alive in this body. On the plus side I also kicked the former dash radio which is called litt live now because they removed my favorite r&b channel which is the pure soul which had drawn me to the site in the first place.

I reverted to listening to my old mp3 devices again. I had an old ipod nano that is just aux only and not bluetoooth. however it died and I had to pitch it. I have an old ipod touch and ipod shuffle which looks like a pack of gum and an ipod nano that is bluetooth and aux. Ipod shuffle is just aux only and I have an apex mp3 player I had for a long time also which is also just aux and I bought another bluetooth mp3 player because Apple doesn’t make ipod touch, ipod shuffle or even an ipod nano or anything else anymore. There is the ipad and the mac that they still make and this is it besides iphones.

I know this has nothing to do with a food blog in a way but it is now keeping me company as I do my work here on my blog and even house work as well as my kitchen as I am cooking. It takes the blues away and I do not have to stop to change tracks or look up another song on a streaming platform like youtube, spotify, pandora and others. When I select play all of the songs that it does so seemlessly and all I use are my massive audio cd collection to add to the devices.

Now to the heart of the matter is this recipe is the aguas frescas tamarindo this time. We went through the jamaica and horchata and now the tamarindo. This is eaten with any Mexican meal and so very refreshing and very tasty beverage also. We will cover the watermelon and strawberry Inshallah when they weather is a lot warmer.

Now I used a Turkish coffee pot to make this because you will need to take a tea kettle and fill it with water and put it on the stove to boil. Break off 3 pinches of tamarind paste and put it in the Turkish coffee pot. The tamarind can be bought at any Spanish, Asian, Indian or Pakistani grocery stores. However I got the seedless one but just keep your eye out in case if they miss a seed and it happens.

Tamarindo means tamarind in Spanish and imli means tamarind in Urdu. However after the tea kettle whistles turn the stove off and remember when you heat the water that it has to be done on high heat. As you see in the picture it is a different stove and a different place is because I moved.

Pour the water from the tea kettle on top of the tamarind inside the Turkish coffee pot and stir. Let it sit and cool so it can soften and disolve. After it cools then you take a clean pitcher and add either 1/4 cup of agave nectar or sugar free syrup. You can also add 4 packets of stevia or 1/4 cup of monk fruit sweetener too if you want. Actually I mean you have a choice and do not mix all of these sweeteners in these drinks. It is either one or the other.

I have a britta pitcher that I keep in the refridgerator full of cold water because the new place is extremely hot and it is making me extra thirsty. This time I take the already cooled Tamarind water in the Turkish coffee pot and add it to the regular pitcher with sweetener of choice. Add 1 oz of either lemon or lime juice and use an immersion blender to blend in the pulp. Add the cold filter water from the britta pitcher or whatever filter pitcher you may have but britta is very common. You do not see pure that much at all and britta pitchers and filters are more common to find.

It is more cost effective then bottled water too and less plastic waste at landfills. Stir and chill and serve with any Mexican entree. Actually I also made taco de lingua which means tounge tacos by the way, pico de guillo, nopales which is cactus, Spanish rice and frejoles. This was our pre Thanksgiving dinner and there is no way in hell am I pulling another all nighter especially when I feel I am being taken for granted. Also non diabetics can add 1/4 cup of honey.

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