11 flavors, a t-shirt and a CD
Nearly two weeks ago I received a random email from a marketing firm in LA asking if I would be interested in sampling all eleven flavors of Jarritos soda, and then sharing my thoughts about the product with you, my wonderful readers. I first tried Jarritos during a trip to Mexico in 2007, and of the few flavors I have tried, my favorite has been the Piña (pineapple). I don't know how my little blog was selected, but I find it all to just be kinda cool (I'm a newbie to this, can you tell?). I replied (obviously) that I would be very happy to do this, and after some cheerful coorespondence with the marketing rep, the wait was on. The much anticipated package arrived Friday afternoon, and not only did I get the soda sampler, but also a t-shirt (can't have too many of those) and a Latin music CD (or those either). Before I ramble on any further, let me tell you a little about Jarritos, for those of you who may not be familiar...
What are Jarritos...
Jarritos, is a Mexican soda brand started in 1950 by Don Francisco "El Güero" Hill. Jarritos is made in fruit flavors and with less carbonation than soft drinks made in the US, although the biggest difference lies in the use of real sugar, not high fructose corn syrup, in its production (one of those things our family is trying to limit). The word jarrito means "j little jars," in Spanish and refers to the Mexican tradition of drinking water and other drinks in clay pottery jugs.
Today, Jarritos is the leading brand in the US in the Mexican soft drink category and has become a Mexican cultural icon. Whether it is the distinctive glass bottle, or the eleven unique fruit flavors, Jarritos has become fairly well known in the US, and can be found in many major grocery stores. Jarritos flavors are a reflection of Mexico in its array of traditional Mexican flavors, including: mandarin orange, lime, hibiscus, mango, strawberry, lemon-lime, pineapple, tamarind, guava and grapefruit.
Traditionally, water and other drinks were kept in clay pottery jugs called jarritos to keep them cool and fresh. Today, Jarritos bottles reflect this heritage with their unique shape. Jarritos flavors are based on Mexican regional traditions in food. Grapefruit, for example, is made from fresh grapefruit from the state of Veracruz. Jamaica (hibiscus) uses extracts from jamaica flowers originating in Guerrero and Oaxaca. The region of Colima provides lemons for a lemon flavor, and the same with pineapple from Tabasco. Today, these popular flavors still come from these regions where each year growers compete to provide Jarritos with the best fruit.
The challenge...
The easy part of this challenge is to just actually taste each of the flavors and share my opinions with you. This part of the challenge will also include the opinions of Christopher, my little guy, who has made me promise that he can be part of this. The bigger challenge will be in how to use these sodas beyond simply tasting...as a mixer for adult beverages is a given, but can I cook with them as well? I guess you will just have to keep reading to find out...
In Mexico it is much more common to drink a cocktail made with grapefruit juice or soda (a Paloma) than with lime juice (the "traditional" Margarita). Go figure that we associate an "American " favorite (we are all Americans after all) so strongly with Mexico, just like we celebrate Cinco de Mayo (the date of a relatively minor battle against the French), rather than Mexivo's true Independence Day of September 16th (freedom from Spain!). Oh well, I digress...In a no brainer, I decided to use the bottle of Toronja/Grapefruit soda to make this cocktail. Again. Chris and I did a taste test of the soda on its own, and both of us found it to be very pleasant (and I'm not a big soda drinker)...I could seriously drink this soda on its own an enjoy it (everything in moderation). I mixed up the cocktail and just said "Wow," this is pretty darn good! This complimented the Lemon Lime Chicken Tacos we had for dinner last night perfectly...give this a try, it is seriously good...
1/3 to 1/2 bottle Jarritos grapefruit soda
First out of the box is the Lima-Limon, or Lemon Lime. I have an agreement with Chris that he will get to taste test each soda before I do anything with it, so I called him to the kitchen and we popped the top. I must say that the soda was not what I expected at all, the color and taste more reminiscent of Mtn. Dew than the 7-Up that I was expecting. I am not a fan of Mtn. Dew, but Chris found the taste very acceptable and said he could drink the whole bottle. If the caffeine content is more reasonable than the dew's, I just may let him in the future...except for Piña, this is the only other one he has tried and he is already bugging me to go to the grocery and buy them all (that's what I get for limiting soda consumption I suppose).
Cook the pasta according to package directions, adding the broccoli during the last few minutes of cooking; drain, reserving about a cup of the cooking liquid. Slice the sausage links thinly and brown in a large saute pan, adding the garlic, salt, pepper, and pepper flakes (if using), during the last few minutes of cooking. This process will take longer if using a fresh sausage, but not too long since you have sliced it up. Don't worry about draining off any fat unless it seems like you have a lot- if using precooked sausage this should not be an issue at all. Toss the drained pasta and broccoli in the pan (or large serving bowl) with the sausage, adding some cooking liquid if it seems dry. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese,
Yes, we had burgers again, but hey, it is summer after all, and what is more perfect for a humid summer eve? I found ground bison on sale at Kroger for $2.99 a pound and snapped up a few packages for the freezer (it is normally $6.99 a pound!). Bison is very lean with a wonderful meaty taste that we don't like to cover up with a lot of complicated flavors, and this super simple burger was just divine. The meat was seasoned with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper before a quick grilling, and topped with slices of Dubliner cheese (a family favorite) before sliding into grilled ciabatta rolls spread with the leftover seasoned butter leftover from Father's Day...um, um, good. A simple slaw (no mayo!), roasted potatoes, cucumber salad (yes, we keep eating that too, but it is sooo tasty and refreshing), and iced tea (unsweetened) with lime slices finished out the meal beautifully. Isn't summer great?
Mountainman Breakfast
In a 12" camp dutch oven over a full bed of coals, crumble and brown the sausage. Remove the cooked sausage with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate. Brown the potatoes in the remaining drippings; spread evenly over the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle the sausage over and toss with the potatoes. Sprinkle on the cheese and cover. Cook with 8 coals underneath and 16 on top for 15 to 20 minutes, until the eggs are cooked.
Corn cooked on the grill in its husk is a given in our house to go with just about any summertime burger, but the meal still needed something more. The big pot of basil growing on my deck needed to be thinned out, and this was the inspiration for the rest of the meal. I don't have any delectable summer tomatoes yet, but did have some grape tomatoes in the fridge, so I thought I would use the small basil leaves with the small tomatoes and make a Caprese Pasta Salad. The fairly simple tastes of the salad were the perfect foil for the strong tastes in the burger.
I was working from an open jar of tomatoes so I dumped them and their oil onto my kitchen scale to see if I was correct in my guess that I had about 8 ounces (I was!). Since I had the scale bowl dirty anyway, I just measured the rest of my ingredients in by weight before dropping it all into the food processor...it couldn't get any easier than that! The following recipe makes A LOT of pesto, so you may want to halve it, or plan for lots of uses like I have (I have never frozen it before, but imagine it would freeze well).
Sundried Tomato Pesto
For the scout training event we had weekend before last, I had purchased enough fruit for 40 adults. This was great, except that they forgot to set it out for breakfast and BUNCHES of bananas ended up coming back home with me. I ate bananas every day until I felt like I had them coming out of my ears. Come Saturday and there were still 16 (!) on the counter, and their state of ripeness dictated that they had to be used NOW. Christopher wanted banana bread so I found a recipe that would use six (the most I could find) and set the boy to work making the bread himself. Chris did a fine job, doing everything himself and loved the results all the more for having made the bread himself. The bananas we had left I froze and will use in future smoothies (also one of the boy's favorite things to make).
