Symplax eggnog

You can make this eggnog with stuff you usually have in the house! For 2 servings:
Whisk together 1.5 cups of whole milk, 3 egg yolks, 2 tbsp coconut sugar (or honey, etc). Heat in a pan on medium whisking constantly until it's a bit thick (10 min ish). Let it cool a bit, then add in nutmeg, cinnamon, a tsp of vanilla extract, and one shot of spiced rum. Chill for a few hours. Blend before serving (gets rid of any small chunks from heating the milk, and also makes it delightfully frothy :) ) Serve in a fancy-schamncy glass. Symplax made, Benji approved.

Mango lassi

Mix 1 cup of yogurt, 1/2 cup of milk, 1 cup of mango pulp, a dash of ground cardamom. Blend. Serve plain or over ice. Serve in a wine glass to make it extra fancy :)

Roasting coffee beans

Our friend Brian put us onto roasting our own coffee beans a few months ago, and now we do it exclusively for our coffee needs. It's great fun, teaches you a lot about what makes coffee taste the way it does, and makes you more conscious of the tastes in your coffee :)

Get a can, cut off both ends and clean it well (get a can with a lip on both ends, so your can opener can grip both sides for a clean cut). Put it inside of an air popper. Get a long metal spoon. Put 2/3 of a cup of green coffee beans in there, turn on the popper. Stir constantly until beans begin to crack and turn brown. Once you're satisfied with the roast, dump into a metal colander and swirl beans to dissipate the heat. Holding the tube attachment of a vacuum cleaner underneath the colander helps. Put beans in a jar with the lid off for one or two days, then put the lid on. The beans will be ready to grind and drink in about a week and a half. This is all done to let the CO2 formed inside the coffee beans while roasting escape. Drinking them earlier makes the coffee taste a sour, not very nice.

It will take a few roasts to get used to the process, but those are the basic steps.

Fresh limey

Delightful fizzy drink popular in India. Put juice of one med-large lime in a big glass, put in some beet nuun (Indian black rock salt), pour some carbonated water over it, we usually use plain la croix (slowly, reacts with the rock salt and gets really fizzy if you pour too fast). Some people prefer this drink with some sugar in it as well. We usually just do it salty. 

Green smoothies

We love green smoothies for breakfast, or as a snack. Our favorite combo is a couple of cups of spinach (Payel likes a little kale as well), a banana, and a cup or so of milk (or soy milk etc). Some optional additions include coco powder, chilli powder, and turmeric (great anti-inflammatory). In the summer, freeze the greens for a thicker, cold milk-shake like smoothie, and the greens keep longer :) A cup of frozen peas is great instead of spinach for a more filling smoothie.

If you want to be trendy AF, make it a smoothie bowl. In this case, use frozen everything (greens and fruit). Top with peanut butter, berries, chia seeds, mint leaves, coconut flakes, anything :)

Breakfast at the country club

This is our recipe for a fresh bloody mary. Puree tomatoes, lime juice, a splash of worcestershire sauce, a generous portion of wasabi or horseradish, celery salt, any hot sauce you like, and chilli powder. Garnish with a long celery stalk for stirring and some pickles. Picked okra and olives are both great.