Fruit and yogurt Sunday smoothie

It's been a long time! I know! But I'm fine, cooking as always and enjoying life. In fact, probably enjoying life too much, that's why there was no posting for such a long time!

I felt a bit guilty but since I am in a hurry I will post a very simple breakfast recipe that I made for my sister when she was visiting in January. I call it Sunday smoothie! You can go the easy way and mix all the ingredients in a blender or you can do it the pretty way, in colorful layers. There is not much of cooking to be honest, I know it is cheating but I just really like it!

INGREDIENTS:

(for 4 glasses)

2 cups plain yogurt

2 tbsp honey

2 large, ripe mangoes

1 cup red berries

2 ripe kiwis

extra berries for garnishing

1. Mix yogurt and honey in a bowl and divide the mix between 4 glasses.

2. Place the mangoes in a blender and process until smooth. Divide between the glasses.

3. Continues with the rest of the fruits, each one separately, making colorful layers, one on top of the other.

4. Garnish with extra honey and berries and serve. Mix well before drinking, otherwise you will end up with plain yogurt on the bottom of your glass! :P

Very simple, yet so beautiful and yummy! Other variations include bananas, pineapples, mellon, pears or any other soft fruit.

Glühwein

I couple of days ago an Austrian friend of mine wrote on Facebook: "Revenues, Transaction fees, annualized ROIs, NPVs, EPS, Discount rates, Balance Sheets, CF statements, Income statements, EBIT, EBITDA ........ I need a Glühwein!". Last year this same guy made the best ever Glühwein for our little Halloween party. So while reading his geeky status I figured that I'd looooove to have some myself. So I required a recipe and made it the next day with some leftover wine that I had. Much easier then I thought. It reminds me of warm Sangria actually, but without any juice added.

INGREDIENTS:

1 bottle (cheap) red wine
1 cinnamon stick
5-10 cloves
3-5 tbsp sugar (depending on if you prefer it sweet)
1 orange, sliced

1. In a large pot place all the spices and orange and add about 1 cup of wine. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and continue cooking until the sugar dissolves completely and the spices release their aromas.

2. Add the rest of the wine and cook for just as long as it's necessary to warm it up. Adjust the amount of sugar to taste. Serve with a slice of orange in the cup.

The original recipe did not require 2 steps, but rather mixing everything in a pot and cooking together. I did it in two steps in order to avoid boiling the wine for too long. This prevents the alcohol from evaporating, making the final drink stronger ;) Of course you could just follow the original recipe.

It's probably the most Christmasy drink that exists! It's so sweet and worm and it always reminds me of Christmas markets. Now that I'm going back home, I'm going to make it again and enjoy it the proper way, in front of a fireplace! And while the wine is cooking all the house smells cinnamon. Amazing!