Yumm... Horchata!

Rice 'n Cinnamon

Have you ever heard of or had some Horchata? No? Well you're missing out but not a problem. I actually googled it and found it over at Wikipedia! *hehe* The best way to explain it is that "...horchata is a rice based beverage. While the drink is usually white and "milky", some recipes call for milk, and others do not. Other ingredients often include sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla, orange or lime. Though horchata was once typically homemade, it is now available in both ready-to-drink (shelf-stable or refrigerated) and powdered form in grocery stores.

In the US, rice-based horchata is served in some Mexican restaurants. Rice-based horchata is sometimes available in US 7-Eleven stores in heavily Latino neighborhoods..."

So if you enjoy Mexican food, you've probably gone to eat at a Mexican restaurant before and see "Horchata" listed in the menu under the drinks section. If you haven't tried it, you should some time! It's good! It's one of my favorite drinks.

At restaurants

And I actually learned how to make it at home. I learned it from a recipe in a Authentic Mexican Food Recipe Book. I lost it though. I can't find it anywhere. I have a feeling that my best friend accidentally packed it up with her things when she moved from our house because she had a copy of her own. So maybe she took mine. But it's ok, I remember the recipe in my head! I've been craving it for a little while. So I decided to make some yesturday. My husband loved it! It was such a treat for him. We actually finished it all yesturday. LOL He asked me if I could make some more today. So I'm making some more right now. I thought I'd share the recipe with you guys if you'd like to give it a shot and make it at home. It's really easy! I promise! And you probably have all the ingridients needed in your pantry! *wink* You can find many different recipes online for "horchata". You can even add fruit to it if you want to. But this is a very basic one for you. And it's just as delicious as the ones they sell in the restaurants. As a matter of fact, a lot of the Mexican restaurants use the powdered Horchata ready mix which isn't as delicious as the ones made from scratch. So here goes! [Again, I suck at instructions, so sorry if it doesn't make sense. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask] I also don't measure stuff too often when I cook so I'm guessing the best I can. as far as measuring amounts go.

Ingridients needed:

what you need

1 cup of long grain rice

2 quarts of water

About 1/3 cup of sugar

2 Cinnamon sticks or (about) 1 teaspoon of Cinnamon Powder

1 cup of milk [or to taste]

Instructions:

Put 1 cup or rice in a big pot or bowl.

Rice

Add 2 quarst of water.

Water

Add cinnamon sticks or powdered Cinnamon. (I ran out of Cinnamon sticks so I used the powder. But it works just as good!) If you use the sticks, make sure you remove them when you blend them when the time comes. You can add them back in [whole] later.

Cinnamon, yumm!

Add the 1/3 cup of sugar. Mix.

Let sit overnight or for 3 hours.

Once the time's up, get your blender.

Add the rice mix into the blender and blend really well. Using a strainer, pour it into your jar. Throw away the rice that stays trapped on the strainer. Once you've blended and strained all of your rice mix, add a cup of milk. Taste it, add more sugar or milk to your taste.

All done!

That's it! Add some ice to your glass when you serve it. It'll taste even more delicious chilly!

Delicious with some ice!

I hope you try it and enjoy it too! Hope it wasn't too complicated and hard to understand! I'm off to finish the horchata that's been sitting in the pot. These are pictures from the horchata I made yesturday. I'll try and get a pic of my hubby drinking some! To show the look of delight on his face! *giggles*