Ginger Beer Concentrate

I never had ginger beer until we lived in Swaziland.  It was a great drink for hot days, but we did not make it often.  The recipe our friend gave us was very good but required the mix to ferment a few days before drinking.  We rarely planned far enough ahead, or we let it sit too long, so enjoying ginger beer was rare.

Then we discovered this recipe.  We often make extra base to freeze.  It defrosts quickly and is a nice beverage to enjoy on lazy summer days.

We prefer this with sugar, but it also tastes good with raw honey.

Another version that we enjoy is replace the water with very strong peppermint tea that has been cooled and strained.

Lemon Bars

My girl friend Heather and I would often make these at her house.  We almost always doubled the crust and would eat one batch of it as the second batch baked.

Now Adrian loves lemon desserts and this is one of his favorites.

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Date Sugar

I discovered some date sugar at a discount store and really wanted to try it.  I had read that you could interchange it with brown sugar, but it did not mix in as well as regular sugar did.

We decided to start with our favorite cookies and experiment.  The cookies are soft and cake like, but very good!  I thought they were a little to sweet, so next time I will reduce the sugars.  But everyone else thought they were perfect.

These cookies work well with regular flour if you do not want them gluten free.