Finally, the refreshing burst of cucumber flavor in a soda! Pepsi plus pickle juice, how can that be bad? At first I thought Pepsi Ice was like regular Pepsi, but with a higher alcohol content. Might almost make drinking cucumber soda palatable. Sorry to break the bad news, but this was a one shot deal available only in summer of 2007. Ebay, anyone?
Russia – Pepsi Ice Cream
Pepsi Ice Cream and some kind of Doritos.
You would think our Russian friends would get to have a Pepsi product that mixed well with Stolichnaya. Think again…Pepsi Ice Cream, which sounds like bottled Pepsi Float is actually just cream soda, but with a different marketing hook. Makes you wonder why they never tried it here?
Japan – Pepsi Shiso
Teenage Mutant Ninja Soda
Shiso is from the mint family, and has a flavor somewhat similar to basil. Basil flavored soda actually sounds intriguing, but a glance at the bottle makes it look like something bottled from the stream outside the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant. Why not serve up raw Blinky wrapped in seaweed to go with it?
Mmmmmmm…radioactive fish.
Europe – Pepsi Boom
Pepsi made a boom-boom.
Pepsi Boom makes you think they went all Guy Fieri on their beverage, right? Well, if going Guy Fieri means creating a product bereft of any value, than I suppose so. Pepsi Boom is Pepsi with no caffeine, no sugar, and no artificial sweetener. Than what the hell is it? Carmel color and water? I’d rather listen to Rammstein than drink Pepsi Boom.
I was at my local Kroger a couple weeks ago when I spotted a vague sign for something called Summerfest. Without thinking much of it, I wondered if it was some summer concert series with a mismatched amalgamation of bands. Ani DiFranco, Slipknot and Death Cab for Cutie on stage all together! Turns out it was a beer display, which brought much joy to my heart.
According to Kroger, summer beer begins with Bud Select, Miller Lite Chill, Bud Light and Labatt Blue. But located on the bottom of the pile was something I had never laid eyes on before. It read: Sierra Nevada Summerfest Lager. I was very excited, “Look Evie, Summerfest Beer from Sierra Nevada!,” I exclaimed to my one year old daughter. Ignoring the looks from the super judgey Moms around me, I grabbed a 12 pack and added it to my cart.
Sierra Nevada Summerfest Lager
Summerfest advertises itself as a “pilsner style lager” which prepared me for something new from my old buddies from Chico, CA. This wasn’t going to be the hoppy blast of their amazing pale ale or their rich smoky stout. I prepared my taste buds with some homemade Mexicali Dip and popped open my first bottle.
The first drink went down very crisp, with a lemony flavor. I could tell this was going to be a very light drinking experience, the kind of beer that demands you have more than one. But what hit me the most was the pleasant floral finish, something akin to what you get from Sierra Nevada’s Pale Ale, but very subtle. It made what was going to be a good beer, very good, bordering on great. All in all a very solid effort, easily in the same league as Sam Adams Summer Ale and Bell’s Oberon to name two.
If you expect a pleasurable drinking experience from Sierra Nevada Summerfest, you will not be disappointed. Overall, I recommend that the beer loving EP readership give Summerfest a shot. It will not disappoint, and provides a new and welcome addition to the summer beer selection.
Cupcakes: they’re simple, they’re delicious, and they’re perfect for a birthday party. No cutting or silverware required, no one need be afraid to be the first to dig in or worry about how big a piece they take. But, on the downside, they can seem a little kid-ish. Maybe not the perfect treat for an elegant, catered surprise 30th birthday? Well, they can be. If, say, you make them in some elegant flavors like Strawberry-Basil and Green Tea.
There’s not a lot for me to say about these except that the strawberry could have tasted more like basil, but instead tasted like strawberry milkshakes, which was completely fine with everyone, and that the green tea were the prettiest little cupcakes I’ve ever made. Maybe it’s my own affinity for green – my favorite color – but they turned out such perfect little orbs of a wonderful shade of pale emerald that they were almost as much fun to look at as to eat.
photo by Erica Janky
Strawberry-Basil Cupcakes 1 lb fresh strawberries, washed and cored
fresh basil – the more you use, the stronger the taste
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
– – – 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter at room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 egg whites 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tspn salt
1/4 cup half & half
1 tblspn vanilla
– – –
8 oz cream cheese
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
powder sugar to taste
Wash the basil and chop or tear it into small pieces. Place it, the 1 cup water, and the 1 cup sugar into a small saucepan and simmer it until the sugar is dissolved and the basil flavor has thoroughly steeped into the syrup. Strain it to remove all of the basil pieces from the syrup, and place the syrup and the strawberries back into the saucepan. Cook the mixture down until the strawberries are squishy and delicious. Strain the mixture, reserving the liquid; you will use the squishy basil-berries in the cake and the syrup in the frosting.
Cream together your butter and sugar until fluffy. Blend in egg and egg whites, then flour, baking powder and salt. Add the half & half, vanilla, and your squishy strawberries. Beat until the berries are in small pieces and everything is well combined. Divide into lined cupcake tins and bake for 25 minutes (or until done) in a 350F oven. Remove and cool completely before icing.
For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and sugar together until fluffy. Add, in small amounts at a time, the strawberry syrup and powder sugar until you get to a strawberryness, sweetness, and consistency you like.
2 sticks (1 cup) butter at room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 egg yolks
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn salt
1 cup half half
2 tblspn green tea powder
– – –
8 oz cream cheese
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
green tea powder and powder sugar to taste
Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy. Beat in eggs and egg yolks, then flour, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, mix the half and half and green tea powder together, and beat into batter. Beat until well combined and smooth. Divide between lined cupcake tins and bake for 25 minutes (or until done) in a 350F oven. Cool completely before frosting or you’ll end up with a green gooey runny mess, which would be a shame, because these cupcakes are just so pretty.
For frosting, beat together the butter and cream cheese with green tea powder and powder sugar to taste until you reach a frosting you’re happy with.
There you go – some very grown up cupcakes that are absolutely delicious. Enjoy!
