Oats Juice
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Chicha de Avena

Follow this recipe and others Wellness Weekend by Ricki Heller (click here)
This is a refreshing and healthy drink for hot summer days.  It’s  great for breakfast, or as a dessert depending on the spices and amount of sweetness you add to it.  When I was in high school I would always purchase either this chicha or an orange-raspadura juice (raspadura: raw cane sugar).   Chichas (natural juice + water + sugar) are always available around street food vendors and restaurants.  The empanada and hot dog cart vendors specially carry several chichas sold at 25 cents.

You can also use this drink to make cocktails and like I mentioned before, desserts.  (I plan to make an oats/peanut Cheesecake, let’s see how it goes!
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Esta bebida es refrescando y saludable, excelente para días calientes de verano.  Es buenísima para desayuno, o de postre, dependiendo de las especias y dulzura que le agregues.  Cuando yo estaba en el colegio siempre compraba esta chicha o la de naranja con raspadura.  Estas chichas están disponibles en los restaurantes y los carritos de comida.  Especialmente los carritos de perros calientes y de empanadas venden chichas a 25 centavos. 

Overnight soaked raw oats
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Hojuelas de avena remojadas de la noche a la mañana

Ingredients:
1 cup of oats
1 1/4 cup of water
1 3/4 cups of unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup of Raspadura Syrup (I wrote on this Hibiscus Limeade Recipe, how to make Raspadura Syrup)
1/4 tsp of ground cinnamon and allspice

Directions:
– Soak oats in water overnight in an air tight container inside of the fridge
– Pour the milk, add soaked oats, spices and raspadura syrup in the blender. Blend for 1 minute or until the consistency you prefer.
– Keep refrigerated in a pitcher and serve cool.
– Sprinkle nutmeg and serve with a stick of cinnamon for a cute touch!

Overnight soaked oats
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Avena Cruda remojada

 Spices
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Especias

Ingredientes:
1 taza de hojuelas de avena
1 1/4 taza de agua
1 3/4 tazas de of unsweetened almond milk
1/2 taza de sirope de Raspadura (Aquí escribí como hacer el sirope de raspadura en esta receta de Chicha de Saril / Agua de Jamaica)
1/4 cucharadita de canela molida y pimienta de Jamaica

Instrucciones:
РRemojar las hojuelas de avena en agua, trasnochada en un envase tapado hasta en el refrigerador hasta la ma̱ana siguiente.
– Licue la leche, avena remojada, especias y el sirope de raspadura. Licue por un minuto o hasta que tenga la consistencia que prefiera. 
– Mantenga refrigerada en una jarra y sirva fría. 
– Polvoree nuez moscada y sirva la chicha de avena con una raja de canela para darle un toque diferente.

Blender with almond milk and oats
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Leche de almendras y hojuelas de avena en la licuadora

Spices, Raspadura and the blended oats
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Especias, Raspadura y la avena licuada

 Chicha de Avena!

 Served it in a cold glass and sprinkled nutmeg on top
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Servida en un vaso frío y con nuez moscada espolvoreada encima

I grew up with a tree of Saril (well not really *our tree* it was our neighbor’s and we’d take the flowers, but he never used them and half of the tree was on top of our backyard).  I remember the smell and my mom using a gigantic pot filled with these flowers.  I tried to chew the flowers, because, well I was probably ten years old.

Until I moved to the States I never actually brew any dried flowers.  I always had them fresh.  I can believe it as a young girl I would sometimes reject my mom’s juice and ask for red soda instead, ha.  I can’t recall this drink being one of my favorites, I always preferred corn, oats or tamarind juice, but as everything in life the good things come back with the memories and on every summer now I make different Iced Teas with hibiscus flowers, it reminds me of home and Sundays with my mom.

I can’t remember when is the season for these flowers in Panama, but I can remember whenever it would be available, we would drink it all day long.  Now living in Northern Virginia I avoid to buy this juice since it is usually overly sweet and I prefer the flavor that the raspadura adds to it instead of the traditional granulated white or brown sugar.

Summer isn’t over yet, so go and take advantage of it, serve this drink and enjoy it during breakfast or brunch.  You can also use it instead of cranberry juice as a mixer for a vodka cocktail.

Ingredients:

8 limes
1/2 cup of Raspadura Syrup
3 cups of brewed Hibiscus Tea (fresh or dry hibiscus flowers or 4 tea bags of Passion Tea Bags)

optional: fresh ginger / cinnamon sticks / juniper berries

Directions:

Melt the raw sugar cane 1 cup of water per block of sugar.
Brew your the hibiscus flowers 3-4 minutes, when ready reserve.
Squeeze 8 limes and mix with the syrup and the tea.

NOTE: If you’re planning to use ginger or a cinnamon sticks, brew together with the flowers and strain.

Fresh Hibiscus Flowers (flor de saril)

8 Limes

You can shred Raspadura and use it as regular sugar for recipes

Melt the Raspadura with one cup of water or 1 inch of water on top of the block of sugar

Once the Raspadura is melted, remove from the stove and let it cool off or…

The easiest safest way to pour the hot raspadura syrup is using either a funner or a liquid measuring cup like this one

Rush the cooling off process by placing the squeeze bottle with syrup inside of a container with iced water and ice.

It’s going to be a strong flavor Hibiscus Limeade, which is perfect to use as a mixer or drink by itself and adjust to your taste (more sugar for sweeter, more limes for more sour)