Written by I believe St. Patrick’s Day is second only to New Year’s Eve when it comes to the amount of alcohol that is consumed. It seems everyone wants to be Irish or at least party and drink on St. Patrick’s Day.
However, there will always be some people who want to party but not drink alcohol. These people should be encouraged. The more non-drinkers there are at the party, the better your chances of having a designated driver. The last thing anyone wants is to get a DUI or worse because of a little celebrations. I’ve taken the liberty of collecting some non-alcoholic Irish Drink recipes for your consideration. Find a couple that look interesting or tasty to you and have them on hand for your sober Irish drinking friends.
The Other Green Lemonade
Either purchase or make lemonade and add green food coloring to it or try making your own..
Makes 2 drinks
1 head of romaine lettuce
6 stalks of kale
2 sweet apples, like Fuji
1 whole lemon (if organic, you need not peel it)
2 Tablespoons fresh ginger, or to taste
Process the vegetables and fruit in a juicer and serve.
Limeade
Limeade Concentrate – store in your refrigerator, or freeze for up to 3 months.
1 Cup of lime juice (the juice of 6 fresh limes)
1.5 Cups sugar and 1.5 cups water ( I use spring water), heated to dissolve sugar into a simple syrup.
Mix together well, or refrigerate both juice and syrup separately and mix when needed.
Limeade
To make limeade, use 1 Cup of the concentrate and 1 Cups water. If too tart, add one more 1/2 Cup water to the mix.
Magic Green Lantern
Makes 6 drinks
1 cup well-packed sprigs of fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon grated lime zest
1 Cup cold water (I use spring water)
1/2 Cup lime juice
1/2 Cup sugar
Club soda
Lime slices for garnish
Instructions
Put all of the above ingredients, except the soda, into a blender.
Cover and puree contents for 60 seconds.
Strain the blender puree through a sieve into a glass or other transparent pitchur.
Fill tall serving glasses 1/3 full of cracked ice and serve the beverage over and above the ice slightly (divide among the 6 glasses), adding club soda to fill the glasses.
Garnish with a slice of lime on the rim of the glass.
Lime Smoothie
Makes 8 drinks
Blend the following ingredients in a blender and serve.
1.5 Cups Orange Juice
4 Scoops lime sherbet
2 ripe bananas, peeled and chunked
6 Tablespoons chopped mint
4 kiwifruits, peeled and halved
2 Cups crushed ice
Mint Chocolate Shake
In a blender, combine the following ingredients and blend for 2 milk shakes
4 scoops mint chocolate chip ice cream
1/4 cup milk
1 drop of peppermint extract
Pour into glasses with a sprig of mint and or whipped cream garnish.
Add additional milk to the blender if a thinner shake is desired. You can also add some additional chocolate syrup if you like.
Kale and Pear Smoothie
Makes 4 drinks
Speed: Variable to High
Time: 1 1/2 minutes
1 cup green grapes
1 (130 g) orange, peeled
1/2 Bartlett pear
1 (120 g) banana, fresh or frozen
1 cup kale
1/2 cup water
2 cups ice cubes
Place all ingredients into a blender and secure the lid.
Going Green Smoothie
Makes 3 drinks
1 cup green grapes
1/2 cup pineapple
2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 ripe banana
1/2 cup water
1 cup ice
Place ingredients into blender and secure lid. Blend on high for 60 seconds.
Coconut Pineapple Delight
Makes 4 drinks
You will need: 2 ounces Coconut Syrup, 12 ounces of Pineapple Juice, 12 Balm Leaves, Green Food Coloring, ice and 4 brandy snifters.
* Add crushed ice to a cocktail shaker
* Crumple balm leaves onto ice
* Add coconut syrup
* Add pineapple juice
Shake well and pour into brandy snifters including the crushed ice.
Green Grape Iceberg
Single Serving Recipe
You will need 4 ounces of Sparkling Water, 4 ounces White Grape Juice, 10 Green Grapes (frozen), a blender, 2 drops Green Food Coloring and a highball glass.
* Freeze green grapes
* Pour grape juice into blender
* Add 8 frozen grapes
* Add 2 drops green food coloring
* Blend for 15 seconds
* Pour mixture into highball glass
* Add sparkling water to taste
* Stir and garnish with remaining grapes
