Beverages

Recently while grocery shopping, I decided I should try juicing something called terong belanda, otherwise known here at Dutch eggplant. It is a relative of a tomato and is known as tomatillo in other parts of the world. The Dutch apparently brought this gem to Indonesia.

It turns out many people urge removing the skin before doing anything with this "fruit," so I did as recommended. A quick blanche in boiling water followed by a quick ice bath and the skins slip right off.

The fruits can be reddish, yellowish, orangeish. I picked a package which was mostly red. It turns out, the yellow/orange ones are less bitter. I didn't read that until later.

The juice resembles a thick beet juice in color due to the seeds not the skin. You add water to thin it. I mixed my terong belanda juice with some green apple and lemon. It was quite tart so I needed to add a smidgen of honey. When diluted properly, it was a good tasting drink. However, the package I bought made 2 liters plus of juice. If I buy them again I'll buy a smaller package.

Another drink item is blue peaflower tea. The flower is apparently originally from the Ternate Islands of Indonesia but culinary use has spread across SE Asia and also Africa and even the Americas.

This makes a fabulous iced tea. I don't care for it as much hot. It is suggested to serve it iced with lime juice added. What's really cool is that once brewed the tea is blue. Add a healthy splash of lime juice and the drink turns a lovely lavender shade. Pretty! While I have a source for this tea here, I don't know that I'd be able to find it in the US.