Egg Nog

In my attempt to do some pre-Christmassy things this year, I decided to start with the ABC's. The letter "E" became "Make Egg Nog" day. Ryu doesn't care for really thick or sweet egg nog. We are tea totalers (sp?), so were looking for a non-alcoholic drink. We also have lived in Japan where raw eggs are OFTEN mixed with soy sauce and poured over hot rice in the morning for breakfast. So, when I found this recipe on About.com, it seemed to be right up our alley. I am typing it out with my notes as well as putting a link to it as sometimes...links - and thus recipes - disappear!

Easy Egg Nog

2 eggs beaten well (Why couldn't you use an egg product that is...pasteurized? if you were worried?)
3 Tbs. sugar (I wouldn't have minded a full 1/4 cup = 4 Tbs.)
1 tsp. vanilla (We could have upped this too. Yum!)
1/8 tsp. nutmeg, ground
2 1/3 cups milk

We washed the eggs before we broke them, and then whisked them well before gradually adding each ingredient. The three of us drank the whole batch for lunch today. Yum!

Mugicha - Barley Tea

When I first came to Japan I was not yet a coffee drinker! Late bloomer, I know! So, when I was offered a nice cold glass of barley tea...I suddenly wasn't all that thirsty after all. My dislike of barley tea was quickly realized and I alone was given a goblet of delicious orange juice with a straw while everyone else drank mugicha out of water glasses. How embarrassing!!!

Well, I learned to drink coffee and mugicha as well. I often made mugicha for my students. I'd get to church and realize students were coming in 5 minutes and there was nothing cold for them to drink. So, I'd throw a tea packet into the pitcher, add water, and shake! The water changed color, but not flavor!!! Gross, but it worked in a pinch. Now our pastor makes sure there is always plenty of mugicha in the fridge! THANKS!

A friend recently taught me a new way to make the "BEST" mugicha. I must confess that I am lazy, so never have followed the recipe to its completion, but...here goes:

One packet of mugicha in a mug. Pour boiling water over it and let it sit for one minute.
Add the packet to a pitcher of water to make one liter of mugicha. Take the bag out after one hour. HA! Then add a bit of instant coffee. Wa la! Excellent mugicha, I'm told. I never take out the bag and have no instant coffee in the house, so... I also like weak mugicha, so use one packet for two liters! However, I do use the one minute hot water method. Much better than shaking!

Last week my friend told me of another mugicha recipe. If you make your mugicha right - it is supposed to be 3:10. 3 parts mugicha and 10 parts milk. Our weaker mugicha works better at 1:1 (half and half). This sounds kind of gross to those of us who take our mugicha STRAIGHT! No sugar and never any milk or lemon. However, this milk mugicha tastes like coffee au latte! Add some sugar syrup, and, a nice no-caf coffee tasting drink!

Any other "strange" ways of doing mugicha???