Friday, February 8, 2013

Pretty Pink Drink - for Valentine's Day

Why not celebrate Valentine's Day with something pretty, pink, and a little bit sweet?

This shake isn't terribly sweet, and you can add as much - or as little - ice cream as you like, depending on how decadent you're feeling. If it's not sweet enough (it depends a lot on the raspberries) you can add some simple syrup or honey.

And how about that adorable straw? Don't you love it, with the little dots? It's made of glass, so it's reusable and the little dots keep it from rolling if you leave it on a flat surface.

And that one is a little fatter than the usual straw, so it's good for slurping up a thick milkshake or smoothie.

More on the straws in a moment. But first we need a drink!

Raspberry-Banana Shake

1 cup frozen red raspberries
1 banana
1 cup milk
1 scoop ice cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Blend it all together until the fruit is obliterated and everything is thoroughly mixed.

If you want an adult shake ... well, a little framboise wouldn't hurt.

Or choose whatever you think would pair well. A vanilla vodka or an orange liqueur would be nice, right? Or a peach liqueur. Or ... well, you get the idea.

Now, about those straws ...

They're from a company called Glass Dharma, and they come in different lengths, different diameters, and different designs. The sizes are designed for sipping cocktails, for drinks like iced tea, for thick smoothies, and for bubble tea.

I really love the straws with the dots - they add some pizzazz to a drink (or a photo of a drink), and if you have different-colored straws in different drinks, people would know which drink is theirs - sort of like wine charms, but for cocktails or iced tea.

The clear straws are pretty in their simplicity. I mean, really, they look nicer than plastic straws, right?

And then the bent straws are ... well, bent.

They're all good for hot or for cold drinks, and the company sells cleaning brushes so you can really clean the inside of the straws, rather than rinsing and hoping that's good enough.

And how about this? They're going to give away 1000 glass straws for Earth Day 2013. Info about that here.

Glass Dharma provided samples to me at no charge for my use.