Last summer we got a Soda Stream, and we’ve been addicted to it ever since. I don’t know if we save money with it necessarily (we have to buy the cartridges of CO2 and we drink waaay more soda water than before we had the Soda Stream). But it is better for the environment because we never buy bottled drinks anymore (unless traveling).
We have a collection of syrups that we have amassed, and it is fun to mix flavors and experiment. Denis always drinks Cola Free, which tastes like Coke Zero. Jamie likes Root Beer, and my favorite is Diet Cream Soda. I like being able to sweeten the water to my own taste, which is usually not as sweet as canned soda. The Cream Soda flavor pairs well with a dash of fruit juice. Recently, I’ve been drinking it with about a tablespoon of tart cherry juice. With apple juice, it tastes just like Martinelli’s Sparkling Cider.
Another fun aspect of having soda water around is being able to make the quintessential Brooklyn beverage, the egg cream, at home! An egg cream, as you might know, does not have eggs in it at all- – just syrup, milk, and soda water. It’s a retro fountain drink, and since you have to drink it immediately after the soda water is added — it’s not something that can be bottled.
Even Jamie has mastered the art of making a good egg cream. For a traditional Brooklyn one, you must use U-Bet’s! But if you can’t get your hands on a bottle, any chocolate syrup would work.
The next important factor: You must use a new bottle of sparkling water/seltzer/club soda or a freshly made bottle of Soda Stream soda water! The carbonation is key to creating a really good egg cream head.
To make one, pour syrup into a tall glass, add milk, then the soda water. Stir to combine and serve or drink immediately! The lovely head goes down pretty rapidly.
As you might know, I LOVE Kahlua and I like finding ways to use it in recipes.
Check out my Kahlua Tiramisu here.
I decided to try my hand at a Kahlua Egg Cream. You could make this with Chocolate Syrup if you wanted, but I wanted a vanilla one, so I used Soda Stream Diet Cream Soda syrup. It was heavenly!
Last month the MATS Bootcamp class I’ve been loving for the past five months, ended. I was kind of sad to finish, because being in the class was such a great experience. It was so inspiring, and I met so many other great artists taking the class. My work has greatly improved in the process as well — it’s helped me to approach it differently and really focus on creating a lot more personal pieces for myself. I will be taking more of Lilla Roger’s classes in the future though, so that is something to look forward to!
The theme for our last assignment was our favorite beverage. Of course I had to do a piece on soda water! Here’s my version inspired by vintage beverage ads:
Traditional Egg Cream
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons chocolate syrup (preferably U-Bets)
about 1/2 cup milk
Soda water
1. Add syrup to tall glass. Add milk. Slowly add soda water making sure the head comes to the top (depending on how strong your carbonation is will determine the speed at which it rises). Stir to combine syrup.
2. Drink or serve immediately.
Vanilla Kahlua Egg Cream
2 teaspoons cream soda flavored syrup
2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon Kahlua
1/3 cup milk
Soda water
1. Add syrup to tall glass. Add Kahlua, then milk. Slowly add soda water making sure the head comes to the top (depending on how strong your carbonation is will determine the speed at which it rises). Stir to combine syrup.
2. Drink or serve immediately.