Q Kola, an elegant mixer. Photo courtesy Q
Drinks.

The mission resulted in Q Water (Q for quinine). The company, Q Drinks, also produced a Q Ginger and a Q Club Soda.

And now, there’s Q Kola.

Like Q Tonic Water and Q Ginger Ale, Q Kola is clean, crisp, not too sweet and made in small batches with with all-natural ingredients. The whole line is more light in body than big-brand mixers. One reason is the house style, the other reason is that high fructose corn syrup, the main sweetener of big-brand mixers, adds body and mouthfeel.

If you’d like more elegance in your Rum and Coke, Long Island Iced Tea, Mad Bomber or other drinks among the more than 163 drinks made with cola, try Q Kola.

Packaged in a beautiful glass bottle, Q Kola is made with organic ingredients, including kola nuts, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, lemon, lime, orange and nutmeg (the flavorings found in cola). It’s lightly sweetened with organic agave nectar.

There’s a store locator on the company website. You can purchase Q Kola online at Amazon.com.

Find more of our favorite soft drinks.

July 26th is National Pisco Day—a day to drink Pisco, and to try Brazil’s national cocktail, the Pisco Sour (recipe below).

We’re about to introduce you to Pisco. Below you’ll find:

 
But first:
 
 
WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT THESE FOOD STAPLES FROM PERU?

Here are some of our favorite foods originated in Peru, all cultivated by the Incas:

 
 
CONTEMPORARY PERUVIAN DISHES

At the end of each of the past four years, food trend analysts have predicted that Peruvian food will be the next hot cuisine in the U.S.

But it hasn’t happened yet. Although it’s on numerous menus, most people don’t realize that ceviche originated in Peru.

Peru’s national cocktail, the Pisco Sour, remains the best-known Peruvian food in the U.S.

For a Peruvian feast, try some of these popular Peruvian dishes (you can find many recipes online):

 

THE HISTORY OF PISCO

Back to Pisco: The spirit was developed by Spanish settlers in the 16th century as an alternative to orujo, a pomace brandy that was imported from Spain.

Not only did they have to wait for the cargo ship to show up; but pomace is not hard to come by.

It’s distilled from what’s after from pressing wine grapes (what’s left are the grape skins and seeds).

In Europe, estate owners typically gave this residue from their grapes to their farm workers, to distill for their own consumption.

The end product, depending on the country, is brandy, grappa, pisco and other firewater*.

In the late 1550s, the Spanish settlers began to plant quality wine grapes.

Peruvian farmers did the same as their European counterparts: They distilled a clear liquid from the pressed wine residue given to them.

Pisco was discovered by sailors in the 18th century, when it became part of the growing Peruvian export trade.

It was easier to transport Pisco up the West Coast from Peru than to transport whiskey overland from the East Coast.

Thus, Pisco made its way to San Francisco, where it was enjoyed during the Gold Rush (1848–1855) through 1920, when Prohibition put the cap on alcohol.

Today there are many Pisco brands available in the U.S., including what has to be our favorite name, Macchu Pisco (get it)? Today, premium brands are distilled from the wine itself, not from the residue.

The category’s ulta-premium brand is Pisco Portón, an elegant distillate with fruit aromas and flavors; we enjoyed drinking it neat.
 
 
HOW DO YOU DRINK PISCO?

 
 
RECIPE: PISCO SOUR COCKTAIL

Peru’s national cocktail (photos #1, #2, #3) is also a favorite in the U.S.

Ingredients For One Drink

 
Preparation

1. Combine first four ingredients in a shaker with ice and shake.

2. Strain into a chilled glass. Add a dash of bitters.

[1] A Pisco Sour has an egg white top and a garnish of bitters (photo © T.78UopXx licensed under CC-BY-SA-2.0).

[2] A Pisco Sour, served glamorously at Kindred Restaurant in Davidson, North Carolina (photo © Kindred Restaurant).

[3] The Pisco Sour’s popularity has engendered flavored versions, from berry to mango. This one is flavored with rhubarb. Here’s the recipe from Le Petit Eats (photo © Le Petit Eats).

[5] El Capitán, a combination of Pisco and red vermouth, is sometimes referred to as a Pisco Manhattan. Here’s the recipe from Imbibe Magazine (photo by Nico Vera © Imbibe Magazine).

[6] Pisco Portón, an “ultrapremium” brand of Pisco (photo © Pisco Pórton).

*Firewater is actually a generic term for alcoholic beverages that contain between 30% and 60% alcohol by volume—that’s 60 to 120 prove. The Spanish word is aguardiente, which means “fiery water” or “burning water.”

Brandy originates from brandywine, the Dutch word for “burnt wine.” The spirit is named from Pisco, a town located on the coast of Peru. Often, products were named for the town from which they were shipped.

Ceviche—shellfish cured by citrus juice acid—has been popular in Latin America for many centuries. It dates some 2,000 years to an Inca dish of raw marinated fish.

The dish was discovered by Spanish conquistadors in the 1500s; they added the lime juice and onion that are integral to modern ceviche. The name “ceviche,” pronounced say-VEE-chay, is thought to come from the Spanish “escabeche,” meaning marinade.

Today, ceviche—spelled seviche or sebiche in some countries—is so popular that there are cevicherias, restaurants that specialize in ceviche.

There’s a whole menu of ceviche, from different types of fish and seafood to country-specific preparations. Each country adds its own spin based on local seafood and preference for ingredients like avocado. Some add a dressing of ketchup or a combination of ketchup and mayonnaise.

Ceviche is delicious “health food.”

 
> Try this classic shrimp ceviche recipe.

> More ceviche recipes.

> Create your own recipe, using your favorite seafood, with this guide.

> More on the the history of ceviche.
 
 
RECIPE: CEVICHE-STYLE LOBSTER WITH
WATERMELON SALAD

Executive Chef Damian Gilchrist of the Ocean Reef Club in North Key Largo, Florida serves Florida Lobster “Ceviche-Style” with Watermelon Salad. Here’s his recipe, which serves four as a main or eight as a first course.

You can substitute other crustaceans—scallops, shrimp—or fish.

Ingredients

 
For Serving

 
Preparation

1. Mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl to thoroughly combine. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

2. Serve atop watermelon planks with mache and drizzled with balsamic syrup. For balsamic syrup, reduce balsamic vinegar or buy a ready-made balsamic glaze.

[2] Ceviche with mixed shellfish (photo © Food Colors | Fotolia).

[3] Lobster is so much more delicious in ceviche than mixed with mayonnaise in a lobster roll (photo © Get Maine Lobster).

[4] Two ingredients for any ceviche: cilantro and lime (photo © Lindsay Moe | Unsplash).

One reason those anchovies are so intense is that casual restaurants don’t take the time to rinse the anchovies, but just scoop them up from the oil.

Another reason is using cheaper anchovies!

But in fact, these little fish can be truly delightful—still with a strong flavor, but one that’s delicious.
 
 
THE BEST ANCHOVIES

The 144 species of anchovies, a salt-water fish related to herring. They live in many of the world’s oceans and seas, including the Atlantic, Indian, Mediterranean and Pacific.

The good brands are things of beauty. Italians—who not only make some of the world’s best food, but as a society have among the most demanding palates—use them as a backbone in many recipes.

The best Italian anchovies come from Cetara (photo #1), an enchanting fishing village along the Amalfi coast, on the Gulf of Salerno. They are packaged by Nettuno, a family-run company. Production is completely by hand, using simple but precise traditions of local anchovy preserving.

The best anchovies are caught between March and July when their flesh is at its most plump; the better brands only fish during this period.

The fresh anchovies are immediately placed in oak barrels layered with water and sea salt and cured for about five months. The salt used by Nettuno is the exceptional sea salt that is hand-harvested in the salt panes of Trapani, Italy—uncontaminated Sicilian waters.

The result: anchovies that are soft, moist, and plump. It takes only a few seconds to rinse them in cold water and then put them to use.

Look for Cento, Nettuno and Agostino Recca sardines.

And if you’re a true anchovy lover, try a bottle of colatura, “anchovy juice” that is the modern version of garum, the favorite condiment in ancient Rome. You can buy it here.

Here’s more about garum, a great umami flavor.
 
 
RECIPE: PENNE PASTA SALAD WITH ANCHOVIES

This recipe is courtesy of La Cucina Italiana and Chef Andrea Tiberi.

Ingredients for 4 Servings

 
Preparation

1. HEAT the oven to 200°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. BRING a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Drop plum tomatoes into water and boil for 30 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, remove tomatoes from the pot (reserve the cooking water). Drain, peel, cut in half, and seed.

[1] This spaghetti recipe uses anchovy and capers compound butter that’s so good, you might also want to spread it on bread and canapes. Here’s the recipe (photo © DeLallo).

[2] Catching anchovies (photo © Gillian’s List).

[3] Anchovy fillets. When buying anchovies are sardines, get the best possible brand. Cento anchovies are very good for the money; these are from a premium brand, Agostino Recca (photo © Agostino Recca).

[4] Piennolo tomatoes (photo © Emporio Italiano).

4. RETURN water to boil. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Drain, transfer to a large bowl, and toss with a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt. Set aside to cool.

5. REMOVE the tomatoes from the oven; transfer to a cutting board and finely chop. Add to the bowl with the pasta.

6. ADD the the greens, Piennolo tomatoes, 3 tablespoons oil, anchovies, capers, chervil, and marjoram; toss to combine. Arrange on plates. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and some fresh ground pepper.
 
 
__________________

*The Vesuvio Piennolo cherry tomato is a variety grown in the southern Italian region of Campania, around Mount Vesuvius. They owe their intense flavor to the mineral-rich volcanic soil. These small, sweet tomatoes have a certified origin (DOP): Pomodorino del Piennolo del Vesuvio DOP. A regional specialty, they hang in clusters outside homes in the Sorrento peninsula in early fall and are preserved in water for pure taste. For a delicious sauce, simply cook down the tomatoes in their juices over high heat for 4-5 minutes and serve them over pasta. They are available jarred in the U.S. (you can find them on Amazon and elsewhere).
 
 

As a nation, we love crunchy snacks and creamy dips. As calorie counters, we don’t.

In this video, chef Curtis Stone shows how easy it is to make your own lowfat baked chips (commercial chips can have 30% fat) and lowfat, low-calorie dips.

They taste good and keep you looking good (Chef Stone looks great!).

See our Snacks Section with healthful snacks and recipes.