Curious Combinations

[River]

This morning I've been pondering the idea of creating unusual, but hopefully delicious, non-alcoholic drink mixes or blends. I suppose this is due to my enthusiasm about the warming weather in springtime and the fact that my life is becoming much more social lately (again) than it has been through the winter. I'm imagining social get-togethers in which I can spring my guests, or folks I'm visiting or picnicking with, with some imaginative nonalcoholic drink of my own innovative creation. (Not that I have anything against alcohol! But I want to cut back on alcohol while also enjoying imaginative taste treats.)

This thought led to another, and another, and I realized I wanted to post this thread here -- a thread for the open and free (and honest) explorations into "Curious Combinations" of any and every kind -- be they the blending of flavors in drinks or food or the blending or juxtaposition of any two or more other things -- be these things animal, vegetable or mineral, edible or auditory, material or immaterial (like ideas, for example).

We can share our own favorite curious combinations here, or attempt to invent some new ones, as I plan to do with nonalcoholic drinks. I'll share my recipe successes and failures -- by my own judgement, and you' are free to laugh along or try your own hand. But the idea is to be playfully creative and curious, imaginative and experimental.

How this thread materializes otherwise is its own, open, curious process. I only ask that you be a bit detailed and specific in what you write here. If it's a new drink creation you have come up with, when did you do so, and how did the process unfold? That sort of thing. If it is something you created by way of combination in the past, and which you love, how can we try it ourselves? Is there a recipe? What are the ingredients and what is the process whereby we can emulate your creation?

You can also share your creative process with us, as I will do in a moment in my next post. So there is no necessity that you have an end product to share here. We'd like to hear about your creative and imaginative process, too.

And if it is simply a favorite mix or combo you have discovered somewhere, great. Share those, too, please! And happy spring!

 

[River]

Green tea &?

My project:

Create a Curious Combinations non-alcoholic drink which involves a truly creative, even surprising combination of ingredients.

Criteria for success:

The final product (a recipe) must have all of the qualities listed above while also being surprisingly delicious or otherwise enjoyable as a taste treat. Ideally, the resulting recipe will generally strike others as at least a bit daring or adventurous in its combination of ingredients. It should neither be too simple nor too complex to make. It should certainly not have more than 5-6 (principle) ingredients. (Examples of other than 'principle' ingredients might be stated as "e.g., half a pinch of sea salt".)

Method:

A culinary or flavor riff on Lateral thinking, defined by Wikipedia as:

Lateral thinking is a manner of solving problems using an indirect and creative approach via reasoning that is not immediately obvious. It involves ideas that may not be obtainable using only traditional step-by-step logic.[1]

The term was promulgated in 1967 by Edward de Bono. He cites the Judgment of Solomon as an example, where King Solomon resolves a dispute over the parentage of a child by calling for the child to be cut in half, and making his judgment according to the reactions that this order receives.[2] Edward de Bono also links lateral thinking with humour, arguing there's a switch-over from a familiar pattern to a new, unexpected one. It is in this moment of surprise generating laughter and new insight which facilitates the ability of seeing a different thought pattern which initially was not obvious.[3]

According to de Bono, lateral thinking deliberately distances itself from the standard perception of creativity as "vertical" logic (the classic method for problem solving).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_thinking

How I'm choosing to begin the creative process:

By selecting one initial ingredient which definitely will be included. In this case, that ingredient is green tea leaves (loose).

How I'm choosing to unfold the my creative process:

Private (individual) and collective / collaborative "brainstorming," including enlisting folks reading this thread to offer their suggestions for what might just possibly go surprisingly and/or fabulously well with green tea as an ingredient in the drink I seek to create.

If you're responding to this particular post, in order to keep things distinct, I ask that you please put the words "Green tea &?" in the title of your response. Thank you!

 

[River]

Green tea &?

Brainstorming Green tea &?

Brainstorming is generally conceived as a group process, but an individual can benefit from a very similar, individual process, which "by removing inhibitions" (Wikipedia article) and going for quantity some surprising discoveries can be made.

Osborn [inventor of brainstorming method] claimed that two principles contribute to "ideative efficacy," these being :

Defer judgment,

Reach for quantity

.

My own brainstorming list:

watermelon juice
lemon juice
strawberry juice
coffee grounds
cinnamon sticks
carrot juice
black tea
walnuts (made into a slurry)
almonds (slurry)
black pepper (slurry)
blackberry juice
elderberry juice
blueberry juice
cucumber juice
cranberry juice
pineapple juice
apple cider (non-alcoholic)
ginger
mint
lemon balm
licorice root
passion fruit
prune juice
tangerine juice
orange juice
lemon verbena
sage
pomegranate juice
honeydew melon juice



Okay, enough for now.

Any ideas?

 

[River]

Green tea &?

My leanings so far...

Thoughts

(a) green tea is not a particularly strong flavor to begin with, and I want that flavor to be boldly present in the final product, not buried and hidden behind them.

(b) I'm leaning strongly toward the final product being vibrantly green in color and more transparent than merely translucent or opaque. It most certainly should not be opaque. It should not have any blatant texture at all, as a smoothie would. It should have a fresh, light watery viscosity or the viscosity of a red wine (but the substance will be green).

(c) It should have at least one herb, apart from the tea itself. Probably (or possibly) lemon verbena, provided it does not overwhelm the tea flavor and complements it somehow.

(d) It shall have no added sweeteners, deriving any of its sweetness (which should be minimal) from a fruit juice, most likely. I'm leaning toward a green colored fruit juice, such as possibly honeydew melon. I'm also giving serious consideration to seeing how cucumber juice might blend with the other ingredients. I've eaten cucumbers and had cucumber water, but haven't ever drunk cucumber juice per se. I'm imagining a juice of cucumber without the skin, thus keeping the flavor light and non-competitive with the key ingredient: green tea. The green tea will have to be strongly present, brewed strong, so as not to fall back into the background of the other flavors.

Once I had this thought -- the texture, color, etc., I imagined creating yet other drinks based on similar principles of creation, but using color as a primary guide. So, for example, my next drink is likely to be red in color and to make use of pomegranate juice as its principal "flavor key" -- as green tea will be with the current creation.

 

[vinsanity0]

My wife brewed strong green tea with an ice tea brewer. It's similar to a coffee maker. Instead of sugar she added one teabag of mint tea. I liked it and I'm a big fan of sugary drinks. It wasn't too minty. It sort of tricked the mind into thinking it was sweet

Sorry, not a big fan of those combo drinks. Sometimes I look at the choices in the store and just shake my head...lol

 

[River]

Sorry, not a big fan of those combo drinks. Sometimes I look at the choices in the store and just shake my head...lol

Probably because most of them just aren't very well conceived or executed. I plan on doing MUCH better!

 

[kdt26417]

Cut up a baked potato, and add it to a bowl of chili. Vegetarian chili works well. Add diced onion, diced jalapeño, and shredded cheese (a Mexican blend is ideal) to taste. It's one of my favorite dinners, it's very satisfying.

 

[River]

Cut up a baked potato, and add it to a bowl of chili. Vegetarian chili works well. Add diced onion, diced jalapeño, and shredded cheese (a Mexican blend is ideal) to taste. It's one of my favorite dinners, it's very satisfying.

Sounds yummy!

 

[vinsanity0]

Cut up a baked potato, and add it to a bowl of chili. Vegetarian chili works well. Add diced onion, diced jalapeño, and shredded cheese (a Mexican blend is ideal) to taste. It's one of my favorite dinners, it's very satisfying.

And I thought my family was the only one that put potatoes in their chili. My dad was German and wanted potatoes as part of every meal so my mom added them to the chili. She would make a big batch and can it. My college roommates thought that was the weirdest thing lol.

 

[Magdlyn]

And I thought my family was the only one that put potatoes in their chili. My dad was German and wanted potatoes as part of every meal so my mom added them to the chili. She would make a big batch and can it. My college roommates thought that was the weirdest thing lol.

Chili fries are a thing.

 

[vinsanity0]

Chili fries are a thing.

Definitely not close to being the same thing, but I love those.