The keyword is “relaxation”
Let us clean for you – so you can relax. We offer residential cleaning in Toronto with safety guidelines during COVID. Whatever stage we are at, we recommend you sit back and relax with family and friends on the weekend instead of cleaning!
The mocktini and mocktails are welcoming and park-friendly. While some mixes are best for a back yard bbq, barbie or brei, we have added mason jar friendly measurements for those that carry well to your local park. I am all for easy home-friendly tools and ingredients. Some terms for common techniques you already use at home may be new – so we have definitions with links to demo videos.
Mocktail & Mocktini Recipes
8 oz (500 ml) Mason Jar:
1 wedge of lime
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
3 dashes salt & pepper
4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
5 to 6 oz clamato juice
celery salt to rim glass
garnish: celery stalk
substitute: horse radish for Tabasco
Rim glass with wedge of lime and celery salt. Fill with ice and squeeze of lime. Top with clamato juice. Add Worcestershire, Tabasco, salt & pepper (to taste). Garnish and stir with celery stick.
32 oz Mason Jar for park:
5 cups clamato juice
¼ cup lime juice
1½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 tsp celery salt 0r sea salt
black pepper to taste
optional: 1½ tbsp horseradish
garnish: lime wedges & celery stalks
A Canadian classic – the Caesar was invented in 1969 for a new Italian restaurant in Calgary.
500 ml mason jar
1 lemon wedge
2 dashes Tabasco sauce
3 dashes salt & pepper
4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
5- 6 oz tomato juice
celery salt
garnish: celery stalk
substitute: horse radish for Tabasco.
Rim glass with lemon wedge and celery salt. Fill with ice and squeeze of lemon. Top with tomato juice. Add Worcestershire, Tabasco, and pepper (to taste). Garnish and stir with celery stick.
Named after a waitress at the Bucket of Blood nightclub in Chicago whose name was Mary.
4 cups honeydew, cut in 1″ pieces, then frozen
½ cups coconut water
⅓ cup mint leaves
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
½ tsp sea salt
½ cucumber, peeled & cut in 1″ pieces
garnish: cucumber slices
Blend until smooth.
cinnamon sugar
1 part cranberry juice
1 part apple-cider or sparling apple-cider.
Rim glass with cinnamon sugar.
Serve over ice in martini, rock or tall glass.
Park-friendly without rim:
16 oz Mason Jar for mocktinis
32 oz Mason Jar for mocktails
11 blackberries
1½ oz pineapple juice
½ oz vanilla syrup
Ice
Combine 9 of the blackberries, the juice and syrup in a cocktail shaker; muddle well. Add the ice and shake. Strain into a martini glass. Garnish with 1 or 2 blackberries.
2 cups ice
3 ounces fresh lemon juice
4 dashes lemon or orange (non-alcoholic) bitters
6-8 oz tonic water
optional garnish: rock candy swizzle sticks
Add fresh lemon juice and bitters to cocktail shaker filled with ice. Shake until frosty then divide into two champagne flutes. Top off with tonic water about ¾ of the way up the glass.
Sub. for bitters: garnish with a twist. Twist a thin peel of orange or lemon rind.
1 grapefruit
optional: additional grapefruit segments for garnish
2 cups of ice
3 x 12oz cans of ginger soda
handful fresh basil
¼ cup basil simple syrup (see recipe card)
Juice one large grapefruit. Fill ½ pitcher with ice. Pour soda, fresh grapefruit juice and simple syrup. Mix well. Garnish with grapefruit slices and fresh basil.
garnish: limes
optional: zest of ginger
1 Tall Glass, a Mug, or 2 Rock glasses:
4 oz Mason Jar with rock glasses:
3 oz ginger beer
1 oz sparkling water
1 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
32 oz Mason Jar:
24 oz ginger beer
6 oz sparkling water
2 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
Serve cold.
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
1 Thai chile, split in half lengthwise
4 strips orange zest peel (3 inches long)
½ cup dried hibiscus flowers or 24 hibiscus tea bags
½ cup sugar
½ cup fresh lime juice
garnish: lime slices
Scrape vanilla seeds into saucepan; add pod, chile, orange zest, hibiscus, sugar, and 2 cups boiling water. Let steep 30 minutes until room temperature. Strain through sieve. Stir in lime juice and 2 cups cold water. Chill at least an hour. Pour over ice-filled glasses.
Make ahead. Cover and chill 3 days.
4 cups seedless watermelon, cut into cubes
1 cup coconut water
¼ – ½ cup jalapeño simple syrup
ice
garnish: lime & mint
Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.
Agua Fresca – Spanish for ‘fresh waters” – non-alcoholic drinks
assorted melon balls (watermelon, honeydew, cantaloupe)
2 scoops of fruit sorbet (lemon, raspberry, mango)
mint leaves
sparkling water
Freeze the melon balls until frozen (minimum 3 hours)
Put sorbet in glass, top with the frozen melon balls. Drop in mint leaves and top with sparkling water. Allow sorbet to melt.
fresh mint
Garnish: lime wedges and mint sprigs
Tall Glass:
1 lime
1 oz (4 oz) simple syrup
6 oz soda or sparkling water
32 oz Mason Jar:
4 limes
4 oz simple syrup
24 oz soda or sparkling water
Muddle mint with simple syrup in the bottom of a glass. Add ice cubes. Squeeze half of lime into the glass. Cut other half into wedges and drop in. Top with soda water. Stir and add mint.
1 Mug:
1 oz lime juice
4 oz ginger beer
1 tablespoon simple syrup (substitute maple syrup – for a Canadian Spy!)
2 oz sparkling water, tonic, or club soda
32 oz Mason Jar:
4 oz lime juice
16 oz ginger beer
4 tablespoon simple syrup
8 oz sparkling water, tonic, or club soda
Add all ingredients and stir well. Pour over ice cubes. Garnish with a slice of lime or a small slice of ginger.
Refrigerate overnight. Tastes better the next day.
Traditionally served in a copper mug that required a hefty deposit.
Cocktail designed in 1941 to get rid of surplus vodka and ginger beer in the US.
¼ cup coconut water
¼ cup coconut milk
1 cup ice
¼ cup diced pineapple chunks
¼ banana
Add to a blender and blend until smooth.
garnish: blood orange slices & rosemary sprig
Makes a tall glass, 2 rock glasses, or 4 mocktinis:
muddle rosemary
1 cup blood orange (fresh squeezed)
¼ cup sparkling water
optional: squeeze of lime juice
32 oz Mason Jar:
muddle rosemary
3 cup blood orange (fresh squeezed)
¾ cup sparkling water
optional: juice of a lime
garnish: a maraschino cherry
Tall Glass or 2 Rock glasses:
2 oz part grenadine
6 0z parts coke or pepsi
32 oz Mason Jar:
8 oz part grenadine
24 0z parts coke or pepsi
Pour over ice. Stir well and garnish.
Roy Rogers, the American star, did not drink alcohol and there is no evidence he drank Roy Rogers.
Mock-shots:
a maraschino cherry
⅓ cranberry juice
⅓ grapefruit juice
⅓ peach nectar
Mocktail in a tall glass or 2 rock glasses:
3 oz cranberry juice
3 oz grapefruit juice
2 oz peach nectar
32 oz Mason jar:
12 oz cranberry juice
12 oz grapefruit juice
8 oz peach nectar
Pour over ice in a chilled glass and stir. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.
I remember the Peach Schnapps rep teaching us at Paupers Pub to make Sex on the Beach shots. The “safe sex” reference takes me back to the late 80’s as the AIDS pandemic swept through the gay community along with prejudice and bias. I have a memory of Richard, my manager, on a ladder at the top of the steep service stairs changing a lightbulb. As I feared for his safety, he pointed out that he could not get life insurance because he was gay.
6 cups cubed watermelon (seedless)
¾ tsp sea salt
garnish: lime wedges
Purée watermelon in blender until smooth. Strain through sieve. Add salt. Pour into ice-filled glasses.
1 oz grenadine
7 oz ginger ale or lemon-lime soda
garnish: maraschino cherry
optional: squeeze of lime or 1 part lime juice
Known in our house as a “California Sunrise”!
For Rock-n-roll Shirley: rim glass with pink Pop Rocks.
Collins glass:
⅓ cup pomegranate juice
¼ cup mango juice
¼ cup pineapple juice
1 tblsp fresh lime juice
2-3 oz tonic
32 oz Mason Jar:
1½ cup pomegranate juice
1 cup mango juice
1 cup pineapple juice
¼ cup fresh lime juice
Pour juice over ice in jar.
Take 2-3 cans or a bottle of tonic water to top up glasses.
garnish: sprigs mint
Combine juice over ice and stir. Pour into glasses and top up with tonic water. Garnish with mint.
¼ cup lime juice
¼ cup granulated sugar or simple syrup
4 cups fresh strawberries, hulled (substitute frozen berries)
5 ounces (2/3 cup) sparkling water
2 cups ice cubes
Rim glasses with lime wedge & sugar. Blend all other ingredients in blender until smooth.
2 cups orange juice
1 cup lime juice
3 inch piece turmeric
2 inch piece ginger, peeled, thinly sliced
1 jalapeño, seeds removed, chopped
2 garlic cloves
sea salt
garnish: chili oil and mint sprigs
Blend orange juice, lime juice, turmeric, ginger, jalapeño, and garlic until smooth. Strain through sieve into glass. Salt. Drizzle with chili oil.
Recommended: Make a day ahead. Cover and chill.
Based on the Peruvian ceviche marinade, Lech de Tigre.
3 oz orange juice
top with soda or sparking water
a drop or two of grenadine
let sink – don’t stir!
garnish: maraschino cherry at bottom
Name your sunrise after your home town.
1 inch ginger diced or grated
1 inch turmeric diced or grated
optional: 1 garlic diced or grated
2 tsp honey
juice of 1 lemon
juice of 1 – 2 orange
2 cups water
pinch salt
optional garnish: cinnamon stick
Combine in pan and heat to boil. Simmer 10 minutes. Strain and serve hot in a mug.
Serve cold:
Let cool and strain over ice in martini glass.
3 cups cubed chilled watermelon
1 cup coconut water
squeeze of lime juice
1 cup ice
Put all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.1
Citrus Measure
For more juice:
Roll fruit on countertop before cutting in half.
Cut fruit in half and put in microwave for 15 to 30 seconds.
Oranges
1 orange = 2 oz = 4 tbsp = ¼ cup juice
4 oranges = 1 cup
Lemons
1 lemon = 1.5 oz = 3 tbsp juice
5.5 lemons = 1 cup
Limes
1 lime = 1 oz = 2 tbspn juice
2 lime = 2 oz = 4 tblspn = ¼ cup
8 limes = 1 cup
Limes are a dietary source of vitamin C. Sailors used limes to ward off scurvy.
How to make Simple Syrups
Simple syrups are used in cocktails to add sweetness in a liquid form that mixes well with other ingredients. Also used in teas, sauces, or as cake glazes.
Adding flavours to a simple syrup is an easy way to enhance flavours and use the natural health benefits of fruits and essential oils.
Demo Videos for:
Raspberry, Ginger, or Honey Syrup
Real Grenadine Syrup
Heat 1 cup sugar & 1 cup water, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Bring to a slow boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low for 5 minutes. Transfer to a glass container and let cool to room temperature. Cover tightly and refrigerate until chilled through.
Sub. honey for sugar – same 1:1 ratio.
Use maple syrup instead of simple syrup.
Steep1 cup fresh basil for 15-20 minutes. Strain and discard basil.
Simple syrup infused with 1 split vanilla bean per cup
Sub. 1 to 2 tspn of vanilla extract per 1 cup.
1 cup water
½ cup raw sugar or coconut sugar
1-2 jalapeños, halved lengthwise
Add halved jalapeños to boiling mix after sugar dissolves and simmer, covered, for an additional 5 mins. Remove from heat and allow jalapeños to steep in syrup until cooled, about 10 mins. Remove peppers before using syrup.
Coconut sugar will make a slightly muddier drink.
How to make Shrubs
A vinegar cordial made with berries. When tightly sealed in a jar, shrubs last about 6 months in the refrigerator. For more frequent use, they last 6-8 weeks
Combine 1 part fresh, stemmed fruit and 1 part granulated sugar in bowl in fridge overnight. The next day, strain out any solids and mix fruit syrup with 1 part vinegar. Whisk to combine.
Heat fruit, vinegar, and granulated sugar in saucepan on stove top, stirring until broken down. Remove fruit from the mixture and put through a sieve. Add to vinegar reduction and chill overnight.
¾ cup sugar
1½ lbs sliced fruit (peaches, strawberries, plums, or pineapple)
3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
6 ounces spirit of choice
2 ounces fresh lemon juice
Bring sugar and ½ cup water to a boil. Add fruit and reserve some pieces for garnish. Simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit 30 minutes. Strain syrup into a bowl; stir in vinegar. Cover and chill.
For each cocktail, shake 2 oz. shrub, 1½ oz. soda, and ½ oz. lemon juice in an ice-filled glass. Top with fruit.
6 ounces huckleberries (about 1 cup)
1½ cups sugar
1 cup white wine vinegar
8–10 cups club soda
Place huckleberries in 1 quart jar. Bring sugar and vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring to dissolve sugar. Pour hot vinegar mixture over berries and mix with a fork, crushing berries gently to release more flavor. Seal jar and store in a cool dark place 4 days. Strain shrub through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth into a clean jar; cover and chill. Check every week until vinegar flavor mellows to your liking.
For each drink, combine 3 Tbsp shrub with 1 cup club soda in a glass filled with ice. Taste and add more shrub if you like.
Basic Terms & Demo Videos
Try these links for fast quick video guides.
Grenadine: is a pomegranate -flavored syrup (not cherry). Make a real grenadine syrup.
Supreme a citrus fruit: segmenting an orange, lime, grapefruit or lemon to remove membranes. See Supreme demo
Muddle: mash lightly or stir with wooden tool to release essential oils or juice. A wooden spoon will do! See Muddle demo
Demo Videos for Simple Syrups:
Raspberry, Ginger, or Honey Syrup
Real Grenadine Syrup