Acha-cognac with honey

I can't believe how fast the days are flying. It's already more than one week into the new year and I feel like I haven't done a thing! I set myself a news years resolution to post everyday and I'm struggling with a friend's hens and wedding as well as many other things that just seem to happen at the same time. I will start cooking soon too and will be trying to take better photos of the food I make.

In fact, I have done quite a lot this year already. I just came back from a massive hens weekend away and it was so much fun! Most of the other hens parties I went to were more toned down and not overnight so this one was different. There was a lot of good food, good games and good company. We made our own pizzas, pastas, puff pastries (recipe in a future post!), salads and BBQ'd goodies and managed to fit in a good session of spa-ing at Peninsula Hot Springs and the beach! My back is still sore from sleeping on the floor and my arms too from carrying my massive camera with flash attached all 2 days we were there. It was well worth it though!

I bought 10 achachas from Springvale before New Years and thought they wouldn't be enough to make the drinks I wanted to. I was so wrong! It actually only takes about 1-2 achachas per drink so they made plenty.

This one was actually the first drink I made, the colours were a bit more toned down than the others so I thought it would be more suitable as a calming drink after a huge weekend, although it was still quite chilled and refreshing. The days are getting cooler again, Melbourne is so unpredictable!

Acha-cognac with honey
Serves 2

Ingredients:

- 2 achacha pulp with pips
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 45ml cognac or brandy
- half lemon
- achacha skin for garnishing
- ice cubes

Instructions:

1. Dissolve honey in a tiny bit of hot water first

2. Place achacha pulp and pips into a shaker along with cognac/brandy, dissolved honey and squeeze of lemon

3. Shake vigorously until well combined

4. Top up 2 small cocktail glasses with fresh ice cubes and strain shaker contents over the ice.

5. Cut thin strips of the achacha skin to use as garnish

Note: The drink was a little watered down in the end as I took too long taking photos, but if you want it stronger, you can add more alcohol or add less ice into the glasses. You can also garnish with achacha pulp if you want to.

Question time: What's your new year's resolution and have you been sticking to it?

I realised that I really need to tone up my arm muscles if I want to continue taking photos like I do. With a normal lens and my 550D body, it's not too bad but the Canon 580EX flash is massive! I should have bought a flash that was one level down. As a result, I need to add 'going to the gym' or 'working out my arms' another New Years resolution!

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