Cooking in the City (Latin X)

Get ready for a mouth-watering adventure as we explore the delicious world of Latin cuisine with Cooking in the City! Join our brain builder and expert chef, Cindy, as she teaches us all about the traditional Latin drink, Horchata. It’s a CELEBRATION!! BIENVENIDOS!!

There are many different ways to make Horchata. The way I will show you is the simplest and easiest way to make it! With 5 staple ingredients, and some delicious melon to garnish, we will starting off the summer with a nice cold drink of Horchata at Pretend City!  

Ingredients:

• Water
• Rice
• Cinnamon
• Sugar
• Ice

Materials Needed:

• Strainer
• Blender
• Pitcher

Instructions:  

Step 1 Blend. Blend the rice, cinnamon stick, and water until they’re finely pulverized and ground as much as possible. This will likely take 1-3 minutes. 

Step 2 Soak.  Transfer the mixture to a large pitcher, add the remaining water, cover, and let the mixture sit and soak in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours or overnight.  *Quicker Option: Let it sit for an hour flavor will get richer with time, 1 hour still good!! 

Step 3 : Pour. Pour the soaked mixture through a fine mesh strainer. If you have the time and want a smooth drink, mesh 2-4 times, until the mixture is no longer gritty and is as smooth as you can get it. 

Step 4 : Mix Add the milk(optional; will make your drink creamier), sugar, and vanilla extract to the strained mixture and stir until combined. Throw in a lot of ice, the colder the better! 

Step 5 : Serve. Serve the horchata over ice, top with some diced melon, with a sprinkle of ground cinnamon and enjoy!! 

About the play partner: One of our very own BrainBuilders, Cindy, will be sharing her culture with by making and sharing Horchata! Cindy has been with Pretend City for about 4 years and has shared her culture through many programs in the city. Cindy ! Cindy Cruz, of Oaxacan descent, holds her Mexican culture very near and dear to her heart. She loves the food, music, celebrations, and customs. “When my family and I go to Oaxaca in the summer, the best part is gathering all tables and chairs, from each family Tia’s (Aunt’s) kitchen, so we can ALL eat together! Some of the best conversations and memories are made and shared during these times! The room is filled with boisterous laughter and music, children playing, and it’s the BEST!! A drink to cool us all down in the hot summer, is my all-time favorite drink, HORCHATA!! With my dietary restriction to dairy has guided me in making horchata in non-traditional ways which aligns with the sometimes inaccessible ingredient, milk. Instead, we use rice, water and cinnamon.”

  Horchata has many nutrients like potassium, vitamin C and E.