Draw Something: The Thirsty Bottle Opener

Take your ordinary bottle opener. It looks like a thin, scrawny metal man with a giant mouth, just waiting to guzzle an ocean of bubbly beer. And yet, the bottle opener never gets to drink anything, but opens every single bottle. That must be what hell is like.

The Origin Of The Root Beer Float.

I've discussed previously the history of root beer. It's a beverage steeped in Americana. Yet, what about the ultimate root beer dessert that delights people the world over? That's right... the root beer float.

In the late 1800's, various soda float varieties sprang up all across the country. Because Americans weren't so well connected as they are today, the same recipes would be developed in various pockets around the United States. As the popularity of soda pop grew, so did the idea of mixing ice cream with it. While there are many tales about who created the first root beer float, one story stands out as the most probable and well known.

The year was 1893. Frank J. Wisner, owner of the Cripple Creek Cow Mountain Gold Mining Company in Colorado, drew inspiration from his environment. Looking at moonlight shine off the nearby snow-covered Cow Mountain, he envisioned a scoop of vanilla ice cream. At the time, the residents of Cripple Creek were raving over soda pop. Somehow, Wisner thought of combining vanilla ice cream with soda. His first choice was root beer, which happened to be the favorite flavor of children in the area. The combination was an immediate success. Local residents began calling the beverage a Black Cow, a nickname which has stuck to this very day.

If you want to switch the recipe up a bit, try using chocolate ice cream instead of vanilla with root beer. You'll have what's called a Chocolate Cow, which is how I generally prefer to enjoy a root beer float!

Also, don't forget to celebrate on August 6, which is National Root Beer Float day. Though, you don't have to wait that long to enjoy one!

How To Make Homemade Eggnog.

One of the most delightful (and fattening) treats of the holiday season has to be eggnog. Coming to America in the 18th Century from England, eggnog originally used brandy as the alcoholic component of the beverage. Though, because of heavy taxation, Americans turned to using much cheaper rum from the Caribbean. As the American Revolution kicked into full swing, the supply of rum entering the British Colonies dwindled. In turn, this caused another change with the recipe. Instead of rum, Americans started mixing bourbon with their eggnog.

In honor of a truly American holiday drink, here's a wonderful homemade eggnog recipe that you can create in your own kitchen. Remember, though... eggnog should be consumed in moderation.

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks
• 1/3 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 pint whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 ounces bourbon
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 4 egg whites

Begin by beating the egg yolks thoroughly with a mixer. Add the sugar until dissolved. Finally, mix in the bourbon, nutmeg, milk and cream. Set this mixture aside.

Next, beat the egg whites with a mixer until soft. Then, mix in the tablespoon of sugar until the whites firm up slightly.

Finally, whisk your egg whites into your already prepared egg yolk mixture. Chill the entire batch until the eggnog is nice and cold, then serve.

If you want to try one of the older versions of eggnog, use brandy or rum instead of bourbon!

Remember, there is a slight salmonella risk from uncooked eggs. Only use clean, pasteurized eggs with unbroken shells. The risk is small, but it's best to be cautious.

How To Make Easy Homemade Hot Chocolate.

Over the course of this past weekend, I went searching for a tasty, simple to make hot chocolate recipe. Thankfully, I found one that did the trick. It was easy to make and didn't require many ingredients. Most importantly, it tasted amazing (even with the low-cal ingredients I substituted). You probably have all of the components in your kitchen already. What better way to kick-off November with a wonderful drink to warm your belly? This hot chocolate recipe is for one serving, but you can double or triple it as necessary. Here's what you'll need:

• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar (I substituted Stevia to cut the calories)
• A pinch of salt
• 1 cup milk or any combination of milk, half-and-half, or cream (I used cashew milk as a low-cal alternative)
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Whisk the cocoa powder, sugar, salt and a splash of milk in a small or medium-sized saucepan over medium-low heat. Make sure you stir the mixture regularly as to prevent the cocoa from sticking or clumping. Once everything has dissolved together, add in the rest of your milk and the vanilla extract. Turn the heat up to medium and keep whisking the mixture regularly. Once it's nice and hot, pour it into some mugs and enjoy! Remember to top it off with a few marshmallows if you want to sweeten things up a bit.

Ah... the joy of hot beverages in the Fall. I LOVE IT!

Why Tea Is Better Than Coffee.

I am an unabashed proponent of drinking tea. It's easy to make and tastes great. On top of that, it's just so much cooler to drink than plain old coffee.*

Plus, coffee tastes and smells like spoiled skunk meat. How all you people consume it, I have no idea. When I was a kid, my mom would brew coffee. The wretched smell would emanate throughout my house. On numerous occasions, the odor alone made me nauseated enough to vomit profusely. As I grew into an adult, I was brave enough to try coffee twice just to make sure I wasn't crazy. Both times, I upchucked.

Screw you coffee. You taste horrible.

Besides tasting great and coming in so many different flavors, what are some other benefits of drinking tea instead of coffee?

• Tea has nearly the same amount of caffeine as coffee, but without the giant energy drop-off that you experience with drinking a cup of joe. The caffeine from tea is more mellow and sustains you longer.
• Antioxidants are abundant in tea. This is a good thing; antioxidants are essential to preventing free radicals in your body from damaging cells. Essentially, it keeps you younger and healthier.
• In terms of fluid intake and staying hydrated, you ingest more water drinking tea over coffee. Coffee is thicker and contains more of the actual bean, whereas tea is nearly all water. 
• When most folks make coffee, they load it down with various creamers, flavors, sugars or whipped toppings. This adds an enormous amount of sugar and calories. When making tea, you just add tea leaves, boiling water and perhaps a single pack of sweetener (I use Splenda) for taste. BAM! A zero calorie beverage that gets you going without all that crap to pollute your system.
• Tea doesn't stain your teeth nearly as bad as coffee does.
• Drinking tea in moderation is beneficial to the health of your skeleton thanks to a component called catechins. It improves the strength of your bones!
• Regular consumption of tea has been shown to improve the response time of your immune system.

So instead of pouring yourself a cup of disgusting coffee, next time try a piping hot cup of tea. Your body will thank you!

*This is my personal opinion. If you don't like it, oh well.