Umeboshi Calamansi Lime Juice

Umeboshi calamansi lime juice is a refreshing drink popular in Asia, made with calamansi limes and sour plums aka umeboshi over ice.

Back in February of this year, I went to my Costco and discovered several pallets of citrus trees right outside the front door. To my absolute amazement, one of them was a calamansi lime! The tag had a different name and the peels were orange instead of green, but I’d know that aroma anywhere after living in Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia for a combined total of 13 or 14 years.

There were only a few left so I did not hesitate and put one in my shopping cart right away. Then a funny thing happened. I was stopped repeatedly by other customers as I did the rest of my shopping, wanting to know where I’d found the tree! Apparently, there were none left up front. One Asian woman even questioned why I needed it. I guess she was hoping I’d hand it over? Who knows!

Anyhoo, I planted the baby in the ground in my backyard and it rewarded me with a decent crop of little limes, as seen below. Crossing my fingers it will do the same again in the next few months. 

Depending on the country, this delicious drink is called different names. In Malaysia where I ordered it often, it’s known as limau kasturi asam boi or usually just limau asam boi, but it’s always made with calamansi or kasturi limes. 

And for those who are curious, normal green limes are called limau nipis in Malay. Just limau means lemon. 

Umeboshi Calamansi Lime Juice

If you aren’t fortunate enough to be able to source the calamansi limes you can make this with regular ones (skip blending the peels!) but you’ll need more sugar to counterbalance the tartness of the juice. 

Ingredients to serve two:

2 teaspoons sugar

6 calamansi limes

2 umeboshi or dried sour plums

Ice cubes

Method

Add 1 teaspoon sugar and one sour plum into each glass. Pour in 1/4 cup or 60ml hot water in each to dissolve the sugar and steep the sour plums.

Wash the limes and cut them in half. 

Remove the seeds and squeeze the juice into a large measuring cup or bowl.

Use a metal straw or spoon to mash the plums in the glasses a little. 

In a blender or food processor, blend the lime peels with 2 tablespoons of the squeezed juice.  

Strain through a sieve into your measuring cup or bowl, pressing gently with a spoon to get all the juice out. Discard the peels. 

Divide the juice between the glasses and add ice cubes.

Enjoy! 

Welcome to the 21th edition of Alphabet Challenge 2025, brought to you by the letter U. Many thanks to Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm for organizing and creating the challenge. Check out all the U recipes below:

• Jolene’s Recipe Journal: Upside Down Bacon Pancake
• Food Lust People Love: Umeboshi Calamansi Lime Juice
• Sneha’s Recipe: Upside Down Apricot Bundt
• A Messy Kitchen: Apple Bourbon Upside Down Cakeu
• Karen’s Kitchen Stories: Ube Pandesal
• Blogghetti: Jumbo Upside Down Pineapple Muffins
• Mayuri’s Jikoni: Udon Noodle Salad
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Black Forest Upside Down Cake
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Chunky Pumpkin Ancho Unsweetened Cocoa Chili

Here are my posts for the 2025 alphabet challenge, thus far:

A: Roasted Asparagus Soup

B: Blistered Sugar Snap Peas

C. Jersey Royal Chicken Chorizo Traybake 

D. Small Batch Dried Apricot Jam 

E. Whipped Espresso Cream 

F. Fish Sauce Roasted Chicken 

G. Extra Herby Gremolata 

H. Smoked Herring Spread 

I.  Fresh Cherry Ice Cream 

J. Small Batch Strawberry Jam 

K. Kiwi Tomato Feta Salad 

L. Lobster Butter 

M. Milk-Roasted Chicken 

N. Nocciolata Swirl Meringues 

O. Jersey Octopus Ceviche 

P. Easy Pastina Soup 

Q. Shrimp and Quail Egg Garden Salad 

R. Celeriac Mash with Scallop Roe Butter 

S. Fresh Scallop Sashimi 

T. Roasted Chicken Thighs with Stuffing 

U. Umeboshi Calamansi Lime Juice– this post! 

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Cinnamon Heart Imperial Liqueur

Only two ingredients and time are required for this deliciously spicy sweet Cinnamon Heart Imperial Liqueur. It’s the perfect sipping drink for cinnamon lovers.

This week for Sunday FunDay, I am hosting and since everyone’s favorite holiday of the year is February 15th, Valentine’s Candy Discount Day, I proposed that we share recipes using leftover and/or discounted V Day candy.

I’m not a big candy eater so I did wait for 50 percent off to purchase these cinnamon heart imperials expressly to make this liqueur. I had in mind something in the schnapps family and that’s exactly how this turned out. 

It would be lovely après-ski for those of you so lucky as to do that but it would be equally as welcome snuggled up on a couch at home. No fireplace? Plenty of fire videos to watch on YouTube, complete with roar and crackle. We have a couple of favorites we put on our television during the Christmas holidays. Such fun! 

Cinnamon Heart Imperial Liqueur

While you don’t have to use the most expensive vodka, I do recommend you choose one that is decent, not the cheapest rotgut on the shelf. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup or 115g cinnamon heart candies

1 1/2 cups or 360ml decent vodka

Method

Add the candy to a quart jar. Pour in the vodka and put the lid on. 

Give it a good shake then it let sit for a couple days.  

A couple of times of day pick up the jar and swish the mixture around helping it to dissolve. On day two, I had just a small clump left which I dislodged with a knife.

 

By the next day, it was gone. 

Once the candy is completely dissolved, the final step is to strain it to get rid of any sediment and the cloudy white stuff on the top. 

I pry a double-ply paper towel into its two parts and use a single-ply. If you have paper coffee filters, those would work too or several layers of cheesecloth. 

As you can see, there was some sediment so this is a worthwhile step! 

Store the liqueur in a clean jar. Serve neat or over ice. It’s also really good in hot chocolate!

Cheers! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and as I mentioned above, today we are sharing recipes made with leftover or discounted Valentine’s Day candy. Check out the links below. 

• A Sweet-Cuterie Platter + Cupid's Blend Cookies from Culinary Cam
• Cinnamon Heart Imperial Liqueur from Food Lust People Love
• Double Chocolate Caramel Stuffed Cookies from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Leftover Chocolate Cake Shake from Sneha's Recipe
• Peppermint Patty Brownie Bites from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• VORP from A Day in the Life on the Farm

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Spiced Hot Toddies

The perfect cozy beverage for chilly evenings, especially around the holidays, these spiced hot toddies are made with lemon, honey and whiskey. 

Theories abound regarding the invention of the hot toddy, a comforting drink made of lemon, honey or sugar, whisky and hot water. The most likely one is that they originated in India and were brought to Great Britain during the time that the British controlled that country. 

According to dictionary.com notes, in the 1610s, the Hindi word “taddy” meant “beverage made from fermented palm sap.” By 1786, taddy was officially written down and defined as “beverage made of alcoholic liquor with hot water, sugar, and spices.”

The hot toddy made its way north and west and gained appeal not only as a warming drink but also as a cure or at least reliever of the common cold, especially in cold climates. 

Historically a hot toddy is made with whisky but nowadays you can find recipes with rum, brandy and other liquors. You’ll notice that I spelled whiskey with an e in the title of this post. That’s because whisky without one comes from Scotland and whiskey with one is made in the US, which is my preference.

Spiced Hot Toddies

Yep, bourbon whiskey, specifically Bulleit, is what I used in these drinks but feel free to choose your favorite tipple for your own hot toddy! The amounts below make one drink but they are easily doubled for two.

Ingredients

¾ cup or 180ml water

1 ½ oz or 45ml whiskey

2 to 3 teaspoons honey, to taste

2 to 3 teaspoons lemon juice, to taste

1 lemon slice

1 cinnamon stick

Method

In a kettle or a small pot, bring the water to a simmer. Pour the hot water into a mug.

Add the whiskey, 2 teaspoons honey and 2 teaspoon lemon juice. Stir with the cinnamon stick until the honey has dissolved into the hot water. 

Taste and add 1 teaspoon honey for more sweetness, and/or 1 teaspoon more lemon juice for more zing, if needed.

Add the lemon slice and leave the cinnamon stick in the mug. 

Enjoy!

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes to spread Christmas cheer! Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check out the links below.

• Amy's Cooking Adventures: Gingerbread Mule 
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Homemade Pear Cider 
• Sneha's Recip: Homemade Rice Wine 
• Food Lust People Love: Spiced Hot Toddies 
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: The Sugar Plum Cocktail 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Winter White Cosmopolitan

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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