If you’ve dined at a taqueria or attended a party at a Latin American home, you already know about aguas frescas, the flavored soft drinks bubbling in those colorful counter-top dispensers. Sample a few aguas frescas from local eateries and you’ll find they’re inconsistent—sometimes too sweet, or unnaturally flavored.
But now Charlie and Juan Ignacio Stewart of Boulder-based Green Belly Foods have decided to introduce consumers to the real thing, inspired by the beverages Juan’s mom made from scratch when he was growing up in Guatemala. Their new Frescos—canned, sparkling soft drinks in four flavors—each use only three ingredients.
Frescos Rosa de Jamaica Sparkling Drink is a great refresher, brightly tart and infused with hibiscus flowers—think Red Zinger tea—and modestly sugar-sweetened.
Frescos Tamarindo is a little edgier, the sweetness balanced with the earthier tartness of tamarind. The other flavors currently on offer are Maracuyá (passion fruit) and Piña (pineapple).
The cousins and CU grads already had a following for their green, red, and yellow-hued Green Belly pepper sauces, which are short on blistering heat and big on flavor.
Frescos sparkling drinks are available at Avanti Boulder, Blackbelly, Caffé Sole, Carniceria El Cerrito, Rincon Argentino, H Mart, Ozo Coffee, Panaderia Sabor a Mexico, Tierra y Fuego, and Yellow Belly Chicken.
What to do with too much sweet corn
This time of the year is as good as it gets when it comes to Colorado-grown corn. Besides slathering cobs in butter, salt, and pepper, or grilling them elotes-style and freezing bags of kernels, one great way to wallow in fresh late summer corn is to make savory corn pancakes. This recipe, featuring another seasonal fave—roasted Pueblo chiles—makes six servings, unless you really like them, in which case it’s only three servings.
Colorado Corn Cakes with a Kick
4 large eggs
1 cup milk
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup all purpose flour
¼ cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 cups fresh Colorado sweet corn kernels
1½ cups roasted, chopped Pueblo chilies
Beat the eggs and milk until blended; stir in butter. Combine the flour, corn meal, baking powder, salt, and slowly stir into the wet ingredients.
Fold in corn and green chiles.
Using a ladle or an ice cream scoop, spoon the batter onto a buttered or oiled skillet over medium heat. Cook on the first side until bubbles appear all over the top, then flip and cook the second side until browned.
Keep cakes warm on a plate in the oven while you finish cooking the remaining cakes.
Serve warm with eggs, cheese, or a dollop of sour cream.
Culinary Calendar
The rustic Gold Hill Inn hosts a Labor Day cookout with live music and food in the backyard including pan-fried catfish and jambalaya. Reservations at goldhillinn.com . . . The School Food Project in Boulder needs extra volunteer hands shucking loads of Olathe sweet corn on Sept. 7 and 20. Sign up: tinyurl.com/corn4all
. . . If you attend the goat cheese-making boot camp and farm tour on Sept. 26 at Longmont’s Briar Gate Farm, you’ll learn how to make ricotta, chevre, fromage blanc, and feta in the morning and mozzarella and burrata in the afternoon. Registration: theartofcheese.com . . . The 10th Annual Orpheus MeadFest and competition, including honey wine sampling, is October 2 in Golden. Tickets: orpheuspcc.org/site/orpheus-meadfest . . . Learn the very basics of home beekeeping in a class Oct. 6 at The Farmette in Lyons with expert Beth Conrey of Berthoud’s Bee Squared Apiaries. Sign up: lyonsfarmette.com
Send information about local food events, classes, festivals and tastings at least two weeks in advance to [email protected]
