It is the familiar story of little Charlie Bucket. He lives with his parents and both sets of grandparents in a tiny, run-down home at the edge of town. As he passes Willy Wonka's magnificent chocolate factory on his way to and from school each day, his step slows as his nose lifts high into the air to take "long deep sniffs of the gorgeous chocolatey smell around him". What makes it sad is that he goes home to a small portion of weak cabbage soup. And only gets chocolate once a year on his birthday. But Charlie is a good child...a good soul...and he never complains.
When the mysterious Mr. Wonka announces that he will be opening his factory to 5 lucky children and two members of their family - winners to be determined by who finds the 5 golden tickets hidden in any Wonka product across the world - a glimmer of hope shines in Charlie. And in Grandpa Joe. Fate works its magic when little Charlie finds a dollar bill lying in the gutter buried under the snow. Charlie wins his chance to enter the chocolate factory and watch the bratty, spoiled, undeserving little kids around him fall prey to their own misdeeds one by one.
Charlie is rewarded with the gift of inheriting this wondrous factory that dreams are made of...and by. If you love the movies, you'll love the purity of the original book even more. And you'll be inspired to make all sorts of fun concoctions while you read the story. One of my favorite scenes from the original movie was when Charlie and Grandpa Joe get into the fizzy lifting drinks and I was bummed that they didn't do anything with them in the Tim Burton version. So when I happened upon the fizzy lifting drinks while reading the book - I instantly knew what I'd be making in honor of Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
FIZZY LIFTING DRINKS, it said on the next door.
"Oh, those are fabulous!" cried Mr. Wonka. "They fill you with bubbles, and the bubbles are full of a special kind of gas, and this gas is so terrifically lifting that it lifts you right off the ground just like a balloon, and up you go until your head hits the ceiling--and there you stay."
"But how do you come down again?" asked little Charlie.
"You do a burp, of course," said Mr. Wonka. "You do a great big long rude burp, and up comes the gas and down comes you! But don't drink it outdoors! There's no knowing how high up you'll be carried if you do that. I gave some to an old Oompa-Loompa once out in the back yard and he went up and up and up and disappeared out of sight! It was very sad. I never saw him again!"
"He should have burped," Charlie said.
"Of course he should have burped," said Mr. Wonka. "I stood there shouting, 'Burp, you silly ass, burp, or you'll never come down again! But he didn't or couldn't or wouldn't, I don't know which. Maybe he was too polite. He must be on the moon by now."
Fizzy Lifting Drinks
by
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 2 minutes
Keywords: beverage vegan citrus fruit blood orange
Ingredients (~3½ c.)
- 1/4 cup superfine sugar
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 1/2 cups freshly squeezed blood orange juice
- 2 cups club soda or sparkling water
Instructions
Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and let bubble for a minute or two. Take off of heat. Stir juice into simple syrup and let cool completely.
When you're ready to serve, add club soda or sparkling water and mix. Pour over ice. Drink and enjoy! (Be sure to burp if you are lifted too high!)
To make different flavors of fizzy lifting drinks, simply substitute the same amount of any freshly squeezed citrus juice. You can also add a long, thin strip of the rind with the sugar and water for extra flavor.
You can also substitute equal amounts of freshly juiced fruits and veggies in place of the freshly squeezed juice.
Ruby Red Grapefruit, Lemon-Lime, Orange, Kiwi, Strawberry, Mango, Pineapple, Berry, Concord Grape (the more concentrated the better if using the grape).
Update 11/13/17: I am also sharing this post with Fandom Foodies #WonkaMonth evented hosted by Witchy Kitchen!
