The Dominican summer classic “Die Dreaming”
When I was younger my mother would always find ways to teach us how to make easy and inexpensive Dominican recipes after school. One that was my all-time favorite was Morir Sonando “Die Dreaming” drink. It was so much fun for my sister and me to get involved in the kitchen and learn a bit more about our culture. I still remember bringing in a jug of Morir Sonando to school and to work potlucks and get the same weird looks from everyone. The name of the drink always seemed to freak everyone out. I would get concerned questions like “umm what’s in it and why is it called to die dreaming?” laughing I would tell them it’s just a Dominican version of an orange creamsicle as a drink. They would look so relieved and once they tired it they felt like little kids getting ice cream from the ice cream truck.
This drink is a classic summer Dominican drink, but like everything else, everyone has their own family recipe of how they like it. I personally don’t like it overly milky, I prefer a nice balance of orange to milk ratio and definitely sweet. My mom always warns me to do it just as she explains or I will break the milk (cortar la leche). I seriously have no idea what that meant until I looked it up and if you don’t follow the order of how to prepare the drink the milk will curdle “soured milk” umm eww. The trick is to have the milk cold beforehand and have plenty of ice ready to go.
We would usually pair a Morir Sonando drink with something light like a ham sandwich or any snack after school. I plan on sharing this childhood memory with my kids and teaching them that their culture has some pretty sweet stuff in store for them. What I love about this drink is that it is easy to make and budget friendly at the same time. With most of the ingredients being stapled items we always buy, it can always be made on a hot day or even when your kids need a little pick me up after school.
So here is how my family makes Morir Sonando:
Total Time: 15-20 Minutes
Servings: 4-6 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 ½ cups of fresh orange juice (8-10 medium oranges)
**you can also use orange juice from concentrate
- ½ tbsp of vanilla extract
- 2 cups of whole milk
- 2 cups of evaporated milk
- 4-6 tbsp of sugar (to taste)
- 1-2 cups of ice
Instructions:
- Mix the fresh orange juice with the sugar to taste.
- Mix in the vanilla, the chilled regular milk, and the chilled evaporated milk.
- Lastly, add in the ice
- Stir and serve immediately
Vegan Alternatives:
You can use other forms of milk substitutes like almond milk or soy milk and you will still enjoy a great drink.
Adult Version:
I know some might want an alcoholic version of this drink and a quick recommendation would be one shot of white rum to get an adult version of Morir Sonando.