Strawberry Season

When local strawberries are ripe, it’s a brief opportunity to indulge in everything strawberry. I’ve had strawberries plain countless times. I’ve made strawberry shortcake (old fashioned, with biscuits, but not my usual buttermilk biscuit recipe), and strawberries and cream with genoise (this is such a difficult yet simple cake that I’m kind of obsessed with it).

I’m making one batch of no-cook strawberry syrup now, and I’m planning a few more strawberry endeavors.

Here is Strawberry Syrup 1:

I used local soft, ripe strawberries, an abundance of which is the reason I made this syrup.

1 cup strawberries, hulled and halved or quartered

1/2 cup sugar

Put strawberries and sugar in jar. Put the lid on and shake well. Refrigerate until you get a nice syrup. You can shake periodically while you wait for the syrup to develop. If you leave it for about a day, you can then just give it a shake for a minute or so and be done.

If you’re in a hurry, don’t refrigerate and shake often. If you have really ripe, soft, juicy strawberries, you’ll get something in 30-60 minutes.

Strain, probably twice to remove all solids

The key to this recipe, for me, is that it is based on fresh berries, berries potentially even just beyond ripe ones. It will work more quickly that way, and takes advantage of the way strawberries suddenly come in at once and then disappear. You can preserve that freshness for a while.

You could try this using commercial strawberries. You won’t get as much syrup and it’s kind of missing the point, but I’ll share some ideas anyway: You could add a pinch of salt and a bit of lemon or even cook your berries and sugar a bit if you have really firm berries. Cooking the berries will change the flavor the most. The syrup will quickly become jammy. I would not bother.

What I would do if I were really interested in this whole idea and had no access to the ideal fresh berries for the job is use frozen berries. If they’re good enough frozen berries, your syrup will taste like a strawberry field on a warm day.

That is definitely cheating, but I support you.

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Blueberry Lime Thyme Cocktail or Mocktail Idea

This evening, as I put together my daily cocktail / mocktail, I wanted something pretty that would balance either with the alcohol or without, and I wanted something both refreshing and smoky. Here’s what I came up with:

Idea / Recipe hybrid:

Blueberry Lime Thyme Cocktail / Mocktail

1 tablespoon blueberry syrup (recipe follows)

1/2 teaspoon orgeat (no recipe follows, though a friend made mine)

1 ounce lime juice

1 twist lime

1 sprig thyme, crushed, left in the drink to taste

Bourbon to taste

Water to taste

If you’re more of a recipe person or just too worn out from decision-making:

Add 2 oz bourbon for an actual cocktail

Add 1 tablespoon bourbon and 2 oz water for a hint of bourbon

Add 2 oz water for a Mocktail

Stir and serve over ice.

Yes, this is what I came up with after nearly a month off from daily posts, or rather, in the twenty minutes before writing. You might think after a hiatus from daily posts that I would have beautifully crafted essays or at least something worth posting. The fact that I don’t is testament to the power of the daily post: it enables writing and posting that doesn’t have to be “good enough.”

The last few weeks have been somewhat impossible, and I enjoyed not posting. And I missed posting. The idea of a weekly post resulted in bigger ideas but not in completion. So now that I have more or less wrapped up the semester of crisis, I’m back to the daily, not-necessarily-worth-posting posts.

Today’s recipe idea seems strangely perfect.

Books and Beverages: My Favorite Absurd and Impossible Book Review Concept (1/???)

This is one of my current top three favorite blog ideas: Books and Beverages

This (nonexistent) blog features beverage-centric book reviews. Each review characterizes each book as a drink and gives a pairing recommendation. 

Example 1:

Pride and Prejudice = Prosecco

Jane Austin did the work for me on this one, writing of Pride and Prejudice: “The work is rather too light, and bright, and sparkling.” 

Elizabeth Bennet’s wit reflects Austin’s and shapes the book: “There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well“ (chapter 24). And yet this is a marriage plot novel, and Elizabeth manages to find and marry someone she both loves and thinks well of, unlikely as that may be. 

Read it with a cup of Earl Grey in a fine China teacup, preferably with a floral pattern including pink and yellow. 

Example 2:

Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl = green smoothie with kale, wheat grass, and turmeric 

This autobiography written by Linda Brent with editor Lydia Marie Child is good for you, edifying, and will as would be expected leave a bitter taste in your mouth:  “Surely, if you credited one half the truths that are told you concerning the helpless millions suffering in this cruel bondage, you at the north would not help to tighten the yoke” (chapter 5).

Read it with a glass of dry tannic red wine, with an edge, not too sweet, to drown your sorrows.