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.

Sour Cherry Pie Cocktail and Anne with an e

Drink pairing! 

Sour Cherry Pie Cocktail:

1.5 oz sour cherry vodka (I made this by leaving cherries in vodka for a while)

1.5 oz sour cherry juice (frozen, from aforesaid cherries)

.5 oz dry vermouth

Dash of bitters (optional)

Splash of sparkling water or more, depending on taste

Serve over ice. 

While sipping, read with Anne of Green Gables (published 1908), the first and best of the Anne series by Canadian author Lucy Maud Montgomery. This is a comfort read, but manages to be wholesome and energetic in a nineteenth century way that is very suitable for a cocktail with the word “pie” in its name. Anne is the poetic redhead who says, “I can't help flying up on the wings of anticipation. It's as glorious as soaring through a sunset... almost pays for the thud.”

The cocktail is extremely simple, as long as you’ve arranged to procure sufficient sour cherries during their very brief moment of being in season to make your own sour cherry vodka. Since I don’t live near sour cherry orchards, it’s kind of a project and involves ordering ahead by the five gallon bucket. It’s simple in a wholesome nineteenth century way, innocent just like Anne, with an e. Like it, it’s the kind of thing that actually exists later.

Hendrick’s Gin Really Does Taste Like Rose and Cucumber

I was at the grocery store the other night for a little fun family outing. It was pretty late, so I thought the in-grocery liquor store was closed, but it was not, and I ended up getting my first bottle of Hendrick’s. 

Somehow I had never knowingly tasted Hendrick’s. And for some reason I did not believe that it would actually taste like cucumber and rose. It does, and it is delicious. It is a great warm weather gin, refreshing, and delightful on ice. Or in chilly weather, it exists as a respite from pumpkin spice.  Despite its light flavors, this gin tasted strong— stronger than it is. 

My tasting notes:

Clear, oh my goodness this actually tastes like cucumber. I taste the rose too— slightly floral but nothing outrageous. This is still a gin. On first tasting Hendrick’s, I was so amazed that it tasted like what it was supposed to taste like, that I was unable to focus properly on other flavors. 

I started with a G&T, which I of course liked, as I like G&Ts. I do not think that a G&T is the best use for this gin, though. I like it better as a simple martini (even without the bitters) or as a fizz with a bit of citrus, maybe a splash of simple syrup. It’s fun to play up the cucumber too, as in the fizz idea below. This is not quite a recipe. 

The Hendrick’s Cucumber Lime Fizz Idea 

2 oz Hendrick’s Gin

1/4-1/2 oz lime (to taste)

2 thin cucumber slices

1/2-1 oz simple syrup (optional, balance out your lime)

2 oz sparkling water

I’ll admit this is very tart without the simple syrup, but I like it that way, and it has a very clean and clear line. For people who like to squeeze citrus juice on everything, this is not a problem. It is fun. For people who detect the tiniest hint of citrus juice in a vinaigrette and wonder what went wrong, well. You know yourself, right? This is not for you. 

As for the range in lime juice, again, this is a decision you need to make for yourself if you’re following this idea. A recipe version would call for 1/2 oz lime juice and 1/2 oz simple syrup.