Patience is a virtue I have very little of. I remember Mom cross-stitching a piece that said, "God grant me patience but I want it right now." Oh, that is so true of me! I want this ankle healed right now. And, I want my right arm - the one I landed on... - to be back to normal right now. But, it's not happening. Walking is painful. Going up and down stairs excruciating. Driving hurts. I know, whine, whine, whine. My poor brother John broke his toe this weekend. So, we're commiserating over the fact that the older you get the longer it takes to heal. All of that boils down the the fact that cooking complicated meals is pretty much out of the question right now. That means you either see some blasts from the past this week or some really easy recipes.
Connie is the cocktail man on Sunday evenings. Last weekend I made the herb syrup so we could try the Garden Gimlet from Heartland. Sunday night was the time. The drink was very good. A tad bit sweet but still very good. And, it kind of made up for the cheese and smoked oysters and crackers we had for dinner...
Garden Gimlet
serves 4
Ingredients:
1 c herb syrup
3/4 c gin
1/2 c freshly squeezed lime juice
6 sprigs of basil
Directions:
Muddle 2 sprigs of basil in a cocktail shaker. Fill with ice and pour in the herb syrup, gin and lime juice. Shake until very cold. Strain into martini glasses. Garnish with a sprig of basil. Kiss the one you love!
Yes, indeed. I do love this new cookbook. Heartland by Judith Fertig. Sunday evening while we were prepping the living room for it's new paint job and smoking lamb ribs on the grill, I made two batches of syrup. We've got a bumper crop of lemon balm and I've been trying to figure out what to do with it other than to make a lemon pesto for seafood. Then, I saw the recipe for herb syrup.
Let me digress for a moment. We've been experimenting with lots of different vodkas for quite a while. Thanks to Jason at Ancient Fire Wines for a lot of ideas and encouragement. We've loved making different drinks with ginger vodka, vanilla vodka and pepper vodka. Connie usually has a jug of simple syrup in the refrigerator. So, when I saw these recipes I immediately knew we'd figure out a way to use them!
Then, Memorial Day the debate was which syrup and drink to try first. The Herb Syrup and the Garden Gimlet or the Rosy Rhubarb Syrup and the Cosmo... Neither of us wanted to be the one to decide but it turned out we were both just slightly leaning toward the Cosmo.
What did we think? Veddy interesting! Lots of floral notes. Quite refreshing. The kind of drink that you can have a few then realize you'd just better stay in your chair. Fortunately, since I was finishing up pulled pork (I'd finished trimming the living room walls- YAY!) and Connie was finishing up rolling the last wall, we had one and quit. But, it certainly won't be our last one! And, we will find other uses for the rhubarb syrup. That was great stuff!!
Herb Syrup
Ingredients:
1 c sugar
3/4 c water
1/2 c packed fresh, aromatic herb leaves, coarsely chopped (ok, I cheated and didn't chop)
Directions:
Put all of the ingredients in a small saucepan.
Simmer until the sugar has dissolved and the leaves have wilted. Remove from the heat and allow to steep for about half an hour. Strain and discard the leaves.
Store the syrup in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
Rosy Rhubarb Syrup
Ingredients:
4 c chopped fresh or thawed frozen rhubarb
1 c water
2 c sugar
juice of 2 lemons
Directions:
Mix all the ingredients in a small saucepan.
Cook until the rhubarb is pulpy. Strain.
Reserve the rhubarb for another use. Store the syrup in the fridge for up to a month.
Isn't that stunningly gorgeous???
Now, I'll confess that the recipe says to discard the leftover rhubarb. Why I'm not sure. My brain immediately zeroed in on the fool that my friend the MomChef made with blackberries. I grabbed the heavy cream out of the fridge, whipped up some of it and proceeded to have a tasting to decide what liqueur to use in it. Canton Ginger Liqueur won. So, I drizzled a bit of that into the whipped cream and folded in the leftover rhubarb and we had a treat for dessert!
Ok, on the the Cosmo.
Farm Girl Cosmo
serves 4
Ingredients:
3/4 c vodka
1 c Rosy Rhubarb Syrup
1/4 c freshly squeezed lime juice
1 t orange extract
thin slices of lime for garnish
Directions:
Combine the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake until very cold. Strain into cocktail glasses. Kiss the one you love and enjoy!
adapted from Heartland
