More Shrubs and Juicing

So we took advantage of some of the summer fruit and mades some more shrubs.  Watermelon, Cucumber and Peach.

We have been making some tasty cocktails with these shrubs.  The strawberry in the center is best just added to sparkling water.

Watermelon, mint and white balsamic

Cucumber, lavender and aged white wine vinegar

Peach, ginger and white balamic

Here is the process:

Slice and cut into small piece 2 cups of leftover fruit (strawberries, peaches, berries, cucumbers, beets, tomatoes... you get the drift whatever you have an abundance of)  add equal amounts of sugars in a ceramic bowl.  Add any aromatics.  Cover and leave on the counter for 1-2 days.  The mixture will become very syrupy.  Then add 1 1/2 to 2 cups of vinegar (any kind except  distilled white viengar -  balsamics, apple cider, red or white wine will all work) .  At this point I usually put the whole bowl in the refrigerator because I have one, but in the old days I would assume they would have kept in in a cool place.  Let it sit for 3-7 days,  strain out the solids and stored in a jar.  Since it is a vinegar you can store in the pantry but I usually keep mine in the refrigerator.

Peach and Bourbon cooler

1 oz of peach shrub

2 oz of bourbon

juice of 1/2 lime

ice

sparkling water

mix first 4 in a shaker pour over ice and top off with sparking water to taste.

The shrub on the left was made from an orange watermelon.  We find this one goes best with vodka.

Watermelon Cooler

1 oz watermelon Shrub

2 oz vodka

1/2 oz St Germaine

juice of 1 lime

sparkling water

mix first 4 in a shaker pour over ice and top off with sparking water to taste.

I finally broke down and bought a juicer this year.  Mostly because of the tremendous amount of carrots, but I have also been juicing my cucumbers.   I like Gin and Tonics with the cucumber juice so I froze it in ice trays and stored the cubes in a ziploc in the freezer,  I can have G&T's with cucumber juice even when I don't have cucumbers to juice.

The Best G and T Ever

1 Oz cucumber juice 

1/2 oz CucumberShrub

2 oz gin

1/2 oz Kings Ginger Liquor

juice of 1 lime
2 drops lavender bitters

tonic water

mix first 6 in a shaker pour over ice and top off with tonic water to taste.

June 2011 new recipes

Tomato Watermelon salad

2 cups ripe tomatoes in med sized chunks

2 cups ripe watermelon cut to same size as tomatoes

1/4 cups chopped fresh mint

1/2 cup vinaigrette ( I make my own but you can used purchased)

1/2 cup Feta cheese

Truffle salt

combine all ingredients and serve

Got this one from a Sunset magazine article which was forwarned by my friend.

Swiss Chard Pesto
Adapted slightly from Sunset Magazine
Serves 4 with sauce left over

Note: Don’t feel hemmed in by the amount of chard you use. The original recipe called for two cups, but I didn’t want to be bothered with measuring the leaves, so I just started using the entire bunch. You could also save the stems for a soup or to chop and stew into a taco filling later, with some tomatoes and spinach.

Ingredients

1 bunch swiss chard (around 7 ounces), leaves removed, stems discarded or saved for another use
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/4 cup grated queso añejo, or grated parmesan
1/2 cup pine nuts or pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup olive oil — possibly a little more if you’re using the pumpkin seeds
Salt
Pepper

Directions

In a food processor, add the garlic and pulse to chop. Then add the chard, cheese and nuts or seeds. Pulse until smooth — feel free to scrape down the sides of the bowl to add in any errant cheese or chard bits. Add olive oil and blend until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with pasta, vegetables, or (as I did with my sister-in-law recently) spread on crusty bread.