Recipe: Fresh fruit beverage also can be nonalcoholic
No, no, no, no and nope -- not going to turn that oven on. Not until the A/C is fixed, anyway, and that's a week off. (Another pandemic effect.)
In the meantime, all these gorgeous blueberries are out there. How to use them in a new way that does not involve baking?
Well, I found a great little cocktail recipe that makes the most of the fruit, and also lets me use the excellent cocktail shaker than my son gave me last year. (I taught him to cook, but he's way ahead of me on cocktail making.) If you don't have a shaker, use a small deep bowl or glass measuring container to mix this in, and have a wire strainer at hand.
I used bourbon as the alcohol base, but vodka, tequila or white rum also would work -- whatever floats your boat. Or, for a nonalcoholic version, skip the liquor addition, and finish the drink with ginger ale, club soda or Italian lemon soda.
Blueberry Smash cocktail
Serves 1
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Ingredients:
1/2 of a lemon, sliced into thin wedges (mine in the photo were too thick)
1/4 cup fresh blueberries (check for stems before using)
8-10 fresh mint leaves (basil would make a good substitute)
2 ounces bourbon, vodka, tequila or white rum
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) simple syrup* or agave nectar
Ice
Optional garnishes:
Mint sprig, blueberries on a pick or a lemon twist
Instructions:
Place the lemon wedges and blueberries in the shaker, then sprinkle the mint leaves over them. Using a muddler or the thick handle of a wooden spoon, muddle (crush) the mint into the blueberries and lemon wedges until the berries are smooshed and the lemon wedges are broken down.
Add the bourbon, simple syrup, and 6 or so ice cubes to the shaker. Replace the top and shake until it's cold, about 30 seconds. (Stir like crazy if you're making this in a bowl.)
Fill a cocktail glass with ice. Shake the shaker one more time, and using the built-in strainer or a mesh kitchen strainer, strain the drink into the glass. (Add soda here if making it nonalcoholic.) Garnish as desired and enjoy.
*Simple syrup is easy to make in the microwave: Place equal parts granulated sugar and water in a microwave-safe container (glass measuring cup is perfect), zap for 2 to 2-1/2 minutes, then allow to cool. Save any extra in a closed container in the refrigerator. It also can be made by boiling the sugar and water on the stove until sugar is completely dissolved.
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Garden Checklist for week of May 12
Get your gardening chores and irrigation done early in the day before temperatures rise.
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions. This heat will cause leafy greens and onions to flower; pick them before they bolt.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.
* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.
* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.
* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* Got fruit trees? If you haven't already done so, thin orchard fruit such as apples, peaches, pears, pluots and plums before they grow too heavy, breaking branches or even splitting the tree. Leave the largest fruit on the branch, culling the smaller ones, and allow for 5 to 6 inches (or a hand's worth) between each fruit.
* Thin grape bunches, again leaving about 6 inches between them. For the remaining bunches, prune off the "tail" end, about the bottom third of the bunch, so that the plant's energy is concentrated in the fruit closest to the branch.
* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.
* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.
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