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Now, here’s the cocktail recipes that are sure to cool down any hot day… 

Cucumber-Tomato Water Martini 

• 1 1/2 ounces gin
• 1 teaspoon dry white vermouth
• Ice
• 3 ounces cucumber-tomato water
• garnish: cocktail onion and cucumber slices

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add the gin, vermouth, cucumber-tomato water. Shake until cold, strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

Cucumber-Tomato Water 

• 6 cups chopped tomatoes (the ripes juiciest you can find), chopped
• 1 English cucumber, peeled and chopped
• 1 tsp salt (optional)

Put all ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse until coarsely pureed. working in batches, process the tomatoes, pulsing on and off, to create a very course puree. Pour puree in a cheesecloth or coffee filter lined colander with a bowl underneath to catch the liquid.  Refrigerate overnight.Cucumber-tomato water will be clear and not a tomato red color.

Cantaloupe and Watermelon Cocktail

This cocktail is a party pleaser!  As with all drinks, fresh is best so this drink entails the use of veggie juicer which is so worth the extra effort.  Juice up one cantaloupe and one small watermelon separately and pour juice into it’s own individual container .

• 1 1/2 ounces vodka
• 3/4 ounces of tripe sec or Cointreau
• 1 ounce cantaloupe juice
• 1ounce watermelon juice
• squeeze of fresh lemon juice
• ice
• garnish: cantaloupe and a lemon wheel.

Make cantaloupe and watermelon juice with a vegetable juicer and store juice separately in its own container. Fill a cocktail shaker with ice, add vodka, triple sec, lemon juice and shake until icy cold.  Pour into a chilled martini glass and garnish with melon and lemon.

Campari Spritzer

• 2 ounces Campari
• 2 ounces orange juice
• 6 ounces sparkling water
• ice
• Garnish with orange, or in  my case I used what I  had on hand…borage.

In a highball glass add the Campari, orange juice, and sparkling water.  Garnish.

 I’d love to hear what your favorite summertime hydration libation is?  Enjoy and stay cool!

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8/15/11 There’s a very special garden party event taking place on Twitter and that’s where I’m going to be tonight!  My Twitter name is @dirtandmartinis and I’ll be tweeting under the Twitter hashtags #IGC11 and #gardenchat.  Here’s the exact details of this massive garden party event along with the giveaways you could win if you join in tonight:

Join in the #gardenchat fun on Twitter and watch live coverage featured on this page on August 15th and follow #IGC11 Coverage from the IGC Trade Show Floor Aug. 16-18 coming to you from the Chicago Navy Pier.

*One lucky participant will have their name drawn at the end of the #gardenchat Summer Party Event 8/15 in @TheYarden as the winner of the @Subaru_Life Tailgate Wagon. YOU MUST BE tweeting on #gardenchat during the 7 -9 p.m. CT event to be eligible to win the Subaru Wagon featured on this page!

MORE #gardenchat GIVEAWAYS :

*We have amazing garden products that are featured on this page that will be given away after the #IGC11 Event. These prizes will be given away to those who participate on the #IGC11 / #gardenchat twitter stream. The more you share the more chances you have for your name to be drawn as a winner.

WINNERS WILL BE ANNOUNCED at Monday 8/22 during the #gardenchat hour (9-10 p.m. ET)

Guest at The Yarden Party will receive a goodie bag filled with gifts from these #gardenchat supporters :

@seedkeeperco , @greensoil , @liquidfence, @subaru_life, @Stark_Bros  @CoronaTools, @pallensmith , @gardenshoeson , @territorialseed  @BBBseed,  @Spring_Meadow

 The cocktail I’m going to be drinking tonight is dedicated to the founder of GardenChat, the lovely and hard working Bren Haas.  She’s a gardening mama who loves to plant seeds using social network and she does this all voluntarily!  She can be found on Twitter, Facebook, and she shares her midwest garden, life and photography on her blog at bggarden.com. 

If you’re not familiar with Twitter and joining in a chat Bren has made a step-by-step instructional video on how to join in.  She shows how simple it is to participate via Twitter and the hashtag called #gardenchat.

Bren,I hope you like this cocktail bursting with fresh berry color and citrus flavors.  This pink cocktail is for you:

Berry Lemon Cocktail

•  3 ounces citrus vodka
• 1/4 cup of mixed berries (I used raspberries, strawberries, blueberries and blackberries)
• 2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tsp sugar (adjust according to taste)

Muddle the berries and sugar in a martini shaker.  Fill shaker with ice, add citrus vodka, lemon juice and shake until icy cold.  Double strain (see note)  into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with lemon, edible flowers and/or berries.

Note: You want to keep those ice chips and berry debris out of your cocktail.  To learn what it means to double strain your cocktail, please watch the 39 second video… http://www.hitthehighbeam.com/?p=705

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My borage is finally getting put to use!

Summertime blues are easily erased with a glass filled with love, happiness and citrusy goodness.  Ok, that may be a little over the top, but after a day of rolling in the dirt, aka gardening, nothing hits the spot more than an icy cold cocktail that tastes crisp, cool and clean.  An example of a cocktail that has those 3 ingredients is the Pimm’s Cup.  There’s many variations of this herbaceous summery cocktail but I like the simple version most:

Pimm’s Cup

• 1 1/2 ounces Pimm’s No.1 Cup
• 2-3 ounces of lemonade, lemon-lime soda OR ginger ale
• Lemon slices
• Cucumber slices
• Optional garnish ideas: orange slices, borage flowers, mint leaves, apple slices, berries)

Directions:

In a cocktail shaker filled with ice add a measure of Pimm’s and lemonade.  If using soda, add the soda after the Pimm’s has been shaken, otherwise you’ll have a big mess.  Shake until cold and then strain into a glass filled with ice (if using soda, add now and then stir)  Add lemon and cucumber slices and garnish accordingly.

Notes:

• Borage is the traditional garnish of the Pimm’s Cup and is used for it’s cucumber flavor.
• Pimm’s Cup is the official drink of Wimbledon.
• Pimm’s No. 1 is made from fruit, spices and is gin-based.
• Pimm’s is low in alcohol.

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I know, infusing vodka at home is  nothing new, but it is new to me and it has been quite an adventure!  To begin my vodka-infusing journey I began to experiment with savory  herbs, specifically, rosemary, thyme and sage. All you need is to follow a few steps and in no time you will be creating stylish cocktails with depth of flavor and flair.

Biergarten Sage

This past weekend I took a bottle of homemade biergarten (beer garden) sage-infused vodka out of the freezer and stared at it for a long moment.  What does one do with sage vodka anyway?  After searching for cocktail recipes I found that many feature sage as an ingredient, but not many actually showcase sage-infused vodka and especially vodka infused with biergarten sage.

Since I tend to lean toward non-sweet drinks I decided to experience sage vodka very simply and enjoy it martini-style.  Typically, martinis are stirred not shaken, but I found that the sage vodka didn’t become cloudy when shaken vigorously with ice and a little lemon juice.

Biergarten Sage Martini

If you love the taste of dirty martinis I think you will enjoy the taste of sage vodka.

• squeeze of fresh lemon juice 
• 2 oz homemade sage-infused vodka 
• Garnish- sage flowers, sage leaf, lemon twist

Fill shaker with ice, squeeze in fresh lemon juice.  Add vodka and shake until very cold.  Strain cocktail into a small chilled martini glass.  Add garnish.

Have you made your own vodka infusions?  If so, I’d love to hear about what you have made and various cocktail recipes! 

TIPS: Store vodka and martini glasses in the freezer.

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Today’s guest post is brought to you by Chelsea that runs the health and fitness blog over at How Chelsea Sees It.  In addition to being a scientist she strives at keeping fit by regularly running, spinning, dancing, and kickboxing.  Here are Chelsea’s tips for a healthier happy hour, mixed with less calories and a splash of humor…

Hello all you Guys, Gals, Gardeners n’ ummm Guzzlers? (I strive to be an alliteration activist in life)…

When my fellow foodie, Nicky, asked me to be a guest writer for her blog, not only was I beyond flattered but I was OVERJOYED! There’s nothing I love talking about more than food, booze and fitness. That whole “Eat, Pray, Love” craze is cute and all but I’m all about the “Eatin’, Drinkin’ and Runnin’” (not in that particular order of course–not trying to cause cramps n’ such)! Today I thought I’d swing by and share some of my favorite alcoholic beverages for those of you that enjoy that warm fuzzy feeling within, minus the bloating and burping– Lord knows that’s never attractive (or is it?)

I should mention right off the bat that I’m not an avid beer drinker. I can occasionally take a Tangerine Wheat or a Great White down the ol’ jugular but I’m one of those people that burps like a gosh darn sailor and I also like garlic and onions a whole bunch so it’s usually never the greatest combination to have. That being said, I do love me some liquor– vodka, rum, tequila and red wine in particular– so that’s what I’m going to focus on in this blog. We’ll start with vodka.

1. Vodka Beverages (lightened up).

When at the bar, my go-to vodka drink of choice is the “vodka soda with lime” which is basically vodka with a club soda and a lime wedge on the side. This is probably one of the healthiest vodka drinks you could order. Personally, I like to taste the vodka in my drinks, but it took a while for me to get to that point (lots of practice, ladies and gentlemen, lotttssss of practice). If you are not ready to taste your vodka so intensely, I suggest a vodka with sprite or sierra mist (if they have it in diet, that’s lower in calories if that’s what you’re after) with lime. There is just something about a lime mixed with vodka (and tequila) that makes everything feel right.

Another drink you could try is a vodka mojito! I just started getting into this kind of drink after I went to the store and bought too much mint and needed to use it up somehow. If you’re making this drink at home, simply pour your shot (or two) of vodka in a a glass, throw in some mint leaves and grind the booze and mint up with some sort of pestle ( or you could cut up the mint prior to putting it into the glass, just to get the flavors out). Once they’re adequately mixed, throw in a pinch of sugar, followed by ice and fill the rest of the glass up with sprite, sierra mist or some sort of diet version. Top it off with a lime wedge and bam! You’ve got yourself a damn good vodka mojito! Of course light rum can be (and should be, in this case) substituted for vodka.

Next on the list of delicious vodka beverages is The Greyhound! This is a wee bit pricey but super tasty: Grey Goose vodka and Grapefruit juice! Nom nom nom! I’m not a huge fan of grapefruit juice by itself but when mixed with vodka it makes for a very refreshing and buzzy-licious beverage.

2. Rum Beverages (lightened up).

Oh Rum, how I love thee! Sailor Jerry is one of my favorites because it’s 90 proof so you don’t need a lot of it but it tastes cinnamon-y and spicy! One of my favorite chasers with rum is rootbeer. I call it an R&R (rum & rootbeer… OR rest & relaxation, teeheehee)! You can use diet root beer and it will taste just as good– in my opinion. Root beer is one of those drinks that does a wonderful job of coating the hard liquor flavor so if you don’t like the taste of liquor, coat it on up with some diet root beer and it’ll taste fabulous.

Rum and diet coke also works pretty well– most bars don’t have much of a selection of diet sodas, usually just diet coke or pepsi so that works well with rum also. 

The reason I prefer diet soda as a chaser is not even because it lacks calories but more so because it lacks the sugar that causes hangovers in the morning. 

While we’re on the topic of rum, I should mention my new found favorite rum cocktail that I made via Vitamix (any blender will do the trick). Pour in a shot or two of rum followed by fresh pineapples (maybe half a cup? I usually eyeball it), followed by a pinch or two of coconut flakes and finished up with 3-4 ice cubes. Blend that sucker up and you’ve got yourself a tasty and healthy pina colada!

3. Tequila (already lightened up).

Tequila is one of those drinks (in my opinion) that should really only be taken one way– via shot! Sure, you can make margaritas but they always end up tasting so salty or too sweet, and you lose that tequila flavor in the process. Some people like to mix it with orange juice, and I have no problem with that, but again– the tequila flavor is lost! When I do tequila, I do it one way and one way only: with some salt on my right hand and a lime wedge in my left hand. Boom baby! Once it hits your lips, it feels so right I do have to limit my shot intakes, however, because my impatient little self just thinks I can keep on taking shot after shot since the buzz doesn’t kick in immediately, and that’s when we start to have fuzzy nights

4. Red Wine.

Prince was right; red red wine makes me feel so fine. It makes me feel even better knowing that that awesome little resveratrol molecule floating around inside is fighting off those free radicals we all love to hate. Resveratrol is a highly conjugated molecule found in red wine that, when attacked by free radicals, is able to transfer double bonds down to the source of impact and fight off the bad guys just like the vitamin C and alpha tocopherol (vitamin E) molecules do (there’s a little chemistry lesson for you).

Red wine is also great because you don’t need a chaser with it, and it pairs so beautifully with a juicy steak or some dark decadent chocolate–all in moderation, of course. Plus, the buzz is a different kind of buzz; it’s more of a relaxing, happy-go-lucky buzz which feels very calming and is great to bring to parties especially when a girlfriend of yours just went through a nasty break-up

And there you have it, folks! Those are a few of my favorite alcoholic beverages! Not too sweet, not too salty, not too complicated, not too shabby! I know nothing I listed was very fancy, but sometimes simplicity is the best medicine.

And that’s how Chelsea sees it!

—————————————————————————

I’m just a 24 year old gal with a major crush on food, and I’ll do everything I can to keep it that way! This means I make it a priority to stay active whether I’m running, spinning, dancing, kickboxing, or keeping up with Tony Horton in P90X. I strive at keeping “healthy” and “scrumptious” in the same sentence when it comes to cooking and baking–but sometimes you just gotta eat dat butta! You might find me interesting, you might not, but either way this blog is here to stay!

And that’s how Chelsea sees it

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Cocktail gardening.  Wouldn’t it be nice if you could plant a cork and a bottle of wine would grow?  Ooops, there goes my imagination taking off on me  

Yes, back to cocktail gardening.  Last week I wrote a guest post for Jayme Jenkins over at aHa! Modern Living and I wanted to make sure you didn’t miss it.  The article discusses 5 plants to make any garden party a success and cocktail recipes featuring herbs, fresh fruit and berries.  While you’re over and aha! Modern Living be sure and check out Jayme’s cool online store that features unique, modern and eco-friendly home and garden accessories.  I especially love the Roost Hemingway muddlers and the gift guide for the entertainer, the gardener and the bird lover.  Jayme Jenkins and aHa Modern Living can also be found on Twitter, Facebook, and at her personal garden blog Nest in Style.

Grow Your Own Cocktail Garden

This summer get creative in your garden by planting herbs, fruits and vegetables that you can take out of the garden and plunk right into your cocktail glass. Make imaginative cocktails and mocktails with rose, scented geranium, thyme, pineapple sage, peppers and tomatoes. Theme gardening is a fun and sometimes theatrical way to get creative in the garden. If you’re not a gardener but like to create meals and drinks with fresh ingredients.  Read more…

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Poor me, right?

Today was a day I didn’t mind cleaning out my refrigerator because little did I know there was a yummy surprise waiting for me.

As I was getting rid of old leftovers and composting lettuce that turned into (ahem) liquid, I found a glass dish hiding behind a Costco-sized mayonnaise jar. As I slowly removed the lid off of the container I was immediately expecting a foul and putrid odor to waft out. With one eye open I quickly peeked under the lid and immediately realized it was pineapple I had doused with vodka and a splash of triple sec weeks ago, May 5th to be exact. 

Although my intention was to eat the pineapple at the time I’m happy to have let it sit for so long because it made the most delicious pineapple infused vodka.  Because of my strong sense of smell and even stronger gag reflex I’m so happy my kitchen didn’t smell rank, it smelled like Maui, almost Juicy Fruit-ish my friends. Ah, yes, of only every day could begin like this. Score!

Pineapple Infused Vodka (the Woops! version):

• Cut up one whole pineapple
• Throw in a glass container
• Pour approximately 1 cup of vodka over the top
• Sprinkle with triple sec, approximately 1/8 cup
• Cover
• Place in refrigerator for 19 days (that’s how long mine was in there, haha)
• Strain through a colander
• Strain again through a coffee filter
• Pour into pint-sized container
• Top off with more vodka
• Throw in the freezer

Should I try it with strawberries next? What’s your favorite infusion?  :-)

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Hello everyone!  Today’s post is brought to you by  Andrew Odom – author, designer, community manager, homesteader, and (some would say) dreamer.

 Let’s face it. Herbs can become a bit stale sometimes. And no, I don’t mean tasteless or unpalatable from age but rather stale…as in old from familiarity. Most gardeners begin each spring (or continue in the case of all-season gardiniér) with the usual suspects of basil, chives, coriander, dill, fennel, mint, etc. In fact, I wrote about the herb essential here. But it takes a special person to find multiple callings for the flavorful foliages other than culinary, medicinal, or in some cases even spiritual usage. And by that I am talking about libational use of herbs (and some spices).

That’s right. When your whiskey has become a bit too sour or your Manhattan has begun tasting a bit more like the Jersey Shore, you can use those same dainty, delicate, redolent, botanicals for something a little more mature, if you will.

I encourage YOU to use the five recipes listed below to add a little garden spice to your already “nice” (reference to sugar and spice and puppy dog tails, etc….okay, it sounded better when I said it) to old recipe classics.

Cucumber Mint Gin & Tonic

SERVINGS

1 drink

INGREDIENTS:

2 slices cucumber

3 mint sprigs

3 ounces gin

4 ounces Q organic tonic water

1/2 ounce fresh lime juice

PREPARATION:

1. Muddle 1 slice cucumber and 2 sprigs mint in highball glass.

2. Fill with ice.

3. Add 3 ounces gin, 4 ounces tonic and 1/2 ounces lime juice.

4. Stir and garnish with a cucumber wheel.

Pepper Basil Caipirinha

SERVINGS

1 drink

INGREDIENTS:

1 bar spoon white peppercorns

1 bar spoon sugar

1 ounce lime juice

10 basil leaves

2 ounces cachaça

1 basil leaf

PREPARATION:

1. Muddle 1 bar spoon of white pepper corns and add sugar, 1 lime quartered and basil leaves.

2. Add cachaça and 1 ounce lime juice.

3. Shake the mixture and strain into a rocks glass over ice.

4. Garnish with sprig of basil.

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Borage is new to me.  I admit I knew nothing about it until I sowed some borage seeds that were given to me.  As the plant started to grow I realized that I had no idea what to do with it.  Is it a flower, can you eat it, is it mainly for medicinal purposes? After a recent discussion on my Facebook page I started to learn that borage has many uses, it is edible, medicinal and ornamental. This led me to do more online research and I’m excited to share with you what I have learned about this wonderful plant.

1. Borage, also know as “starflower” is considered an herb, is an annual and is self seeding.
2. Borage attracts beneficial pollinating bees to your garden and makes a good companion plant for strawberries, squash and tomatoes.  The flavor of the tomato is also improved when planted with borage. 
3. Young leaves and flowers are edible and have a light cucumber flavor. Use leaves to make Hank Shaw’s Borage and Ricotta Ravioli  or Mario Batali’s Borage Fritters. Use the periwinkle blue flowers as a cocktail garnish such as in the La Guera by Chris Bostick.  Or you can make fancy ice cubes.  Check out these Google images where borage flowers are used in salads.  Stunning! (Go light on the flowers as they have a mild laxative effect.)

I’ll take more pictures along the way and look forward to sharing future recipes that include my new found herb…borage.

Garden Guides has more culinary and medicinal uses for this versatile plant. This list is endless. 

Happy planting!