Dirt and Martinis » Gin http://dirtandmartinis.com Eat. Drink. Live in the Dirt. Wed, 11 Jul 2012 16:13:34 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 J. Peterson Garden Design and 3 Summer Cocktails http://dirtandmartinis.com/2011/08/22/3-cool-cocktails-to-beat-the-summer-sizzle/ http://dirtandmartinis.com/2011/08/22/3-cool-cocktails-to-beat-the-summer-sizzle/#comments Mon, 22 Aug 2011 15:00:42 +0000 Dirt and Martinis http://dirtandmartinis.com/?p=949 Share the love        I recently shared some cool and refreshing summer cocktail recipes over at the inspiring J. Peterson Garden Design blog and wanted to make sure you didn’t miss these 3 mouth watering recipes.   But first, I want to introduce you to the lovely Jenny Peterson, owner of J. Peterson Garden Design in Austin Texas.  …

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I recently shared some cool and refreshing summer cocktail recipes over at the inspiring J. Peterson Garden Design blog and wanted to make sure you didn’t miss these 3 mouth watering recipes. 

 But first, I want to introduce you to the lovely Jenny Peterson, owner of J. Peterson Garden Design in Austin Texas.   Not only is Jenny a a hard working small business owner she’s also committed to enjoying an awesome happy hour!  You’ll always find useful tidbits of advice and gardening inspiration on her blog,  Facebook page updates and via Twitter. I LOVE this piece of gardening advice Jenny shares that involves a glass of wine! Watch the video here.  You rock Jenny! We are cocktails sisters!

Jenny Peterson and her team have been creating cool gardens in the Austin area since 2001. From elegant courtyards to funky meditation spaces and Longhorn gardens (Go Horns!), Jenny’s gardens span the spectrum. Austin and Austinites defy the norm, and their gardens should, too!  Jenny listens to her clients and brings out their style and taste so their landscape always reflects the personality of the owner.

Trained as a Master Gardener, Jenny brings a deep understanding of the ecosystems that promote a vibrant garden: healthy soil, integrated pest management, appropriate plant choices and organic methods. She is committed to using primarily native and adapted plants to conserve water and reflect the beautiful Texas landscape.

Visit this site often for regional gardening tips, project ideas, random musings and the occasional offbeat picture to put a smile on your face!  Contact Jenny to get started on your own slice of Austin grooviness:

 

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!

 

]]> http://dirtandmartinis.com/2011/08/22/3-cool-cocktails-to-beat-the-summer-sizzle/feed/ 5 Drinking new life from those tired herbs http://dirtandmartinis.com/2011/05/16/drinking-new-life-from-those-tired-herbs/ http://dirtandmartinis.com/2011/05/16/drinking-new-life-from-those-tired-herbs/#comments Mon, 16 May 2011 14:53:19 +0000 Guest Post http://dirtandmartinis.com/?p=516 Share the love   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 …

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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.

La Vie En Rouge

SERVINGS

1 drink

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 oz. Grand Marnier

1 1/2 oz. fresh pressed cranberry juice (can substitute with bottled cranberry juice)

1/2 oz. fresh lemon juice

1/2 oz. simple syrup

Fresh rosemary needles

PREPARATION:

1. In a tall mixing glass, muddle 10-12 rosemary needles lightly with simple syrup.

2. Add remaining ingredients then add ice and shake vigorously.

3. Strain over fresh ice into a rocks glass with ice.

4. Garnish with a rosemary sprig.

Kiwi and Cilantro Mojito

SERVINGS

1 drink

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 sprigs of fresh cilantro

3-4 fresh spearmint leaves

2 slices fresh lime

1 kiwi, peeled and halved

1 tbsp. sugar (or simple syrup)

1 and ½ ounces light rum

Club soda

PREPARATION:

1. Lightly muddle the cilantro leaves, spearmint leaves, fruit, and sugar together in the bottom of the glass.

2. Add ice, rum, and enough club soda to fill glass.

3. Stir lightly to mix, and garnish with an extra slice of lime.

The Coriandrum

SERVINGS

1 drink

INGREDIENTS:

2 oz Square One Organic Vodka

1/4 oz Cinzano Bianco Vermouth

splash of coriander nectar (recipe below)

splash of orange bitters

coriander seeds for garnish

lemon twist for garnish

PREPARATION:

1. Pour the vodka, vermouth, nectar and bitters into a cocktail shaker filled with ice.

2. Shake for 30 seconds.

3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.

4. Garnish with a few coriander seeds and lemon twist.

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Bigger does not always mean better. Progress does not always mean forgetting our roots in order to forge a new future. Blogger, photojournalist, and hobby farmer Andrew Odom has spent much of the last few years rediscovering the lost art of living, growing, and being truly happy. Visit him online at www.tinyrevolution.us.

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