I'm Making Gin!

 

My aunt and I are in touch with each other every day. My aunt is only 12 years older than me, making us closer in age than were any of her three siblings, so we have a different aunt/niece relationship than probably what is considered normal. We exchange texts every morning, and I’m not going to sugarcoat it, we do so in order to make sure that one of us is not dead. The rule is that if we don’t hear from one another by noon, we call, and if that call is unanswered, we reach out to each others’ offspring. I am happy to report that the latter has yet to occur.When you text someone every day, it can become a bit boring, so I like to throw some interesting one liners at her, including what I have planned for the day. This morning I sent her a text that simply read, “I’m making gin today, what are your plans?”

Photo Credit: Amazon

 I am indeed making gin. I’m always curious as to how things work, hence the mushroom growing kit (that turned out to be a delicious success), and because I am a gin girl, making gin seemed right up my alley. I will be using this kit, and according to the instructions, I should have results in less than a week. I’ll be back to report.

Photo Credit: Amazon

 

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Boozy Cherries

 

What is it about fruit and booze that just screams the holidays? Honestly, it may seem strange, but it’s true. At no other time of the year am I as keen on soaking fruit in alcohol than I am around the holidays. If you feel the same and are looking for a tantalizing new recipe, you’ll find one in Abrams’ new release, Arty Parties, An Entertaining Cookbook by Julia Sherman, creator of the charmingly cute Salad for President.

If you are one of those people who pounce on cherries as soon as they’re available in the summer and freeze them, I hope you froze at least one and a half pounds of sour cherries in order to make this delicious treat. They last in the fridge up to a year, and make mixed drinks, ice cream sundaes, and Sunday morning pancakes extra special when topped with one of these. If not, I tried it with well-dried frozen cherries, with good results.

Boozy Cherries

1½ lb. sour cherries
1½ c. light brown sugar
6 whole cloves
1 t. black peppercorns
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole star anise
1 large strip orange zest
1 c. vodka

Wash the cherries thoroughly, leaving attached stems in tact and removing any loose stems from the bunch. Pack half of the cherries into a large glass mason jar, being careful not to squish them.

In a saucepan, combine the sugar, 1½ cups of water, cloves, peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise, and orange zest. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for 45 minutes until reduced by half. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Add the vodka to the cold syrup. Pour the mixture over the cherries to just cover (spices and zest included). Fill the jar with the remaining cherries and top off with the hot liquid. Allow to cool, then seal and refrigerate. The cherries will be ready to eat after two weeks.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 Disclaimer: I received a complementary copy of Arty Parties from Abrams books as a member of their 20 21–22 Abrams Dinner Party.

Time for a libation!

Well, I've gotta tell you, last week was not a good one. I was so far under the weather that I was almost underground.  I mean, you know you're in trouble when you walk into the ER (for the 4th time in five days) and everyone greets you like an old friend. But, I appear to have survived my injury, and am ready to get back on the blogging horse, as it were.

A replenishing of supplies was certainly in order after this past week, so we stopped at Sam's on the way home from what I hope was my final view of the ER...ever!  It's no coincidence that I headed straight for the liquor department.  In the going, look what I found!  Is this adorable, or what?

I'm not sure if this is a holdover from the holidays or what, but one went into the cart immediately.  I'm a fan of small, cute bottles of anything, so this appealed on that level, but I also appreciated the great assortment, in some cases of liqueurs that I had wanted to try anyway, but didn't want to buy a full-size bottle. I also love the little recipe suggestions on the side.  This is not a sponsored post, these are just the words of a half-crazed woman ready for a warm and satisfying cocktail.  I'll let you know which ones I make and like the best.

In the meantime, tell me what you all have been doing, and which of these drinks that you would make?

Did anybody miss me?!

This post is linked to:

Inspire Me Tuesday

Tasty Tuesday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

Tasty Tuesdays

Thursday Favorite Things

How to Make Candy Cane Vodka

I am a fan of minty deliciousness, so when I saw a post on the Home is Where the Boat Is blog on how to make candy cane vodka, I had to give it a try. Now I am not a vodka fan, per se. People like to assert that vodka has no taste, but it definitely does have a taste. If you've done any traveling out of your immediate surroundings then you have become aware that even water has a taste, so vodka certainly does as well, and not a particularly good one from my standpoint. So, in my opinion, flavored vodkas are genius.

This is a fun little project. It is also unbelievably easy, immensely practical, and a great little seasonal gift.

A clean, empty bottle, box of candy canes, and bottle of vodka is all that you need. 

I used an 8-ounce spring top bottle and about a dozen miniature candy canes.  You can use fewer candy canes if you want a more subtle taste. The dissolution process takes about three hours. 

I watched intently for the first twenty minutes or so as the candy canes began to dissolve, creating a bit of a head at the top of the bottle in the process. 

Thereafter I'd give the bottle a bit of a shake every half hour or so. 

That is all you do. No straining. No nothing. 

Just tie on a tag and add it to your gift basket, take it to a deserving host or hostess, or do what I did, pour some into a steaming cup of hot cocoa. Marvelous!

This post is linked to:

Amaze Me Monday

Metamorphosis Monday

Clever Chicks Blog Hop

Mosaic Monday

Tasty Tuesdays

Wow Us Wednesday
Work It Wednesday

What’s It Wednesday

Create It Thursday

Feathered Nest Friday

Show and Tell Friday 

Foodie Friday