3 boozey things to do with watermelon this Labor Day

Farmer's markets are bursting with fresh watermelon, and if you're lucky, even your garden might be filled with these lumpies.  Here are three ideas to mix your favorite booze with a watermelon this Labor Day weekend!

WATERMELON, MINT and GIN FIZZ-

This is a simple idea, with a huge return on investment. A few sprigs of mint from your garden give this combo an extra boost.

4 c. watermelon chunks
Sprigs of mint.
8 oz.  Gin
8 T. lime juice
A can of ginger ale

Puree the watermelon with a couple sprigs of mint. Strain. Divide the juice among 4 ice-filled glasses.

Add 2 ounces of Gin, 2 Tablespoons of lime juice. Stir. Then top with ginger ale. Garnish with mint sprigs or lime wedges, even some frozen watermelon chunks! 
 

VODKA INFUSED WATERMELON-

Doing this makes me feel like I'm back in college.  It makes me feel a little bad-ass, and I kinda love that. This is such a good idea; the pairing of watermelon and vodka is pretty much perfect.

The technique is simple- wrap a kitchen towel around the base of your watermelon to keep it from rolling away.  Cut a small roundish hole in the top of the fruit, and scoop out just a few tablespoons of pulp to give the vodka a starting chance to infuse.  Now you have two options- you may pour vodka through the hole you made every few minutes, allowing the fruit time to absorb.  Your second option, which is truly bad ass, is quickly tip the entire bottle through this hole and push the bottle into the fruit a bit so the bottle can remain inserted unassisted, allowing the vodka to slowly meld into the watermelon throughout the day.  I've always done this the night before I intended to serve it.  I've placed it in the fridge overnight, and the bottle is always empty by morning.

Be aware as you slice it up, that there will be some extra liquid.  You're good to go now to either slice, or chunk the watermelon and enjoy it that way. I've also pureed a bunch with some ice and enjoyed it as a slushy. Both techniques and serving ideas have made me happy.  Good luck, it's fun!

WATERMELON INFUSED TEQUILA-
 

This is the start of a wondrous opportunity to enjoy watermelon in a sipper.  The uses are endless- substitute it in any recipe calling for tequila, and of course it makes for an utterly delicious shot with lime and salt.

There's not much of a recipe to make this happen.  Chop up about 2 cups of watermelon.  Put it in a large jar with a tight fitting lid. Fill the jar with tequila. Store in your fridge for at least 4 days, shaking the bottle everyday. You can strain it all into a different clean jar. This has never lasted more than a couple weeks for me, but that's about how long I would keep it.  It's very addictive and utterly delicious.

Wishing everyone a happy and safe Labor Day weekend!

Blood Orange WILD ALE!

Pucker up!

There are many different styles of sour beers- Goses, Saisons, Lambics, and America's wild ale. Today we are looking at those wild ones. These are made with the same style of yeast that is used in sourdough bread.  It's the powdery white substance you see on the outside of grapes. (If you like sourdough bread, and are an adventurous baker, look up Nancy Silverton's starter recipe which starts with grapes.) For centuries brewers went to great lengths to keep this stuff out of beer, now it's embraced by craft brewers. We are seeing all different styles of American wilds now, from sour wheat to sour IPA and ever sour stouts.

Today I'm drinking COMMON ROOTS' BLOOD ORANGE TASTEFUL DECEPTION.  It has a yellow orange glow with an effervescent aroma of citrus that tickles the nose.  You taste the blood orange at first, followed by subtle grassy notes.  It has big juicy flavors but doesn't have the haze of a NEIPA.  

The wild yeast and bacteria combine with the blood oranges to give a wonderful tart flavor which is rounded out nicely with a mild sweetness from the fruit.  It makes a great beer to say good-bye to summer and welcome fall. Enjoy Labor Day Weekend, everyone!

Perfect wine pairing for Guacamole

Wondering what kind of wine to sip with your favorite guacamole? Try a Viognier which brings fruit, floral and herbal flavors together to perfectly support a limey avocado mash.

Guacamole has been a summer staple for our family for as long as I can remember.  The recipe has changed over the years (sorry about the mayonnaise phase....), but the satisfying flavor of dipping a chip into a bowl of mashed avocado plus, is a great way to use late summer garden items- tomatoes, onions, jalapeños, and cilantro. We make a pico de gallo and smash a few avocados into it. We like the avocados left chunky, and everything drenched in a healthy dose of lime juice.  Play with the flavor and texture options of different kinds of chips, too.  Our latest fave is the "healthier" choice of black bean chips, which bring a ton of earthy flavor to the party.

Viognier compliments many foods.  The balance of citrus and stone fruit alone enhances many cheeses, vegetables and grilled meats, in particular. The experience should include a floral aroma, and a finish with some minerality and herbs.  You can even see the green hues apparent in the picture above. In other words a good Viognier can bring balanced enhancements of acid and earth- think lemon/lime juice, basil/thyme and salt- to any food. It is often used to balance blends of both other whites and red wines because of this super power.

I've had delicious Viogniers from France and California.  The wine pictured above came from South Africa!  FAIRVIEW produced a delicious Viognier in the 2014 vintage I tried.  As you can see, the color of the wine is straw with a green hue. The aroma is instantly floral mellowed by apricot.  The taste is perfectly balanced with citrus and peach, even fresh pear. It lingers with a welcoming and clean minerality. There is just enough oak to give depth to the flavor and viscosity. This slight taste of wood sparked the nutty flavor of the avocado and I basically couldn't stop indulging in both the wine or the guac!  

VIOGNIER, 2014, Fairview, Paarl-South Africa, $19

 

Girlie beer that won't challenge your manhood

Thank you for all the great feedback we have been getting on our site.  Sour beers are polarizing! But we received several comments that if we liked ANDERSON VALLEY'S BRINEY MELON we needed to try their FRAMBOISE ROSÉ GOSE. So we took your advice!

Once poured into a glass you first notice it's beautiful blush color with the aroma of raspberry. It has the salty sourness of a Gose with a slightly sweet raspberry taste that lives up to its name.  It's less salty than it's briney cousin. 

It was delicious on a hot summer day by the pool. It paired well with watermelon and mango sprinkled with tajin- a chili lime seasoning blend you can get in many Mexican markets and the latino section in many grocery stores.

Find yourself some tajin!

Simple, fuzzy, and refreshing

We were inspired by our bushy rosemary plant growing so well on our patio.  We combined several of our favorite ingredients to make a colorful Blood Orange and Rosemary Fizz.  It made for an easy recipe with big return and a very refreshing sipper. Perfect for these dog days of summer. This is what we'll be drinking this weekend!

BLOOD ORANGE and ROSEMARY FIZZ

2 parts gin (we used Barr Hill gin from VT)
3 parts blood orange soda (all hail Blood Orange Aranciata; Trader Joe's makes a good one, too)
2 parts rosemary syrup (recipe below)
1 part lemon juice
Rosemary sprig to garnish

Combine gin, rosemary syrup, and lemon juice.  Stir for at least 30 revolutions. Add blood orange soda and stir briefly.  Pour into a glass full of ice. Slap rosemary sprigs between your palms to release the herb's natural oils. Slip it into the glass and enjoy.

We have made this recipe in a pitcher and individual glasses.  Both were delicious and worked easily. Keep in mind the amount of syrup you'll need, and measure accordingly.

HOMEMADE ROSEMARY SYRUP

We like to pass along ideas to amp up your cocktail game.  One of the easiest ways to do this is by mastering the very simple and seemingly endless options of making flavored simple syrup. For this drink we brewed up a syrup using a few sprigs of rosemary.  It gives any sipper a whole new spectrum of flavor. 

1 part White granulated sugar
1 part Water
5-6 Sprigs of rosemary

Bring sugar and water to a boil in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. At the point of boil add the rosemary and swirl it around. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. When it is cool, remove the rosemary and store the syrup in a closed container.  We've kept ours for up to two weeks. 

Don't lose the rosemary you remove from the syrup.  You just made candied rosemary, or something close to it! We've added this savory confection to drinks and even chopped it up as a sweet garnish to grilled dishes- including grilled peaches and burrata. Its also delicious on a grilled pork chop.