Hot Toddy

Makes 1 toddy

Recipe from The Joy of Cooking

Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

When it’s cold and blustery out and when either of us is sick with a cold or throat woes, I make a toddy.  It is to be slowly sipped while you’re sitting in a rocker by the fire and under a blanket.  It feels good going down.  It may not cure you, but for a little while, you’ll feel pampered and warm. 

8 oz. water

1 teaspoon Simple Syrup* (recipe below)

1 jigger (1½ ounces) of whiskey, brandy or rum

1 small stick cinnamon

1 lemon slice, seeds removed

3 whole cloves

Bring the water to a boil.  Meanwhile, measure out the Simple Syrup and the whiskey.  Drop in the cinnamon stick.  Press the cloves into the lemon slice.  Put the studded lemon slice in the mug.  Add the hot water to the mug and allow the toddy to steep for a couple of minutes before serving.

*Simple Syrup

Simple syrup is very easy to make.  Make a batch and keep it for weeks in the fridge for making your favorite cocktails, toddies, for sweetening tea or lemonade.

Put equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Let it simmer a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Allow the syrup to cool before putting it in a Mason jar with a lid in the fridge. 

Blackberry Vodka Gimlet

Recipe from Margaritas, Mojitos & More  

Husband-Tested in Alice's Kitchen

(Makes 1 drink) Easily doubled :-)

Last week, we went blackberry picking with our good buddies, Janet and Nathan. Most of the berries ended up in the freezer. I was dying to make a pie with them, but my hubby didn't want to heat up the house with the oven on. (Hmmmmm. Heat or Sweet. I was surprised with his decision.) Anyway, I went on a girlie shopping trip in Louisville and found this book with drink recipes. Lo and behold, there was this blackberry drink recipe and I thought, "No oven for this treat." We tried it out on our friends and we all found it to be deeeeelicious! I'm sure you can leave out the alcohol if you wish and it would still be refreshingly yummy. Lost River Market & Deli now has local blackberries, so make plans to whip this up and take a moment to relax and enjoy this glorious summer heat!

5 large blackberries

1 1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice

1 teaspoon Simple Syrup (recipe on this blog) (I used a bit more)

Ice cubes

1-ounce vodka (I used a bit less)

1 sprig mint for garnish

Combine the blackberries, lime juice, and simple syrup in a glass. Crush the berries with a muddler or spoon until they are mashed into the mixture. (You can do this with an immersion blender, if you have one.)

Put a handful of ice in a cocktail shaker. Add vodka and the blackberry mixture over the ice. Shake until very cold.

Pour into a glass and garnish with a sprig of mint.

Note:  To have it ready in advance for four dinner guests, quadruple the recipe and leave the blackberry mixture in the fridge until it’s time to mix with the ice and serve.

Simple Syrup

Recipe husband tested from Alice's Kitchen

I make this simple syrup regularly during the warm weather months and keep it on hand in the fridge for use in sweetening tea or lemonade and other drinks. (Try it with Sparkling Roasted Vanilla Lemonade which is on this blog.) The nice thing is that when you sweeten drinks with this, you won't find a glob of sugar granules at the bottom of your glasses. A little syrup goes a long way to sweetening drinks, so easy does it.

2 cups sugar
2 cups water

Put ingredients in a saucepan and heat to boiling. Lower heat and simmer until the sugar is melted. Remove from heat and let come to room temperature. Pour syrup in a pitcher and keep in the fridge for sweetening drinks.

*Recipe can be halved or doubled.