Friday, May 8, 2020

Today is the last day of Teacher Appreciation Week, so I had planned a lovely tribute to all our dedicated educators, now adapting to the “New Normal” of teaching remotely and online.   THANK YOU!  I was going to drink a glass of hard apple cider in your honor, since you deserve not one apple, but many!

However, this afternoon the doorbell rang unexpectedly, and when I opened the door, there stood my one and only most wonderful daughter, clutching a bouquet and delivering a box full of various bottles of cider from her employer, Blue Bee Cider in Richmond, Virginia.  We had agreed not to meet in person for several more weeks, but there she was–best quarantine day EVER (even though we maintained 6 feet between us and mostly stayed outdoors).

Apple cider is the most traditional American beverage, Daughter will argue, since our earliest settlers consumed cider on a daily basis. (Water was too dangerous to drink.)  Charlottesville’s own Thomas Jefferson grew Hewe’s Crab apples at Monticello since he heard great things about this fruit from George Washington. Curious now?  Stop by any cidery which uses heirloom apples to craft its cider, and have a taste.  (Or pick up a bottle from the curbside.  Buy local!)

I now have so much cider to enjoy.  Happy Mother’s Day to me!

 

Thursday, May 7, 2020

So Axl Rose and Steven Mnuchin are feuding on Twitter.  I have no words for all the weirdness that is 2020, so today I will borrow from Guns N’ Roses.

“Welcome to the jungle / It gets worse here everyday / You learn to live like an animal / In the jungle where we play”

“Cause all these dreams are swept aside / By bloody hands of the hypnotized / Who carry the cross of homicide / And history bears the scars of our civil wars”

“And when your fears subside / And shadows still remain / I know that you can love me / When there’s no one left to blame / So never mind the darkness / We still can find a way / ‘Cause nothin’ lasts forever / Even cold November rain”

“It’ll work itself out fine / All we need is just a little patience”

Today’s drink is my version of a cocktail recipe I found, appropriately called “Wicked Behavior.”

In a shaker with ice, combine 1 1/2 ounce bourbon, 3/4 ounce pineapple juice, 1/4 ounce creme de cassis (black currant liqueur), 1/4 ounce Aperol, 1/4 ounce fresh lemon juice,  and 1/4 ounce honey.  Shake and strain into a coupe glass.

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Today is National Nurses Day! We salute all nurses, especially those now on the front line of our ongoing pandemic. We are all so grateful for your courage and dedication! Mere words are not enough to express our admiration for you.

Today’s cocktail needed to include honey, since our “worker bee” nurses are full of precious sweetness.  I could even say that nurses are “the bee’s knees.” This is my version of the Bee’s Knees Cocktail.

In a shaker with ice, combine 1 1/2  ounces gin, 1 teaspoon honey, and 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice.  Shake and strain into a chilled coupe glass.

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, May 5, 2020

Grain of salt? Lately, we need a huge ol’ chunk of salt. Which mathematical model do we believe?  Whose story do we believe? Do we even bother watching the various press conferences?

Oh, and by the way, Happy Cinco de Mayo! Of course, I selected a margarita—with tons of salt on the rim–for today’s drink.

This is my version of a cucumber-cilantro margarita. In a shaker, muddle 4 slices of peeled cucumber, 2 tablespoons of fresh cilantro leaves, 1 lime wedge, and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Add 2 ounces silver tequila, 2 ounces triple sec, and 1 ounce fresh lime juice.  Add ice and shake well. Rub the rim of a margarita glass with a lime wedge (or dip into lime juice) and then dip rim into margarita salt or kosher salt. Strain the drink into the glass and garnish with a cucumber slice or a lime wedge.

 

Monday, May 4, 2020

Darth Vader:
Luke, help me take this mask off.

Luke:
But you’ll die.

My family members are dedicated fans of Star Wars, so I had to acknowledge May The Fourth/Force with two cocktails based on the franchise. The movie lines I’ve quoted could be applied to today’s pandemic, unfortunately.  Keep your masks on!  And don’t go to visit any “hot spots” like the Death Star!

The first drink is a salute to the blue milk that young Skywalker drank on Tatooine.  Combine 2 ounces pineapple juice, 3 ounces blue curacao, 6 ounces unsweetened almond milk, and 1 teaspoon lemon juice.  Pour over ice.

The second drink is a version of the Death Star Cocktail.  Combine 1 ounce coffee liqueur with 1 ounce Fireball cinnamon whiskey.  Stir and pour into a glass with a big cube of ice, if possible.

Sunday, May 3, 2020

Beats me when this quarantine will be over.

Beats me when we will stop wearing masks.

Beats me when we will stop hoarding meat and toilet paper.

But I do know for certain that I will never forget this unprecedented time of isolation and worry.  And I am fairly certain I will remember the goodness shown by so many people.

In honor of 3 May Constitution Day in Poland (and my heritage), I have made a cocktail celebrating a defining staple in Polish cuisine: the BEET!

This recipe is similar to a ginger beet martini.

In a blender, puree 2 cooked baby beets (canned is fine), 1/2 peeled Granny Smith apple, 1 inch piece of fresh ginger (or less if you don’t care for ginger), 1/4 ounce lemon juice, and 1/4 ounce simple syrup.  Transfer to a shaker and add 3 ounces of vodka and several ice cubes.  Shake and strain into glasses and garnish with lemon.  Note:  this recipe makes 2 cocktails, or one Polish-sized one.

 

Saturday, May 2, 2020

The Kentucky Derby was scheduled to run today.  In past years, we sipped mint juleps made with fine bourbon, laughed at the ridiculous hats, and placed make-believe wagers on the winner of the race.

Speaking of horses, this morning Husband and I took a 90 minute drive in his Mustang.  We joined  probably 50 other horsepower-rich vehicles from the Charlottesville Cars and Coffee group–including Youngest Son and his sports car–and cruised together down winding roads through some of the prettiest parts of Albemarle County, Greene County, and even a tiny corner of Orange County.  We saw horses (and cows and mules) for the first time in weeks.  The morning sun made roadside streams sparkle.  The mountains in the distance were not quite fully green, but the meadows were lush.  We had David Bowie on the stereo, and smiles on our faces.  We barely spoke, we just enjoyed.

So, in the spirit of horses and cars, today’s drink is a version of the Wild Mustang Cocktail.

Fill a rocks glass with ice, and add 2 ounces Jim Beam American Honey Whisky (Kentucky bourbon with honey!), 3 ounces grapefruit juice, and 3 dashes of Angostura bitters.  Stir gently.  Garnish with a sprig of rosemary.  (I had no rosemary, but instead I added 8 drops of rosemary-grapefruit-peppercorn bitters, gifted to me by Oldest Son.)

Remember to drink responsibly.

 

Friday, May 1, 2020

I had insomnia last night. My mind was just whirring with random thoughts, many of them inconsequential. (“Should I make throw pillows out of the old fabric I found in the basement?” “I should try to bake some rolls with the expired yeast.”) And on nights that I do sleep, I have been having weird and colorful dreams about social distancing and face masks.

Last night, I was also thinking about the calendar.  Today is the first of May!

It’s International Workers’ Day, or Labor Day in 66 countries of the world, and is usually celebrated with parades and rallies but sometimes with strikes and demonstrations.

It’s also May Day, the ancient festival of spring, celebrated with flowers, dancing, and even the crowning of the May Queen.

MAYDAY! MAYDAY! MAYDAY!  is also a distress call, a plea for help during a life-threatening emergency.

I am fine, really, just a little sleepy today.  But social media keeps reminding us of all those who are not fine, who are in major distress. They are battling depression, loneliness, fatigue, and even hunger and domestic abuse.  I hope those brothers and sisters of ours find help and hope.  I know so many of you are sewing masks, volunteering at food banks, sending monetary donations, making phone calls to elderly friends, and so on.  Thank you.  Thank you so much.  Today I toast all of you!

This is my version of the May Day Cocktail.  In a blender, combine 2 canned peach halves, 5 cut-up strawberries, 1/2 small cut-up Granny Smith apple, 2 ounces passion fruit juice, 1 ounce simple syrup, 1-2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger, 1 ounce white rum, and 1/2 cup crushed ice. Garnish with an apple slice or a strawberry.

The ginger packs the punch more than the rum does.  And all that fruit probably makes this somewhat good for you.

 

Thursday, April 30, 2020

One month. Thirty days. A full page of the calendar.

For me, not a single trip to the grocery store. Not a single visit to Target. Not a single stop at TJ Maxx.

All the Easter services were online.  All the visits with my oldest kids were online.  All the concerts were online.

Our spring break trip was canceled.  My trip to see my mom was canceled. Saturday night brewery get-togethers were canceled.

I am eating too much.  I am drinking too much.  I am listening to the news too much.

And yet…everyone in our family remains healthy.  Everyone I love is still employed. Everyone I miss is offering each other messages of encouragement.

Days blend into days, and today is finally the last day of April.  The heavy rain from this morning has stopped. The world is fresh and verdant outside our windows, though, and tomorrow it should be sunny and Husband and I will again take a walk.

We will see May flowers.  We will hear neighbors greeting us from a safe distance. We will hold each other’s hand, perhaps, and exchange a smile.

And we will get through this.

Fittingly, today’s cocktail is a version of the April Rain cocktail.

In a cocktail shaker full of ice, combine 2 ounces vodka, 1/2 ounce dry vermouth, 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice, a teaspoon of simple syrup, and a pinch of finely-grated lime zest.  Shake with care, or else stir with a spoon. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lime peel.

Remember to drink responsibly.

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

My sister is my hero.

My sister is a Registered Nurse in a large, urban hospital in Indiana. A couple weeks ago, she was furloughed since she deals primarily with patients having elective surgery.  Today, she is back at work with a new role: she is performing nasal pharyngeal swabs on incoming patients to test them for CoVid19. The test looks exceeding uncomfortable to receive, and probably exceedingly awkward to administer. I hope her patients are kind to her, and I hope (and pray!) that her Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) does its job.

My sister prefers sweet and fruity libations, so this cocktail is inspired by her tastes. In this case, PPE stands for Pineapple Passion fruit Enjoyment. Wish I could deliver one to her in person!

In a shaker with ice, combine 3 ounces pineapple juice, 3 ounces passion fruit juice,  2 ounces banana rum, 3 ounces unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and 1/2 ounce simple syrup.   Shake and strain.  This makes a large drink!  I dipped the rim of my glass into simple syrup and then into sprinkles (!!) to make it more fun.

A toast to my sister, and to all health care professionals!

Remember to drink responsibly.