Slow Drinks: Keep It Real
SLOW-DRINKS.COM
Gearing up and getting it right
What's the most important element in cooking? Timing. (Well, at least that's one of the important elements.) Same holds true for growing and foraging for ingredients to go into mixed drinks and our
dining table. There's always a certain level of impatience that occurs when the weather threatens to switch into spring mode. It did a few times the past two weeks. But then we'd wake up to a thick
coating of morning frost.
Still. There are things we have managed to put in place and new economies to set into motion that ... << MORE >>
Still. There are things we have managed to put in place and new economies to set into motion that ... << MORE >>
SUCH A BUNCH OF SHISO
How did Jared ever convince me to grow red shiso (aka: perilla) last spring? I wasn't planning to hand make any pickled ume plums.
Jared is the Japanese cuisine master in this house, not me. And anything that takes 30 days to germinate from seed and looks like stinging nettle is not high on my list of growing priorities.
But love does lead one to do things that make little sense, at first.
... << MORE >>
... << MORE >>
THE RUNNING OF THE BULLACES
A neighbour of ours knocked at the door the other day bearing a pleasant surprise—5 sacks of frozen bullaces that she had foraged! What a lovely sight it was. But because bullaces are very small and have pits that cling to the meat like a moray on a white shark, we soon realised that we couldn't split the thawed bullaces and remove the pits as easy as if they had been fresh. So much for making bullace chutney with the remaining pulp.
But that didn't deter us.
More was the challenge of not following recipes like the one Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall demonstrated on one of his River Cottage programmes. We weren't about to wait 6 months let alone 2 years for plum and vodka to marry in a jar. (We usually scan his books and episodes for tips and tricks. They make a great starting point for developing cordials, elderflower champagne, and other delights. You should get a copy and keep it by your bedside as inspirational reading. We do.)
With the success of our creme de mures and creme de cassis projects last week, we thought: "Why not try a similar approach to making bullace liqueur?"
Here goes:
BULLACE LIQUEUR
750 gr fresh bullaces, split and pitted (or frozen and kept whole)
1 tsp ground allspice
200 gr caster sugar
750 ml British dry white wine (try a Sharpham Barrel or Three Choirs dry white wine)
500 ml Sipsmith Gin
Bring to a boil the plums, allspice, sugar, and wine in a large saucepan. Remove from the hear and add the gin. Strain through a jelly bag, gently pressing any whole fruit against the cloth.
Pour into airtight containers and rest for 24 hours to allow the sediment to settle. Test the mixture for its pectin level and sweetness. (Bullaces have a very high pectin content and acidity.) Reheat the mixture and adjust with additional sugar and gin if necessary.
Bottle in sterile stopper bottles and age for at least a month.
So what the heck is a bullace, you may ask. It's a type of wild plum that grows along hedgerows throughout Britain: a cross between a Blackthorn and a cherry plum. Their skin colour ranges from yellow to wine red to deep purple and the flesh is pale green. Unlike other plums, these wild plums are very acidic and require plenty of additional sugar to consume.
There are hedgerows of them found from the Cotswolds to northern Wales. If you can't find them on your foraging walks, you can buy its cultivated, sweeter cousin—damson plums.
If you're luckily enough to get fresh bullaces, then by all means, take the time to split them open and pit them so you can make luscious chutney or preserves with the remaining flesh.
BULLACE CHUTNEY
700 gr bullace plums, pitted
200 gr brown sugar
200 gr caster sugar
200 ml cider vinegar
150 gr sultanas
2 tsp salt
50 gr chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp mustard seeds
3 tbs chopped ginger
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
Combine the sugars and vinegar in a large saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring util the sugars dissolve. Add remaining ingredients, mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce to a gentle simmer and cook for about 45 minutes. Stir frequently as the mixture thickens. Pour into sterilized jars, seal, and process in a hot water bath for about 10 minutes.
We wonder what else is ready out in the hedgerow? Have to wait until tomorrow. the clouds are showing signs of rain. Rats!
LET'S HEAR IT FOR WILD BLACKBERRIES AND COCKTAIL CHERRIES
Sorry we haven't been saying much for the past couple of months. Travel is not the greatest thing to do in July when you're seriously growing your winter feasts. Yet nothing can be done when work comes a callin'. Then family arrived from the US for a 3.5 week visit. Back to almost normal.
Now that September is upon us and the first signs of cooler nights and dewier mornings is signaling the onset of autumn, we've been a bit busy gathering and storing our leeks, beetroot, tomatoes, shiso and other tempting delights that will make this winter so much more fun.
Down to business. One of the major harvests has actually come from our hedgerow—BLACKBERRIES—-kilos upon kilos of wild blackberries. Every other morning we've been heading up the hill to gather a few more precious sacks of blackberries. Since it would be tough to process so much fruit all at one go and still write for a living, we've had to freeze sacks of them so we can work on them over the free evenings and weekends.
TIP FOR FREEZING BERRIES: Lay them out on a freezer tray or baking pan lined with cling film. Spread the berries out so each one has space to freeze. Once they are freeze, it's easy to load them into airtight containers and store them until you are ready to play. We've done this successfully with our bumper crop of June strawberries, July blackcurrants, and now August/September blackberries.
RIPE FOR THE PICKING & PRESERVING: BLACKBERRIES
Now we know you've all read recipes for creme de mures [blackberry liqueur] that simply tell you to toss the blackberries into spirit and
let them macerate for months. Well, you'll never achieve the rich taste that you really desire until you've tried the recipe we've now used for both blackberries and blackcurrants [creme de cassis]
Here goes:
Combine 750 gr blackcurrants or blackberries and 750 ml good Bordeaux wine in a glass bowl. (We used a St Emilion this time.) Steep for 2 days. Puree the mixture in a blender and strain through a jelly bag into a large pot. Add 200 gr caster sugar for every 250 ml of liquid. Have patience. It takes time for the thick mixture to ooze through the muslin. Heat gently in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved and then lower heat further until the liquid reduces slightly. Stir occasionally. Cool and then add 1 part Jerez-style brandy to 3 parts liquid. Bottle in sterile stopper bottles and age for at least 1 month.
A tip we picked up from River Cottage's High Fearnley-Whittingstall. Turn your sealed stopper bottles upside down while they are still hot. It helps to seal the contents even better.
LUSCIOUS CHERRIES
The same goes for making cocktail cherries. Don't bother with the recipes that add chemicals to make your cocktail cherries more like marbles than succulent garnishes. We just put up a dozen jars of cocktail cherries that will age just in time for winter Manhattans. We got ours from the local farmers market because our cherry tree doesn't have a mate. (Yes, every boy cherry tree needs a neighbouring girl cherry tree if you want to have a tree full of cherries.)
Ready?
Wash and pit 1 kilo Morello or Griot cherries. In a pot, combine 200 gr caster sugar, 250 ml water, 4 tsp lemon juice, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 tsp vanilla extract, and a healthy pinch of grated nutmeg. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium. Add cherries and simmer for 7 minutes. Remove from heat and add 500 ml Luxardo maraschino liqueur. Cool. Place cherries in Kilner jars and pour liquid near to the top. Pour a thin layer of gin or vodka on top, seal. We put our sealed jars in a hot water bath for about 10 minutes to ensure a secure seal.
OXO makes a great olive pitter with a protective shield that is perfect for pitting cherries.
Back to processing the harvest. Our neighbours foraged up a few kilos of bullace plums. And they want a batch of creme de bullace. The question is: What wine or spirit should we use to macerate these little wild plums before we put them through their cooking paces? Stay tuned.
Now that September is upon us and the first signs of cooler nights and dewier mornings is signaling the onset of autumn, we've been a bit busy gathering and storing our leeks, beetroot, tomatoes, shiso and other tempting delights that will make this winter so much more fun.
Down to business. One of the major harvests has actually come from our hedgerow—BLACKBERRIES—-kilos upon kilos of wild blackberries. Every other morning we've been heading up the hill to gather a few more precious sacks of blackberries. Since it would be tough to process so much fruit all at one go and still write for a living, we've had to freeze sacks of them so we can work on them over the free evenings and weekends.
TIP FOR FREEZING BERRIES: Lay them out on a freezer tray or baking pan lined with cling film. Spread the berries out so each one has space to freeze. Once they are freeze, it's easy to load them into airtight containers and store them until you are ready to play. We've done this successfully with our bumper crop of June strawberries, July blackcurrants, and now August/September blackberries.
RIPE FOR THE PICKING & PRESERVING: BLACKBERRIES
Now we know you've all read recipes for creme de mures [blackberry liqueur] that simply tell you to toss the blackberries into spirit and
let them macerate for months. Well, you'll never achieve the rich taste that you really desire until you've tried the recipe we've now used for both blackberries and blackcurrants [creme de cassis]
Here goes:
Combine 750 gr blackcurrants or blackberries and 750 ml good Bordeaux wine in a glass bowl. (We used a St Emilion this time.) Steep for 2 days. Puree the mixture in a blender and strain through a jelly bag into a large pot. Add 200 gr caster sugar for every 250 ml of liquid. Have patience. It takes time for the thick mixture to ooze through the muslin. Heat gently in a saucepan until the sugar is dissolved and then lower heat further until the liquid reduces slightly. Stir occasionally. Cool and then add 1 part Jerez-style brandy to 3 parts liquid. Bottle in sterile stopper bottles and age for at least 1 month.
A tip we picked up from River Cottage's High Fearnley-Whittingstall. Turn your sealed stopper bottles upside down while they are still hot. It helps to seal the contents even better.
LUSCIOUS CHERRIES
The same goes for making cocktail cherries. Don't bother with the recipes that add chemicals to make your cocktail cherries more like marbles than succulent garnishes. We just put up a dozen jars of cocktail cherries that will age just in time for winter Manhattans. We got ours from the local farmers market because our cherry tree doesn't have a mate. (Yes, every boy cherry tree needs a neighbouring girl cherry tree if you want to have a tree full of cherries.)
Ready?
Wash and pit 1 kilo Morello or Griot cherries. In a pot, combine 200 gr caster sugar, 250 ml water, 4 tsp lemon juice, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 tsp vanilla extract, and a healthy pinch of grated nutmeg. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium. Add cherries and simmer for 7 minutes. Remove from heat and add 500 ml Luxardo maraschino liqueur. Cool. Place cherries in Kilner jars and pour liquid near to the top. Pour a thin layer of gin or vodka on top, seal. We put our sealed jars in a hot water bath for about 10 minutes to ensure a secure seal.
OXO makes a great olive pitter with a protective shield that is perfect for pitting cherries.
Back to processing the harvest. Our neighbours foraged up a few kilos of bullace plums. And they want a batch of creme de bullace. The question is: What wine or spirit should we use to macerate these little wild plums before we put them through their cooking paces? Stay tuned.
NEVER THOUGHT BEECH LEAVES COULD TASTE SO GOOD
A walk through the woods is a peaceful past time even when you're foraging. Foraging for what you ask? Beech leaves. We have a stand
of beautiful beeches by our house. And armed with a book that Jared bought for my birthday we were on the hunt for delight, young, waxy beech leaves.
See back in the late 1960s and early 1970s when money wasn't so plentiful and our consciences were raised to all things natural, ... << MORE >>
See back in the late 1960s and early 1970s when money wasn't so plentiful and our consciences were raised to all things natural, ... << MORE >>
THERE'S MORE TO BORAGE THAN ITS BLOSSOMS
We do have a rather unhealthy hankering for borage (borago officinalis). Not just the blossoms. For the whole plant! Besides freezing individual, brilliant blue blossoms into ice cubes for your summer Pimm's Cup, you can craft up a Borage Punch. There's one recipe floating about the internet that is called a Charles Dickens Punch that seems to have a bit of a kick to it:
Charles Dickens Punch
120 ml caster sugar
2 tbs lemon zest
a handful of borage flowers
1 litre medium dry cider
500 ml sherry
250 ml brandy
Steep sugar, lemon zest, and borage flowers in 500 ml boiling water for about 15 minutes. Strain into a jug and add cider, sherry, and
brandy. Serve.
What we did find more to the point was a series of "cold cup" recipes that the great author scribbled down for his host's daughter during
his second tour of the US in 1867-1868.
Champagne Cup
"Put into a large jug, 4 good lumps of sugar, and the thin rind of a lemon. Cover up [leave it two stand for ten minutes] and stir... Add a
bottle of champagne, and a good tumbler and a half of sherry. Stir well. Then fill up with ice. [If there be any borage, put in a good
handful, as you would put a nosegay into water.] Stir up well, before serving."
Claret Cup
"4 or 6 lumps of sugar,as before; give the preference to 6. The thin rind of a lemon, as above Cover up and stir, as above. Add a wine
glass of brandy, then a bottle of claret, then a half bottle of soda water. Then stir well and grate in nutmeg. Then add the ice If borage
be used for this cup, half the [champagne cup] quantity will be found quite sufficient. Stir well, before serving."
Thing is, just about anywhere that calls for cucumber can be better made with borage. And if it's a Victorian or pre-Victorian mixed drink
recipe that you're messing with, the cucumber was originally a call for borage.
HOW TO GROW IT
We got seeds from both The Green Chronicle and Seeds of Italy. We propagated ours in February from seeds that we planted in our handy-dandy heat propagator.
When the seedlings are about 5-7 cm tall, they can be sown outdoors in a sunny spot in March or April. During the summer harvest time, save the seed from flowers allowed to remain on the plant and turn brown to be grown next year.
Now you do have to be careful how much borage you grow because they do tend to reproduce like weeds if not kept under control. But if you have space, please let them grow. They are a great source of food for honeybees and makes a good green manure. (Before the borage flowers, you can dug them back into the ground to release nutrients back into the topsoil.)
WHAT ELSE TO DO WITH IT
The leaves may look like candidates for the compost heap. But don't you dare! Make Ricotta and Borage Stuffed Cannelloni...
Ricotta and Borage Stuffed Cannelloni
12 precooked cannelloni pasta, or 12 sheets flat lasagna pasta
800 ml bechamel sauce, diluted with 240 ml whole milk
400 gr fresh ricotta
100 gr fresh borage leaves
3 tb grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 egg yolk
1 tb butter, cued
grated nutmeg
salt and pepper
Preheat the over to 200° C
Prepare the bechamel sauce and add the extra milk.
In a pot of boiling water, blanch the borage, drain and squeeze; mince. Sieve the ricotta into a bowl. Add the borage, half of the
Parmigiano Teggiano, the egg yolk, salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.
Fill the cannelloni with the filling, or if you are using the pasta sheets, place some filling on each sheet and roll up to form the
cannelloni. Butter a rectangular baking pan. Pour in a third of the bechamel sauce. Delicately add the stuffed cannelloni and finish with
the remaining besciamella. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmigiano and the butter. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.
[Photos: © 2010, Jared Brown]
STRAWBERRIES AND SAGE
[Photo: ©2010, Jared Brown]
FIRST THE STRAWBERRIES
It's our first year in the new garden so we've planted Cambridge Favourites. Born and bred in the UK, this varietal are great for making purées, garnishes, shrubs, ratafias, and punch jellies (read: 19th century jelly shots).
GROWING THEM
Don't bother starting strawberries from seed unless you are a masochist! There are plenty of places to buy healthy young plants from including the Burford Garden Company . We also bought young crowns with no blossoms from Unwins .
Cambridge Faves are a summer fruiting strawberry, so we carefully planted our new arrivals in early April, using plenty of rich compost in the holes. because our area of the Cotswolds has a late frost end date, we nurtured our plants under Victorian bell cloches until mid-May.
Whether you transplant them into a patio container or outdoors in a garden or an allotment, choose a sunny spot that's sheltered from the wind. The trick to planting strawberries (yes, there is one) is to leave the growing crown above the soil level. Don't let any roots show, just the crown portion. If you purchased your plants in pots, plant them to the same depth as they were in the pot.
You plants will need lots of water to establish their roots. That should take about a month. Then they should be OK on their own until fruiting time. When those lovely white blossoms turn into little green swelling fruits, make sure you start watering them again.
This is also a good time to protect your berries from touching the ground. Cover the soil around each plant with straw or a mulching mat to prevent this. If you don't you'll have rotten fruit instead of a bumper crop.
HARVESTING THEM
Strawberries are not as easy to harvest as you may think. Pick them when there’s still a bit of white on the fruit and you’ll never experience their full flavour. Pick them a little later and you might end up with mushy fruit when you freeze them. Harvest your berries daily or at least every other day in the early morning whilst the berries are cool. Never pull or pick the berries from their stems, simply pinch the stem between your thumb and forefinger so that you only take a short piece of the stem along with your fruit. Place the berries in shallow containers and don't keep them in direct sunlight for more than 10 to 15 minutes.
Common sage is our favourite herb to use in Pineapple & Sage Margaritas, a few shrubs, and we won't discuss how valuable this herb is for cooking. (Our favourite sage dish involves thin calve's liver and plenty of frizzled sage.)
Again, unless you like to watch paint dry, don't bother starting your sage from seed. Buy a healthy young plant and transplant it out when the danger from frost is over. (We stuck ours in our mini greenhouse until late May just to be on the safe side.)
What's really nice about sage is that the plant will keep providing you with fragrant leaves for about 3 years before it looses its potency. So be kind to your sage. Don't over water it. It's a Mediterranean plant. Read: prefers dry conditions.
That's why now, there’s another plant that’s ready to harvest—sage. Those silvery-green, woolly leaves are best harvested before the plant’s purple flowers bloom. You can cut the stalks off of half of the plant without harming it and save the rest for picking a few leaves here and there during the rest of the season. After you’ve picked strawberries, prune your sage during mid-morning, after the dew dries off but before the afternoon sun wilts the leaves.
WHAT TO DO WITH YOUR HARVEST
Head straight into the kitchen and make a summer shrub that’s ideal for swizzles and fizzes. Don’t forget to save a few berries and sage leaves for garnish!
STRAWBERRY AND SAGE SHRUB
8 parts fresh, ripe strawberries
4 parts white wine vinegar
2 parts caster sugar
2 parts water
1 part fresh sage leaves, crushed
In a medium pot, combine sugar and water. Stir to dissolve and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for a few minutes. Add berries and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add vinegar and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add sage, and let it rest for about an hour. Strain mixture through a fine sieve. Bottle and refrigerate for future use.
Shrub has been part of the British drinking vocabulary since the days of Queen Anne (1615-1714). It was a fine way to preserve the fruity goodness of hard-to-find citrus in the centuries before rapid transit. Rum or brandy was mixed with sugar and citrus peel plus juice and allowed to age in bottles for a few months. Before long the recipe repertoire spanned further than citrus to include local fruits, especially soft fruits such as blackcurrant and bramble. Even into Dickens’ day, shrubs were a delightful and affordable treat. Modern mixologists such as Nick Strangeway, Toby Cecchini, and Jamie Boudreau have been resurrecting shrub recipes such as the colonial-era one we’ve detailed here, mixing it with rum, tequila, bourbon, and other spirits in both long and short drink concoctions.
Don’t stop there. Ratafia is another treat that you can cook up with any and all of your soft fruits.
STRAWBERRY RATAFIA
1 kilogram of fresh strawberries
0.5 litre water
2 kilograms caster sugar
3 litres water
1 litre brandy
Combine berries and half litre of water in a large kettle. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Strain into another pot and add sugar, dissolved with 3 litres of water. Stir until clear and then add brandy. Bottle.
Bio Link
Anistatia Miller & Jared Brown
This inseparable cocktail couple are directors of Mixellany Limited (www.mixellany.com), publishers of books on drink. In the course of their 17-year collaboration, Miller and Brown have also written more than 30 books including Shaken Not Stirred: A Celebration of the Martini, Champagne Cocktails, Cuba: Legend of Rum, and Soul of Brasil. Their latest,Spirituous Journey: A History of Drink charts in two volumes the history of drink from 7000bc to to mid-20th century. Their publishing company, Mixellany Limited, is responsible for the Mixologist: The Journal of the Cocktail series of cocktail journals, and republishing such classics as The Café Royal Cocktail Book. They write for World’s Best Bars and are “cocktail gurus” on the new Drinkology website. They are also regular contributors to Imbibe magazine in the UK and Mixology magazine in Germany.
Brown is master distiller for Sipsmith Gin, the first newly-licensed London distillery to open in nearly 200 years.
Miller and Brown have amassed a collection of international awards for their work as distillery consultants creating new spirits and are especially proud to have been tasters for the new Beefeater 24 ultra-premium gin.
