Tarragon Tequila Swizzle

We've really struggled with our garden this year, mainly because we've had little rain this summer. I've been religiously watering it every morning. The tomatoes are slowly coming in. I've been picking each cherry tomato off the vine as soon as it ripens, afraid that some critter might get to it before we can enjoy it. This happened a few weeks ago with our first cucumber. We returned home from a couple days away and I went out to water our pots. I was so excited to see something had grown and it looked like the most beautiful cucumber. Upon further inspection, though, I noticed that a big chunk had been taken out. The culprit, most likely a squirrel, also devoured a couple of peppers! So, yeah, I've been keeping a careful eye on things. We have another cuke growing and in a few days it'll be ready for picking. 

The herbs, however, have been doing very well. The parsley has exploded, as has the basil. I love our herb garden, to go outside and pick whatever I might need for dinner. Having access to fresh herbs also comes in handy when I want to spruce up a cocktail. I've surprised Eric with gin and tonics garnished with fresh rosemary (he doesn't quite get what the big deal is, but I think it looks and smells awesome). One of my favorite herbs (and one that I think is underused in cocktails) is tarragon. It holds up in drinks but also adds its own unique flavor (I find that it tastes a lot like vanilla, maybe with a touch of anise/black licorice). The easiest way to incorporate it in a cocktail is by making an infused simple syrup, which I did here for this swizzle. It's not a complicated drink to make, but it does require some crushed ice. It's very light and super sippable... just how a summer cocktail should be. 

This post is a part of the #DrinkTheSummer collaboration organized by Sherrie at With Food + Love. She got a bunch of us together to share original alcoholic and non-alcoholic creations. Heres the full list for everyone to check out: 

BOOZY!
A Little Saffron | Beach Bum’s Rum
A Thought For Food | Tarragon Tequlia Swizzle
Downshiftology | Limoncello Prosecco with Blueberries and Thyme
Heart of a Baker | Green Tea Mint Cooler
Hungry Girl por Vida | Whisky Peach Alexander
The Green Life | Spiced Plum Fig + Kombucha Cocktail
Hummingbird High | Watermelon + Mint Agua Fresca
Floating Kitchen | Peach Sun Tea + Bourbon Cocktail
Beard and Bonnet | Easy Melon Mojitos
EGD | Backyard Peach Sweet Tea
Appeasing a Food Geek | Basil + Black Pepper Gin Sour
Vegetarian Ventures | Garden Tonic Punch
Nosh and Nourish | Mango Margaritas with Chile Lime Salted Rims
Domesticate ME! | Watermelon-Basil Mezcal Margarita
The Foodie Nurse | Husk Cherry Margarita
my name is yeh | Choose Your Own Adventure Bloody Marys
Sevengrams | Cucumber Gin + Chartreuse Cocktail
Wicked Spatula | Coconut Gin + Tonic
Eat Boutique | Sbagliatos + Homemade Sweet Vermouth
Nutritionist in the Kitch | Healthy Muddled Blackberry Piña Coladas
Chocolate + Marrow | Pequito Verdecito
The Solstice Table | Jalapeno Watermelon Cooler
HonestlyYUM | Watermelon Fresh Herbs + Sotol Cocktail
Seasonal Cravings | Strawberry Lime Gin Rickey
Salted Plains | Frozen Honeydew Daiquiris
The Broken Bread | Honeydew-Ginger Apricot Mojitos
Fix Feast Flair | Ginger-Berry Splash Cocktail
Turntable Kitchen | Summer Cooler Cocktails, Two Ways
Foolproof Living | Blueberry Dark Cherry + Calvados Cocktail
Dessert for Two | Salty Melon Slush
The Wood and Spoon | Honey Basil Margaritas
Milly’s Kitchen | Golden Watermelon Ginger Basil + Tequilla

NOT BOOZY!
Heartbeet Kitchen | Salty Watermelon Shrub Elixir
TENDING the TABLE | Raspberry + Fig Hibiscus Cooler
Snixy Kitchen | Lavender Earl Gray Blackberry Ice Cream Floats
The Bojon Gourmet | Vanilla Rooibos Peach Ice Cream Floats
Gratitude and Greens | Hong Kong Style Crushed Watermelon Ice
My Heart Beets | Spiced Pistachio Shake
rooting the sun | Strawberry Fennel Soda
The Modern Proper | Vanilla Plum Shrub
Feed Me Phoebe | Watermelon-Cucumber Kombucha Coolers
Gourmande in the Kitchen | Stone Fruit Thyme Shrub Soda
dolly and oatmeal | Cold-Brewed Shiso + Hibiscus Tea Iced Latte
happy hearted kitchen | Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho with Fennel Orange + Cardamom
I am a Food Blog | Cherry Vanilla Sodas
Tasty Yummies | Fig Vanilla Bean Almond Milk
Let’s talk evergreen | Iced Earl Grey Yuanyang With a Hint of Rose
Kale & Caramel | Emerald Beaut Green Spritzer
Earthy Feast | Watermelon Hibiscus Agua Fresca
Now, Forager | Sparkling Plumcot + Purple Basil Shrubs
The Pig & Quill | Brown Sugar Blueberry Pie Shakes
Well and Full | Peach Bubble Tea
Sweetish Co | The Best Frozen Hot Chocolate
holly & flora | Spiced Pineapple Shrub Sparklers with Black Tea + Coconut
Pure Ella | Fresh Mint Tea

Tequila Tarragon Swizzle

Yield
1 drink

Ingredients
2.5 oz tequila
1 oz lime juice
1 oz pineapple juice
1/4 oz tarragon simple syrup (recipe below)
Crushed ice
Angostura bitters

Directions
Add tequila, lime juice, pineapple juice, and tarragon simple syrup to a collins glass. Fill 1/2 way with crushed ice. Immerse a swizzle stick (or a bar spoon, which is what I used) into the glass and, between both hands, rub the stick back and forth for about 15 seconds. Fill the remainder of the glass with crushed ice and swizzle again for 10 seconds. Top ice with approximately six dashes of angostura bitters (or until the top is covered) and then add a straw.

Tarragon Simple Syrup

Yield
1 cup

Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 sprigs tarragon

Directions
Whisk together water and sugar in a saucepan. Set over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil. Add tarragon sprigs and remove the pot from heat. Let tarragon steep for 15 minutes. 

Let the syrup cool completely before using. Can be stored in an airtight container (a jar with a lid works well) for up to 2 weeks.

Cucumber-Thai Basil Gin and Tonic

One might think that a gin and tonic is impossible to mess up. And on a level that's true. But a well-made one has a good amount of lime, at least two ounces of gin (no less, maybe a little more) and is topped with tonic (ideally without HFCS or quinine). Like any good cocktail, you don't want any one ingredient overpowering the others, so the proportions are key. This is what's consumed most on the Cape, often as we prepare dinner and watch the sunset over the lake. Now, I don't like to mess with a good thing, but I had this idea of adding a few more ingredients. We had some leftover Thai basil in the fridge and a few cucumbers and I thought that if there were any two ingredients that could possibly make a G+T even more enjoyable to drink, it'd be these. It works beautifully together and, as I suspected, these are very easy to sip on. 

Cucumber Thai Basil Gin and Tonic

Yield
1 drink

Glassware
Highball glass

Tools
Jigger
Muddler

Ingredients
2 oz gin
1 thickly cut slice of cucumber, peeled and chopped into a few pieces
Juice of 1/2 a lime
2 Thai basil leaves, ripped into pieces
Tonic

Thai basil, for garnish

Directions
Pour the lime juice and gin into the highball glass. Add the cucumber and Thai basil and muddle for 30 seconds, until the they've broken up and the cucumber has released juices. 

Fill 3/4 of the way with ice cubes. Fill the remainder of the glass with tonic. Garnish with a bunch of Thai basil.

 

Fresh Peach Daiquiri

Last weekend, Eric and I hosted our first summer barbecue. For many years, we organized a winter gathering somewhere around the end of January or beginning of February and we'd trek out onto our snow-covered porch and fire up the grill.  That became a tradition and we kept it going for a while, until the year we moved and then things fizzled out. We had this weekend blocked off for months because my friend Mandy was having a surprise birthday thrown for her (normally we'd be on the Cape). As soon as we heard about it I said to Eric, "We have to use this as an opportunity to throw a barbecue in our backyard!" And so we did. Friends gathered outside, dining under tents we put up. There was a ton of food (way more than we needed) and homemade rosemary lemonade with bottles of booze next to it so people could add their own. The weather was incredible, which was a nice surprise seeing that the forecast had called for thunderstorms. It was exactly what we'd wanted it to be and we hope to do it again next year. 

I made a lot of the dishes for our party using our new blender that we ordered the other week. It was an impulse buy... on-sale on Amazon for one day and we decided that it was time that we get one. It is amazing the number of things you can do with a blender. I made baba ganoush and hummus and dressings for different salads. I'm not sure how I ever managed without one!

And then there are these fresh peach daiquiris (which were not served at the barbecue... sorry friends!). I blended up some ripe peaches with a little sugar and lemon juice to make a puree. A tablespoon of that added to the shaker with rum (I used some Diplomatico, which paired nicely with the peach), lime juice, and just a touch of agave (if you like it to be a bit more tangy, this can be left out). All of that is shaken with ice and strained to make for one tasty summer cocktail. These are best served on a porch, overlooking a body of water with a warm breeze hitting your face.  That's just my recommendation. 

Fresh Peach Daiquiri

Yield
1 Drink

Glassware
Coup

Ingredients
For the cocktail
3/4 oz. lime juice
2 oz. light or dark rum (I think dark rum holds up better with the peach puree)
1 tablespoon peach puree (see recipe below)
1/2 tsp. agave

Directions
1. In a cocktail shaker, add the lime juice, rum, peach puree and agave. Shake with ice.

2. Strain into chilled coup glass. 

Ingredients
For the peach puree
2 ripe peaches, pitted and diced
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions
1. Add the peaches, sugar and lemon juice to a blender and blend until smooth, about 1 minute. Press through a sieve and strain to remove any pieces.