When Maggie reached out last week to see if we would be interested in sampling a preserved lemon syrup from Morris Kitchen, the polite thing to do was say, YES!  I have been dying to get an opportunity to introduce Morris Kitchen to our liquor cabinet, ever since reading about their spicy ginger syrup.  Visions of spicy cocktails are still swirling around my head.

Morris Kitchen is the brain child behind brother and sister duo, Tyler and Kari Morris.  They believe the same thing we do;  the best food is fresh and local.  Tyler has been cooking in kitchens, from Sonoma all the way to New Year, for the past thirteen years.  Kari has a background in art but is savvy around the restaurant business, as well.  Together, they knew what was missing from the foodie scene, a simple syrup made with innovative flavors such as ginger and preserved lemon.

When I read about the hints of cardamon and pink peppercorn that would be in a bottle of preserved lemon syrup, I instantly thought of Mezcal.  It did seem a little odd to break out Mezcal in the middle of “winter”, but what the heck, it’s fun to be a little dangerous in the kitchen.  I found some gorgeous Mary Ellen limes at the market, and I plucked some Meyer Lemons from our yard, I just knew they would be a great addition, and off I went.  As soon as I unscrewed the cap to the syrup, I could smell sunshine.  Slightly floral with a hint of the sea.  I really enjoyed the subtle taste of salt that lingered on my tongue after the first sample;  there would be no need to salt the rims of our glasses.  The smoky Mezcal was perfect with salty citrus;  slightly tart and slightly salty.  It was a perfect marriage:  sweet Mary Ellen limes holding hands with smokey Mezcal.

Nice way to spend a lazy Saturday;  don’t you agree?

Preserved Lemon Cocktail
Makes two cocktails

Ingredients:

• 4 ounces of Meyer Lemon Juice
• 2 ounces of Mary Ellen Lime Juice (or use regular limes)
• 3 ounces Mezcal
• 1 ounce Morris Kitchen Preserved Lemon Syrup
• 1 teaspoon superfine sugar
• Ice
• Lemon slices, for garnish

Directions:

1. Juice fresh lemons and limes for this cocktail;  makes a huge difference.
2. In a shaker, filled 1/4 of the way with ice cubes, add all ingredients.  Shake like crazy.
3. Pour over ice in a cocktail glass.  Garnish with a lemon slice.
4. Serve.  Drink.

All photos styled and shot by Denise Woodward.

Eat Boutique is blog + market that celebrates the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Order a gift box of food today.

We’re down to the final hours, 2012 is really just moments away. I’m ringing in the New Year in Portland, Maine. The working port is just outside my apartment window, the ferries chugging back and forth between some of the prettiest islands in all of the States, in my humble opinion. But it’s too cold to be out on the ferry. I far prefer sorting through pretty sparkling cocktail photos and sharing just one last recipe before we officially bid adieu to 2011.

If your fridge hosts a bottle of bubbles and a jar of jam, this drink practically makes itself! I have shelves and shelves full of homemade jams and actually just made a huge batch of three fruit marmalade (packed with grapefruits, lemons, oranges and several ounces of Spanish Cava). I call it my Christmas marmalade because that’s the only day of December when I had the time to make up 16 half-pint jars. Yes, I am totally tired.

You don’t have to use homemade jam, the store bought stuff will do well. Just add a teaspoon to a glass, or in this case, a pretty jam jar, and fill with bubbles. I tend to drink all my beverages in jam jars these days; I love the double duty they perform as simple vessel for liquid refreshment and reliable preserving container.

Whisk or stir gently and your New Year’s Eve celebration cocktail is ready. I love setting out a few jars of jam, glasses, spoons and a whisk, and inviting my guests to make up their desired sparkling drink. I used Prosecco for my creation, but you could opt to use Champagne or even Cava.

Until we meet again in 2012, we wish you a happy happy new year!

Sparkling Jam Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon of jam
• 4 ounces of chilled sparkling wine

Directions:

1. Add jam to a glass. Pour in sparkling wine. Whisk or stir gently.
2. Serve and repeat!

All photos styled by Maggie Battista and Heidi Murphy and photographed by Heidi Murphy/White Loft Style.

Eat Boutique is an online magazine + market for food enthusiasts to celebrate the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Send a gift box of handmade food today.

I love using homemade simple syrups in our cocktails.  Once I mastered the base recipe for simple syrup, I began experimenting with flavors.  You may be wondering, how does one “master” making simple syrup.  Isn’t it sugar and water?  It may be only made with these two ingredients, but different sugars, as well as the amount that is used, make all the difference.  All sugars are not created as equals when it comes to making simple syrups.

The past few times I have been using demerara sugar and am really pleased with the results.  Lots of depth, complexity, and not overly sweet.  Did I mention the gorgeous amber color?  While most recipes call for a 2:1 ratio with ingredients, I added a little more sugar, which I felt was key to taking the recipe over the top.  The flavor was richer, and the texture was a bit more syrupy.

For this year’s holiday cocktails, I have been making a cranberry simple syrup, using the same basic ingredients but adding fresh cranberries to the mix.  You have to use fresh berries here, frozen are not the same.  Most frozen fruit has been processed with some sweeteners as well as some added moisture.  The simple syrup does not come out the same using frozen berries.  I have put a few bags of fresh cranberries in the freezer but have yet to try using them in this recipe.

This is a lovely champagne cocktail to serve your guests as it is festive as well as seasonal.  Happy Holidays!

Cranberry Simple Syrup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons demerara sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup fresh cranberries

Directions:

1. In a saucepan over low heat add the sugar and the water;  stir.  Cook until the sugar is dissolved, about 8 minutes.  Do not bring to a boil, keep at low heat.
2. Add the cranberries, stir, and remove from the heat.  Let cool.  Bottle and then store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Cranberry Champagne Cocktail

Ingredients:

• 1 oz cranberry simple syrup
• Kaffir lime
• Champagne
• Fresh cranberries for garnish

Directions:

1. In a champagne flute put the simple syrup and the juice from 1/4 of a kaffir lime.
2. Using the rind that you just squeezed juice from, lightly rub around the rim of the flute.
3. Top the simple syrup with Champagne.
4. Thread some fresh cranberries onto a cocktail stirrer and garnish.  Serve.  Sip.

All photos styled and shot by Denise Woodward.

Eat Boutique is blog + market that celebrates the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Order a gift box of food today.

We’re in the midst of one of my favorite weeks of the year! The anxiety of Christmas has passed and the peaceful days leading up to the new year are just plain lovely and party-filled. Everyone seems to be in a good mood, perhaps because we’ve bid adieu to family, and my afternoons are filled with long spells in the kitchen and brief naps that rev me up for late nights.

Waiting for the new year to kick in, I’m also just hanging out in the in-between time, not quite ready to start that annual ‘lifestyle change’ but also still in a bit of a food and booze coma. It’s precisely at this time that I skip the heavy liquors in favor of light sparkling cocktails, bubbly and celebratory and touched by some of my favorite flavors.

This first cocktail of my favorite week got its name at the very moment I set it up for my dear friend, Heidi. After fiddling with the pine around the glass, a sprig of pine that’s held in place with a simple double knot of twine, I poured the Cava on top of the Creme de Violette and the ombre hue set in. Fashion and booze collided perfectly.

Made from violet flowers in the Alps, Creme de Violette was introduced to me a few years back by a French friend. It’s a fairly strong cordial that looks like it may be cough syrup revisited but is, in fact, crafted to taste floral and sweet. My French friend likes to sip it on its own. I prefer to place just a bit in the bottom of a flute and pour on the bubbles.

Over the course of the week, we’ll share a bunch of sparkling cocktails. This one is the easiest, just two ingredients poured into the same glass. A bottle of Creme de Violette retails for around $20, the Cava was less than that, and the pine, well, that was foraged from my back yard. Cheers!

Violet Ombre

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon Creme de Violette
• 4 ounces chilled sparkling wine like a Cava or Prosecco

Directions:

1. Pour the Creme de Violette into a tall flute.
2. Slowly and gently, pour in the sparkling wine and serve.

All photos styled by Maggie Battista and Heidi Murphy and photographed by Heidi Murphy/White Loft Style.

Eat Boutique is an online magazine + market for food enthusiasts to celebrate the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Send a gift box of handmade food today.

I’m no stranger to infused booze. In fact, during a month when I’ve spent every free moment (quite happily) packing holiday gift boxes and planning our winter tasting programs, you could say that infused booze and I are best friends forever.

My cocktail of choice these days is either straight Champagne or little more than anything strong served ice cold in a neat glass. Fruity mixed drinks that please me all summer are basically no match for the colder months. Give me Washington cherry-infused bourbon, rhubarb flavored vodka or this very simple recipe for organic American vodka colored by fresh figs and vanilla. It’s straight alcohol, all the time.

A couple week’s back, Heidi visited to continue our sparkling cocktail planning adventures. You should really be a fly on the way during those photo shoots, just to mock us for falling in love with our on the spot creations. After five or twenty sips, each recipe is better than the last. This was the last recipe we shot and I almost made it as an afterthought, just to fill up some extra film, but we both kinda love these photos.

I’m giving these jars out to friends this month and getting them involved in the action. All they have to do is strain out the figs and vanilla bean and sit a pretty bottle of flavored happiness on the kitchen shelf. Tied with some twine and a handmade label, celebrating the season was never quiet so simple.

Happy *almost* Christmas, Hanukkah and New Year’s!

Fig and Vanilla Vodka

Recipe adapted from Sweet Paul’s Holiday Issue

Ingredients:

• 1 liter jar
• 1 liter good organic vodka
• 1/2 pound (8 ounces) of fresh or dried figs
• 1 vanilla bean

Directions:

1. Clean and sterilize a 1 liter glass jar.
2. Clean and slice figs. If using fresh figs, slice into quarters. If using dried figs, slice in half. Place in the jar.
3. Sliced a vanilla bean pod in half, exposing all the pretty beans. Place it into the jar with the figs.
4. Poor vodka over the figs and vanilla bean. Seal and let sit for one week.
5. Strain and serve chilled just as it is or, ideally, in your own pretty cocktail creation.

All photos styled by Maggie Battista and Heidi Murphy and photographed by Heidi Murphy/White Loft Style.

Eat Boutique is an online magazine + market for food enthusiasts to celebrate the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Send a gift box of handmade food today.

It’s December 1st and, certainly, it’s busy. We’re in the final planning moments of our second local market, a Holiday Local Market taking place next week. I’m sourcing ribbon to wrap your market food gifts, creating hang tags for those gifts, speaking to food makers about final details and even signing on some wonderful last minute participants, including (get this!) Island Creek Oysters and one of the best little cheesecake businesses in the area. It’s going to be such a fun time.

But despite the madness, the best thing about the holidays is this: You have no choice but to slow down every few days and say, “Oh my goodness! It’s the holidays! And they only come once a year! And I bet savor this now!”

And that’s what I’m doing now.

Cocktail in hand, I’m sharing some photographs that I’ve been eager to share since they were shot almost one month ago. My photographer friend in food, Heidi Murphy of White Loft Style, met up with me to photograph gift boxes and I guess you can say, we got into the holiday spirit. We pulled all the marinating cordials and flavored sugars and dried citrus off my shelves and just started taking photos.

We broke open a bottle of Prosecco and started mixing and I quickly remembered, “Gosh, this is my absolute favorite thing in the world. Give me some infused alcohol and some sparkling wine, and I’ll make you a cocktail that forces you to slow down.”

So I’m taking a moment to chill and share some photos. Just a moment or two because I have several recipes to write before this weekend, when Heidi and I will get together again to photograph some of our favorite sparkling cocktails. We want to share those photos with you in time for New Year’s…

Until then, take a look at my Coffee Grappa – it’s deadly – and that Bacon Bourbon makes the best Old Fashioned.

I also have a holiday concoction, called Xmas Strong, that’s packed with spices and nuts and herbs and while it’s been around for a couple years, there’s always one person who connects with it each season.

The Apple Cordial is very special to me; I started it before my three-month trip to Paris last year and it keeps getting better and better.

Just wait until you see the Seckle Pear Cordial that’s hiding in the wings. I thought it wasn’t sweet enough and then Heidi sipped it and well… she straightened me out and helped me remember. Now, it reminds me of Normandy…

Do you have a favorite holiday cocktail? I’d love to try it out… I have so many cocktails already schemed up for our little photo shoot, but while I have everything sprawled about the counter, maybe I should try yours too? Merci!

All photos styled by Maggie Battista and Heidi Murphy and photographed by Heidi Murphy/White Loft Style.

Eat Boutique is an online magazine + market for food enthusiasts to celebrate the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Send a gift box of handmade food today.

Did you know we’re hosting our Holiday Local Market on December 10, 2011 in Boston? Meet, taste and shop for holiday gifts!

A few years ago, I met up with a few friends at one of the girls’ home in New Hampshire. It was a beautiful fall weekend, and we took full advantage of the gorgeous setting and great company. After a long hike in the woods, we headed to a nearby orchard to pick apples and to simply enjoy that golden afternoon sunshine. We picked and picked until each of us was laden with bushels of apples, and headed into the orchard store to pay up, not realizing that Poverty Lane Orchard was also home to Farnum Hill Cider.  Up until that point, I had only experienced cider in two forms: the unfiltered apple juice that you buy by the jug and the cider you buy in a bar, like Magners or Strongbow. That afternoon, in the cabin-like tasting room, I tried apple cider that was like nothing I had ever tasted—more like a dry champagne made from apples than the sweet, fizzy stuff I had previously known as cider. As I tasted each offering, I fell more and more in love. We each bought a bottle (or two) and later that night, we all managed to have a rip-roaring good time in front of the fire.

While I wish I could get up to that beautiful part of the world every fall (and see those friends more often), I keep those nice memories alive by buying the same cider here in Boston. Farnum Hill Cider offers up a few different types of cider, from their more casual Farmhouse or Dooryard ciders, to the Extra-Dry (which really is comparable to a Brut Champagne), to their unique and earthy Kingston Black. And, as it turns out, these ciders pair wonderfully with my other favorite fall treat: cheese.

With that in mind, I decided to throw a bit of a fall cheese and cider party this season. With a bit of prior research, a lot of nibbling, and the expertise of others (including my friend Jess and the guru behind the counter at my favorite local cheese shop), we pulled together a great-tasting fall cheese plate. I wanted to share a bit of what I learned.

The first cheese that usually comes to mind when serving cider is always include a hearty cheddar, such as Vermont’s venerable Cabot Clothbound Cheddar. Created at Cabot, but aged to perfection at the smaller Cellars at Jasper Hills, this English-style cheddar is nutty, sweet and savory and goes with just about anything. One of the reasons why the Clothbound Cheddar goes so well with Farnum Hill Cider is because it is made within an hour from the orchards at Poverty Lane in Lebanon, New Hampshire.

With that in mind, we also tried a cheese from Landaff, NH (also called Landaff), which is located about sixty miles to the north. This semi-firm cheese is similar to cheddar, but features a milder taste, allowing for the grassy, herbal flavor to come through. We loved tasting the Landaff’s almost buttery quality against the bubbles of Farnum Hill’s extra-dry sparkling cider.

In my goal of having a well-rounded cheese plate, I knew I would have to mix it up with a goat cheese. Lucky for me, the helpful man at the cheese counter suggested the Sainte-Maure Belgique, which is probably the smoothest, tastiest goat cheese I have ever had the pleasure of eating. I had begun to think that all goat cheese was becoming crumbly and tangy, which made me shy away from goat cheese in recent years. Not this stuff. Light, mild, and oh-so-creamy, this is the type of goat cheese you dream about.

We also tasted a really nice, almost-stinky Camembert and a semi-hard, mild cheese from the Basque region of France that was really lovely alongside the cider (makes sense as France makes some incredible cider). And of course, I had to add a good quality aged Gouda to the mix (as I’ve discovered, if Lady Gouda doesn’t bring gouda to a cheese party, we’ve got a problem!) I’ve fallen in love with the aged Goudas—wedges of darker orange cheese, dotted with those little white specks of calcified salt. SO good. These great Goudas are getting easier to find, and I’ve seen them frequently at Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and in my local grocery store. This is always a great cheese to add to any cheese plate.

But guess what? You need more than cheese to make a truly great cheese plate. The following are a few suggestions of what goes well with these fall flavors, bringing out the most in your cheese:

• A savory, crunchy side, like these sweet and spicy nuts with rosemary, from an Ina Garten recipe.
• A solid side dish, like the pear and ham crostini that Jess and her husband made while we were sipping cider. They started by toasting up quality bread in a warm oven, then spread each crostini with homemade honey-mustard, thin slices of salty ham, and then topped with pear slices.
• A few choices of additional little spreads or jams, such as good local honey, fig jam or apple butter.
• An assortment of fruit, such as pear or apple slices, or a bunch or two of beautiful fall grapes, such as inky-black Concord grapes.

And my favorite addition to our fall cheese plate was this Apple Compote. Made with local apples, minced shallot, mustard, bay leaves and the same cider that we were drinking, this fall chutney was a lovely addition to our little party.

Final words on putting together a fall or holiday cheese plate: No matter which cheeses you choose for your fall cheese plate, try to find a good variety and let them come to room temperature before you serve them. Most cheese needs about 45 minutes to an hour to warm up enough to impart its full flavor. Don’t be afraid to ask for help at your local cheese shop or at your market’s cheese counter. They are there to help!  For more information on the cheese I mentioned above, or to specially order your own, Formaggio Kitchen has a fantastic and knowledgeable guide on their website.

More about cider:

I’m not the only one who has fallen for these new (old) hard ciders. The beverage that was once the most popular drink in America is now experiencing an incredible re-birth, led by small farms from New England to Michigan to Washington state. While I first fell for Farnum Hill, I am excited to taste cider from these orchards:

• West County Cider, from Western Massachusetts
• Bellwether Cider, from upstate New York
• Tandem Ciders, from Michigan
• Alpenfire Cider, from Washington

For more information, see these articles:

• What Would John Adam Drink? Get ready for the rebirth of Cider in America, from Slate
• Our Favorite American Hard Ciders, from Bon Appetit
• The Next Wine Bar: Will Apples Supplant Grapes at Your Favorite Bar? From Tasting Table
• The Hard Cider Buzz, from Food & Wine

All photos by Shelby Larsson.

Eat Boutique is an online magazine + market for food enthusiasts to celebrate the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Send a gift box of handmade food today.

Yesterday was National Food Day, and we had a lovely time participating in the Boston Food Swappers‘ community-sourced potluck in Boston. I was one of the judges, and everything was just delicious. I hope the winner enjoyed our Eat Boutique gift box! Still, I couldn’t get my mind off of this Pear Liqueur made all the way on the other coast by Denise. I’m certain I’ll find some ripe fruit to make this recipe soon, and I can’t wait to take a peek at my Seckle Pear Liquor I started last Fall. -Maggie

Eau de Vie is a delicious pear liqueur that is made with fermented fruit.  The first time I had a sip was years ago during a trip to France.  I fell in love with the tradition of having a small glass before dinner, nightly, during that trip.  Once I settled back home, and slipped into my routine, I quietly forgot about my love affair back in France.

It wasn’t until I was playing with a new recipe that called for pear liqueur that I remembered this delicious beginning to my French meals.  After failed attempts at finding it in my area, I resorted to trying to make my own.  Since I do not have the resources nor space to be able to properly ferment as well as distill traditional Eau de Vie, my version is not true to the name.  Instead, I refer to it as Pear Liqueur.

I have found that the finished liqueur is cleaner when I use 100% vodka instead of 80% vodka.  It is challenging to find, but if you go to a liquor store they should be able to direct you to a couple options.  No need to go with the most expensive brand;  they are all basically the same.  If you cannot find 100% vodka regular vodka is fine to use;  the only difference will be that the liqueur is not as smooth.  Honestly most people will not be able to tell the difference.

I use the ripest pears I can find, and I always peel them.  You will see some recipes out there that do not ask you to do this step.  Do it!   The nectar from the ripe pears is exactly what you want to flavor the vodka.  I also add a couple crushed cardamon pods, as well as a strip of lemon peel;  it adds a lovely warm depth to the finished liqueur.

The hardest part of making pear liqueur is waiting for the week to end.  You may be tempted to go sneak a peek.  Don’t!  Remember, good things come to those who wait.  The finishing process is ridiculously easy.  Simply mash your pears into the vodka, strain the mixture a couple times, and then bottle.  You can enjoy a glass immediately or store it in the freezer until ready to enjoy.

Pear Liqueur
Makes 1 quart size mason jar

Ingredients:

• 3 pears, ripe
• 2 cardamon pods crushed
• 1 2” strip of lemon peel
• Vodka

Directions:

1. Peel the pears and slice into thin slices.  Gently put into the mason jar. Add the cardamon pods and lemon peel.  Fill with vodka.  Tighten the lid onto the jar.  Gently shake a couple times.  Set aside in a dark and cool cupboard for 1 week.
2. After a week, remove from cupboard.  Pour the pear mixture into a mixing bowl and gently mash using the back of a fork.  Strain into another bowl, using a colander that has been lined with cheesecloth. Repeat this process a couple times, depending on how filtered you want your liquor.  Bottle in sterilized bottles.  Serve.  Drink.

All photos styled and photographed by Denise Woodward.

Eat Boutique is an online magazine + market for food enthusiasts to celebrate the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Send a gift box of handmade food today.

When I first heard about Maine Distilleries earlier this year, I was mostly interested in their source for potatoes. Unusual, yes, but I noticed that they used potatoes from Fryeburg, the pretty, quiet town next to where my family owns a cottage in Western Maine. Anytime I see any of these little-known towns mentioned in the mainstream media, my ears perk up. People just don’t really talk about Fryeburg that often, unless it’s in reference to their famous fair held each October. It’s the same for much of the lakes region, which is typically eclipsed by Maine’s rocky coast and quaint towns down east. So as you can imagine, when I realized that the primary ingredient of this vodka came from the same potato fields that were along my favorite bike route, I knew I had to get my hands on a bottle.

I hatched a plan to visit the Freeport headquarters of Maine Distilleries on the way back from my trip to Mid-Coast Maine (even I can’t resist the call of the Maine coast from time to time). While I was eating and drinking my way through Camden, Rockport and Rockland, I noticed that every hip spot I visited carried and centrally featured Cold River Vodka and Gin. For research purposes, I ordered a Cold River Gin martini at Shepherd’s Pie in Rockport, and immediately fell in love. It was the cleanest, smoothest gin I have ever tasted.

By the time we finally arrived at Maine Distilleries, I had already decided to buy both the vodka and the gin. Now, we aren’t big drinkers of hard alcohol and cocktails in this household: we’re more of a beer and wine crowd here.  After tasting (and liking) the three spirits offered at the distillery—original vodka, blueberry vodka and gin— I regulated myself to only buying two out of the three. As I left with the vodka and the gin, I promised myself that I would use half of the vodka to try my hand at making my own blueberry version. After all, as I have made clear here in the past, I have a bit of a thing for Maine blueberries.

After our whirlwind coastal tour, I set out to make my own blueberry vodka. Adding two cups of blueberries to two cups of vodka (made from potatoes harvested only miles away – too cool), I stood back to view the pretty purple and blue jar. But now what? I knew I needed an expert’s opinion, and luckily, I knew just the girl. A week later, I brought my mason jar full of vodka and blueberries straight to Maggie’s place, and requested a lesson in cocktail-making. I had a vague notion that I wanted to include lemonade, and brought along a bottle of a sparkling variety. Maggie quickly suggested that we add some white wine (Sauvignon Blanc in this case), and then plucked a bit of mint from her windowsill garden. Next we added ice cubes, thin slices of lemon, and a spoonful of the boozy blueberries from the vodka jar.

The drink was heavenly and tasted of pure summer in a glass. As a cocktail novice, it was easy enough for me to put together on my own and used simple ingredients that I would regularly have on hand. While we made ours glass by glass, this is one recipe that could be easily multiplied and served by the pitcher. If you were into that kind of thing, which I am…

To make the homemade blueberry vodka: measure two cups blueberries. Mash about half of them, and then add to two cups of vodka. Secure the mix in an airtight container (such as a mason jar) and put aside for at least a week, unrefrigerated.

Blueberry “White Sangria”

Ingredients:

• 1 part homemade blueberry vodka
• 1 part lemonade (we used sparkling, which was nice)
• 1 part white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc
• sprig of mint
• lemon slices
• ice cubes

Directions:

Stir all ingredients together and enjoy!

All photos by Shelby Larsson.

Eat Boutique is an online magazine + market for food enthusiasts to celebrate the best pure, local + comforting handmade foods. We call it: food that hugs you back. Looking for the perfect gift? Eat Boutique sells gift boxes filled with handmade sweet and savory treats. Send food that hugs you back today.