Lychee Green Tea Martinis

I've been mixing up all kinds of fun, summery cocktails lately. This one, made with Lychee juice, iced (unsweetened) green tea, vodka and a hint of lime juice is a current favorite of mine. Sweet and light, with a hint of smokiness from the green tea, served super cold. This is just the kind of thing I want to sip on a summer evening with friends.


I thew the ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, then added a couple lychees for garnish. They're my favorite part!

You will need:
1 can lychee fruit packed in juice
A pot of strongly brewed green tea, given time to chill
Vodka of your choice
1 lime

combine 1 part vodka, 1 part lychee juice, 2 parts green tea, and a squeeze of lime. Shake over ice, and enjoy.  You can also add cold seltzer (after shaking, not before) for a lighter spritzer variation. Yum.

I made and drank these with my friend Gabi (whose name has been dropped on this blog quite a few times now) as we ate homemade Pad Thai based on this Alton brown recipe (we substituted chicken for the tofu, and only marinated it for less than an hour, but it turned out great), and then munched on red bean mochi for dessert. Our meal and drinks were inspired by a last minute wander through Super 88, a giant Asian market around the corner from my apartment, also mentioned here.

Basil infused watermelon cocktails

Remember that basil infused vodka I made? I turned it into a refreshing, lightly sweet summer cocktail with a bit of fresh watermelon, basil leaves, lemon juice, triple sec and ice.

Basil Infused Vodka

Basil = Summer time. It's totally true.It's not quite summer time yet, but close. I bought a bunch of fresh basil the super market, as it's still a bit too early to hit up the farmers market for some. Or my neighbor Jamie, who I am sure will have some I can steal this summer like last. (won't you lend me some extra?) Right now my bunch of basil leaves are sitting in a window sill in a jar of water. They are much happier that way than they would be in my fridge. I had a little project in mind.


A vodka project. Yes. Which is what led me to go down to the liquor store at 9:30am yesterday (kind of amazing there is a liquor store in my neighborhood that opens that early, don't you think?) I needed some vodka, and a little rum for a rum-caramel banana bread pudding (what  mouthful- delicious though! Post coming soon).

I wanted to make some basil-infused vodka. It requires some patience, it needs several weeks to pick up that basil-y summer-y flavor. I can be patient.

I probably should have picked up a nice bottle of expensive, high quality vodka. But, I'm not that kind of girl. You could give me a glass of rubbing alcohol and tell me it was the good stuff and I am quite sure I would believe you. And I would probably drink it and pretend to enjoy it. Because I want people to think I have good taste. Now you know the truth about me. Please no one take advantage of this and attempt to feed me rubbing alcohol, OK? Thanks.

Easy as anything:

Fresh basil, a mason jar, cheap vodka

combine.

Then just seal it up, and put it somewhere dark.

That's pretty dark.

Now just wait a couple weeks (I have read different sources that say anything from 3 days to 5 weeks, so I am going to check on it after a week and make the call one way or the other), giving it a shake periodically. I'll let you guys know how it turns out. Any suggestions for basil infused cocktails when the time comes?

UPDATE: project "basil, meet vodka" was a success. I strained out the basil leaves the other night, and concocted a summery drink that was pretty darn yummy (if I do say so myself). Post coming as soon as I get my new laptop charger in the mail...technology problems abound so far this month.

Stuffed Turkey Sliders and Blueberry Spritzers

My roommate Sam and I made this quick summery meal on the 4th of July before hurrying out to see the fireworks, and I decided it was so good it was worth recreating and posting. Besides the ground turkey meat and buns, we had all of the ingredients on hand, the blueberries in the spritzers were leftover from my Cherry-Blueberry Tart, the feta was bought for the Watermelon & Herb Summer Salad, and who doesn't have an onion, a couple cloves of garlic, a couple lemons, and a bottle of seltzer on hand? And even if you don't have those things on hand, wouldn't it be worth a trip to the store if a light, flavorful, summery dinner and refreshing fruity drink were at stake?