cocktail Archives

Blueberry Mojitos

July 25, 2014 by theblogbloom.com 7 Comments

There are times that I feel like my life is a 50:50 series of me wanting to scream either, “I am an adult!” or, “I don’t want to be an adult.”

I have been blessed with a great career. A career when I get to utilize my natural entrepreneurial spirit, make presentations to groups of influencers, and surround myself with likeminded, creative people.

However, I have also been blessed with the face of an eighteen year old.

Not even kidding.

My big, blue eyes, button nose and the -still- lingering baby fat in my cheeks makes me look nearly ten years younger than I am.

I can be out to dinner with all my friends and I am the only one who gets carded. I have been asked to show my ID for R-Rated movies. Even Elementary School age children ask me what grade I am in.

So imagine me going into a meeting to present a quarter million dollar partnership to a group of middle age men who are accountants and attorneys…

Between the looks and innuendos of concern, skepticism, and apprehension questioning my credibility there are days I want to totally switch up my introduction and go with a little something like this:

“Look. I get it. I look like a child. But, I am responsible. I pay my own taxes. I can afford to go on vacations or buy really nice high heels. I put money into mutual funds. And, I can hold intelligent conversations on viticulture. Hint? That has to do with wine. Which I totally can legally drink. Now, can we move along and take me seriously? I am an adult.”

But, I can’t…. Because I am an adult.

As often as I want to defend my adult status, I also find myself wanting a break away from it.

And, I don’t think I am alone in this thought.

Let’s be real… Being an adult is hard.

You have to spend hours trying to talk to the right person on the insurance customer service line… just to give them half your paycheck.

Your car will surprise you with the colorful and blinking “Maintenance Required” light bringing your day to a – literal- screeching halt.

A stranger, named Chris, will use your phone number on accident when trying to get information about refinancing his mortgage causing your phone to ring non-stop with companies trying to sell their options to you… When they really want Chris. And don’t understand that you aren’t Chris.

Your computer will crash, killing your hard drive, photos, all your writing and any momentum you had going at work and hobby blogging.

Sans computer, you miraculously find time to work out every day only to step on the scale and see that you have gained five pounds…?

You will have to sweep your kitchen floors Every. Single. Day. Honestly… where does all this dirt come from?!

Oh! And, this will all happen in four days.

You’re welcome! Love, Adulthood.

Some week’s it’s enough to make you want to throw up your hands, ditch the responsibility, say, “Screw it. I don’t want to be an adult anymore,” and go to your parents nostalgic for the carefree days of childhood.

Or, at least it makes you really want a really good cocktail.

I guess that’s the consolation prize of adulthood… you can drink cocktails like this one.

I plan to make this on my escape to my parent’s home in Michigan this weekend. Adam has to work and many of my friends are busy, so why stay at home with my dirty floors and no computer?

The cocktail will be perfect because blueberry harvest has come on strong in Michigan the last few weeks. My mom says their farmer’s markets sell blueberries in five pound containers vs. pints.

Michigan Blueberries

Any other time of year, blueberries are nowhere near as good as they are now. This cocktail recipe capitalizes on the fresh, sweet juices after muddling a handful of berries with fresh mint, which is also full of vibrant flavor this time of year.

If you don’t have a muddler (Like me!), the bottom of a wooden spoon works great.

Shaken and served over ice, the pink cocktail might make me feel like being a kid… but also remind me that being an adult is pretty good.

Fresh Blueberry Mojito

2014-07-25 08:53:34

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Ingredients

A handful of fresh blueberries (8-10)
2 TBS. Fresh Lime Juice
1 tsp. Sugar
Small handful of fresh mint leaves (8-10)
1/4 cup white rum
1 cup of Ice
2 TBS. Club soda
Lime slice, blueberries, and mint for garnish

Instructions

In a cocktail shaker, add blueberries, mint, lime juice and sugar.
Muddle with a muddler or end of a wooden spoon. (Muddling will crush the berries and help to release the oils in mint)
Add the rum, ice, and club soda.
Shake well and pour over a glass of ice.
Garnish with extra blueberries, lime wedge and mint.

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Cinco de Mayo Rhubarb Mojitos

May 5, 2014 by theblogbloom.com 1 Comment

I am like… oh, 95% positive that I made the first purchase of the season at Carmel’s Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning.

I had been in Indianapolis Friday night for dinner with friends who were running the next morning in the 500 Festival’s 5k and Mini Marathon.

Hey, girls, heyyy!

I, however, was not.

I can power through an intense spin class like a champ but am pretty sure that I have not run more than two miles since last summer.

I blame the winter.

So, the girls all rose early to get to the race and I began the drive home. On the way, I stopped in downtown Carmel to check out their Farmer’s Market.

It was opening day of the market for 2014, but I had never been to the market period. I had always heard great things so I was eager to see what they had to offer.

I got there about forty minutes before the market opened thanks to the early race start so I grabbed a Starbucks and brainstormed a few blog ideas in my car while I waited. Ten minutes to open I decided to hop out of my car and see what was going on.

I took a lap around the market and was beyond impressed.

There was so much available, despite the cold, late spring. I even saw tomatoes. Obviously, green house tomatoes. But still… tomatoes!

By the time the mayor began her opening day speech and rang a bell to signal the commence of the market, I was standing underneath a vendor’s tent that was selling vibrant rhubarb and big, green spears of asparagus handing over some cash.

Note: There’s no prize or celebration for the first purchase of the season. Dang!

They were the two things I was looking for and I couldn’t wait to get them home.

Rhubarb is a perennial vegetable and is typically cooked in sugar to be added to desserts. Rhubarb is typically harvested in mid to late spring. The color of rhubarb is the best. It can be from deep reds to pinks with a little green.

I had never had rhubarb until I started dating Adam. Rhubarb crisp is one of his families most loved desserts.

I thought about making the crisp but then remembered that Cinco de Mayo was just around the corner and decided to use the rhubarb to add subtle flavor to one my favorite Mexican vacation cocktails, the mojito.

Mojitos are incredibly refreshing and are not as sweet as a margarita. And, with all the mint left over from the Derby’s Juleps it seemed perfect for Cinco de Mayo!

Rhubarb Mojito

Rhubarb Syrup:
3 large stalks rhubarb, thinly sliced
1 cup light brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 ½ cups water

Place all ingredients in a medium pot, stir to combine. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about five minutes or until rhubarb is tender.
Strain rhubarb collecting the liquid mixture in a bowl. Clean pot and pour liquid mixture back into pot. Boil over medium heat until liquid becomes a syrup. About fifteen minutes.
Let cool completely before using.

Rhubarb Mojito

6-7 mint leaves, torn
3 tablespoons rhubarb syrup
1 ounce white rum
Club Soda
Fresh lime juice

Add the mint, syrup and rum to tall glass. Stir to combine. Add ice and top with club soda and juice from a lime wedge. Garnish with mint and lime wedge.

Sunday Funday.

September 8, 2013 by theblogbloom.com 5 Comments

Happy First Football Sunday!

… Or Merry Christmas, if you are speaking with my husband.

Adam looks forward to this day all year long.

With harvest picking up, Sunday’s are his only day to relax and not worry (…too much) about work.

Adam and I have established a little bit of a tradition for early Sunday afternoon football games that date back to my first apartment in Indianapolis. It’s fabulous. We take our time waking up, make brunch, throw something in the crock pot for an early dinner after the game, all while drinking Bloody Mary’s.

Adam has spent the last few years trying to perfect the Bloody Mary.

And he really has done some research. He has befriended bartenders and expert tailgaters at football games and NASCAR races. (AKA all the professionals in this field.)

Ingredients have included everything from Pepper and Bacon vodka, pickle juice, horseradish, Worcestershire sauce, pickled okra, bacon and many others.

PS- it’s been a really hard job being the taste tester for all these cocktails…

Adam’s grandmother recently shared her recipe for tomato juice with me after seeing how tomatoes were taking over my counter tops. While reading through the ingredients, I thought how it would make a great Bloody Mary base.

When I shared this with Adam, his passion for the perfect Bloody Mary came to life and he instantly got to work canning his own Bloody Mary mix.

Here is what he did:

Ingredients:

Approximately 20 Tomatoes (Adam used a few different kinds, including Roma and Beefsteak)
Two cloves garlic, minced
Two yellow onions, minced
Three ribs celery, chopped
1 Bell pepper, chopped
1 Poblano pepper, chopped (Any spicy pepper, like a jalapeno, would work)
1/3 cup prepared horseradish (Not horseradish sauce)
1 ½ teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon Tobasco (Any red pepper sauce could work)
¼ cup sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
½ tablespoon salt
½ tablespoon celery salt

Heat tomatoes in boiling water for about three minutes. Place immediately into ice water bath. Core, skin and cut tomatoes into wedges.

Add all ingredients, including blanched tomatoes, to a large stock pot. Cook over medium heat. Simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Vegetables should cook down and turn to juice.

Strain (we used a mesh strainer), pushing out as much juice as possible. After straining, return juice to the pot and bring strained tomato juice to a boil.

Put juice into 1-quart jars. (Make sure jars are clean and sanitized before processing begins. Ensure all lids are clean and unused.)
Process in boiling water bath with a half inch of water over the top of the sealed jar for forty minutes.

Remove from water bath and place on cooling rack for at least four hours. Make sure each jar seals. If jar does not seal, consume the mix in the next three days.

Today we tried to Bloody Mary mix for the first time. We mixed in about a shot glass of vodka and a splash of spicy pickle juice.

Perfectionist Adam said he liked them, but he still needed to work on it as he dug through the fridge for more Tobasco.

… annoying photographer. I know…

I, however, thought they were great. I loved the fresh flavor. It didn’t taste watered down or too salty. The pickle juice was perfect. There was enough spice to keep it interesting. Perfect.

And the Colts won! So, who knows?! Maybe this Bloody also has a splash of luck.