Basilcello

All of you who know me, know that I make limoncello pretty much year round. Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur. While I was in Italy I tried many other liqueurs, including one made with fresh basil. I have so much basil right now that I decided to try to make my own. I tried it once a long time ago, and the basil-alcohol infusion turned brown. I looked up some recipes on line and it turns out that the process is a little different, though the same basic idea. I just tasted my first very small batch and it looks and tastes just like the delicious concoction I had in Italy. It has that herby, slightly peppery flavor of fresh basil. I grant you that herb liqueurs may sound a little odd, but I find them to be refreshing, interesting, and a lovely way to preserve the colors and flavors of summer.

Here's what you do

Gently wipe off 40 large basil leaves with a damp paper towel. Don't get them really wet as they start to break down and turn dark. It doesn't have to be exactly 40. Use large and small and put in the equivalent of what you think is 40 large leaves. Put the basil leaves in a clean glass jar and cover with 1 liter grain alcohol such as Ever Clear (available at Bottle Barn in Santa Rosa.) Cover jar tightly and store in a cool dark place for 3-7 days, mixing/turning it a couple times a day. It will be bright green after just a few hours.

Obviously, if you want to make less, cut the recipe in half and use 20 basil leaves in 500 ml grain alcohol.

Strain the green basil-infused alcohol into a clean jar and combine with equal parts simple syrup. Simple syrup is made by combining equal parts sugar and water in a saucepan and heating until sugar is dissolved. Let the syrup cool completely before you add it to your infusion. Many recipes say to put the liqueur away for 15 days or so before drinking it, but I'm telling you that it is delicious served ice cold right away. If you put it aside to age, at least have a sip of the "young" version and then see if the aged version is better. Be sure to leave a comment here and let me know because I'm unlikely to find out on my own.

Margarita con cojones

Well, it's fresh produce time and I've been enamored of a site called Punk Domestics lately. Here's how they describe themselves:

Beginning with World War II, when women flooded the workplace, technology has conspired to take food production out of the kitchen. Convenience foods became the norm, and the culinary arts of our parents and grandparents became unfashionable, to the point where many of us grew up not knowing how food got in jars. With the advent of Slow Food and the California Cuisine movement of the 1980s, artisanship in food began to regain popularity. Most recently, driven by factors such as an increasing trend toward gourmandism combined with a recession forcing people to tighten their belts, people are once again taking on the old ways in their kitchens. Many are also writing about it on blogs, forums and message boards. To the novice, there is an overwhelming amount of information to sift through. To the veteran blogger, it's easy to get lost in the noise. Punk Domestics aims to evangelize and enable this burgeoning trend by way of curation and promotion. The name derives from a review of Karen Solomon's book Jam It, Pickle It, Cure It: And Other Cooking Projects onEat Me Daily, which refers to the "punk domesticity of the hipster DIY movement."

Every day I get a dose of the possible ways to can, pickle, and otherwise preserve the goodness of the season. A few days ago I made "Cucumber Jalapeno Tequila" and now I am sipping a refreshing, taste bud awakening, south-of-the-border tasting margarita with real kick. Alcohol infusions are one of the many ways to preserve produce, so give this one a go if you dare.

Here's how you do it

Cut one cucumber into about 8 spears, with the skin on. Throw it in a glass jar. Cut up one jalapeno pepper and throw it in the jar, too. The heat is in the seeds, so include them or not, depending on how spicy you want your infusion. Cover with 1 liter silver (blanco) tequila. Leave the jar in a cool dark corner for 4-6 days. I tasted mine after 4 days and it was plenty spicy. Strain the alcohol into a clean container (the original bottle is a good idea), compost the spent cucumber and jalapeno. Serve ice cold on its own, or make it into a spicy-fresh margarita.

For the margarita combine equal parts freshly squeezed lime juice, triple sec, and cucumber jalapeno tequila. I like my margaritas a little on the sweet side, so I also add a squeeze of agave syrup. Serve over ice, or shake with ice and serve neat.