Sour cherry season has just ended here in BC and those plump, sweet, dark cherries from the Okanagan are almost gone from our local markets. But there is a way to preserve all that cherry goodness. Freezing is a no-brainer and requires just a bit of time and patience. A cherry pitter is also a nice accessory and I’ve thankfully inherited one from my husband’s grandmother. It looks odd-ball but it does the trick, and so apparently, does a paper clip. Wish I had known about cherry pitters when I made this buttermilk cherry sherbet a couple years ago!

Macerating cherries is a perfect way to preserve this fleeting taste of summer. One way is to add cherries to a jam jar, top with booze (vodka, brandy and whiskey are all fine choices – but a cherry liqueur like Luxardo is another fantastic option) and let it sit for a week or more. Your Manhattans will thank you.

Freezing and pickling via alcohol are all excellent options, but when I spotted this cherry conserve by Jennifer Perillo, I was intrigued. The recipe starts off by mixing cherries and sugar along with orange zest and almond extract and letting it sit overnight. The next day it cooks up enough to call it a conserve. I’m sure it’s delicious – in fact, I know it is as it’s pretty much how I’ve made cherry compotes in the past. But I liked the idea of macerating the cherries in the sugar & flavourings without adding heat. I wanted cherries that screamed freshness.

And they did. They screamed freshness and flavour so loud that the jar was half empty before I realized that they were nearly gone. The lime zest and almond extract intensified the cherry flavour and eating each ruby red orb was like a ka-pow! right to my quivering taste buds. They were incredible! The remaining jar spilled over my morning pancakes and it made a very bright start to the day. I can only imagine how fantastic they’d be poured over ice cream or placed on a skewer and popped into a whiskey sour. I will be making these again (in fact, I have a batch sitting on the counter right this moment) and I will give this cherry slush a try too.

The macerated cherry recipe you’ll find below, but first I wanted to give a recipe for something a bit more unusual. After pitting pound after pound of cherries, I figured there had to be a better way than tossing them in the garbage. Thanks to a tip on Twitter, I used many of the remaining pits as a drainage base for a potted plant! Clever, no? But maybe not as clever as this cherry pit vodka. It couldn’t be easier. Pits + vodka = the heaven scent flavour of almonds. True, there is a teeny-tiny smidge of cyanide found in the pits, however, the amount is so small that I think we’re all safe for a sip or three. If you are still intrigued about what else you can do with your leftover cherry pits, this cherry pit ice cream sounds delicious.

cherry pit vodka
There’s no real recipe for this beverage. Add cherry pits into a tightly lidded jar. Top with vodka. Let wait at least a week. Strain and use in your favorite cocktail. Cheers!

macerated sour cherries
(adapted from In Jennie’s Kitchen)
2 c sour cherries (regular cherries would be fine too)
1/3 c organic sugar
1/2 t almond extract
zest of 1 lime

If you are using sour cherries, keep the cherries whole. If you are using Bing or a larger cherry, cut the cherries in half. Add all ingredients to a glass jar and give everything a good stir. Screw on lid and let sit over night on the counter. The next day give the jar a shake and pluck out a cherry. Let your eyes roll back. Repeat. The jar should last a couple weeks in the fridge, but I doubt you’ll have any left that long.

Possibly related posts:

• cherry buttermilk sherbet
• jam it on the one: sour cherry vinaigrette

I’m a big believer in necessity being the mother of invention. Earlier this week after a rousing game of tennis at our local park, I came home thirsty and water could only quench so much. What I really wanted was a margarita but I didn’t have any triple sec. For those not in the know, triple sec is a clear sweet orange liqueur commonly used in margaritas. So when I pulled out a bottle of Aperol, a bright orange bitter sweet liqueur, I knew I was onto something.

The resulting drink wasn’t the green-hued margarita that I’m used to. The Aperol had stained this drink a lovely hue of pinkish orange and it looked cheerfully celebratory! Hurrah for summer! A toast to a sweaty and silly game of running around with racquets and lime green balls! And because this is the start of a long weekend in Canada, I’m especially cheering to a glorious long weekend ahead!

I do like my drinks tart so I used only 1 ounce of agave syrup. If you like your drinks a bit sweeter, add in two ounces.

pink margarita on the rocks
4 oz good tequila
1 1/2 oz aperol
3 oz fresh lime juice
1-2 oz agave syrup (depending how tart you like your drinks)
4 large ice cubes + additional crushed ice for your glass
coarse salt for glasses rims

Combine all the ingredients except the salt and additional ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake it like you mean it – a good minute is fine.

Use the hulls of the limes to wet 2 glasses and then dip the edge of the glass in a plate of coarse salt.

Fill glasses with crushed ice and pour drink evenly into 2 glasses. Feel good instantly.

Possibly related posts:

• pretty in pink: fennel, grapefruit, & blood orange salad
• toast me: the working girl’s lowball

When my husband and I were planning on where to take our big vacation for the year, New York City seemed like a no-brainer. Neither one of us had ever been there before and we figured if we were going to go, we’d try to spend at least a couple weeks there. Of course we’ll ride the Cyclone on Coney Island while trying to avoid whiplash. We’ll walk the High Line and bike around Central Park. And we’ll eat. Oh yes! Thanks to all your tips and suggestions I’ve packed my iphone full of Yelp bookmarks on where to eat bbq in Brooklyn, snack on dumplings in Chinatown and scarf down a slice pretty much everywhere. Hello, dream holiday come true!

As I mentioned here, we watched a PBS documentary to get the back-story on how the city came to be and how it grew and grew. But really, my knowledge of NYC comes from movies, so to get myself in a New York state of mind I’d figure I’d share a little slice of NYC one of my favorite films.

Who’s That Knocking at my Door? is Martin Scorsese’s first feature film and I love it. It’s gritty and fun and innocent with a kickin’ soundtrack. This scene is brilliant and if during my trip I don’t get into a knife fight I’ll be sorely disappointed – actually, I think I’ll be fine if the only knife I spot is alongside my dinner plate. Well, at least I’ll get to ride the Staten Island Ferry.

Now NYC and Who’s that Knocking at my Door have very little to do with this cocktail, the Aviation. But like the movie, it’s a cocktail that I really enjoy. It’s a little sweet and a bit sour and if you drink too many can make you feel like you’ve been punched in the gut and kicked in the head. This is an old-fashioned cocktail and traditionally requires Crème de Violette but it’s not available in this neck of the woods. Marachino liqueur is available at Brewery Creek in Vancouver (and sadly not available at BC liquor stores) and don’t let anyone talk you into using the pink juice from a jar of maraschino cherries – a totally different beast.

elsewhere: When you read this post I’ll be NYC, but every Wednesday head over to Poppytalk to see what recipe I’ve got in store. As for ReadyMade, I also wrote a bunch of posts, so check out the blog so you don’t miss one while I’m away!

the aviation cocktail
2 oz gin
1/2 oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 t maraschino liqueur, preferably Luxardo
1/4 oz Crème de Violette (if you can find it)

Pour the ingredients into a cocktail tumbler along with a few cubes of ice. Shake to chill well and then strain into a glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Possibly related posts:

• pink margarita on the rocks
• preserving cherries: macerated sour cherries + cherry pit vodka

I made this ice cream a while ago and I think its time for a repeat double scoop. This ice cream is actually low in fat and is adapted from a Mark Bittman recipe called “cornstarch ice cream”. When you call it cornstarch ice cream, you’re probably not going to get many takers – in fact when I told my husband what I was making, he grimaced. But throw in bourbon, buttermilk and a whole lot of mix-ins like sour cherries, toasted coconut, roasted almonds and dark chocolate? Well, then it gets seriously awesome.

Clearly, I’m suffering from lack of restraint but it’s not a bad thing here at all. Years ago, Cornelius and I were discussing our dream ice cream flavour and we came up with the name “Crazy Go Nuts”. I was imagining something with a cinnamon base, lots of roasted nuts, coconut and some dark chocolate for good measure. This comes close to my idea of crazy but kicks it with way more deliciousness because of the addition of bourbon. Bourbon! And because I do go whole hog here, you might wonder if anything gets lost, but I’m proud to say that every flavour adds something special. The boozy warmth of the bourbon, vanilla and cinnamon, the roasted bits of coconut and almonds and the tart freshness of the sour cherries all add up to a very good thing indeed. I’m not even going to mention the dark chocolate. However, I should talk about the buttermilk because it does add a slight tang to the whole thing. The texture is nubbly from all the bits but it’s oh-so-creamy without the heavy cream. Which means it’s time for a double scoop, please.

Oh, and if you don’t have an ice cream maker, don’t fret! You can make this! Just pour the mixture into a shallow metal pan, freeze it, whisk it every 30 minutes or so until it begins to thicken, add in the mix-ins and continue stirring.

elsewhere: I make a whole wheat cookie in my fishy cast iron skillet. Find out more over at ReadyMade. And at Poppytalk, I declare my love for (soy) chorizo and make a breakfast skillet hash.

bourbon buttermilk ice cream
(adapted from Mark Bittman)
2 1/2 c whole milk
scant 1/2 c sugar
Pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in two and seeds scraped
1/2 t cinnamon
3 T cornstarch

1/2 c buttermilk
1/4 c bourbon (I like me some Maker’s Mark)

mix ins:
3 T roughly chopped frozen sour cherries
2 T finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate
2 T c finely chopped roasted almonds
2 T freshly toasted coconut

Put the 2 cups of whole milk into a saucepan over medium heat (reserve the last 1/2 of milk for use later), along with the sugar, salt, cinnamon and vanilla bean seeds and the pot. Cook until the mixture begins to steam, whisking occasionally, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix together the cornstarch with the remaining milk. Remove the vanilla bean pod and whisk in the milk/cornstarch mixture. Stir until the mixture thickens and barely reaches a boil, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to very low and whisk for another 5 minutes until thick.

Pour the mixture into a bowl and cover. Refrigerate until cold – 3 hours or overnight. Add in the buttermilk and bourbon and give it a good stir. Pour into your ice cream maker and when it just starts to really thicken up and look like soft ice cream, add in the mix-ins. Eat immediately or freeze until firm.

Possibly related posts:

• coolio: coconut chocolate chunk ice cream + mexican chocolate ice cream
• i scream, you scream: mint chocolate chip ice cream

July is nearly all gone and for me it went way too quickly. I had a nasty cough for most of the month and was bogged down with work. However, I did go to a baseball game, watched a drive-in movie from the back of a pick-up truck and drank beers on a sunny patio. Also, for the first time ever, we watched every single stage in the Tour de France, which was silly, exciting and just plain fun to watch. So what did I end up doing when faced with a screen filled with fit cyclists attacking the Pyrenees mountains by brute force and sheer athletic ability? Well, I ate coffee ice cream topped with this deliciously evil drunken caramel sauce.

This sauce is dangerous. Not only is it boozy and has a good pinch of salt to counter the sweet, but the number one factor that makes it a true killer is that it’s way easy to make. In fact, I’m pretty sure you already have every single ingredient needed to dig into a bowl right now. It’s obviously great over ice cream (especially topped with roasted almonds and cocoa nibs), but I can see this being a brilliant topper over an apple pie or a peach tart. If you’re not into the booze, you can just leave it out and it will still be fantastic. And it’s vegan as long as you choose a good non-dairy margarine. See, I told you this caramel sauce was pure evil.

Don’t worry too much about this little indulgence because my next post will be about turnips.

Elsewhere: I’m using umeboshi vinegar again over at Poppytalk. Check out my recipe for an orzo pasta salad with baby bok choy. Over at ReadyMade I’m sharing the Community Sponsored Agriculture love – what do you make with your haul?

totally evil drunken sauce
(adapted from Salty Sweets by Christie Matheson)
1/2 c unsalted butter (use a non-dairy margarine for a vegan version)
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/4 – 1/2 t kosher salt
1/8 t cinnamon
2 T dark rum (or whiskey or bourbon)
2 t vanilla extract

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and brown sugar over medium heat until the butter is melted and the sugar has dissolved. Stir in the cinnamon and salt and mix until the sauce is smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the rum and vanilla. Cool slightly and serve. Any leftovers can be reheated in the microwave or by placing the bowl in hot water and giving things a stir until the sauce melts.

Possibly related posts:

• totally nuts: spiced caramel corn with pepitas, almonds & pecans
• cranberry rosemary apple sauce

When I went to San Francisco recently I had a small mission to accomplish: buy Root liquor. Root is a traditional spirit produced by a group of Philly artists known as Art in the Age and they’ve created this root beer wallop from a recipe not seen since the early 20th century. It’s readily available in Philadelphia and in a few North Carolina locations, but not at all available in Canada. Luckily, I found it at Cask, a great San Francisco shop filled with hard-to-find small-batch spirits. $40 later and it was carefully swathed into my luggage bound for Vancouver.

When I got it home, I was eager to give it a taste test to find out it the beautiful packaging outsmarted the flavour inside. Thankfully, the inside is just as beautiful as the outside. We had it over ice and it’s very root beer-ish but with nice herbal notes and it gives a pleasant chest-warming glow. It’s the perfect adult root beer. While I want to try it over ginger beer or mixed with a bit of club soda (there are a lot of great looking recipes & videos on the Art of the Age website), I figured I could use this stuff in baking.

As for the root beer cake, I had been wanting to make this cake forever. The recipe is adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking cookbook which is a well-used cookbook in my kitchen (remember the clumpy crisp granola & the white-out cake?). While I followed the recipe for the cake I decided not to make the fudge root beer frosting, but try out a Root-flavoured whipping cream instead. I thought the whipped cream would be closer to the idea of a root beer float and would pair nicely with the Root liquor.

The cake was well-loved. It’s not too heavy on the root beer – in fact, the cocoa really over powers the flavour of the soda in the cake, so I think it would be safer to call this a really simple & delicious chocolate cake. However, with the addition of the Root cream (get your mind out of the gutter!), this cake is totally over-the-top awesome. If you can’t get ahold of Root, you could try subbing in some root beer schnapps or extract instead.

Want more boozy cake ideas? Try these beloved ones from my archive:

• Jacked up banana bread
• Vegan bittersweet ganache bourbon cupcakes
• Red ale chocolate cake

Elsewhere: You can hear me waxing on about my dream flavour of ice cream over at ReadyMade or drink up a gallon or two of fridge-brewed iced tea over at Poppytalk. It’s hot, it’s seasonal, get some blog refreshment!

root beer cake
(cake recipe adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking)
2 c root beer (not diet!)
1 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 c unsalted butter
1 1/4 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/4 t baking soda (or 3 T baking powder)
1 t salt
2 large eggs

root cream
1/2 pint of heavy cream
1 T maple syrup
3 T Root liquor (or 1 T root beer schnapps* or 1-2 t of root beer extract)
1 t vanilla extract

1 maraschino cherry for garnish (optional)

For the cake:
1. Butter and flour a large round cake tin (or 2 small cake tins like I did to make 2 cakes). Preheat oven to 325F.

2. In a medium-sized saucepan, combine the root beer, cocoa, butter, white sugar & brown sugar over medium-high heat, stirring often. When the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved, remove from heat and let cool.

3. In a large bowl, blend together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

4. In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs and quickly whisk into the root beer mixture. Pour the root beer mixture into the flour bowl, folding gently until just combined. It’s okay if there are some lumps – don’t over-mix or the batter will become tough.

5. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, rotating the cake 1/2 way through the baking time so it bakes evenly. Test it with a toothpick and it will be done when there is no wet batter clinging. Let cool briefly on a wire rack. Use a knife to run to loosen the cake from the pan and overturn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For the whipped cream:
Whip cream with an electric mixer and when it’s at a softly whipped stage (when soft peaks form), add in the maple syrup and vanilla. Mix until combined and then add in the Root liquor. Continue to whip about a minute or two more until firm peaks form. Spread over the top of the cake and garnish with a maraschino cherry, if desired.

* If using schnapps, don’t add the maple syrup – or just add a bit to taste, as you don’t want the whipped cream to be overly sweet.

Possibly related posts:

• life is better with cake & beer: red ale & chocolate cake
• coconut lime cake: a birthday cake for cornelius

hot buttered rum
1/4 c butter, softened
1/2 t cinnamon
1/4 t nutmeg
1 T brown sugar

4 c water
2 c apple cider
1 large cinnamon stick, broken in 3
4 cardamom pods, slightly crushed
6 cloves
1 T brown sugar

1 t lemon juice per mug
1 1/2 oz amber rum per mug

1. Prepare the butter. Add spices and sugar to butter and mix until well combined. Put in fridge to firm up.

2. In a medium sized pot, add water, cider, spices and sugar and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

3. In 4 mugs, add in 1 teaspoon for lemon juice and one and a half ounces of rum to each mug. Add in 1 rounded teaspoon of the cold spiced butter and then ladle the hot spiced cider to fill each mug. Cheers!

Possibly related posts:

• hot chocolate toddy
• have a boozy christmas: rum balls