Cocktails, Schmocktails! Cucumber-Lime-Mint Elixir and Tarragon-Meyer Lemon Syrup

Refreshing Beverage of the Week
Lately, I find more people are looking for non-alcoholic options at cocktail hour. There are many options out there which include alcohol-free spirits as well as vegetable and fruit mixers. Most of them are simply awful, so I started making my own. I work with a client who has to monitor her glucose intake, so most fruit concoctions are out. Which leaves delicious vegetables and citrus! I have 2 recipes to share which are great mixed with tonic, ginger ale, or plain old seltzer. And if you aren't avoiding booze, I suggest hitting them with vodka, tequila, or gin.

  

Cucumber-Lime-Mint Elixir

Ingredients
2 3-inch pieces lemongrass, crushed with a hammer or meat pounder (or a squeeze of lemongrass paste)
2 large English cucumbers, rinsed
2 large bunches mint, leaves only
2 whole limes, rinsed
7-10 large basil leaves
2 cups water
1 cup granulated sugar (or sugar substitute like Swerve)
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract

Procedure
Cut up cucumber and limes (skin and all) and throw into blender along with everything else. Purée till smooth and then strain. Mix with ginger ale, tonic or lemon lime mixer over ice.

Tarragon-Meyer Lemon Syrup

Ingredients
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons honey
1 small bunch tarragon, plus some for garnish
1 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice
1 cup sparkling or still water, divided

Procedure
Combine the sugar, water, vanilla, honey, and thyme into a pot and stir over a medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Strain to remove tarragon and allow to cool. Stir in lemon juice. Pour the syrup and lemon mixture into a glass with ice and top with 1/4 cup soda water. Garnish with a sprig of tarragon.

What's your favorite mocktal?

Spicy Korean Chicken with Cucumber Pickle

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
At our last festive get-together I planned a dazzling menu of international cuisine. I was planning on serving my new obsession: spicy, non-greasy, super crisy, not-even-messy, Korean wings. Then I thought about it, and realized the best way to eat them is from the fryer straight into your mouth and that would keep me in the kitchen the whole party. So I had a rethink and decided to use similar ingredients, but turn it into a chicken dish that could be eaten over rice or made into lettuce wraps. Korean food is complex and each bite has a great assortment of flavors. This marinade would also be fabulous on shrimp, chicken, beef ... you name it!



Ingredients for marinade
3 green onions, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/3 cup Gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon sesame oil
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1 pound chicken (thighs, breasts, or thin strips of chicken)

Ingredients for pickle
2 Lebanese cucumber thinly sliced
1 long red chili pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

To serve
green onions, thinly sliced
sesame seeds, toasted
brown rice
butter lettuce leaves (if you want to make wraps)

Procedure
For the marinade, place the onions, garlic, soy sauce, hot pepper paste, sugar, honey, sesame oil and the rice wine vinegar in a small food processor. Blend until combined. Reserve 2 tablespoons of the marinade and set aside. Place the chicken in a large ziplock bag and add remaining marinade. Toss to coat and refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the cucumber, chili papper, green onions, sugar, rice wine vinegar, and cilantro in a medium bowl. Toss to combine and set aside.

Remove chicken from marinade. Heat a lightly oiled, thick-bottomed sauté pan over medium heat and cook chicken for 6 to 8 minutes, turning regularly, or until cooked through. Place on a serving platter and sprinkle with the green onion and sesame seeds.

Serve with the cucumber salad, brown rice, lettuce, and reserved marinade.

Fattoush

Sexy Salad of the Week
Fattoush is a Middle Eastern salad with bread in it. The Italians make Panzanella salad which is similar, but they use baguette and this uses pita. Basically this technique is a great way to use up old bread, and a great way for salad dressing to soak in and make a salad more filling. It's a full meal if you want it to be. There are millions of variations on this concept, so feel free to make it your own. I like this version which I tweaked from Bon Appetit magazine because it uses pomegranate molasses which is really pungent and delicious.

Ingredients for Dressing
4 teaspoons ground sumac, soaked in 4 teaspoons warm water for 15 minutes
3 tablespoons (or more) fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (or more) pomegranate molasses
2 small garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons (or more) rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh mint
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt

Ingredients for Salad
2 8-inch-diameter whole wheat pita breads, halved, toasted until golden brown, broken into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
3 medium ripe tomatoes, chopped, or 4 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 pound Persian cucumbers, or one 1-pound English hothouse cucumber, quartered lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
6 scallions, thinly sliced
1 medium head romaine lettuce, trimmed, cut crosswise into 3/4-inch strips
2 cups (loosely packed) flat-leaf parsley leaves
1 cup fresh mint leaves
Ground sumac (optional)

Procedure for Dressing
Combine sumac with soaking liquid, 3 Tbsp. lemon juice, 2 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses, garlic, 2 tsp. vinegar, and mint in a small bowl. Gradually add oil, whisking constantly, until well blended. Season with salt; add more lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, and vinegar to taste, if desired. Then set aside.

Procedure for Salad
Place pita pieces in a medium bowl; pour oil over and toss to coat. Season pita to taste with salt.
Mix tomatoes and next 6 ingredients in a large bowl. Add 3/4 of dressing; toss to coat, adding more dressing by tablespoonfuls as needed. Season with salt. Add pita; toss once. Sprinkle sumac over, if desired. Enjoy!

Cucumber Basil Spritzer

Refreshing Beverage of the Week
I got some good feedback from my people last week because they liked the healthy bent of the show. So I thought I would do a simple, non-alcoholic beverage this week. After all, I try to give the people what they want!

Ingredients
1 cucumber, peeled and seeded and chopped
2 limes, zested and juiced
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup sugar
8 Basil leaves
32 ounces club soda (4 cups)

Procedure
Add cucumber and 1/4 cup water to the food processor and process until liquefied. Make a simple syrup by combining sugar, lime zest and remaining 1/4 cup water and bring to the boil.Chill this til ready to use. To assemble drink, place 2 basil leaves juice from 1/2 a lime,and 1 tablespoon simple syrup in the bottom of a tumbler. Using the back of your spoon crush the basil till it smells delicious. Now add 2 tablespoons cucumber puree and top with 8 ounces club soda. Stir gently to mix. This recipe makes 4 drinks.

Flavored Ice Cubes

Excellent Ingredient of the Week
Ice cubes — are they really an ingredient? They can be, and I think it's time! Why not make some creative ice cubes to flavor your beverages? Here are some great ideas:

Cucumber-Basil Puree Cubes

Combine 1 cup water, 1 cucumber (peeled and seeded), 1/4 cup torn basil, and some coarse salt in a blender and freeze in an ice-cube tray. Nice in tomato juice.

Orange-Lime

Combine 1 1/2 cups orange juice, 2 tablespoons lime juice, and 1 teaspoon lime zest in a bowl and freeze in an ice-cube tray. These would be great in lemonade.

Coffee or Herbal Tea

There is nothing worse than watery, cold coffee, which is what one gets when conventional ice cubes go into the glass. This task is easily accomplished by pouring your leftover morning coffee into ice cube trays. Once they're frozen, pop them into a freezer bag. Herbal ice tea with the addition of fresh mint will keep your tea fresh or give your sparkling water pizazz.

Passion Fruit and Cilantro

Mix juice with chopped fresh cilantro and freeze in an ice-cube tray. Serve with seltzer or a tequila drink of some kind — get creative!

Ginger and Honey

Mix equal parts water, honey, and grated ginger and freeze in an ice-cube tray. It works best with a vodka tonic.

Cucumber Yogurt Soup

Low-Cal But Still Lovely
This is a super refreshing low-cal soup which is easy to make and great to keep in the fridge for a snack. If you want a little more yogurt flavor, use fat-free Greek yogurt.

Ingredients
1 quart (4 cups) plain nonfat yogurt
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup water
1 lb English cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped fine
1 cup dill, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
a few grinds of fresh black pepper

Procedure
In a large bowl, whisk room temperature stock into the yogurt. Take 1 cup of this mixture and put in blender with about 1 cup of chopped cucumber and blend 'till smooth. Now add this mixture back to the rest of yogurt mixture. Add the chopped cucumber, dill, cumin and mint and mix well. Season with salt, pepper, lemon juice to your taste. Chill at least 2 hours and then enjoy! This makes 6 servings.

Gaston 76

Refreshing Beverage of the Week
You know I love Lillet — that French aperitif, which is both bitter and sweet and great simply on the rocks with a twist of orange. But there is so much more you can do! Monica my computer guru, my link to the future, and my good friend sent me this recipe for a fascinating beverage, which combines Lillet with fresh tarragon and cucumber, so of course I had to try it, and so should you! It’s called the Gaston 76.

Ingredients
1 bottle Lillet infused with 10 sprigs of tarragon for 24 hours
1 English cucumber, chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1 slice lemon

Procedure
Layer a 9 ounce rocks glass with cucumbers, top with lemon wheel, then fill with 1 serving of Lillet. Drink up!

Cucumber Sherbet

Low-Cal But Still Lovely
Here an unusual idea for those of us looking for low-cal sweets. Cucumbers are so refreshing and a great healthy choice, so why not freeze them and make a sherbet?

Ingredients
2 English cucumbers, peeled and seeded
Juice and zest of 2 limes
3 Tablespoons Riesling wine
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup fat free Greek yogurt

Procedure
Put all ingredients in your blender and process until smooth. Pour into your ice cream maker and proceed according to manufacturer's instructions. After 30 minutes in my machine, It will have a bit of an icy texture. Place in freezer overnight if you want it to be firmer.

The Ginger Cooler

Refreshing Beverage of the Week
I spoke to my pal Nouf and got the details for her amazing beverage!

Ingredients for two drinks
2" piece of English cucumber, sliced very thinly
12 mint leaves, a few more if you have them
3 oz. good cognac (if all you have is domestic brandy or dark rum, use that)
2 oz. Velvet Falernum
I juicy lime (about 2 oz. lime juice), plus lime wedges for garnish
1 bottle Maine Root ginger beer

Procedure
Muddle the cucumber and mint with the Velvet Falernum in a shaker. Add ice, cognac and lime juice and give it a good, long shake. Pour over ice into highballs and top with a half bottle of the ginger beer. Garnish with lime wedge.

Cold Cucumber Yogurt Soup

Seasonal Recipe of the Week
Cold refreshing cucumber yogurt soup. A must in the summertime, especially if you get over to the farmer's market and buy those local cucumbers. Not a hint of bitterness. Here are the ingredients for 6 portions:

Ingredients
7 small cucumbers, peeled, cut in half, and seeded
1 clove minced garlic
2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
3 cups Greek yogurt (low fat is fine)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chopped fresh dill
1 teaspoon ground white or black pepper
1 1/4 cup mint leaves
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Garnish
3 finely chopped radishes
6 sprigs fresh mint

Procedure
Cut 6 of the cucumbers into 1 inch pieces. Cut the remaining cucumber into 1/4 inch dice and save for garnish at the end. Combine the 1 inch pieces and the garlic in the food processor and process for 30 seconds. Add chicken stock, yogurt, salt, pepper, cumin, dill, lemon juice, and 3/4 of the mint leaves. Process till smooth. Pass mixture through a strainer (to remove any unpleasant bits) into a large bowl. Coarsely chop remaining mint leaves and stir them into soup. Refrigerate covered for at least 3 hours.

To serve, ladle into chilled bowls, martini glasses, or even hollowed-out cantaloupe halves, and top with radish, cucumber, and sprig of mint. Voila!