Fresh Blueberry Syrup (for Blueberry drinks)

Blueberries are some kind of crazy good-for-you food. Like, super good. Fountain of youth good (don't quote me on that). But, once baked into a pie, their greatness gets cancelled out a bit, so, have blueberry juice. How freakin' refreshing would THAT be! Alton Brown (whose show "Good Eats" I have taken to DVRing, in case you hadn't noticed) didn't mention anything about the alcoholic applications of this, but I think it would make a wicked blueberry martini!

4 cups of blueberries
2 cups of water
7 oz of sugar
1 oz lime juice

1) Bring the blueberries and water just to a boil, then reduce the heat and let them simmer for 15 minutes
2) Drain them into a cheesecloth-lined collander that's sitting in a nice deep bowl, and let them cool for 15 minutes (so you don't burn yourself when it comes to step 3
3) Pick up the corners of your cheesecloth, and wring it out, getting as much of the juice out as you can
4) Return the juice to your original saucepan, add the sugar and lime juice, and bring to a boil for 2 mins till the sugar dissolves (give it a bit of a stir of course)
5) Pour it into a heat-proof glass jar that you have a lid for
6) Let cool for an hour
7) Store in fridge. Alton leads me to believe that this would keep from 6 months to forever)

To use: mix 1/4 cup of the blueberry syrup with 8 oz of carbonated or seltzer water, serve over ice.

You'll have to find your own blueberry martini recipe, but, I imagine it would just involve reducing the amount of seltzer water and adding vodka or something.

I'm SO going blueberry picking this summer and making this syrup. And my aunt's no-bake blueberry pie thats also somewhere on this blog.

Faux-range Julius

I love Orange Julius drinks, love 'em. Never thought to try and make one myself, but Alton Brown (gotta love 'im) has given me a recipe. So, I am putting here so I can easily find it again, and in case anyone else has a love for them too.

6 oz of frozen OJ (about 8 standard sized cubes*)
2 oz fresh OJ
zest from half an orange
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1T powdered sugar **

Place all that in your blender, blend, and serve immediately. Its no good after too long, and there is no reblending.


*best to make them in cube form so they blend easily
** must be powdered, because the cornstarch used as an anti-clumping agent will thicken up the drink and give it a nice frothy head

Spiced Apple Cider

This is a favorite on a cold winter evening curled up in front of a fireplace or a fantastic holiday treat for parties and guests. For the more adventurous, add a little apple brandy to spice things up.

• 1 gal. unfiltered apple cider
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 6 oz. frozen lemonade
• 6 oz. frozen orange juice
• 1 tbsp. whole cloves
• 1 tbsp. whole allspice
• 1 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 5-6 whole cinnamon sticks

Combine unfiltered apple cider, brown sugar, frozen lemonade and frozen orange juice in a large pot. Place the spices in a cheesecloth and tie into a ball using twine or a string. Float the bundle in the liquid and warm over medium-low heat for 30 - 60 minutes. Leave it over low heat all night for holiday guests — if it lasts that long!