It’s day three of Drink Week! Today’s topic is the no-cook fruit syrup. Because sometimes, it’s just too darn hot to turn on the stove for even a minute. This sour cherry version is ideal with a little spritz, so make sure to click over and enter the Sodastream giveaway. Make sure to check out the previous two Drink Week posts, Black Raspberry Syrup and Cherry Bounce and Other Boozy Infusions.

If you search this website, you will see that my obsession with sour cherries is well-documented. There are at least two different jam recipes here, and recently, I’ve been tempted to post a third, since lately I’ve been making a whole sour cherry preserve that would knock your socks off. But this isn’t about cherry preserves. This about a revelation I had recently. It’s the no-cook, whole fruit syrup.

In essence, you put a some fruit in a jar (in this case, two cups of pitted sour cherries). Pour half as much sugar in (one cup of organic cane sugar) and then smash the heck out of the fruit with a wooden spoon, tiny potato masher or the end of a rolling pin (I used a little muddler that looks like a tiny baseball bat). After you’ve taken out your aggressions, just park the jar in the fridge overnight and forget about it.

The next day, check on your jar of sugared and smashed fruit. In some cases, the sugar will be entirely dissolved, but not always. If not, give the jar a good shake (make sure you’ve got a tight-fitting lid on there or you’ll be covered in sticky juice) and put it back. After a day or so of chilling and shaking, you should be left with a jar full of fruit and syrup, ready to be used.

Once it’s gotten nice and juicy, you have two choices. You can either strain the fruit from the syrup, discard it and proceed to use the syrup as you’d like. Or you can do what I do, and add those tender bits of sour cherry to your glass. I like it with some sparkling water and, on occasion, two or three drops of bourbon (for a very mild, faux, fizzy Manhattan). You can also use it to make instant sangria. Just add a few spoonfuls of the sour cherries and their syrup to a glass of red wine, ice cubes and sparkling water. Stir and quaff.

This technique also works with plums, apricots and plums. Try it. I think you’ll be sold.

Oh, and if all this talk of sparkling water has you parched, don’t forget to enter the Sodastream giveaway!

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• Drink Week, Day Five: Rosemary Lemon and Lavender Honey Syrups
• Drink Week, Day Four: Black Raspberry Shrub
• Drink Week, Day One: Black Raspberry Syrup

I’ve been drinking coffee regularly for nearly twenty years. They start us early in Portland, OR, after all. I have at least five methods for brewing close at hand in my 80 square foot kitchen, including three French presses, a porcelain drip cone, a Chemex and an red-handled espresso coffee pot. There’s also my beloved cold brew method.

However, despite all those methods, I’m not what you’d call a coffee snob. I’m not fastidious about the freshness of my beans and I’ve been known to brew elderly pre-ground beans in a desperate moment. However, I find the art of coffee and espresso fascinating. That’s why I was delighted to attend a Illy demonstration and tasting at the new Le Meridien hotel here in Philly a couple of weeks ago.

The session was led by Giorgio Milos. He’s an Illy espresso expert, is a champion Italian barista and is generally more passionate about espresso and coffee than anyone I’ve ever encountered. He walked us through the history of coffee, the way it’s grown, harvested and prepared. After our coffee primer (which included lovely phrases like “coffee should be a pleasure.” Imagine it said with a thick Italian accent), Giorgio introduced us to Illy’s new brewing system, which uses plastic cartridges like so many other new methods and machines.

The machines we tried out didn’t require any human calibration or expertise. You simply popped a plastic capsule into the coffee hopper, turned it to the right and pushed a button. Within 60 seconds, you’d have an espresso. I loved the ease of it and can truly see the appeal. However, I am really uncomfortable with all these new capsule brewing systems, because after each cup, you’re left with a piece of plastic trash to discard. I asked a question about the sustainability of the capsules and was told they are recyclable. Still, I don’t know that I’d be okay with one in my own kitchen because of the waste factor.

That said, I was delighted to steal a little time from regular life and learn a bit more about coffee. Thanks to Le Meridien for hosting us (their house coffee is Illy) and to Giorgio for sharing his knowledge with us. Thanks to all of you for reading and letting me write about something a bit beyond my normal scope (though I’ll have you know, I frequently drink coffee from jars).

And while we’re on the subject, what’s your favorite home brewing method?

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• Herbs in Jars

I have always been a fan of minty things*. As a kid, I would beg my grandfather for some of the Tic Tacs he always carried in on his person (the rattle of that plastic box always takes me back to him as well). I’d trawl the bottom of my mom’s purse for linty Lifesavers. And Christmas time, with its pepperminty candy canes never failed to delight mw.

As the years have gone by, my love of minty things hasn’t diminished, although I find myself gravitating towards less sweet applications than the sticky candies of my youth. Lucky for me, in the last few weeks, I’ve had access to all the mint I can carry, thanks to the garden plot of friends Angie and Thad. They have a most bountiful mint plant and no matter how much we cut from it, the next day it seems to be back, bigger than ever.

We celebrated the 4th of July within spitting distance of that marvelous mint plant, and so I took home a large bouquet after the grilling and drinking was complete. Yesterday, as I tried to clear out the fridge a bit and make room for our lunchtime salads, I pulled that bundle of mint out of the crisper drawer and concocted a plan.

I poured two cups of filtered water into a saucepan and added two cups of cane sugar. I gave the mint a quick rinse (just to get any garden dust off of it) and added it to the pot. I brought the whole thing up to a brief simmer, stirred until the sugar was dissolved and turned off the heat. I let it sit on the stove while I finished the rest of the dishes. When I turned back to it, the syrup was cool enough to handle and I strained it out into a quart jar. Swiping my finger through a trail of drips, I tasted it and was pleased to note that I had captures the green, freshness of the mint perfectly. I plan on mixing this minty simple syrup with sparkling water, for easy evening drinking. You could use it in a mojito if you felt so moved.

This minty simple syrup keeps indefinitely in the fridge. Make an extra jar and stash it away for later.

While we’re on the subject of mint, has anyone made their own mint extract? I did a bit of searching and found that some folks take the same tact that homemade vanilla extract requires (put leaves in vodka, let sit until they’ve given up their essence). Anyone have first-hand experience (I plan on trying it, but thought I’d query the crowd as well).

*Sadly, the man I live with isn’t so fond of the flavor of mint (he searches out toothpaste with the most mild of mint flavor), so I keep my minty habits to myself.

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I’m about half an hour from leaving for the long weekend, but before I take off, I wanted to post this recipe for rhubarb syrup. I’ve actually been seeing this gorgeous, crimson hued concoction all across the internet lately, but figured one more reminder of just how lovely a summer treat it is couldn’t hurt. My initial inspiration came from seeing Carrie Floyd’s refreshing rhubarb soda over at Culinate and I essentially flowed her instructions, although I altered it slightly to accommodate the amount of rhubarb I happened to have (2 1/2 cups). I boiled it with 1 1/2 cups of sugar and a cup of water for about ten minutes. When the rhubarb was sufficiently broken down, I lined a mesh strainer with a couple layers of cheesecloth (I happened to have some around, you could do without, but your syrup might not be as clear) and poured the rhubarb mass in.

I let it still like that for about fifteen minutes, until I had about 2 cups of syrup (the picture above was taken while it was still dripping down, there was almost exactly 2 cups when I was done). I stored it in the cute little pint milk jug I bought (filled with cream) at New Seasons Market last winter when I was in Portland (hey, I paid my bottle deposit, so it was mine to keep should I want to). I’ve been enjoying it in sparkling water for the last couple of days.

What I haven’t done yet, that I’ve been wishing to do, is use this syrup as part of an gently boozy little spritzer. I’m thinking that it would be amazing with a bit of St. Germain or even just with some vodka. The flavor is definitely mild, so you want to pair it with something that won’t overshadow it too much. Needless to say, what remains of my last batch is coming with us this weekend (along with a bottle of Pimms’ for Scott and various and sundry other bar items).

Have a wonderful long weekend, everyone!

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I apologize for the radio silence over the last few days, I’ve been fully preoccupied with celebrating my 30th birthday with the proper amount of energy and attention that a landmark like that deserves. That kind of dedication to celebration doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for writing. I do have lots of good stuff coming up in the next week, including my adaptation of my dad’s from-scratch, whole grain pancake mix, homemade granola and some truly excellent pickles okra (as far as I’m concerned, okra is best served either pickled or breaded and fried) to make up for my neglect.

Before we dig into those goodies, I will leave you with my oh-so-exact recipe for sangria. This is one of my favorite party drinks and so was what I chose to bring to my birthday garden shindig. The night before I want to serve the sangria, I take a large jar (this one holds nearly 2 quarts of liquid, but if you don’t find yourself with a similarly proportioned jar, using two quart jars is fine) and pack it with sliced fruit. This time around I used lemons, limes, oranges, apricots, a couple of white nectarines and some strawberries, because that’s what was available cheaply at my local produce market. You could also use apples, grapes, peaches, plums or mango. Then I poured inexpensive brandy into the jar, until the fruit was covered. Lid on jar and into the fridge for an overnight soak.

When you’re ready to serve the sangria, pour your boozy fruit out into a punch bowl, large pitcher or other serving recepticle. Since we were imbiding outdoors, I used a large, food service-type plastic container. Top if off with 3-4 bottles or one box of red wine (two-buck Chuck is a good wine for this application). I froze a pound of red grapes to use as ice cubes, but managed to forget them in the hustle of getting out the door. They’re a great way to keep your sangria cooled down without watering it into tastelessness. If you like your sangria sweet, add a bit of simple syrup (sugar + water) or do what I did and add a couple of glugs of lemonade to the mix (sacrilege, I know). Ladle sangria into cup and top off with an inch or two of sparkling water to give it some fizz.

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