Holding onto the Taste of Summer

Our summer Up Home (how we refer to our house in Pennsylvania) is almost finished and we are getting ready to move everything Down Home (the house in Florida). This is an unenjoyable process of winterizing the house, mowing and weedwhacking, fixing the drainage in the driveway and lots and lots of cleaning inside and out. Anything that attracts mice inside and bears outside has got to go. I’ve been diligently feeding the songbirds and hummingbirds so they have energy for migration and fattening up the squirrels so they will be comfortable until I come back up for the holidays. As I take in the last bit of green for the year up here on our acreage, I collect some last remnants of the season- some wild mint. You can still smell it six feet away even this late in the year. I have been known to collect it, clean it, dry it in a low oven until crispy and use it for tea, but I prefer it in more “sunshine friendly” applications, such as incorporating it into sweetened cocktails!

A simple syrup is one of the easiest and most versatile of kitchen ingredients. By definition it is a 1:1 ratio of sugar and water simmered on the stove until the sugar is completely dissolved. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. With a vodka cocktail of fresh mint and bright lemon, it could be snowing outside and the porch will still call to me.

I take the washed mint, the zest (try to keep the bitter white pith to a minimum) and juice of one fresh lemon to the simple sugar pool and let them simmer together for the flavors to incorporate and the sugar to completely dissolve. Take it off the burner and cover. When its completely cooled, transfer over to a decorative clean bottle and refrigerate. Remember that this is free of preservatives so it won’t keep for long before it starts growing funk. Only make enough to last about a week.

Some other combinations to try:
Lime and basil
Berry and rosemary
Orange and fennel