Food I'm Eating: Olives 2013--First Batch Finished (March 22, 2013)

I bottled our first batch of 2013 olives the day before yesterday. These are made from our own tree--smaller than those from our neighbor's tree. The larger olives are still a little bitter, so I changed the brine they're in and will give them another week or so. I brined these smaller ones on February 10, so they took about five weeks to make, which seems typical for the smaller variety. I bottled up about six pints. The lemons, wine vinegar, garlic, and herbs I added this year give them quite a nice flavor.

Food I'm Eating: Olives 2013 (March 5, 2013)

The olives are coming along nicely. They've been in brine for going on a month now. I started them on February 10. Two years ago when I made olives I simply brined them. This year, following a recipe my neighbor used, I left them in brine for the first three weeks, but a few days ago I drained them and put them in containers with new brine, substituting a quarter cup of red wine vinegar for some of the water and added lemons, bay leaves, and a mix of herbs, including rosemary, thyme, marjoram, and savory--in a typical herbs de Provence sort of blend. The rosemary is from the garden. The smaller olives (I used two varieties, one from our own tree, one from a neighbor's tree) are nearly ready. In fact, I may transfer them back to plain brine sooner rather than later so they don't take on too much of the vinegar character. The larger ones are still somewhat bitter and will require another week or so. The brining seems to take about five to six weeks. So far, they look (and taste) very promising. To see the original post on this blog about this year's olives or about making olives in past years, search on "olives" in the search box.

Miscellaneous: New Cocktail (December 21, 2011)

Cocktails have never been my thing, really. I've always been a wine drinker, but recently I've become curious and done a little research (the seed was planted several years ago when, driving on a whim across the country, I spent two nights at the ancestral Ohio farm of a college associate. He made us martinis on the porch. Then, this summer, I met up with my first college roommate for the first time in decades, in Seattle. He introduced me to the Zig-Zag Café and the wonderful and mysterious concoctions made there).

So far, a classic Manhattan is my favorite mixed drink, although I can appreciate a classic Martini as well (sorry, Mr. Bond--stirred, not shaken--and made using a good, distinctively flavored domestic gin--about one part gin to 1/2 part dry vermouth--none of that silly I'm-so-manly-I-need-no-vermouth routine; if you want straight gin, don't call it a Martini). When I say a "classic Manhattan," I mean a Manhattan made with rye (not bourbon), red vermouth, and Angostura bitters--nothing else--garnished with a real Marasca cherry (expensive, but tasty--the cherries, that is).

There are so many cocktails, though.... It becomes fascinating (and daunting) rather quickly. I wish I weren't such a lightweight. My experimenting is, of necessity, going at a measured pace. Tonight, trying a little alchemy, though, I hit upon a combination I rather liked. Try this: I call it a "Fertile Eve" (Eve because of the Calvados and apple connection, fertile because of the Grenadine, derived from pomegranates, traditionally considered a symbol of fertility).

Fertile Eve (by Colin Talcroft)
1.5 oz Calvados
3/4 oz Red Vermouth
1/2 teaspoon Grenadine
2 dashes Angostura Orange Bitters
Juice of a quarter lemon

Place ingredients in an ice-filled mixing glass. Stir well. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a lemon slice (squeeze the juice into the drink and drop the slice in the glass). You can adjust the sweetness of this drink. If it's too sweet for your taste made according to the recipe, use a little less Grenadine, a little more Calvados, and a add a little more lemon juice.

Try it. You might like it.