14 | June | 2012 | A Taste of Morning

For those of you who haven’t yet discovered it, Boozed + Infused is a wonderful and creative blog by two sisters – Alicia and Eileen. Its theme is preserving seasonal flavors by infusing them in alcohol and, of course, tasty ways to then enjoy those infusions. Alicia’s Blueberry Gin inspired me to give it a try and to try it out in some original cocktails. Thank you, Alicia, for letting me share! (Alicia, by the way, says that she got some of her inspiration from Post Prohibition. Isn’t it great how inspiration works?) I tried several recipes made with the Blueberry Gin. I loved Alicia’s Blueberry Pieball cocktail. Of the cocktails that I created, my favorite was Blueberry Gin & Tonic which, by the way, would make an excellent cocktail for the 4th of July. Have you any 4th of July favorites?

Blueberry Gin: Two Methods.

Boozed + Infused’s Method

2 c. frozen blueberries

2 c. gin

granulated white sugar

zest of 1 lemon

1/2-inch cinnamon stick

2 whole cloves

Cook blueberries in a saucepan for 5 minutes, lightly crushing them as they cook. Pour into a 1-qt. jar, add the other ingredients, screw on the lid to the jar, and shake well. Let sit for 1 month, shaking occasionally. (I got impatient and tried the gin in cocktails after a week and a half. It was already very tasty.) Strain and filter. (Alicia says to use a colander, cheesecloth, jellybag and coffee filter. I just used a fine mesh tea filter, but maybe after the gin sits for a whole month more aggressive filtering is needed.)

A Shortcut Which Will Do in a Pinch to Make Cocktails.

1 c. 100% Blueberry Juice Concentrate (I used Dynamic Health Laboratories brand, which I had bought to make the ice cubes called for by Alicia’s Blueberry Pieball recipe – because I couldn’t find plain blueberry juice.)

5 c. gin

2 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice

Combine ingredients in a glass jar. Shake well. Chill until serving.

Blueberry Gin & Tonic

4 oz. blueberry gin

3 oz. tonic water

1/2 oz. lime juice

slice of lime

Fill a tall glass with ice. Add gin, tonic water, and lime juice. Stir. Garnish with slice of lime. Enjoy!

The Let the Inspiration In Challenge

I’ve gotten so that I love skimming through blogs looking for beautiful photos, tempting recipes, interesting articles, and stopping to read the ones that I like . There are so many posts that I have made a mental note to go back to. Oh, but when? I have so much to do. Yet, I recognize that I will be missing something in what these talented people – whose works I like – are writing about unless I take the time to actually let it move me to do something; and I would like to make that effort even though I’ll never get to everything. Hence my challenge to Let the Inspiration In! (If someone else is already running such a challenge, I guess that we are just thinking alike.)

If you want to join me, the details of the challenge are as follows:

(1) Once a week for a month, try out something inspired by a post that you have “liked”.

(2) The category could be cooking, gardening, photography, art, fitness, wellness, travel, etc. … but nothing crazy or dangerous.

(3) Don’t necessarily attempt to duplicate what the blogger did. For example, you might make a recipe exactly as directed or you might substitute ingredients. A photograph of a bird might make you want to go out and do some wildlife photography … or even write a poem. An article about travel might inspire you to plan a vacation.

(4) When you try something out, in one of your posts acknowledge the people who inspired you and post a comment on their blog(s) to let them know. (If you don’t have a blog of your own, just post a comment.)

(5) If you find the challenge fun, do it for another month!

If you try it out, let me know. I’d love to hear from you!