Firewater Friday - Basil Cucumber Margarita

This cocktail combines and interesting mixture of ingredients to make a unique and refreshing beverage.

Basil Cucumber Margarita

2 Ounces Tequila
1.5 Limes
1 Ounce Clear Agave Nectar
Fresh Basil
3 Slices Cucumber

Muddle the basil and cucumbers in the agave nectar.

Add the tequila, lime juice, and rocks.

Shake very well, and pour over the rocks, no salt.

Add a dash of white or black pepper on top.

Garnish with a cucumber slice.

Firewater Friday - Cucumber, Basil and Tequila Cooler

Cucumber, Basil and Tequila Cooler

1/4 Large Cucumber, Peeled and Cut Into Large Chunks

1/2 Cups Loosely Packed Basil Leaves

1/8 Cup Loosely Packed Mint Leaves

Juice of 1 Lime, Divided

1/2 Ounce Agave Nectar

4 Ounces Sprite or Club Soda

Ice Cubes

1 Shot of Tequila 

Cucumber Slice, For Garnish

Place cucumber, basil, mint and juice of 1/2 lime in the bowl of a food processor and blend for 30 seconds. 

Allow mixture to sit for at least 15 minutes or longer if you have time. 

Put mixture through a fine colander or sieve, pressing on solids to get as much liquid out as possible. Discard solids.

Put liquid in a cocktail shaker or jar. Add remaining lime juice and sweetener and shake well. Taste for sweetness and add more syrup if desired.

Pour even amounts of liquid into two ice-filled glasses and top with lemon-lime soda. Stir in tequila and garnish with cucumber.

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How my garden grows . . . everything's coming up beans!

The beans are coming on full force and I'm lovin' it!  It's interesting.  If I look at the bean plants all I see are leaves and vines.  But if I happen to spot bean pods it's like a window opens up and all I see is bean pods everywhere dripping from every vine.  They are the masters of camouflage   

Today I picked another big batch of beans . . . literally pulling them off the plants by the fistful.  And I have plants that haven't even started growing pods yet but lots of blossoms.  

This is the first year I've grown beans and I have to say that its very rewarding.  They are easy to grow and the really produce.  We have a garden so we can stock our pantry and the bean plants are making an excellent contribution.

This week I managed to empty out my veggie drawer which was stuffed with tomatoes, cucumbers and beans by preserving them.    I canned the tomatoes for sauce, made dilly beans, cucumber pickles and pickled peppers.

Today I filled it right back up again and that's not including the beans.  Additionally, I filled a gallon sized baggy up with those.  Time to whip out the canner again.

Besides the beans, I harvested a pile of tomatoes that were surprisingly unmolested, several cucumbers, a zucchini and one pea pod.

I go to the garden between 5 and 6  in the morning (I have to be to work at 8).  The garden is at the point where I either have time to either pick veggies or weed.  I'd rather have weeds than a garden full of rotting vegetables.  However, I try to pull as many of the most obnoxious ones as I can.

Gardening rocks!

Firewater Friday - [sic] 'em!

I read a lot.  I see '[sic]' in text all of the time but I never really knew what it meant.  I had what I thought was a rough idea . . . enough so that I didn't make any sort of effort to figure out exactly what it meant. I notice that it usually appears next to a word that is misspelled . . . so I assumed it had something to do with that.  But I'm reading a book now that it's appearing all over the place which prompted me to find out precisely what it means.  Because I don't really no [sic].


I found out that it is used when quoting text and is meant to show that how it appears in the original.  It follows the unusual/incorrect word or phrase. Usually, when referring to uncommon spellings or out of use words or language.  


Sic is Latin and short for sicut which means "thus", or more specifically "thus was it written".   Basically, it's an indicator by the author who is basically saying, "Hey, I'm not stupid.  I know it's spelled wrong but that's the way was originally written.  So, don't bust my chops." 

As a side note, when people want a dog to attack you might hear them say, “sic ‘em!”   They're not saying "thus 'em"; like that would make any kind of sense.   "Sic" used in this way is actually is variation of the word "seek" . . . as in "seek them!" or "pursue them!".

Dill Cucumber Gin & Tonic 

Cool, light and quite refreshing

2 Springs Fresh Dill

Cucumber, Sliced Thing

1 Shot Gin

Tonic Water

Lime

In a rocks glass gently muddle 2 sprigs of fresh dill. 

Add three long, skinny slices of cucumber

Fill glass with ice.

Add gin and fill with tonic water.

Add a squirt of fresh lime juice top of the drink


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