A Trip to the Farm with Auntie: Picking Elderflowers

Saturday morning there was a a two-word e-mail from Anthony Boutard at Ayers Creek Farm. Under the subject line "Elders" it read "In bloom." That was enough for me to cancel my plans for the day, gather up my nine-year-old nephew—who was staying with us while his parents had a well-deserved getaway at the coast—and hit the highway.

Elderflower blossoms.

Arriving at the farm, Carol handed over the key to the Gator along with a bucket—my nephew asked if there were seat belts and I hollered, "Nope! Hang on!"—and we bounced along the track Anthony had mowed to a back field. I knew from previous trips that the elderberries were scattered among an eclectic collection of trees on a west-facing slope overlooking the farm's wetland. And sure enough, pretty soon I could see the white clusters of blossoms glowing against the bushes' dark foliage.

Mixed and ready to infuse for three days.

Pulling up to the nearest shrub, the flowery perfume of the blossoms enveloped us, and I set to clipping off the most mature clusters. Trundling through the tall grasses, flitting from shrub to shrub gathering blossoms like bees collecting pollen, the bucket quickly filled and we headed back to the house.

Strain into containers and freeze. Easy!

Back in the city that afternoon, I spent a good two hours pulling the blossoms from the stems, a tedious but necessary job since the dark stems of the flower clusters are toxic, though the tiny green stems attached to each flower aren't a problem. Last year I'd infused vodka with the flowers to make a liqueur similar to St. Germain, the artisanal French product. Since, after a year of aging it had just begun to be drinkable, I decided to make syrup this year, which only takes about three days to be ready to use. (Here's the basic recipe.)

I'd made the simple syrup earlier so it could cool while I picked the flowers from the stems, then I stirred the blossoms into it and covered it with a clean dish towel. Three days later, I strained it through a fine mesh sieve and it was good to go. Dave immediately started trying it out on cocktails, which you'll find below. With almost two gallons of syrup stashed in pint containers in the freezer, I've got plenty to experiment with, so I'll keep you posted as more uses come to light.

Elderflower Gin Spritz

2 oz. elderflower syrup
1 oz. gin
Soda water
Sprig of mint
Strip of lemon zest

Fill Collins cocktail glass two-thirds full of ice. Add elderflower syrup and gin, then top off with soda water. Stir briefly to combine and add mint and lemon zest. For a non-alcoholic but very refreshing drink, simply omit the gin.

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Elderflower Gimlet

2 oz. gin
1 oz. fresh-squeezed lime juice
3/4 oz. elderflower syrup

Fill cocktail shaker with ice, add ingredients, shake very well and strain into martini glass. Garnish with lime wedge.

Spritzers: Simple Summer Sippers

There is nothing better on a summer evening than sitting peacefully on our front porch with the dogs at my feet and a cool drink in my hand. Goodness knows there are summer cocktails aplenty, between mojitos, caipirinhas, and the classic Americano, not to mention gin-and-tonics and gimlets. A nice glass of rosé or a crisp French chardonnay have their occasional attractions, too.

But when I want refreshment rather than a knockout punch, particularly if it's a social gathering in the early afternoon, I'm in favor of something light and bubbly, both cooling and hydrating, with just a splash of alcohol to elevate the mood and take the edge off the day.

I've been playing around with amaros lately, the bittersweet liqueurs of Italy, using the ubiquitous Italian aperitif of Campari, soda, ice and a lemon twist as a model. Cocchi Americano Bianco is a current go-to, with its bright sweetness—I'll often have a couple of ounces of it in a wine glass over ice for sipping in a hot bath—and with three kinds of mint coming up in the garden, all it took was a sliver of lemon peel and a top-up of club soda to make a smashing spritz for our front porch or back yard this summer.

Cocchi Bianco Spritzer

2 oz. Cocchi Americano Bianco
1 sprig mint, bruised
1 strip lemon peel
Club soda

Fill tall highball glass two-thirds full of ice. Add mint. Top with club soda. Squeeze lemon peel, skin-side down, over the drink and submerge the peel in the ice. Stir briefly with cocktail spoon to combine.

Check out these other recipes for cool, refreshing spritzers for summer.

When In Doubt, Spritz!

My husband loves gadgets. I tend to think it's a guy thing, like when our neighbor, when faced with a chore, chimes gaily, "Every project has a tool budget!" as he runs off to the hardware store. I suppose women do the same thing, as when my mother would invariably need a new pair of shoes or earrings or a fresh lipstick to dress up for an evening out.

Cassis spritzer.

When a package appeared on the front porch addressed to Dave, I texted him at work and let him know whatever he'd ordered had arrived. He texted back, "It must be the soda streamer!" My first thought, after an involuntary rolling of my eyes, was, "The what?" and wondered where this tall, heavy implement might be going to live in our already crowded kitchen.

All it took to bring me around, though, was when he got home and mixed an Americano, a light little fizz monster that has become one of my favorite summer cocktails with it's ruby red sparkle and sweet-bitter tang. Considering what commercial soda costs—not to mention the salt and other additives it can contain—it seems like a no-brainer to fill up a bottle with tap water and in a few seconds get a perfectly decent bottle of fizziness.

Rhubarb soda.

Got kids? Make homemade fruit sodas with whatever's in season at the farmer's market. Need a refresher-to-go for a summer afternoon picnic or backyard barbecue? Whip up some lightly alcoholic spritzers that won't fill you up like beer or put you to sleep before dessert (or make driving home dicey).

I've been using my homemade cassis and elderflower syrup to make a few simple spritzes (elderflower spritzer, top photo), which are simple to assemble on demand or would make a beautifully elegant pitcher with slices of lemon or mint sprigs.

Cassis Spritzer

Four ice cubes
1 1/2 oz. cassis (homemade or commercial)
Soda
1/2" wide strip of lemon zest

Place ice cubes in glass. Add cassis and fill with soda. Stir briefly with bar spoon to combine. Holding zest skin-side down over glass, squeeze gently to release oils and drop into glass.

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Elderflower Spritzer

4 ice cubes
1 oz. gin
1 oz. elderflower syrup (homemade or commercial)
Soda
Wedge of lemon
2 mint leaves

Place ice cubes in glass. Add gin and elderflower syrup and fill with sodz. Squeeze lemon wedge and drop into glass. Crush mint leaves with your fingers and drop into glass. Stir briefly with bar spoon.

Slipping Into Summer Sippers

It certainly wasn't something I planned. And it's been one of the real delights of the summer, a result of the haphazard life of a freelance writer, at least the way it's practiced around my house.

The "art" of making syrups from herbs, vegetables and fruit requires little to no craft or skill beyond being able to boil water and measure things, and even that isn't particularly rigorous. A little more, a little less and you'll still be all right.

Lemon-basil gimlet.

My first experience was making an elderflower syrup, the hardest part being finding the elderflowers and picking them just as they were blooming, not too early and not too late. (Thanks to friends Linda, Hank and the always-generous Boutards, it turned out marvelously.) The second time it was a rhubarb syrup, a dead simple technique shared by the Davids (Padberg and Shenaut) at the Raven & Rose.

Like those two previous efforts, my latest involved help from a friend (my brother, Bruce) who discovered the recipe and served it to me a few years ago. And, as with the other syrups, it makes a fabulously refreshing soda spritzer or a deliciously thirst-quenching summer cocktail.

All it takes is basil from your garden or the farmers' market, the fresher the better, a strip or two of lemon peel and some sugar and in little more than an hour you're ready to sit back and sip.

Lemon Basil Syrup

1 c. basil leaves, packed firmly
1 c. water
1/2 c. sugar
3 (2-inch by 1-inch) strips lemon peel

Place all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat and cover. Let stand for 1 hour. Chill in refrigerator or, if you're in a hurry, set pan in shallow bowl of ice water to chill more quickly.

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Lemon Basil Spritzer

1 1/2 oz. lemon basil syrup
Ice
Soda water
Sprigs of mint and basil for garnish (optional)

Fill pint glass with ice. Add syrup. Fill with soda water and stir until combined. Add herb sprigs.

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Lemon Basil Gimlet
Makes one cocktail

1 oz. gin (we like Hendrick's)
1 1/2 oz. lemon juice
1 1/2 oz. lemon basil syrup
Small sprig of basil for garnish (optional)

Fill cocktail shaker 2/3 full of ice. Add gin, lemon juice and syrup. Shake, then strain into a cocktail glass.

This cocktail also works well with vodka, but then it won't have the added herbal qualities of the gin, which we prefer. To make a pitcher of gimlets for a party, please see the recipe on my brother's blog and substitute gin for the vodka. Or not!