Made up a cocktail, was pretty good. Apple cider, honey whiskey, bitters, squeeze of lime, ginger beer, sugar rim. I had two, so I must have liked them.
Lilac & lime simple syrup
Lilac & lime simple syrup. Delicate sweet + citrus floral flavor, nice with gin and tonic (got to keep that malaria away), would also be nice with seltzer water. I’ll have 9 little bottles at the art fair Saturday.
I meant to make this earlier — by the time I got around to it, most of my purple lilac petals had fallen, so I ended up with mostly pink petals, which made a sort of brown syrup.
Usually, if you add citrus to lilac syrup, it’ll turn purple, but I think the pink is just not strong enough color for that, so I ended up with a sort of melon-y color? Still pretty, though it doesn’t particularly shout ‘lilac’ when you look at it. 🙂
Some recipes recommend adding a few blueberries to get a purple color — I didn’t have any on hand, but maybe I’ll try that next year. This recipe suggests that, for example: https://www.havocinthekitchen.com/lilac-syrup/
They also suggest uses: “Think of fancy cocktails, refreshing lemonades, or over your ice cream. Enjoy with pancakes, crepes, and French toasts. Besides, it would be great as a part of desserts, soak cake, topping for your oatmeal, and a dressing for your fruit salads.”
Holiday Party
Holiday party — I was so busy talking to people that I didn’t take any pictures of my guests during the party, which is a shame! Especially because we had a really nice crowd — about 50-60 people, I think, with a great mix of old friends from college, long-time friends, new friends and colleagues, adorable little children, grad students and undergrad students of mine, a bunch of Kavi’s high school friends, and even a smattering of local elected officials.
It felt more like one of our old parties than it’s felt in quite a long time — well, since December 2019, I guess. Stupid pandemic. I’d still say we were at maybe 75% of pre-pandemic party; a good dozen or so folks had to cancel at the last minute because of colds and fevers. I think people are being more conscientious about that than they were before COVID, which is a good thing — we all went to work and school and party too often when we were sick back then. But they were missed.
I also think I should really hire some help for these parties going forward — it feels a little weird to do so for a family party, but if I have a student worker who can be tasked with refilling trays as they empty, clearing the sink, and taking out the trash when it’s full, then I’d get to spend more time talking to my guests. My only regret for this party is that especially for the people who came early, when I was still finishing up tasks, I didn’t get to talk to them as much as I’d have liked.
Kevin does his share, of course, and the kids help out a bit, but for this big a party, it’d be nice to just have someone tasked with those jobs.
I did hire some help beforehand — Eliana and Gabriella came the day before and helped with all the outside decorating and hanging the garlands indoors, which was super-useful. And various of my students did help out before and during the party. I love having my creative writing students attend, and getting to introduce them to other writers and academics. 
In retrospect, I wish I’d invited my lit. students too — next time! And I got to introduce two grad students I’m working with to each other, so that was nice.
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A few food notes:
– the dish I got the most compliments on was the brinjal moju (eggplant pickle, but it’s not a pickle like an American pickle) — recipe in Vegan Serendib, but I will be very nice to you and post it here as well. People kept seeking me out to ask what it was and tell me how good it was. It’s SO tasty on toasted naan, I think I pretty much have to make it for every party going forward. And I should make a double batch, because it was entirely demolished by halfway through the party. Sorry, latecomers!
– another hit were the lemon snowball truffles — I don’t have a recipe for you yet, because these were a little tricky — I wanted more lemon in my ganache, and so I added citric acid, but that ‘broke’ the cream, and I had to fix it by warming another couple T of cream and whisking that in. Which all worked fine, but it’s fussy to write up for a recipe. Maybe I’ll make them again for our New Year open house potluck, if we have it, and see if I can write up the recipe in a coherent and reliable way. Little bites of lemon heaven.
– I also made an ice ring for the punchbowl for the first time, which I realize isn’t a revelation for anyone, but hey, it worked great, and I am absolutely going to do it again whenever we pull out the punchbowl. At least one of my bundt cake pans got some use! I had pomegranate seeds, sliced circles of lime, and cranberries in this one, which separated themselves into layers. The punch had to be refilled twice, so I guess people liked that too — very simple mix of cranberry juice, pineapple juice, and ginger ale, in roughly equal proportions.
That’s it for party pics! Here’s the brinjal moju recipe:
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Eggplant Pickle / Brinjal Moju
(20 minutes prep + 30 min. cooking time, feeds 8 as an accompaniment)
Eggplant was the one thing I wouldn’t eat as a kid — I had a visceral reaction to the texture. But I adore it now, due to preparations like this, which really transform the texture — the eggplant here is a little chewy, a little soft, and supremely flavorful. If you leave the onions whole, they’ll retain a little crunch when you bite into them; it’s also fine to cut them and let them soften and crisp up more.
We call it a pickle, but brinjal moju is a quick-pickle — you can eat it right away, though it’s even tastier after the flavors (sweet, spicy, tangy) have had a chance to meld for a few hours. It’s terrific on a sandwich too! Try brinjal moju with coconut roti and big slices of grilled portobello mushroom (oil and salt and grill for a few minutes) for a hearty and delicious vegan lunch; it’d also pair beautifully with grilled chicken or roast beef.
(Thanks to Samanthi Hewakapuge for tips on how her family prepares this!)
NOTE: Pearl onions can be a little tricky to find in America; I often buy mine frozen at the Indian grocery store. They thaw well for use in preparations like this. But shallots also work; you want that type of delicate flavor.
1 lb. eggplant (any kind), cut into thick matchstick shapes (about 2 in. long)
1/2 t. turmeric
1 t. salt
oil for deep frying
1.5 c. shallots or pearl onions (cut large ones down to about 1 in.)
3-4 green finger hot chilies (or 10-15 Thai chilies)
1 T ginger, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1-3 t. cayenne (depending on how hot you want it)
1 T. ground mustard
1 1/2 – 2 T sugar
1/3 c. vinegar
1. Place eggplant in a bowl, add turmeric, salt, and enough water to cover. Leave for at least 10 minutes; if you need to leave it to sit for longer, that’s fine.
2. Take the eggplant out by handfuls and squeeze the water out, transferring to another bowl or plate.
3. Heat oil in a deep pan and fry eggplant in batches (to golden-brown), removing to a plate lined with paper towels.
4. Use the same oil to fry the shallots or pearl onions, then fry the green chilies, removing to the paper towel-lined plate.
5. Pound ginger and garlic together in a mortar and pestle (or combine in food processor).
6. In a large bowl, combine ginger-garlic paste with remaining ingredients, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Taste and adjust flavors.
7. Stir in shallots and green chilies, then gently stir-in the eggplant. Set aside for a few hours to let the flavors blend, then serve with rice and curry, or with bread.
NOTE: Brinjal moju will keep in the fridge for a few weeks, or follow proper canning procedures to store for longer. Makes a little over a pint for canning — eggplant cooks down quite a lot.
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Maybe Don’t Get Up On The Ladder
Making fruitcake? Take that bottle of brandy and pour yourself a nice glug. Add some of the cherry syrup from the jar of glacé cherries, some cherry or orange bitters, some clementine and cherry for garnish. Juice the rest of the clementine into the glass.
Take that with you when you’re wrestling the lights for the tree…maybe don’t get up on the ladder, though.
Tizana
Cooking for the Venezuelan refugees. This is a little bit of an adaptation — browsing recipes, I came across ‘tizana,’ which is similar to sangria, but without the red wine. A refreshing fruit and juice drink.
Usually it has grenadine (pomegranate syrup), which gives it a characteristic color. I didn’t have any on hand, but I did have pomegranate molasses, and one recipe suggested that you could substitute that with some simple syrup. I have lots of flavored syrups on hand, and I could’ve made some plain simple syrup, but I thought it might be interesting to try a little rose syrup in the mix.
So not quite traditionally Venezuelan, but the color is beautiful and the taste is delicious, I think. Hopefully they like it! I’m going to send along some ginger ale too, so they can mix to their taste; club soda would also work. Fabulous summer drink.
Here’s a base recipe, although it’s very much subject to variation: https://mommyshomecooking.com/venezuelan-tizana/
Elderflower & Ginger White Wine Spritzer
I promised y’all an elderflower cocktail & mocktail, didn’t I? Here you go!
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Elderflower & Ginger White Wine Spritzer
This is a sweet summer drink, with spicy ginger balancing the sweet florals of the elderflower. If you’d prefer to let the elderflower be the star of the show, try combining the wine with 1.5 oz. elderflower syrup and 1.5 oz. sparkling water instead.
All ingredients should be well-chilled! Combine in a glass and enjoy.
5 oz. white wine
1 oz. elderflower syrup
2 oz. ginger beer
*****
Elderflower Rose Float
2 oz. elderflower syrup, chilled
12 oz. (1 typical can) sparkling water (I used blood orange, but you can use the flavor of your choice), chilled
1 scoop rose ice cream (vanilla would also work well)
Combine and enjoy!
Finishing Up Serendib Cocktail Party
Stephanie’s here, and we’re finishing up this little e-book, Serendib Cocktail Party. We promised to do this, and Serendib Tea Party as part of our Vegan Kickstarter, and we’re finally getting these out. If people like them, I may do expanded print versions.
This will have 14 recipes, mostly fruity tropical-ish cocktails & mocktails. If there’s an interest in my doing an expanded print edition, I’d like to add:
– more recipes overall (maybe 16-20 total?)
– a tasty and interesting mocktail for every cocktail (not just ‘leave out the alcohol’), so the book is equally as useful for those who are sober or throwing a sober party
– seasonal divisions, so there are cocktails for spring, summer, fall, and winter (which means I have to develop a bunch more fall and winter cocktails, oh noes)
– suggested appetizers that you could serve with them (I don’t want to fill the book with food, I think, but at least 1-2 for each season?)
Exciting! Book book.
Muscari Moon-Grape Cocktail
Grape hyacinths buds and blooms (not the stems / leaves) are edible — standard hyacinths are not. They have a very light flavor, but the real fun is in the color — purple on its own, but with the addition of lemon juice, a delightful pink.
1 to 2 oz. Hendrick’s Lunar Gin
1/2 oz. muscari (grape hyacinth) simple syrup
1/2 oz. fresh squeezed lemon juice
ice
1. To make simple syrup, gather 1/3 c. muscari buds and blooms (do not use stems or leaves), combine with 2/3 c. sugar and 2/3 c. water in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, simmer ten minutes, strain and compost buds and blooms.
2. Add ice to a cocktail glass, then add gin, muscari syrup, and lemon juice — stir gently and enjoy the color change, from pale purple to cool pink.
3. Garnish with slice of lemon wheel and/or muscari flower and serve.
NOTE: For a non-alcoholic version, try substituting Seedlip Garden 108 for the gin — the resulting mocktail has an interestingly vegetal note, somewhat like cucumber.
A Nice Cup of Heartening Chai
Midway through the first week of the semester, and I’m already tired! Time for a nice cup of heartening chai, to help me get through ’til Friday… And it turns out, it’s easy to make a vegan version of chai too!
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Chai
I’ve been delighted to see coffee shops across America start serving chai; as someone who for most of her adult life rarely drank coffee, it was lovely having other options. (I’ve recently become a coffee convert, mostly by necessity!) But I admit to often being disappointed in American coffeeshop chai—it’s often made from powder, and is painfully grainy. And even when it’s smooth, it’s generally under-spiced and over-sweetened.
This is chai the way I like to make it when I’m feeling indulgent with myself; I vary the spices, and might also add peppercorns or nutmeg. Though I admit, most of the time at home, I just use Stash’s ready-made Chai Tea bags, which are surprisingly tasty. I often have a cup of the decaf version at night, as I’m getting ready to go to bed, and then I sleep like a baby.
4 cups coconut milk or your favorite non-dairy milk
6 black Ceylon tea bags
2 2-inch cinnamon sticks
5 cloves
5 cardamom pods
5 slices fresh ginger
jaggery or brown sugar to taste, about 2-4 tsp.
1. In a saucepan, bring milk almost to a boil (but not quite).
2. Turn down heat and add tea, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, and ginger. Simmer tea and spices in milk until well-brewed. The mixture should be aromatic and have a light-brown color.
3. Add sweetener to taste; stir until well blended.
4. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into four mugs. Serve hot.
Vatallappam Cocktail
New recipe for New Year’s Eve!
Vatallappam Cocktail
(serves 2, indulgently)
Vatallappam is a lovely rich custardy dessert that’s characteristic of Sri Lanka, similar to flan, but made with coconut milk and adorned with aromatic spices. Palm jaggery (or dark brown sugar) lends it depth (you can substitute kithul treacle instead, if you like), and rosewater adds a subtle floral note. This is definitely a dessert-y kind of cocktail!
The egg white / aquafaba is entirely optional; it’s delicious without. But is does add a little body and silkiness, and of course, vatallappam the dessert is typically made with eggs.
2 c. coconut milk
1/4 c. grated palm jaggery (or dark brown sugar)
1/4 t. ground cardamom
pinch grated nutmeg
pinch grated cloves
1 T rosewater (optional)
2 egg whites or 2 oz. aquafaba, beaten ’til frothy (optional)
2-4 oz. of dark rum, optional
cashews and sultanas to garnish
1. Chill coconut milk and egg whites / aquafaba, if using, until ready to serve.
2. Combine coconut milk, jaggery, cardamom, nutmeg, cloves, rosewater, and egg whites / aquafaba, if using, in cocktail shaker. Add rum if desired.
3. Shake vigorously for at least thirty seconds. (Alternately, combine in a pourable measuring cup and whisk until well-blended and frothy.)
4. Pour into two glasses and serve. Accompany, if desired, with a small bowl of cashews and sultanas.
