Blackberry and Rose Water White Wine-Lillet Blanc Sangria

Hey, welcome. Consider following MSV on Twitter and subscribing to the RSS feed, or sign up for email updates right over here.

Your next spring afternoon pitcher has arrived.

This white sangria—sweetened with a syrup flavored with blackberries and rose water—is an easy-going affair. Choose a dry white, maybe something grassy (such as a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc). You'll add Lillet Blanc (a French fortified wine) to add depth of flavor. I'm currently in love with Lillet-spiked white sangrias. They have more depth than a wine-only recipe, but aren't as stiff as one with liqueur added. Add frozen raspberries and a couple of ice cubes, and get ready to sip away in the sun.

Blackberry and Rose Water White-Lillet Blanc Sangria

Print the recipe

serves 6

750 ml dry white wine, chilled

1 cup Lillet Blanc, chilled

1/4 cup Blackberry-Rose Syrup, recipe follows

1 sweet apple, diced

frozen blackberries (not thawed), to serve

rosemary sprigs, to garnish

Combine wines, syrup, and diced apple in a serving pitcher. Stir to combine. To serve, add two ice cubes and a handful of frozen blackberries to a wine glass. Pour in sangria and garnish with a sprig of rosemary.

Blackberry-Rose Syrup

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup frozen (or fresh) blackberries

1/8 tsp rose water

Dissolve sugar into water, stirring occasionally, in a small pot over high heat. Bring to a boil and immediately add berries. Bring back to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Cook at a low simmer for 30 minutes. Strain, reserving stewed berries for another purpose. Stir in rose water and let cool before using. Store leftover syrup in the refrigerator.

Party Animals No. 57: A Table of Munchies for Xmas Eve (or Whenever You Need)

Hey, welcome. Consider following MSV on Twitter and subscribing to the RSS feed, or sign up for email updates right over here.

I host both Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve at my place for our tiny family. After the big November meal, my husband requested more of a cocktail-party setup for December. We still served ourselves buffet-style for ease. If you need a festive spread for NYE or any other time, may this generous little spread help you with inspiration.

Beverages:

• Kir Royale
• spiced Assam tea Toddy (substituting grade A dark/robust maple syrup for honey)
• for non-alcoholic, spiced tea with hot soy milk and a little extra maple

The munchies menu:

• fresh grapes
• pear chips (pear slices pressed in sugar and baked at low temp for a couple hours)
• rosemary mixed nuts
• spiced oat cookies with espresso glaze
• toasted french bread slices and whole-grain crackers
• smoky almond pâté
• veg cream cheese (Kite Hill recommended) with dill and capers
• ginger fig jam (store bought)
• freshly cracked black pepper
• coconut bacon

Happy entertaining! Here's to the days getting longer and the table being full. Happy New Year's to you all, and thanks so much for hanging with me in this totally bananas year. Onward!

Party Animals No. 53: Fig Paste, Fig Syrup, and Instant Pantry Entertaining

Hey, welcome. Consider following MSV on Twitter and subscribing to the RSS feed, or sign up for email updates right over here.

We have some catching up to do, don't we? Let's get to it.

I missed two weeks in a row, which is a first on MSV. It's a bummer but couldn't be helped. First, briefly, there's a cat in the MSV house feeling poorly.

What's more, that cat feeling poorly is nearly 18 years old. Yeah. I don't wanna talk about it.

Additionally, I have been busy with Libacious. Specifically, we had a couple of jobs that wanted a bunch of original development—much more than would usually go on. First, there was a masquerade murder-mystery birthday party for 12 and 13-year-olds at Westwood, complete with pomegranate sours shaken up for the kiddos. I was not about to miss the chance to design something to pour into a coupe glass for this event.

Also, I got to wear a masquerade mask.

 photo by Casey Fox

So much fun.

That was overlapped with/immediately followed by serving the signature cocktail for Knoxville Botanical Garden and Arboretum's Green Thumb Gala. Meet the Barn Raiser.

photo by Temple Photography

There's a bunch of stuff in here: Assam tea spiced with allspice, black pepper, and cinnamon; fig-turbinado syrup; lemon juice; vodka; orange bitters; and orange blossom water—all garnished with sage leaves pinned to dehydrated orange slices and star anise.

I built the Barn Raiser from scratch, beginning with a single cocktail and scaling it all the way up to 380 servings. It was both nerve-racking and ultimately confidence-boosting, and, happily, brings us to today's recipes.

The fig-turbinado syrup is totally lovely. It obviously works in drinks (alcoholic or otherwise), but you can also drizzle it over vanilla ice cream or use it to jazz up breakfast.

New waffle recipe coming very, very soon, by the way.

What's more, when you finish making the syrup, you'll have some rehydrated figs on your hands, which means you're only moments away from a seriously dreamy batch of fig paste.

Which brings us to a note on instant entertaining, in case it helps anyone. Lots of tips you find online for items to keep on hand for surprise guests involve animal products, so it seems worth noting that a vegan platter does not have to be a chore. I hosted a business meeting on short notice (with Libacious' wildly talented graphic designer, Tricia Bateman), at which I knew we'd be having some special celebratory cocktails all the way from Edinburgh (brought back, thoughtfully, by my business partners).

And I never feel entirely comfortable serving drinks without something to nibble on. I had only about 20 minutes to get something onto the table. If I'd had just 15 or 20 minutes more, an almond pâté log would definitely have been the savory spread on the table, but them's the breaks.

Clockwise from left: lemony chickpea, artichoke, and red pepper spread; two cracker varieties; fig paste; and rosemary mixed nuts.

The artichoke hearts, chickpeas, and red peppers all came straight from the pantry to combine with olive oil, lemon-infused grapeseed oil, a little lemon juice, salt, and dried herbs. That's it. The mixed nuts were purchased roasted and salted. Then there was nothing left to do but briefly toast them on the stovetop with a small amount of olive oil and fresh rosemary.

Tiny crispy fried rosemary needles are hopelessly irresistible, you know.

And, finally, the fig paste. I grabbed a handful of rehydrated figs from the comically large batch on hand from syrup testing and blended it up with a little brandy, dried sage, orange exract, and a touch of orange blossom water (since the figs absorb syrup, not just water, the mixture is plenty sweet already). The whole thing still tastes like spreadable figs, but the additions give the paste a very subtle depth that keeps it from being one-note.

For instant entertaining, you do not have to have pre-soaked figs on hand. Begin your preparations by rehydrating figs (or any dried fruit you have in the cabinet). They will soften while you arrange everything else, then you can finish by blending them up into your paste (sweeten gently, to taste).

It's also especially nice baked into fig bars (instant breakfasts!) or dolloped on a cracker atop Kite Hill cream cheese.

Dead Simple Fig Syrup and Fig Paste

Print the recipe

yields about 10 oz syrup and a scant cup paste

For the syrup:

1 cup water

1 cup turbinado/demerara sugar

1 cup packed dried figs [see Note], roughly chopped

For the paste:

1 tsp brandy

1/4 tsp dried rubbed sage

1/4 tsp orange extract

pinch flaked sea salt

two drops orange blossom water (optional, or substitute with a pinch orange zest)

Begin by making syrup. Heat water and turbinado in a medium pot over high heat, stirring to help dissolve sugar. As soon as it begins to boil, add chopped figs, and bring back to a boil. Remove from heat, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let steep one hour. Strain, pressing gently on figs to extract some of the absorbed liquid. Chill syrup in an airtight container.

To make the fig paste, transfer steeped figs to a food processor bowl. Add all other paste ingredients and process to a uniform paste. Store fig paste in the refrigerator, but it's best served at room temperature and will readily soften if heated briefly in the microwave.

Note: either Calimyrna or black mission figs may be used. The former will give a gentler flavor and sweetness that is particularly nice alone, while the latter will come through a bit bolder and makes a wonderful, traditional-feeling fig bar. Both are tasty, so follow your bliss.

Party Animals No. 51: Libacious (Soft) Launch Party

Hey, welcome. Consider following MSV on Twitter and subscribing to the RSS feed, or sign up for email updates right over here.

So, hey, I started a cocktail catering company, Libacious, with my friends Casey Fox and Jesse Mayshark. And we threw a party. And I made food for it. (With no pictures. I know!) But there are lots of cocktail and people photos taken by the wonderful Holly Rainey.

But first! The drink menu:

The Vicki Brown's Planter's Punch was my baby and was served with a really pretty ice ring (stuffed with orange slices, lime slices, and wee rehydrated rose petals) that I can't believe I didn't take a picture of. I guess that's what the new-business butterflies do to me.

The food table:

• Smoky almond pâté with crackers
• Mixed root chips
• Dried apricots and cherries
• Garden ceviche ("Ceviche de Vegan" from Pure Vegan)
• Sliced peaches roasted with chamomile-apple syrup topped with vanilla whipped coconut cream

Lotsa lovely people drinking lovely drinks:

There are more photos on our site, of course.

As you may have guessed, I've been busy with this. The idea is that Libacious won't affect MSV. One of the reasons I publish only once a week is that it's a not-terribly-demanding schedule that I can maintain over a long period of time—come what may, more or less. And I've pretty consistently maintained that schedule with only a handful of missed weeks over the years, through stresses big and small. But I'd like to ask you to bear with me if I happen to miss a week. It's been a turbulent spring and summer in ways both exciting and trying. And I'm deeply human.

For now, though, thanks bunches for reading. And if you're in the Knoxville area, check Libacious out. We'd love to help you throw a killer party. You can also get a peek at our service by attending the McClung's All That Glitters: A Gilded Age Cocktail Party. There will be sequins, oh, yes.

Party Animals No. 47: Big Ears Brunch 2017

Hey, welcome. Consider following MSV on Twitter and subscribing to the RSS feed, or sign up for email updates right over here.

Big Ears brunch, 2017 edition! (Past years: 2014, a tiny peek at 2015, and 2016.)

In addition to coffee on the hot end, there were four chilled drinks on offer:

• pineapple-carrot-chamomile juice topped with sparkling water
• blueberry-mint Bellini
• apricot-ginger Bellini
• ginger shandy made with Harpoon UFO White

All four garnished with a lime wedge (easy peasy).

The main focus this year was breads and things. There were biscuits with tempeh-walnut patties (not pictured), everything bagels, wheat toast, and pecan-raisin toast.

And the toppers, from right to left:

• apple-chamomile molasses
• strawberry-jalapeno jam
• Blackberry Farms blackberry jam (out of frame)
• coconut bacon
• pear slices
• mashed avocado
• pesto
• Kite Hill plain cream cheese
• smoked sun-dried tomatoes
• chives
• capers
• lime wedges
• freshly cracked black pepper
• flaked sea salt
• crushed red chiles

No one went hungry.

There were also some fork foods to round out the table. On the left is a fruit salad of mixed grapes and halved strawberries tossed with a little oil, a dose of apple-chamomile molasses (the best fruit booster, by the way—adds tart and sweet in one go), and finely chopped mint. On the right is a dish of black beans and tomatoes simmered with cumin, coriander, smoked paprika, and Mexican oregano. Into a giant baking dish they went. The top was studded with slices of polenta, which were brushed with a mix of olive oil, nutritional yeast, and kala namak before baking. Hearty and comforting and seriously spiced. Finally, a big bowl of this potato salad was served, but with roasted cauliflower florets substituted for the potatoes (with all the bread on hand, potatoes seemed a bit much). Parsley for the herb. It was a hit, as ever. Seriously, take that salad to the next party you go to.

So there you go. This was decidedly a generous vegan brunch. And a great festival.

Back next week with a new recipe. Thanks for reading.

Party Animals No. 46: Thanksgiving 2016

Hey, welcome. Consider following MSV on Twitter and subscribing to the RSS feed, or sign up for email updates right over here.

The all-vegan MSV Thanksgiving table for 2016 went a little something like this:

To welcome our guests, a version of this spiced pear and ginger cocktail. Totally lovely. This'll definitely show up on the MSV entertaining table again. (Also, I went a little bananas and made botanical drawings to accompany all the items.) Get my (slightly simplified) version of this great cocktail here.

Tofu-pecan loaf and fluffy biscuits (same as last year).

A lackluster citrus and green bean salad that I'll replace next year. Win some, lose some.

Cranberry relish, same as ever.

A first stab at horchata cheesecake that decidedly needs more tests. Still tasted good, though.

And, finally, the pleasant surprise of the year. I tweaked my regular dressing to streamline the process. I replaced the corn bread (which I used to bake a day or two before) with store-bought prepared polenta, replaced the figs (which I used to soak and chop) with already-small currants, and took the walnuts down just a bit. The result is totally dreamy and a little more harmonious than my old dressing. This couldn't have worked better. I seriously recommend this recipe over the old one. The polenta's creaminess adds an unbeatable textural improvement that I refuse to do without from here on.

______________________________________________________________________________

If you got a long weekend, I hope it was lovely.

MSV subscribers (you can join their ranks if you haven't already) got a little note about this in their emails, but I'm taking this week off, leaving the blog quiet for now while the East Tennessee communities try to work through this week's damage in The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and nearby towns.

See you again soon.

Party Animals No. 44: Cantaloupe, Ginger, & Chamomile Sparkling Agua Fresca

Hey, welcome. Consider following MSV on Twitter and subscribing to the RSS feed, or sign up for email updates right over here.

Hello, dreamboat.

This unbelievably gorgeous cantaloupe concoction can treat you and yours on a quiet Tuesday evening, or it can be served to guests, be they longtime friends or strangers whose socks you'd like to knock off.

In case you've ever thought sweet, juicy cantaloupe wasn't quite floral enough, you can press the gas here by adding chamomile. But don't worry, you'll never feel like you're drinking a meadow. The dilution of the fruit with club soda, combined with the addition of gently spicy ginger, breezily balances everything out. You'll steep ginger in the chamomile syrup and also blend a smaller quantity of fresh root into the melon puree for a nice, well-rounded effect.

Yeah, there is syrup in here. That might mean this isn't technically an agua fresca, since it breaks the basic formula of fruit + turbinado + water + blender + cold, but it really drinks like one, light and refreshing enough to feel like you (wish you) could knock it back all day long. And while making the chamomile-ginger syrup adds one little step to the process, never doubt that it is absolutely worth it.

And if all that isn't enough, there's also the texture. Leaving the cantaloupe pulp in the drink gives it a really lovely body.

Cantaloupe, Ginger,  & Chamomile Sparkling Agua Fresca

Print the recipe

yields 1 generous quart

For the chamomile-ginger syrup:

1/4 cup turbinado

1/4 cup water

1 TBSP dried chamomile flowers

2 oz ginger root, sliced

For the fruit puree:

22 oz fresh, ripe cantaloupe, about half of one small-ish melon

1/4 cup lime juice

small piece peeled ginger root, 1 inch long and 1/4 inch wide (see Note)

To serve:

20 oz thoroughly chilled club soda

Begin by making the syrup. Combine turbinado and water in a small pot. Heat over medium heat, and stir until dissolved. Remove from heat and stir in chamomile and sliced ginger. Cover pot with a clean kitchen towel and let syrup steep one hour.

Meanwhile, cut the rind away from the cantaloupe flesh and discard. Cut melon into one-inch cubes and add to a large mason jar—you should get two cups. To the jar add lime juice and peeled ginger. Blend thoroughly with an immersion blender (see Note). You should now have a total of 1 1/2 cups puree (if you don't, you may need to add more or less club soda before serving). Chill.

When the syrup is ready, strain and discard solids.

Add cantaloupe puree to serving pitcher along with syrup. Stir well. Add club soda, stir again, and pour over ice. As the agua sits, the pulp will settle. Stir again before pouring if not serving all at once.

Note: immersion blenders with notches for liquid flow will tend to trap any ginger hairs, allowing you to puree the ginger piece without prep (other than peeling). If your immersion blender doesn't have notches that trap these hairs, or if you use a different blending apparatus, you may prefer to finely grate the ginger with a microplane zester before adding it to the cantaloupe and pureeing to avoid hairs in the finished product.

The Brew Mot (Pilsner, Grapefruit, Gin, and Elderflower Cocktail)

Hey, welcome. Consider following MSV on Twitter and subscribing to the RSS feed, or sign up for email updates right over here.

Summer cocktails around here are supremely inviting. Something you feel like you could drink all day. That's mostly accomplished through a very light touch on the hard stuff and an emphasis on citrus. Today's cocktiail is no different.

MSV presents the Brew Mot. Essentially, it's something like a vieux mot re-imagined as a shandy. The result is heavenly. It's gently fizzy, bright and floral, and includes a little hit of Knox Whiskey Works' really nice gin. It begs to be sipped poolside. Or anywhere else it's hot.

Brew Mot

Print the recipe

4 oz fresh grapefruit juice

1 oz gin, such as Knox Whiskey Works

3/4 oz St. Germain

1/2 oz simple syrup

4 oz chilled German- or Czech-style Pilsner

Fill a pint glass (or a large Collins glass) a little less than half-full with ice.

Fill a cocktail shaker half-full with ice. Add grapefruit juice, gin, liqueur, and simple syrup. Shake to chill and strain into glass. Top with cold beer and gently stir.

Party Animals No. 42: Big Ears Brunch 2016

Hey, welcome. Consider following MSV on Twitter and subscribing to the RSS feed, or sign up for email updates right over here.

Welcome to the recap for the third annual brunch squeezed in around the most unbelievable music festival that rolls up to the MSV front door each year.

The only thing luckier than living in the middle of the action on these weekends is having a friend who brings the main dish to brunch so you don't have to sweat it:

My pal Casey brought these tempeh hand pies: squares of puff pastry stuffed with flaked tempeh spiced up sausage-style. Awfully tasty, and a totally fun brunch main.

But before those (and after coffee), festive drinks:

To the left, peach lambic and rye sangria. Sounds good, right? Alas, this is too sweet for MSV. Even with a particularly spicy rye added, there's just no escaping the cloying nature of Lindemans peach. Live and learn. And stick with raspberry or black currant.

To the right, a frosty pitcher of booze-free pomegranate-black tea punch. Rather nice.

There were also vieux mot makings available, substituting grapefruit for lemon juice since there was a good bit of grapefruit juice left from segmenting these lovelies:

Also on the table, but not pictured (oops) were almond-crusted thin green beans. Nut-crusted vegetables are the best—especially when you can eat 'em with your paws—and they make for a substantial menu item without piling on more starchy carbs. Because there were plenty of those otherwise:

It's time to thank Mollie Katzen for instructing us to toss potatoes in far more Dijon mustard than you'd think was advisable before roasting them up. It works. So well. (Those are only half the potatoes—there's no pan here that fits four pounds in anything close to a single layer.)

And oh yeah, dill. Seriously dreamy.

Finally, the baked goods tray:

That's a jar of strawberry chia jam and a bowl of blueberry cream cheese (frozen wild blueberries simmered in a bit of brandy and lemon juice, then stirred into Tofutti cream cheese—Kite Hill brand was too salty). And so we'd have something to smear all that good stuff on, two types of muffins. To the right are Isa's lemon-poppy muffins (those are roughly regular homemade size, and the others are jumbo because the MSV kitchen can only bake 18 muffins at once). To the left, gluten-free vegan cinnamon-sugar muffins:

Embarrassingly enough, without the finishing sugar. There's supposed to be a sprinkle of turbinado up top to really drive that recipe title home, but it was forgotten, and that's what we get for being human. Still tasty, though (and a successful first go at gluten-free baking for our very first gluten-free guest).

Gluten-Free Cinnamon-Sugar Muffins

Print the recipe

yields 12 muffins

170 g white rice flour

35 g brown rice flour

35 g blanched almond meal

1 TBSP ground cinnamon

1 TBSP baking powder

1 TBSP psyllium husk powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup unsweetened soy milk

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup natural cane sugar (evaporated cane juice)

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 TBSP turbinado, for topping

Heat oven to 375. Oil a muffin tin.

Sift together dry ingredients. Whisk together wet ingredients. Add wet to dry and stir just until combined. Add batter to muffin tin. Sprinkle turbinado on top.

Bake 23-25 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let cool 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack before loosening sides gently with a thin spatula. Transfer muffins from pan to the wire rack and let cool completely.

__________________________________________________

Back next week with a new recipe. Until then, happy brunching.

Party Animals No. 40: Coffee Liqueur Chocolate Cake & Coffee Vegan Nog

Hey, welcome. Consider following MSV on Twitter and subscribing to the RSS feed, or sign up for email updates right over here.

Now that Knox Whiskey Works is up and distilling right in the heart of cool-weather party season, who could resist grabbing a bottle of KWW coffee liqueur and pouring it in everything?

Setting aside for a moment all of the simpler, entirely tempting ways you might start drizzling this into your merry-making pie-hole, first we bake. (In a moment, we drink.)

Meet the new fruit cake. Prunes, a little brandy, and a good dose of apricot preserves up top contrast a pleasantly bitter chocolate cake. The coffee liqueur is loaded in in the cake and makes the powdered cocoa taste deep and rich without the hassle of melting chocolate bars. Talk about dreamy.

Coffee Liqueur Chocolate Cake with Brandied Prune-Apricot Glaze

Print the recipe

serves 8-10, adapted from Bakecetera

For the cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (measure by spooning in and leveling off, not scooping)

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup natural cane sugar (evaporated cane juice)

3/4 cup coffee liqueur

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

For the Brandied Prune-Apricot Glaze:

1/2 cup prunes, quartered

1/4 cup water

2 TBSP brandy

1/2 cup apricot preserves (reduced-sugar, if available)

Heat oven to 350.

Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl. Separately, whisk together sugar, liqueur, apple sauce, oil, and vinegar. Add wet ingredients to dry. Whisk until just combined, then give another half-dozen stirs with the whisk to smooth it out a bit.

Spread batter into a 9-inch nonstick springform pan (or a greased and cocoa-dusted cake pan). Bake 30-32 minutes, until a tester placed into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool 15 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Remove the pan's sides and run a thin spatula between the bottom of the cake and the bottom piece of the pan. Remove cake and let cool completely on a wire rack.

When the cake is cool, prepare the glaze. Combine prunes, water, and brandy in a small pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the prunes are very soft and most of the liquid has cooked off, leaving behind a thin syrup. Remove from heat and stir in apricot preserves. Continue to stir for a minute to let the heat loosen the preserves. Spread glaze over cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Next, a stab at vegan nog, made by someone totally ignorant about traditional 'nog (i.e. this lady). But parties call, and when some pals invited us over for a 'nog-themed gathering—and what with this new bottle of coffee liqueur still lounging alluringly on the kitchen counter—it felt sad to show up empty-handed. This concoction is thick, fluffy, boozy, nutty, and entirely inauthentic. Plus, totally tasty.

Coffee-Coconut Nog

Print the recipe

yields about a quart

generous 6 oz silken tofu (half an aseptic pack)

1/4 cup natural cane sugar (evaporated cane juice)

12 oz full-fat canned coconut milk

4 oz unsweetened soy milk

4 oz brandy

3 oz coffee liqueur

3/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

In a large pitcher, blend all ingredients with an immersion blender until smooth. Chill at least eight hours before serving (preferably 12-24), sprinkled with additional freshly grated nutmeg.

_________________________________________________________

Merry Happy to anyone celebrating this week. Just one last recipe to go for 2015.

Ginger-Cherry-Mint Tequila Smash

Hey, welcome. Consider following MSV on Twitter and subscribing to the RSS feed, or sign up for email updates right over here.

Tequila time.

Of all the nice things about summer produce, one of the nicest has to be the pleasure of fresh fruit in your cocktails. Or spiked soda, which is really kind of what you have here. Either way, don't even think about turning on the stove to make a custom syrup. Hot days call for breezy, tall, cool ones, and not too much sauce. Thank heavens for ginger beer.

But probably not the ginger beer up in that shot. It wasn't until the second bottle of the pack was on its way to the recycling bin that I caught the giant list of ingredients on the front label announcing its non-vegan nature. Never stop reading labels, apparently.

To complement the spicy ginger beer, sweet dark cherries and fresh mint pair with a little lime and sugar to stand up to a swim with a serving of golden tequila. It makes for a seriously festive-looking drink begging to be handed to a friend.

Ginger-Cherry-Mint Tequila Smash

Print the recipe

2 sweet cherries, stemmed and pitted (plus another whole, for garnish, optional)

2 medium mint leaves (about 2 inches in length each)

1 TBSP natural cane sugar (evaporated cane juice)

1/2 oz lime juice

ice

2 oz tequila anejo

6 oz ginger beer

In the bottom of a Collins glass, muddle the cherries and mint until the cherries are pulpy and the mint is well bruised, but mostly intact. (Alternately, use a mortar and pestle and transfer the mix to a glass. You'll lose a touch of flavor, but that's life.)

In a small bowl, stir the sugar and lime juice until the sugar is dissolved. Fill the serving glass three-quarters full with ice. Add the sweetened lime juice, then pour in tequila. Top with ginger beer, stir, and garnish with a cherry, if desired.

Cantaloupe, Elderflower, & Thyme Sparkling Wine Cocktail

Hey, welcome. Consider following MSV on Twitter and subscribing to the RSS feed, or sign up for email updates right over here.

It's officially hot outside, but you don't have to take it lying down. Chill the bubbly, sniff out a good melon at your nearest grocer, and prepare to show those summer temperatures who's boss.

Floral is the name of the game here, but not just from the liqueur. The classic combination of St. Germain elderflower liqueur and dry champagne (though here, any dry sparkling white wine that's tasty and inexpensive—even a lightly effervescent vinho verde) team up with another gorgeous and fragrant pairing: cantaloupe and thyme. In fact, if you've never made an agua fresca with cantaloupe and thyme, put that at the very top of your to-do list for the warm months. But today, we drink. And how.

Cantaloupe, Elderflower, and Thyme Sparkling Wine Cocktail

Print the recipe

1 small sprig fresh thyme

4 oz dry sparkling white wine or vinho verde

1 oz St. Germain

1 oz cantaloupe puree (instructions follow)

lemon wedge

Bruise the thyme with the back of a spoon, and add to serving glass. Measure out sparkling wine and pour over thyme. Add liqueur and cantaloupe puree. Mix with spoon used to bruise thyme. Finish with a squeeze of lemon and serve.

Cantaloupe Puree

yields 1 cup

1 heaping cup 1-inch cubes cantaloupe flesh

1 TBSP turbinado

Add ingredients to a quart jar and blend with an immersion blender until very smooth. Check yield, and, if needed, add another cube or so of cantaloupe and blend again until you have a full cup of puree.

Rhubarb-Ginger Witbier Cocktail

Hey, welcome. Consider following MSV on Twitter and subscribing to the RSS feed, or sign up for email updates right over here.

Let's get breezy. With Witbier.

Dose fizzy, creamy, warm weather-ready white wheat beer with vodka and a hit of rhubarb-ginger syrup to add sweetness, gentle tang, and just a hint of spice.

Brighten the whole thing up with lemon juice, and done. You have a seriously inviting beer cocktail that goes down way easy, ready for any weekend hangout with pals that kicks off at high noon, or for a low-key happy hour at home.

Rhubarb-Ginger Witbier Cocktail

Print the recipe

1 oz vodka

1/2 oz chilled Rhubarb-Ginger Syrup, recipe follows

5.6 oz (or 1/2 can) white wheat beer (such as Wittekerke or Harpoon White UFO)

1/2 oz lemon juice

In a rocks glass, combine vodka and syrup. Add beer, then lemon juice, and give a stir.

Rhubarb-Ginger Syrup

2/3-3/4 lb rhubarb stalks cut into 1-inch slices (about 2 cups)

3 oz fresh ginger root, sliced (about 2 3x1-inch pieces)

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Combine all ingredients in a medium pot and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce to a low steady simmer and let cook, undisturbed, 20 minutes. Turn off heat, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let stand 15 minutes. Strain, pressing the solids a bit to extract extra liquid. Let cool thoroughly before chilling.

Ginger Sherbet Floats Two Ways: Utterly Breezy or Bold and Boozy

Hey, welcome. Consider following us on Twitter and subscribing to our RSS feed, or sign up for email updates from the Home Page.

Even though there's no ice cream maker in the MSV kitchen, there is a food processor. And given that, it's not tough to whip up some tasty frozen stuff, and the imperfections in texture literally melt away once you dunk a scoop of frosty, spicy-sweet, completely irresistible ginger sherbet into a glass of something fizzy and refreshing.

If you do have an ice cream maker, by all means, use it. If not, just blend, freeze in chunks using an ice cube tray, and blend it all again when ready to serve. Easy. And so, so good.

Vegan Ginger Sherbet

Print the recipes

serves 6-8

2 cups coconut milk

1 3x1-inch piece peeled fresh ginger

6 TBSP natural cane sugar (evaporated cane juice)

1 tsp vanilla extract

Place all ingredients in a quart jar and blend with an immersion blender until the sugar is completely dissolved and the mixture is very smooth, about a minute. Strain to remove the ginger hairs, pour into an ice cube tray (you'll have slightly more than one standard plastic tray will hold), and freeze.

When ready to serve, slide a thin, dull knife or spatula along the side of each cube and gently pry out--this should happen fairly readily. Add 2-3 sherbet cubes per person to a food processor and process until creamy. It will be a bit sandy and icy at first, but after half a minute or so, the whole mixture will pull away from the processor tub and cohere into a creamy, semi-firm, consistency that can be scooped easily.

Now to put that sherbet to work. But even if you have no interest in floats, pay attention, because this watermelon-basil syrup is hard to resist. It makes an addictive soda that's fruity, herbal, and unbelievably light without tasting thin. One sip leaves you wanting another. And that might go double once the ginger sherbet gets things all creamy and gently spicy.

Equal parts syrup and club soda make a delicate drink that can be enjoyed all alone over ice or spiked--go simple with vodka or go for a low-key, totally affable warm-weather whiskey drink: 2 oz Watermelon-Basil Syrup, 2 oz club soda, 1 oz rye (we used Bulleit), and 1/2 oz orange liqueur. Serve over ice, finish with a squeeze of lime.

Breezy Watermelon-Basil Soda

equal parts Watermelon-Basil Syrup, recipe follows, and club soda

Watermelon-Basil Syrup

yields 1 2/3-1 3/4 cups

1 lb watermelon (2 1/2-3 cups 1-inch cubes)

1 dozen medium-large basil leaves (about 5 grams, or 1/4 cup loosely packed leaves)

1 lime, sliced, ends discarded

1/4 cup natural cane sugar (evaporated cane juice)

1/4 cup water

Add the watermelon and basil to a pitcher and blend with an immersion blender. Add lime slices.

In a small sauce pan over medium heat, heat the sugar and water. When it comes to a boil, reduce heat to low and stir constantly until the sugar dissolves. Remove from heat immediately, let cool a minute, then carefully add to the blended watermelon. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let sit for 1 hour. Strain (you won't press on the solids, exactly, but stir the whole thing to help it along) and discard solids. Chill until ready to use. Stir well before each use.

And now for something simpler. This is actually what got this post started. Ginger sherbet was made, and Ginger Sherbet Framboise Floats were had. And had and had.

Ginger Sherbet Framboise Floats

Print the recipes

serves 2

1 12-oz bottle Lindemans Framboise Lambic

ginger sherbet (see recipe above--use 5 frozen sherbet cubes)

Pour 6 ounces beer over 1 scoop of ice cream and serve.

Party Animals No. 30: Mother's Day Brunch for Two

Hey, welcome. Consider following us on Twitter and subscribing to our RSS feed, or sign up for email updates from the Home Page.

Not only did we love celebrating Mother's Day with this wildly colorful, fresh, and flavorful intimate brunch, it was some of the easiest entertaining we've ever arranged, leaving most of our attention devoted to our guest. We whipped up ice cream and cheesecake the day before and sailed into brunch with little more than some chopping and a bit of searing required.

To start, a sparkling wine cocktail. We don't have an ice cream maker, so super-creamy homemade ice creams just can't happen. But since the purity of texture doesn't matter as much when you're making a float, we're getting into it in a pretty serious way as the weather heats up (stay tuned for another float coming in the near future). To make this drink, drop a large melon baller's worth of strawberry ice cream into a flute, pour over half an ounce of orange liqueur, top with bubbly of choice, and finish with a squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice.

Next up, food. The salad, we winged, but it's one large peeled cucumber, seeded and diced, tossed with a small handful of chopped cilantro and, say, a couple of cups of chopped fresh pineapple. Add half a minced jalapeno, a generous pinch of salt, and lime juice to taste, a tablespoon or so. Let sit for a few minutes to let the flavors mingle before serving.

For the main event, we went with a stack, something in the neighborhood of a Tofu Benedict. Split an English muffin and toast the cut sides. Then follow our instructions here for the tofu and green beans, using only seven ounces tofu (cut into four slices--half the recipe over there) and substituting one dozen trimmed green beans for the asparagus in that post. And be sure to add a generous sprinkle of black pepper to the tofu along with the other seasonings.

To serve, top each muffin half with half a dozen green beans, two slices of tofu, and smother each in this pretty wonderful roasted red pepper-avocado sauce. This makes more sauce than needed for the brunch for two, but you'll be thrilled to have the leftovers.

Dead Simple Roasted Red Pepper-Avocado Sauce

Print the recipe

flesh of 1 ripe avocado

2 large roasted red peppers (jarred or freshly roasted)

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp dried dill

1 TBSP lemon juice

1 tsp dijon mustard

dash hot sauce

Blend all ingredients until very smooth. Adjust seasoning, if necessary.

We wrapped the meal with the Lemon Cheesecake recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking, which has never failed to please any of our crowds. We whipped up a simple ginger snap cookie crust for the base and for a topping, sliced strawberries lightly marinated in equal parts orange liqueur and black walnut balsamic vinegar.

Party Animals No. 28: Big Ears 2014 Sunday Brunch ftr. Sweet & Spicy Sweet Potato-Prune-Pecan Tamales

Hey, welcome. Consider following us on Twitter and subscribing to our RSS feed, or sign up for email updates from the Home Page.

The Big Ears Festival is a big deal around the MSV house. Since it revived this year after a too-long hiatus, we decided to make it an even bigger deal by hosting brunch on the final morning of the fest. The menu:

• sweet & spicy sweet potato-prune-pecan tamales served with maple syrup and a rich coconut-lime spread
• refried beans served with avocado slices and habanero salsa
• broiled grits cakes
• jicama-grapefruit salad with sweet citrus-mint dressing
• tortilla chips and mild tomato salsa
• ginger-mango agua fresca
• lime-cucumber-mint agua fresca

We cannot get over how great these tamales are. Tons of flavor, but with a fairly short list of ingredients, these little guys hit our homestyle culinary sweet spot. And since the filling is fairly firm at room temperature (it does soften upon steaming), these tamales are some of the easiest to assemble you may ever find.

And note that we had extra dough left, which we formed into plain tamales, and they rival the filled ones for our affections. Like biscuits or tortillas, tamales without fillings make wonderful meal accompaniments, and we found these particularly charming. (Plus, dead simple to form.)

Print the recipes

Sweet Potato-Prune-Pecan Tamales

yields about 30 filled tamales, plus another 6 or so plain

For the filling

3 cups chopped pecans

3 cups (about 60) prunes, roughly chopped

1 ½ tsp smoked paprika

1 ½ tsp chipotle powder

1 TBSP ground cinnamon

For the dough

24 oz sweet potato, peeled, diced, and boiled until very tender

¾ tsp ground cinnamon

¾ tsp freshly ground nutmeg

3 TBSP maple syrup

3 ¾ cups warm water

¾ cup vegetable oil

1 ½ tsp salt

1 TBSP baking powder

5 ¼ cup masa harina

To assemble:

corn husks, soaked for about an hour

Heat oven to 400 and toast pecans until darkened and fragrant, about 10 minutes, being careful not to burn. Transfer to a food processor and grind to a minced texture. Meanwhile, mash prunes with spices in a mortar and pestle (alternately, pulse in a food processor).

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine cooked sweet potato, spices, syrup, and oil. Mix well. Add water and mix again. Sift together salt, baking powder, and masa harina. Add to the wet ingredients and mix with the paddle attachment until fluffy and smoothed out a bit. The dough will remain a little sticky.

Assemble tamales using 2-3 TBSP of dough and a generous TBSP of filling for each. Steam for 40-45 minutes.

If desired, serve with maple syrup and our Coconut-Lime Spread.

The coconut-lime spread is adapted from Saveur, but we found their version far too sweet for our liking. And that goes double when you're already offering maple syrup on the table. So we put the emphasis back on the richness of the coconut milk and ended up with a silky, totally luxuriant condiment.

Coconut-Lime Spread

yields 3/4 cup

1 can coconut milk

1 TBSP natural cane sugar (evaporated cane juice)

1/8 tsp pectin

zest of ½ lime

Simmer coconut milk and sugar until reduced to 3/4 cup, about an hour. Stir in pectin and zest. Cool and chill.

Next up, a note on our savory components. Our refried beans aren't actually refried at all, but simply well done and pulsed with an immersion blender and some added oil before serving. Many a meal has been made from them. And while the grits cakes are pretty irresistible handheld munchies, our favorite way to dig into both is to top the grits with the beans, then avocado, and a drizzle of spicy salsa.

To add a fresh element to the table, we combined crispy, juicy, earthy, gently sweet jicama with brightly colored, tart grapefruit and tossed it all in a dressing of mixed citrus and mint. Totally simple and a total winner.

Grapefruit-Jicama Salad with Sweet Citrus-Mint Dressing

2-3 large jicama, cut into matchsticks

4 grapefruit, peeled and segmented

¼ cup + 2 TBSP orange marmalade (bittersweet preferred)

¼ cup + 2 TBSP lime juice

¼ cup apple syrup

finely chopped mint leaves from about 3-4 sprigs, or to taste

Whisk together marmalade, lime juice, syrup, and mint. Pour over jicama and toss well. Add grapefruit and toss gently to distribute.

Since a pal was generous enough to offer to bring the day's cocktail--a tasty ginger-tequila-lime concoction we're bummed we didn't take a shot of--we had time to whip up a couple of refreshing and festive non-alcoholic options. The lime-cucumber-mint agua fresca seen above is total heaven alongside the habanero salsa. Highly recommended for the warm months when you find yourself with a stack of grits, beans, avocado, and salsa. Which we expect we often will.

Also on the table was a ginger-mango agua fresca (which we also failed to shoot) that can certainly be had alone, but mixes well with bubbly, which another guest was kind enough to provide. For an even lighter alcoholic drink option (because seriously, some of us have things to do after brunch), it mixes beautifully with light beer when garnished with a squeeze of lime. Summer in a glass.

Do note that both of these recipes offer guidelines when diluting the mixtures. Add as much or as little water as you like to get a light, refreshing result that you feel like you could drink all day. And finally, we really prefer turbinado sugar for these. If you choose to use white sugar, you'll likely need less than called for.

Lime-Cucumber-Mint Agua Fresca

24 oz cucumber, peeled, seeded, and sliced

1/2 cup lime juice

6 TBSP turbinado

3 cups water

3 sprigs mint

Puree all ingredients except mint. Add mint to a pitcher, pour the agua over it, and chill. Serve over ice.

Ginger-Mango Agua Fresca

20 oz thawed frozen mango

1/4 cup lime juice

2 oz ginger

1/4 cup turbinado

20 oz club soda

Puree all except sparkling water. Strain. Chill the liquefied mango and club soda separately. Add soda just before serving and mix well. Serve over ice.

And since it was also(!) another friend's birthday, we'll leave you with a little shot of a ganache tart we made using our cornmeal-bourbon shortbread recipe for the crust. Cheers!

Atole de Horchata

Hey, welcome. Consider following us on Twitter and subscribing to our RSS feed, or sign up for email updates from the Home Page.

We've been seriously digging on atole over the last few frigid days, specifically, this version made with cinnamon-packed horchata. Start with fragrant rice, nutty (and affordable) pepitas, and a generous portion of cinnamon stick. Add just enough maple syrup to make the corn sing in the final product, and let your stove transform it all into one comforting, fluffy beverage thick enough to drink with a spoon.

Try it out for a light breakfast or a snack any time of day. But keep in mind that, comforting as it is, this atole isn't a sweet indulgence. It's more of a staple item--mild, a little earthy, and soothing. We top ours with extra spice, and strongly suggest you do the same, though it isn't necessary. The horchata recipe calls for vanilla extract for price and convenience, but if you can spare a quarter or so of a fresh bean, use that for a flavorful (and more traditional) substitute.

And, finally, feel free to make the horchata in advance. It keeps well in the fridge for a few days. Use the spent pulp to bulk up oats--the ground rice cooks up softly, of course, and the ground pepita adds a bit of texture and fiber. Add the pulp to 1/4 cup steel-cut oats, combine with 1 1/2 cups water and cook, essentially, like rice: cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and cook, covered, for about 20 minutes. Sweeten and garnish as you would straight oats. They can be stored in the fridge for several days and reheated on the stove with a little nondairy milk to thin out the mixture, which thickens as it stands.

Atole de Horchata

Print the recipe

yields 2 large or 4 small servings

3 cups horchata, recipe follows, divided

1/4 cup masa harina

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

pinch ground aniseed

Reserve 1/2 cup of horchata in a medium bowl and set aside. Pour remaining horchata into a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. When it begins to boil, working quickly, make a slurry by whisking the masa harina into the reserved horchata. When the pot contents come to a full boil, whisk in the slurry until fully combined, then reduce heat to medium-low, retaining a steady high simmer.

Cook, whisking frequently, until thickened into a near-custard consistency, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together the ground spices and set aside. You'll know the atole is ready when whisking causes the mixture to come away from the bottom of the pot. Serve immediately, with spoons, and sprinkle a pinch or two of the spice mixture on top of each cup.

Horchata

yields 3 cups, adapted from Pure Vegan

1 cup hot water

1/4 cup jasmine rice

1/4 cup raw pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

2-inch cinnamon stick, broken in half

pinch salt

cold water

2 1/2 TBSP grade B maple syrup

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the hot water, rice, pepitas, and cinnamon. Cover and let soak at least six hours, or overnight. Blend until smooth and strain thoroughly through a nut milk bag, squeezing to express as much liquid as possible.

Combine the milk with salt, syrup, vanilla, and enough cold water (2 to 2 1/4 cups) to make a total of 3 cups liquid. Note that this horchata separates readily, so stir well before each use.

5 Fresh Mixed Drinks from the Farmers' Market: MSV for KnoxZine

Hey, welcome. Consider subscribing to our RSS feed and following us on Twitter.

Bonus Post! Just in time for the weekend, KnoxZine has gone to press. This issue contains an article we developed for them, 5 Fresh Mixed Drinks from the Farmers' Market. 

A couple of notes on vegan alcohol, in case you didn't already know. Barnivore is a total treasure.  But one of our recipes calls for Vinho Verde, and Barnivore had none in its database. We contacted two companies and received correspondence indicating all Arca Nova Vinhos Verdes are vegan-friendly. Ashe's carries the white, which is what we used for our drink. (Gazela, which had been consistently stocked at Downtown Wine & Spirits, uses casein to fine their wine. Their rep was very responsive and told me he'd let me know when (not if, aw) Gazela changed to non-animal-based finings.) 

Moving on, check the rest of the drinks out:

They taste as good as they look, so go get the details and the recipes on KnoxZine. 

Party Animals No. 16: Happy Hour at Home with a Raspberry Yerba Buena Recipe

When we invited a handful of people over for happy hour at our place, it seemed like the perfect time to test drive Pure Vegan . Yowza. The title is dumb and the conceit (proud hedonist) discomfiting, but the recipes are aces.  We prepared five dishes from the book for this gathering, and every one was exceptional.

We also adapted a syrup from the blissfully useful Vegan Food Gifts  to make a pitcher of Raspberry Yerba Buenas (recipe way below). We took her treasured idea of premixed booze for gifts and applied it to parties. Not only does it simplify drink making once the party is underway, it also allows you to know in advance exactly how much liquor you're handing out, so you can budget your party to the penny.

Top: Fig Paste (seriously next level--the flavor balance is nailed down tight), Right: Pear Chips (beautiful), Left: Chile Peanuts (we skimmed an 8-oz mason jar's worth of these off the top for a thank-you gift, even) 

Left: Muhammara (gorgeous and kicky), Right: Vegetable Ceviche (MSV's pick for Official Summer Dish of 2013, but we subbed capers for the called-for olives). These were served with crudite and a stack of fresh tortillas (not pictured, but always highly recommended).

Bright, beautiful, and refreshing at any warm-weather event. Or make the Raspberry-Ginger-Lime Tequila for a gift.

Raspberry Yerba Buena

Print the recipe 

syrup adapted from Vegan Food Gifts 

 For the Raspberry-Ginger-Lime Tequila:

1 heaping cup frozen (or fresh) raspberries

1 1/2 limes, sliced

1/3 cup ginger root, sliced

1 1/2 cups natural cane sugar (evaporated cane juice) 

1 1/2 cups water

1/4 cup, plus 2 TBSP lime juice

3 cups tequila blanco

 To serve: 

mint

club soda

lime slices or wedges, for garnish

In a medium sauce pan combine the raspberries, lime slices, ginger, sugar, and water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 1 hour. Let cool completely.

Strain and discard the solids from the syrup, then combine the syrup with the lime juice and tequila.

To serve, crush a sprig of mint in the bottom of a serving glass with the back of a spoon. Top with ice, pour in 1/3 cup of the Raspberry-Ginger-Lime Tequila and 1/3 cup club soda. Garnish with lime and serve.