I’m MxMoing! This isn’t a real cocktail blog (making of, plenty about drinking) and I’ve never participated in MxMo before, but I was strangely inspired this month by RumDood and ginger. I’m a fine drink maker, I think (in normal people’s company I’m fantastic!) but I leave the mixologisting to Craig. My real love is preserving – pickles, jam, whatever I can put into a jar. I thought I’d up the usual cocktail blogger penchant for requiring a complicated homemade ingredient (you know, make your own cola to make a Jack & Coke) and use proper homemade jam in a cocktail.

I have to first tell you I am a preserving snob: freezer jam is useless, refrigerator pickles can suck it. If it can’t sit in your pantry, I don’t see the point of preserving – you might as well freeze it. I’m also hopeless when it comes to following a recipe - I simply must improvise something. I had been carrying around this recipe for May Day Jam (rhubarb, strawberry and pineapple) for a while and one day I was inspired to make it. After I’d chopped up the strawberries and rhubarb, I looked around for the pineapple. But it had disappeared (into a tiki drink no doubt). No matter! We had a strangely large quantity of fresh ginger (falernum week), so I chopped up a mess of that and added it. The jam came out gorgeous pink and wonderfully gingery. It was the first thing I thought of when I heard the MxMo theme.

The cocktail is based (loosely) off of a 1930 Savoy recipe - Pink Baby Cocktail. Craig and I collaborated a new drink which he named the “Pinko Cocktail.”

Pinko Cocktail
an egg white
3/4 oz lemon juice
1.5 oz gin (we used Bols Genever)
1 heaping barspoon June Ginger Jam (recipe follows)
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters

Combine egg white and lemon juice, dry shake (or froth with frother). Add gin, jam and bitters and shake with ice. Double strain into a Charles cocktail glass.

June Ginger Jam
It goes without saying this is only to be made when strawberries are in season. I had to say it anyway.
2 cups diced fresh rhubarb
2 cups whole strawberries, washed and hulled
A good knob fresh ginger, peeled and diced fine.
4 cups sugar
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon (hold onto that until the end)
Combine all except lemon juice and let stand 15 minutes. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring frequently, until jam thickens (15-30 minutes). Boil gently (watch out, hot jam is like napalm!) for 5 minutes, then add lemon juice. Laddle into hot, sterilized jars and process 10 minutes in water bath.

Let sit in a jars a couple of weeks to allow the flavor to develop. Enjoy on toast, pb&js or in cocktails!

Pickle Victims, originally uploaded by tikimama.

I made loads of slicers (for sandwiches and stuff) on the last burst of summer. Since autumn is officially (by the calendar) and unofficially (by the weather) here, next up is apple butter and a couple of Secret Autumn Preserves that are for Xmas gifts. I have officially run out of room in the pantry for canned stuff, I need a rack in the basement.

It’s that time of year again - canning! Craig and I visited Kruger Farms on Sauvie Island last week and not only picked a boatload of berries (which are now frozen waiting to be jammed when it isn’t 14million degrees (C) outside) but I got cucumbers to make various amounts of pickled products. I always mean to write about pickling, etc (for instance I made pickled okra, asparagus and radishes (FAIL)) but I kept forgetting to talk about it.

I realized last week I am on my last jar of pickle relish, so that was the first order of business. The cukes are gorgeous:

and I hope they will be delicious. I experimented with using the food processor’s regular blade (instead of the slicing one) and I am not sure how crazy I am about the tiny texture of the relish:

But I guess we will see when it comes eating time. I always forget that you have to salt and wait on relish (to get the water out) and inevitably start relish at 7pm or something. Yup.

In any case, it eventually all got jarred in a cider vinegar, sugar and spices mix (this is sweet relish with a healthy dose of jalapenos) and now we wait. I hate waiting.

I used to try and make nice labels, etc. for the preserves (and I still do for gifts) but for home, a Sharpie on the lid is as much as I can do. This isn’t fancy gourmet stuff, it’s just what you do when it’s summer and you like pickle relish.

Next up: bread and butter slices, maybe dill slices (or maybe sandwich slices, hmmm) and onions.

We were lucky enough to get into the Tiki Spirited Dinner - chef’d by Chris DeBarr and cocktail’d by Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. It was an amazing experience and I am so glad we got to attend. I took a bunch of pics (forgive my lack of skill at food photography - I should take a class) and posted them on my Flickr account here. Enjoy!

Craig and I are binging (ha!) on You Are What You Eat on BBC America. I know it has been canceled in the UK already, but apparently BBC America has purchased all three seasons. You should watch it! The voice over is hysterical, and you can feel superior (like us) if your diet is better than endless fry ups and pasties and donuts.

It is played twice a day with How Clean is Your House? which should NOT be watched while eating.

Sometimes I don’t think I’ll get over the fact that I don’t live in England. Except we bought a house and stuff, guess I will have to be satisfied with vacations. We’re closing on the house on Monday, which is super stressful. We’re coping with heavy drinking (as usual).

I know everyone likes pictures, so here is a photo booth set I dug up from 2003, of me & Craig and Craig & Blair.

Jesus, I am sick of the SuperBowl already. I’ll be watching the PuppyBowl, thanks! I’m so ready for every food blog to move on from “What [totally cliche] thing are you serving for the SB?” for every topic. Though I do have this great pork verde chili recipe from the CIA that Craig got while working there..

Have you guys watched Down Home with the Neelys yet? I’m watching it right now and it is genius. They are fun and the food looks delicious. I want my own cooking show.

We close on the house on Feb 11, I expect we’ll move in March 1 or so. So I might have a nervous breakdown between now and March 1. Between spending that amount of money, taking on who knows what sorts of projects, and packing all our 17 million pounds of crap, working and finishing school, I hope I survive until Spring.

Oh, speaking of stress coping mechanisms, I bought three new pairs of shoes:

1. Aerosoles Romeo in Brown. I now have enough pairs of brown shoes. Bliss.

2. Aerosoles What’s What Revivals in Black. I’m rocking a vintage look this year, can you tell?

3. A pair of Fluevogs! Finally. They are a d’orsay pump from the Friends line, which I cannot find a pic of and am too lazy to take one. It will give you something to look forward to.

This sounds lame, but I am trying to play our Wii more. I think it is more fun for Craig and I to play it than watch more tv. We rented Wii Play (awesome) and the screen cracked me up:

That’s Budgie’s Mii in the background. Yes, we made a Mii for the dog. Haven’t you?

The weather is slow, slowy turning to real spring. We celebrated by cracking out the old Weber and cramming as much food as we could on it:

That’s mushrooms, zuccini, asparagus, crookneck squash and italian sausage. Yum. Craig made it all, I just came home (late) from work to eat it. He also did laundry, scrubbed the kitchen floor and paid bills. If you can possibly acquire a husband like him, I highly recommend it, because he’s simply wonderful. Get your own, though, this one is totally taken.

This is what yesterday’s brunch looked like.

We have a new breakfast fav place - basically the bar on the golf course which serves food. Greasy, delicious food.

Properly liqoured up, S & I went shopping while Craig & B played Wii (of course we didn’t watch the Superbowl, who are we?!). I bought these strange (the inside is sticky and black…) and fabulous (”Caboodles” brand!) boots.

$10. God bless the Goodwill.

So if you’re the usual liberal intellectual atheist hipster type (as I and it seems all my friends are) the Sunday morning church ritual isn’t really applicable. Instead we have the Church of Coffee and Pancakes, the venerable gay tradition of Brunch. There is a core group of six of us now that our friends B & S have moved here, so usually Sundays involve some permutation of that group. A couple of weeks ago we all managed to get out to Tin Shed on Alberta (if you eat outside you can bring your dog!). I thought I’d post some pics, hope no one minds.

Shoes. Brunch footwear is important. Clockwise from bottom left: K, N, S & B.

Craig awaits a table with a delicious cup o’ coffee.

S (also known as Lawnchair Vigilante) looking charming - she is holding her chihuahua, Margarita!

Here are N & B and Budgie, shading their eyes from this strange yellow light in the sky!

Budgie and Margarita shared a doggie breakfast.

Well, have to run off to brunch - B&S are here!

As this isn’t a Superbowl household (I don’t watch, The Man doesn’t watch, we’re more World Cup watchers) we aren’t planning a party, but it is still nice to indulge in the festive feeling that Superbowl Sunday gives.

On that note, I picked up a bottle of Freixenet “champagne-type” sparkling wine yesterday at Target ($9!) for mimosas this morning. It is really quite acceptable, much better than the Cook’s and Korbel wines at the same price point. I’ve never been too fond of champagne (and even less after New Year’s Eve 2002 when I consumed, conservatively, 47 Kir Royales) but lately I am enjoying it more.

Of course, if its Vueve or Bolly that is another story, but I don’t want to spend $50 and then dump it together with oj concentrate.