Sweet dark cherries simmered in ruby port wine with a hint of star anise and cinnamon is the ideal topping for a perfect ending dessert. Serve over ice cream, as a filling for éclairs, or a spread for cheesecake.

4 servings

Ingredients

1 cup ruby port
¾ cup sugar
1 lb fresh or frozen pitted cherries
1 cinnamon stick
¼ teaspoon ground star anise
5 teaspoons cornstarch
5 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon vanilla

Equipment

Small saucepan, cherry pitter (or paring knife), plastic gloves, plastic cutting board

Preparation

Prepare the cherries:
Pit the cherries using a cherry pitter or paring knife. To use a paring knife, cut around the circumference of the cherry, pull the halves apart and remove pit.

[Chef’s note: Cherry juice will stain. Use care when pitting the cherries by using plastic gloves, cutting boards and frequently wiping up juice spills on your counter.]

Make the sauce:
Combine the port wine and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the cherries, cinnamon stick and star anise and simmer for 5–10 minutes until the mixture reduces and starts to become syrupy.

[Chef’s note: If using frozen cherries, you might need to simmer a bit longer to defrost the cherries and reduce the resulting water.]

Mix the cornstarch and water together to make a slurry, stirring until completely dissolved. Add the cornstarch slurry to the sauce and bring to boil. Reduce the heat, and continue to simmer until the mixture is thick and shiny. Remove from the heat and cool completely. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Service

Serve over your favorite ice cream or creamy rice pudding. The sauce can also be spread over cheesecake.

Variations

For a great homemade Cherries Jubilee Ice Cream, bring a quart of good-quality vanilla bean ice cream to room temperature, mix the Cherry Port Sauce with the ice cream and place back into a freezer-safe container. Freeze 24 hours, then serve.

Recipe and photo by Lia Soscia

Imagine buttered pan-seared pineapple, warm as a garnish, and chilled as juice in a sensuous champagne coupe. Then let us look back at some of the legacies of the American cocktail — rum and bitters — which are further expressed through the addition of star ruby grapefruits and maraschino liqueur (which was, incidentally, Ernest Hemingway’s preference for his daiquiri).

1 serving

Ingredients

1 ounce of cachaca (agricultural rum)
1/2 tablespoon of maraschino liqueur
1 1/2 ounces of juice from pan-seared pineapple brushed with butter
2/3 ounces of grapefruit juice (recommended cultivar: Florida Star Ruby)
dash of angostura bitters

For the pan-seared pineapple with butter:
2 tablespoons of butter (recommended: grade AA & First Quality butter)
1/4 of whole pineapple or 8-10 quarter-slices (recommended: high sugar cultivars like Kona Sugarloaf)

Total: about 3 1/2 ounces per serving (guide for glassware)

Small triangular wedge of pan-seared pineapple for garnish

Equipment

Pan
Utility knife and chopping board
2-piece Boston shaker
Hawthorne strainer
Muddler
Funnel
Sieve
Glass bottle (perhaps reused from finished spirits, at least 7 ounces in capacity)
Champagne saucer glass (5 ounces), for service

Preparation

Chill the glassware and spirits until ready for use. Wash fruits thoroughly.

Prepare pan-seared pineapple with butter:
Skin the fresh pineapple, retaining the quarter-slices nearest to the base — the sweetest part. Melt butter in pan and then sear the pineapple slices over low to medium heat until lightly caramelized. Put aside to cool and remove excess butter.

Once cooled, place pineapple slices, one at a time, into the glass half of the Boston shaker. With the flat side of the muddler placed into the base, apply downward pressure using the insides of your palm. Muddle until most solid ingredients are well broken up. Using a funnel and sieve, strain the mixture into the glass bottle. Repeat and then refrigerate till ready for use.

Prepare the garnish:
Reheat a pan-seared slice of pineapple right before use. Cut to a proportionate size and triangular shape. Place along the rim of the glassware while still warm, right before use.

Prepare the cocktail:
For the grapefruit, keep at room temperature and cut perpendicularly across the segments for optimum juice. Juicing should be done right before use, while pulp should be strained out. Measure the required ingredients into the glass half of the Boston shaker.

Top up the metal half of the Boston shaker (about 3/4 full) with ice cubes. Place the glass half over the metal portion while pouring in the ingredients. Give a firm knock on the base of the glass half with your palm, ensuring it forms a tight fit with the metal portion. Shake and chill cocktail shaker with firm, concise and vigorous strokes until your hands can’t take the cold.

Holding the metal half at the bottom, knock it firmly around the rim to loosen and remove the glass half. Strain the contents of the metal half into the glassware using the Hawthorne strainer.

Serve immediately, very chilled, in contrast with the warm garnish.

[Flavor Impressionist's Notes: 1 ounce is equivalent to 30 milliliter (ml), 1/2 ounce is equivalent to 15 milliliter (ml), 2/3 ounce is equivalent to 20 milliliter (ml), 1/2 tablespoon is equivalent to 7.5 milliliter (ml), 1 dash is equivalent to 1.875 milliliter (ml) or 1/8 teaspoon.]

Variation

If Fee Brothers orange bitter is available, replace the angostura with it.

Recipe and photo by Damian Sim

INSPIRATION FOR SUMMER IN THE WOODS
BY DAMIAN SIM

[Note: This recipe was originally published in July 2007, when we were off on a fun tangent pairing "Main Ingredients" and "Indulgences." Damian was always up to the challenge -- though sometimes we made it a difficult one!]

July’s theme of fish and summer squash did not present any obvious inspirations at first. Furthermore, summer squash, or even squash as a whole, was not something too familiar to the Asian palate. Rather than shy away from it, however, I found summer squash to actually be quite a compelling challenge.

In Native American lore, squash is one of the “Three Sisters” planted by their forefathers, the other two being corn and beans. Summer squash (also known as vegetable marrows) are harvested immature during their growing seasons, and include courgettes and zucchini, to name a few. Known as askoot asquash in Algonquin tongue, it literally translates to ‘eaten green’. Some of these could be described as having a mild nutty taste akin to fresh corn.

This brought to mind the wonderful marriage of freshly steamed corn with lightly salted butter…delicious. It somewhat reminded me of the grilled pineapple I recently had in a Brazilian Churrascaria restaurant, which had a subtle buttery caramel sensation to the flavor. Why not just buttered pineapples? Hmm…not a bad idea!

For the convenience of those who may have trouble grilling at home, another preparation was to pan-sear the pineapple in butter. The sweetest portions of a pineapple are selected, though not an over-ripe fruit as the light acidity offers a nice balance. We then extract the voluptuous juice through muddling once it has cooled down.

With its major influence in the history of spirits and cocktails in America, rum was selected as the base of this recipe design. The Brazilian cachaça style was chosen in recognition of one of the main inspirations behind this cocktail. Star Ruby grapefruits added further zest to cut through the buttered pineapple, with the ‘bright’ cherry of maraschino liqueur contributing to a certain lift and complexity in the high notes. This combination was inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s preference for his daiquiri cocktail. A literary legend, he once won a bet in which he wrote a complete story in six words. (“For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn.”)

The nostalgia continued with the use of bitters, an essential ingredient in the 19th Century definition of cocktails, and the use of the sensuous champagne coupe/saucer to present the libation. Chilled swiftly and with vigor, the floating ice chips contrast sharply with a wedge of warm buttered pineapple garnish.

Ice cream, cookies, wine and weight loss. What’s not to love about summer?

All the flavor of sleep away camp…in a cookie. S’mores Cookies (What Megan’s Making) Twitter: @WhatMegansMaking

A virtual eating experience. Meta Cookie gives you real cookies and a virtual experience (Baking Bites) Twitter: @BakingBites

Wine and ice cream for hot summer days? Sounds good to me! A Sip and a Cone: 5 Luscious Wine and Ice Cream Pairings (the kitchn) Twitter: @thekitchn

I don’t watch Food Network, but I might watch for this. Will you? Preview: ‘The Great Food Truck Race’ on Food Network (Serious Eats) Twitter: @SeriousEats

Losing weight is thought of as a nightmare for food lovers…unless you do it this way To lose weight, redecorate (Svelte Gourmande) Twitter: @cnoepagan

The importance of fresh pantry ingredients Pantry Check! (Joy the Baker) Twitter: @JoytheBaker

Photo: What Megan’s Making

Given that we like to run amok with herbs, I’m a little giddy about this week’s Summer Fest topic. If you’ve been hanging around here a while, you know we love to get lost in the scents and flavors of fresh herbs, myself in particular, as I can’t seem to keep an herb plant alive. It fosters a constant state of longing.

One of the hidden gems of the Gilded Fork, which will be given much more prominence in our upcoming site redesign, is our set of test kitchen dossiers. We try to give you a quick-yet-substantial overview of the ingredient in question, its origins and etymology, flavor profiles, uses in the kitchen, and recipes we’ve come up with over the years. There are a whole lot of them on our Ingredients page if you want to take a peek. I’ll wait.

For this week’s particular theme, we’ve created a virtual herb garden for you. (Don’t worry, these are safe from my black thumb.) We encourage you to sniff, chiffonade, infuse, finely chop and nibble your way to ecstasy with these herbaceous delights. Then you can start to build flavor combinations like the ones in our featured recipes this week, which are two of the most popular on our site. Oh my, yes.

Featured recipes:

Lavender Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze
Rosemary & Honey-Roasted Pears

Featured dossiers:

Fabulous Fennel
Cilantro: Herb with an Attitude
Sweet Blooming Lavender
Lemongrass: Perfumed Allure
Rosemary: The Scent of Inspiration
Sensually Satisfying Sage
Tarragon: The Sweet Taste of Spring
Basil Primer

******
Here’s what our other Summer Fest cohorts are doing this week with herbs, as well as with beans and other greens. You can also follow along on Twitter with the hashtag #summerfood.

Margaret Roach: Away to Garden
Storing a year of herbs & one-pot Farinata: a polenta dish with greens

Michelle Buffardi: Cooking Channel’s Devour/The Blog (Scripps)
The Best Bean Salads
A French Take on Greens, Beans and Herbs
@mbuffardi

Alison Sickelka: Food2 blog (Scripps)
Leftover Herb Solution (Pesto!)
@ali_s

FN Dish: Food Network
The “Other” Summer Greens

Healthy Eats: Food Network
Top 6 Herbs

Cate O’Malley: Sweetnicks.com
Fresh Green Bean Salad with Herb Vinaigrette
@cateomalley

Paige Smith Orloff: The Sister Project
Aloha, Pesto
@paigeorloff

Diane and Todd: White on Rice Couple
Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
@whiteonrice

Kelly Senyei: Just a Taste
Fresh Herb Ricotta
@justataste

Caroline Wright: The Wright Recipes
Wax and Butter Bean Herbed Salad
@chefcaroline

Caron Golden: San Diego Foodstuff
Kale & Feta Empanadas and Roasted Romano Beans
@carondg

Tigress in a Jam
Preserving–book giveaway, and ways to put up greens, beans, herbs
@tigressjampickl

Alana Chernila: Eating from the Ground Up
Shirred eggs with fresh herbs: the affinity between eggs and herbs
@edability

Judy: Divina Cucina
Tuscan Butcher’s Blend of Herbs
@divinacucina

Shauna Ahern: Gluten-Free Girl and the Chef
What to do with fava beans
@glutenfreegirl

Tara: Tea & Cookies
Clean Out the Fridge Summer Frittata

Nicole: Pinch My Salt
Green Beans with Balsamic Browned Butter
@pinchmysalt

Food Network UK
On the edge with beans and greens

HOW YOU CAN JOIN IN SUMMER FEST:
Each Wednesday for the rest of the summer (and probably longer), a group of blogging friends including those above will swap our recipes and tips about the following harvest-fresh ingredients. Here’s the schedule:

7/28: Cukes ‘n Zukes
8/4: Corn
8/11: Herbs, Greens and Beans
8/18: Stone Fruit
8/25 Tomatoes

We each post something and then link to one another, so that you can travel around the combined effort, gathering the goodies. Sharing makes the experience even better, so if you have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes, you can do either of the following:

• Leave a comment on participating blogs with a link to your recipe/tip
• Publish a post of your own, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2010 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt Armendariz of Mattbites)

We hope to see you in the kitchen!

“…O cruelty,
To steal my Basil-pot away from me!”
- John Keats, “The Pot of Basil”

There is no way for me to say this without sounding like a complete maniac, so I’ll just come out with it: Nothing gets my blood flowing like basil. I don’t mean that it is pleasing to my palate (it is); or that it is my favorite ingredient (it is); but that I am utterly obsessed with its arresting fragrance.

As soon as the basil in my mother’s garden is ready for picking, I am out there like a wanton lover, inhaling its scent so hard that I become deprived of oxygen, and feel myself swaying in a dreamlike haze. After tearing up the leaves to sprinkle over a bowl of tomatoes, my fingers are perfumed for the rest of the day, and I can return to my basil daydreams with the mere wave of a hand.

I’m not sure I’ve experienced a lust quite like it — I simply cannot get enough. This year I’ve experimented with adding the torn leaves to my bath so I can smell its ethereal aroma in my hair; I even keep a few leaves on my desk so I can rejuvenate my senses during the workday, allowing the captivating scent to coat my palate as I muddle through the tasks at hand. Perhaps some sort of twelve-step program is in order, because my greed is out of control.

My heritage is partly Mediterranean, so my entire lifetime of summers has been resplendent with this herbal perfume; with just a whiff, I become a woman possessed. Are my ancestors haunting me with some strange gene mutation? I had to know more about the history of this verdant demon that held me so firmly in its grasp. Was it just me, or was there some sort of addictive chemical reaction involved?

The discoveries I made were steeped in folklore, and involved cursing, yelling, love, and madness. Not necessarily in that order.

With the volume of myths surrounding this herb, I had a difficult time keeping them all straight. Depending on which reference you read, basil’s name is potentially derived from the Latin basilicum or the Greek basileum, both of which refer to it being “worthy of a king.” However, in other texts it seems to refer to one becoming crazed by its scent. I was on to something.

Now, I was familiar with an old Italian wives’ tale about cursing at the basil while planting it, then screaming at the plant while plucking the leaves from its stem, but I thought perhaps those odd ancestors of mine had partaken of either a bit too much wine or Mediterranean sun — or both. (Given some of the folklore I had to wade through, this actually seemed like one of the saner explanations.) But from whence came all this hollering?

From what I have been able to gather, it seems those crazy Romans believed basil contained the demon spirit of a basilisk (big, ugly, dragon creature), and in order to prevent the onset of madness, one had to scream curses at the basil while picking its leaves in order to keep the demons at bay. Or perhaps it was to scare away the scorpions purportedly living inside the plant. I’m still not clear on that one. There is also a myth about a girl, Isabella, whose lover was murdered, so she planted his head underneath a basil plant to keep it close to her, and her tears kept the plant watered. The Keats poem above refers to her brothers stealing the pot, which I imagine must have been quite traumatic for the poor girl.

This romantic myth may be part of the reason for basil’s connection with love; it is a potent symbol in many cultures, and when given as a gift, is seen as a fervent expression of amorous inclinations. In days of old, pots of it were placed on the balconies of women looking for a suitor. Since my mother has an entire garden full of basil plants, this gives me new ideas. Perhaps it would look inviting adorning my entire fire escape and sidewalk.

After a lengthy investigation, and many conflicting details, the only conclusion I can make with absolute conviction is that basil has tempted and tormented the senses of mankind — on many continents — since its first leaves were pulled from the ground. Its fragrance is timeless, its hint of anise bewitching, and its sweetness a joy to behold when complemented by citrusy, acidic partners in the dance of flavor.

And since I can find no clear explanation — or remedy — for my madness, I will simply have to keep indulging myself until a cure is found. And I am decorating that fire escape.

To learn more about basil and its uses in your kitchen, see our test kitchen’s Basil Primer.

This article was originally published in August 2005. Jennifer has still not caught a husband with the basil, because she keeps killing it. (The plant.)

Photo: Kelly Cline

Who’s ready to learn?? The bloggers served up some tasty tidbits this week. Open up your brain and get ready to eat!

Do you cook from scratch? It’s not scary. Go ahead…make your own Chorizo! (girlichef) and then try out this Homemade Ketchup (Bon Vivant) Twitters: @girlichef and @istelleinad

To Jefferson, meals were serious business. Thomas Jefferson’s Democratic Dining Style (The History Chef!)

Puppy treats…how far will you go? Foie Gras Dog Biscuits at Bouchon Bakery (CHOW) Twitter: @CHOW

How did this tipping business start, anyway? Service 101: A Brief History of Tipping (FoodWoolf) Twitter: @FoodWoolf

Confused about making gluten-free foods at home? A tasty review.  100 Best Gluten-Free Recipes Review (Celiacs in the House)

Do you ever wonder if that microwaveable container you’re using  is safe? Cooking in plastic- how safe is it? (Beyond Salmon)

Photo: girlichef

It seems like everyone was playing with their food this week. From sweet & salty combinations to spicy breakfasts, the food bloggers tempted our taste buds!

My favorite childhood candy and pretzels? YES PLEASE! Rolo Pretzels with Pretzel M&Ms (Two Peas and Their Pod) Twitter: @TwoPeasandPod

Have you checked out this blog yet? Beautiful images of beautiful breakfasts. Simply Breakfast Twitter: @SimplyBreakfast

Has the buffalo chicken craze gone too far? Buffalo Chicken Ravioli with Blue Cheese Sauce (The Food in my Beard)

Do you like some heat with breakfast? Serious Heat: Santa Fe-Style Green Chile Pancakes (Serious Eats) Twitter: @SeriousEats

This would have never crossed my mind…how to roast an avocado and what to do with it when you do (Stone Soup) Twitter: @jules_stonesoup

No good food to be found in Istanbul? What do you think? istanbul, not constantinople (the ulterior epicure) Twitter: @ulteriorepicure

What to do when you have an abundance of fruit AND cheese. Cherry & Plum Crumbles with Goat Cheese Ice Cream (Tartelette) Twitter: @SweetTartelette

Everyone loves chocolate and ginger…why not put them together? chocolate & ginger (pictures and pancakes)

Photo: Two Peas and Their Pod

We are delighted to participate in the third annual Summer Fest, an idea put together by Margaret Roach at Away to Garden and Deb Puchalla at Scripps.

A bunch of us have come together to run amok at farmer’s markets and our own gardens for the summer, eagerly tasting nature’s jewels still warm from the morning sun. Every Wednesday from now through the end of August we’ll be featuring a roundup here and on all the participating blogs listed below, so get ready for a feast of summer indulgence. You can also follow along on Twitter with the hashtag #summerfood. Full details of how it all works are at the end of this post, so we hope you’ll come and play in our giant virtual kitchen!

We’re kicking off the festivities with Cukes ‘n Zukes, which seem to be overflowing the baskets at farm stands everywhere right now. Here’s what we have for you to nibble on:

• Our summer squash dossier will give you a quick primer on zucchini and its brethren, as well as some delicious recipes for zucchini bread and my father’s special sofrito, the mere smell of which brings me right back to childhood — and his massive garden.
• Chef Mark’s Chilled Cucumber Mint Soup, perfect for the unrelenting heat of this summer, as it offers a bit of cooling refreshment to a weary system. The soup is featured in our Gilded Fork: Entertaining at Home cookbook if you’d like some ideas for building it into a summer menu.
• Lastly, I’m toying with cucumber as beauty enhancer over on Food Philosophy, so come take a look-see.

Now, when I said there were a bunch of us, I wasn’t kidding. Feast your ideas on what to do with all those Cukes ‘n Zukes:

Margaret Roach: Away to Garden
Why size matters — and smaller is better (includes pickling tips/tricks, and freezing the excess)

Michelle Buffardi: Cooking Channel’s Devour/The Blog (Scripps)
10 things you didn’t know you could make with zucchini
@mbuffardi

Alison Sickelka: Food2 blog (Scripps)
Zucchini Appetizers
@ali_s

Michelle Buffardi: Food Network
Paula Deen’s zucchini bread

Elizabeth Gray: Food Network
Cuke Salad & Lighter Cuke/Zuke Ideas

Cate O’Malley: Sweetnicks.com
Indian Cucumber Wraps
@cateomalley

Paige Smith Orloff: The Sister Project
On excess! Why I hate zucchini (plus pickling commentary).
@paigeorloff

Diane and Todd: White on Rice Couple
Stuffed Cucumbers with Prosciutto and Feta
@whiteonrice

Kelly Senyei: Just a Taste
Cucumber & Sesame Salad (includes step-by-step illustrations of slicing cucumbers on a mandoline)
@justataste

Caroline Wright: The Wright Recipes
Cucumber Salad
Marinated Summer Squash Salad
@chefcaroline

Caron Golden: San Diego Foodstuff
Cucumber and Radish Confetti Soup
@carondg

Tigress in a Jam
50 Ways with Cucurbits
@tigressjampickl

Alana Chernila: Eating from the Ground Up
Cucumber Mint Sorbet with Lime Shortbread
@edability

Judy: Divina Cucina
Fried Zucchini Blossoms (and more!) from Italy
@divinacucina

Shauna Ahern: Gluten-Free Girl
Cucumber, Dill & Mint Popsicles
@glutenfreegirl

Tara: Tea & Cookies
Stuffed Zucchini, Zucchini “Noodles” & Pickles

Nicole: Pinch My Salt
Grilled Zucchini with Lemon & Olive Oil
@pinchmysalt

HOW YOU CAN JOIN IN SUMMER FEST:
Each Wednesday for the rest of the summer (and probably longer), a group of blogging friends including those above will swap our recipes and tips about the following harvest-fresh ingredients. Here’s the schedule:

7/28: Cukes ‘n Zukes
8/4: Corn
8/11: Herbs, Greens and Beans
8/18: Stone Fruit
8/25 Tomatoes

We each post something and then link to one another, so that you can travel around the combined effort, gathering the goodies. Sharing makes the experience even better, so if you have a recipe or tip that fits any of our weekly themes, you can do either of the following:

• Leave a comment on participating blogs with a link to your recipe/tip
• Publish a post of your own, and grab the juicy Summer Fest 2010 tomato badge (illustrated by Matt Armendariz of Mattbites)

We hope to see you in the kitchen!

My favorite Girl Scout Cookies have been reproduced. I might now be fat all year long. Keebler’s Coconut Dreams, reviewed (Baking Bites) Twitter: @BakingBites

Another way to use the zucchini and tomatoes that are growing rampant in your backyard. Zucchini Pasta with Heirloom Tomato and Lemon-Basil (RoostBlog)

On the union of food and words. The Beauty of Reading & Writing About Food (eggbeater) Twitter: @ShunaFish

Are you guilty of these office food no-nos? I am. Dear Colleague: Your Tuna Sandwich Reeks (CHOW) Twitter: @CHOW

What does this mean for the rest of us? Hospitals buy antibiotic-free meat (A Hunger Artist) Twitter: @BobDelGrosso

Photo: Baking Bites

There is nothing more refreshing on a hot, sticky summer day than an ice cold beverage. Reminiscent of lemonade, but infused with fresh ginger and lemongrass, this succulently sweet and spicy cooler is perfect for all of your summer gatherings. Since we included no alcohol in the base recipe, this gingery fizz is the perfect pucker for all.

8 servings

Ingredients

For the ginger syrup:
3 cups of water
2 cups of sugar
6 inch piece of ginger, chopped

For the Fizzy Ginger:
Ginger syrup
1 Liter sparkling water, chilled
Juice of 3-4 lemons (depending on size)
8 thin slices of candied ginger (to garnish each glass)

Preparation

Prepare the ginger syrup:
Combine the water, sugar, and ginger in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, then reduce heat and simmer until sugar is dissolved, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and steep the mixture for 1 hour to allow the flavors to infuse the syrup. Strain the syrup into a pitcher, discarding the ginger. Chill, covered, until cold for at least 1 hour.

Prepare the Fizzy Ginger:
Add the sparkling water and lemon juice to the pitcher with the cooled syrup and stir well. Divide among tall, chilled glasses over ice cubes and garnish each drink with a slice of candied ginger.

[Chef’s Note: The syrup can be made a week ahead and chilled, but be sure to add the sparkling water just before serving or the drink will lose its fizz. Feel free to use the ginger syrup in other applications, too, as it is also a great base in which to toss fresh fruit. Also, add it to hot or iced teas for a summery kick.]

Variations

Add approximately 1½ cups (more or less to taste) of good quality gin or rum for a deliriously delicious adult libation.

There are many tasty variations that can work well in the Fizzy Ginger. Add 2 stalks of lemongrass (pounded and sliced to release flavor) at the same time as the ginger. Discard along with the ginger when straining. On the other hand, purée ¼ cup of strawberries (or other berries) in a blender with a few tablespoons of sugar, depending on the ripeness of the fruit. Add the purée to the bottom of a glass before adding the Fizzy Ginger. Stir to create a cool summer treat. Lastly, add two cardamom pods (pounded to release flavor) at the same time as the ginger into the syrup, discarding them when straining.

Recipe and photo by Monica Glass