Author Notes
I’ve been experimenting with fresh blueberry cocktails and settled on this to toast a close friend’s birthday. I love green shiso and think it adds an indescribable savory quality that is worth seeking out. However, if you are unable to find green shiso, you can substitute basil (sweet or Thai), though you might want to try it with lemon instead of lime.
It is a refreshing and dangerously good combination – a perfect summer sipper!
—gingerroot
Ingredients
-
¼ cup fresh blueberries
-
3 green Shiso leaves
-
3 ounces vodka
-
1 1/2 ounces simple syrup
-
2 lime wedges
-
4-5 Ice cubes
-
2 ounces Sparkling Rosé, divided
Directions
-
Place blueberries in a cocktail shaker. Tear shiso leaves, add to the blueberries, and muddle until all the berries are crushed and the shiso is fragrant.
-
Add vodka, simple syrup and squeeze lime wedges into mixture. Add ice to shaker, close and shake vigorously for 5-7 seconds, until it is cold and frosty. Strain into martini glasses. Top each glass with one ounce of Sparkling Rosé. Enjoy and repeat.
My most vivid childhood memories have to do with family and food. As a kid, I had the good fortune of having a mom who always encouraged trying new things, and two grandmothers who invited me into their kitchens at a young age. I enjoy cooking for the joy it brings me - sharing food with loved ones - and as a stress release. I turn to it equally during good times and bad. Now that I have two young children, I try to be conscientious about what we cook and eat. Right about the time I joined food52, I planted my first raised bed garden and joined a CSA; between the two I try to cook as sustainably and organically as I can. Although I'm usually cooking alone, my children are my favorite kitchen companions and I love cooking with them. I hope when they are grown they will look back fondly at our time spent in the kitchen, as they teach their loved ones about food-love.
Best of all, after years on the mainland for college and graduate school, I get to eat and cook and raise my children in my hometown of Honolulu, HI. When I'm not cooking, I am helping others grow their own organic food or teaching schoolchildren about art.
See what other Food52ers are saying.