Natalie Bovis - Edible Cocktails: From Garden to Glass - Seasonal Cocktails with a Fresh Twist

THE TREND TOWARD MARRYING THE KITCHEN AND THE BAR HAS ALREADY BEEN UNDERWAY FOR OVER A DECADE IN MIXOLOGY-FOCUSED BARS ACROSS THE GLOBE as well as in the homes of foodies and cocktail geeks worldwide. You can also incorporate the delicious, fresh foods that you love to eat into the lip-smacking cocktails that you drink. But in order to fully utilize the recipes and concepts in this book, you must start with a few tools and a few basic philosophies. From kitchen tools and glassware to special ingredients and liquors to kick-start your home bar, here youll learn which home bar staples you need to start mixing your own edible cocktails. Stocking up can be the perfect opportunity to start scouring your favorite home stores, cooking websites, and even antique stores for intriguing cocktail shakers, fancy glasses, and vintage bar tools. Obviously, you can buy what you need according to your budget. Whether you choose high-end vintage stores or hunt through your neighborhood flea markets, Goodwill, or Salvation Army for little treasures, collecting cool pieces can become a passion. And, if there happens to be a wedding or special birthday in your future, adding beautiful barware to your wish list or registry will help you get a superb collection all the faster.

Since edible cocktails incorporate many homemade ingredients, your everyday kitchen appliances will come in handy when youre ready to mix things up. Youll find that many of the recipes for jams, syrups, and so on require a certain amount of prep work before youre able to mix these items into your cocktail and to do this prep work you need to have the right tools on hand. For example, the same saucepan you may use to heat up soup for dinner is integral to making a fruity jam that can be shaken into a cocktail. Here, youll find a list of everyday things that will come in handy when preparing the recipes on the coming pages. You likely already have most of these items, so it wont be difficult to get started.

BLENDER OR FOOD PROCESSOR: Either one can be used for blending, or mixing beverages, or grinding and finely chopping garnishes, etc.

CUTTING BOARD: Youll be doing a lot of chopping and peeling so make sure you have a good-sized cutting board. Although wood may be more aesthetically pleasing, bamboo or synthetic materials often are easier to clean as they are less porous and have fewer nooks and crannies in which bacteria can linger. Always clean your board often and scour it well.

PARING KNIFE: A good knife is a great investment for both cooking and cocktails. In fact, you should have at least two quality knives: one for slicing small fruits and one for chopping and cutting larger produce and food items.

PEELER: This will be used for peeling citrus zest to create rounds and strips for garnishes as well as taking the skins off fruits and veggies for juicing.

GRATER: