Making Infused Syrups for Soda Water

Makrut lime leaves and fruit

To bring liquid interest to my meals, I’ve been experimenting with home-made sodas. Or, more precisely, I’ve been experimenting with flavored syrups, as my sodas are simply some syrup topped by chilled sparkling water and perhaps a dash of Angostura bitters. The possibilities are almost endless: aromatic leaves and roots from Asian cuisine, spices (the […]

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Recipe: Lemon Verbena Lemonade

With summer approaching, we are entering lemonade season. A glass of lemonade is a welcome drink most times of the year, of course, but there is something about drinking fresh lemonade from a dew-coated glass on a hot day that makes it even better. My standard lemonade is whole lemon lemonade , a recipe I […]

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Rediscovering Pomegranate Molasses

(Recipe updated January 19, 2011 for clarity) The condiment sections in my refrigerator have quite a few specialty items that I purchased for one or two recipes and then forgot about. Like Thai lesser ginger (kachai). Or pomegranate molasses. The name “molasses” is a bit odd, because unlike the molasses that comes from sugar refineries […]

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Whole Lemon Lemonade

Southern Cross Lemons fruit crate label - from CHS on Flickr Commons

(Updated 10/23/16. Originally posted on 03/08/07) The skin of a lemon is such a cheery hue. I’m fortunate to have a mature lemon tree in my backyard, and so when I look out my office window, I can see a few lemons hanging on the tree, little yellow orbs amidst the green leaves, and they […]

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