Simple Strawberry Vodka

This slightly sweet simple strawberry vodka is best served well chilled in shot glasses or as a cocktail ingredient. It makes a fabulous sparkling libation with Champagne or soda. 

One of the easiest ways to preserve the fresh taste of strawberries is to “pickle” them in alcohol. The strawberries transfer their sweet flavor and gorgeous color to your alcohol of choice in just a couple of weeks. 

Speaking of preserving fruit, jam is one of my favorite things to make with whatever fruit is in season. And I always wash and freeze strawberries and blueberries in a single layer then pop them into a Ziploc bag to extend their seasons. But I wanted to challenge myself to do something different this time. 

I had no idea how easy it would be to make strawberry vodka!

As it turns out, it’s really not much of a challenge at all. You can make straight strawberry vodka by cutting up the strawberries and tipping them into vodka but I chose to add some sugar too so I wouldn’t have to add simple syrup for cocktails. It was a good decision.

Simple Strawberry Vodka

This fruity vodka can also be made with other berries like blackcurrants or cranberries, or any soft fruit really, come to think of it.

Ingredients

9 oz or 255g fresh strawberries

2 1/2 cups or 590ml vodka

1/2 cup or 100g sugar

Method

Hull and chop the strawberries into four or five pieces.

Put them in a sterilized jar with the sugar. Add the vodka and strawberries and shake gently till the sugar has dissolved.

Leave for at least two weeks in a cool, dark cupboard. Give the jar a gentle shake at least once a day.

Strain through several layers of cheesecloth or a single ply of paper towel and decant into a decorative bottle. Discard the poor pale strawberries which have given their all that we might have fruity vodka. 

Seal and label.

Isn’t it a beautiful color?

Enjoy!

It’s time for another Foodie Extravaganza party and we are celebrating National Strawberry Month with all sorts of great recipes. Check them out! Many thanks to our host Kelley of Simply Inspired Meals for the theme and to Sneha of Sneha's Recipe for her behind-the-scenes work. 

• Barbecued Strawberry Chicken from Making Miracles
• Fresas con Crema from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Korean Strawberry Milk from Tara's Multicultural Table
• Simple Strawberry Vodka from Food Lust People Love
• SOP Mocktail from Sneha's Recipe
• Strawberry Marshmallows from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Strawberry Shrikand from Magical Ingredients
• Vanilla-Macerated Berry Shortcake From Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Foodie Extravaganza is where we celebrate obscure food holidays by cooking and baking together with the same ingredient or theme each month. Posting day is always the first Wednesday of each month. If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you're a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board.

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Boozy Nectarine Crumble

Nectarines lavishly drenched in golden rum are topped with a mix of flour, sugar and butter to make this boozy nectarine crumble. 

When I want to recall fond memories of when we were still able to travel and visit with friends, I bake what I call Caroline’s boozy nectarine crumble, so named for the friend who showed me how to make it. 

Her recipe was simple, made with sweet ripe summer nectarines, bought at an outdoor market in southern France. They needed no sugar, except for what’s in the crumble topping. They do need, Caroline exclaimed, a lavish drenching with golden rum, as she poured it on without measuring. 

You can read more about that holiday in France on my Cheese Shallot Pie post. We ate so well and I swoon to remember it! 

Boozy Nectarine Crumble

Caroline made her crumble topping with equal parts flour and sugar and 2/3 that measure of unsalted butter. In other words, 6 oz flour, 6 oz sugar and 4 oz butter, all by weight. Or, she continued the instructions, use the same proportions for however much crumble you need. For my smaller baking dish (11 x 8 in or 28 x 20cm oval), I kept the same proportions but in a smaller amount. Caroline was, after all, feeding crowd of us.

Ingredients

1 1/2 lbs or 700g nectarines, chopped. 

1/2 cup or 120ml rum

9/10 cup or 113g flour (This is a weird measurement if you don’t have scales. Just eyeball it. A little more or a little less flour isn’t going to matter.)

Scant 2/3 cup or 113g sugar

1/3 cup or 75g butter

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C. Cut the flour, butter, sugar together to form a damp sandy crumble. Set aside. 

Pit the nectarines and cut them in small chunks and place in a large bowl. Caroline said, and I quote, “Drench them lavishly with rum!” so pour on at least 1/2 a cup or 120ml.

Pile the boozy nectarines in your baking dish and top with the crumble. 

Bake the crumble in your preheated oven for about 30-35 minutes or until topping is crunchy and golden and the nectarines are soft and bubbling. 

Spoon on plates to serve, topping with thick cream, if desired. 

Enjoy! 

Welcome to Sunday FunDay! Today we are sharing fruity desserts so check them out below. Many thanks to our host, Sneha of Sneha's Recipe.

• Banana Enchiladas From A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Blackberry Lemon Bars From Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Boozy Nectarine Crumble From Food Lust People Love
• Cherry Pie Bars From Making Miracles
• Fruit & Chocolate Trifle From Sneha's Recipe
• Lattice-Topped Apple Pie From Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Lemon Cheesecake with Lemon Curd Topping From Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Mango & Vanilla Panna Cotta From Mayuri's Jikoni
• Strawberry Fool with Meringue Topper/Base From Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Sourdough Sprouted Spelt Blini #BreadBakers

These sourdough sprout spelt blini are flavorful and fluffy, perfect to eat with sweet or savory toppings. We love them with cream cheese and salmon!

I must confess that I didn’t know much about blini beyond how to eat them so in researching this recipe, I learned a lot. For instance, blini were traditionally prepared at the end of winter to celebrate the birth of the new sun, the round blini representing the sun. The Orthodox church adopted the pagan tradition and Maslenitsa or pancake week is still celebrated today. 

Originally blini were made with a yeasted dough and baked in an oven. In fact, even though they are pan-fried like pancakes these days, even in Russia, the Russian verb used to describe their preparation is still “bake.”

Sourdough Sprouted Spelt Blini

My recipe was adapted from one on La Recette du Jour,  using wholegrain spelt instead of the traditional buckwheat. If you don't have spelt or buckwheat whole grain wheat would also work. 

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups or 300ml milk

1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

7 oz or 200g discard sourdough starter

2/3 cup or 80g plain flour

1 cup or 120g sprouted spelt flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

butter for the griddle 

Method

Warm the milk slightly and add in the yeast and sugar. When the yeast is activated (that is, when the milk gets foamy on top) add it to the sourdough starter in a large mixing bowl and whisk until blended. 

Add both the flours, stir again, cover with cling film or a plastic bag, and leave to double in size. This should take 1 – 1 1/2 hours at room temperature. (If it’s chilly where you live right now, put the covered bowl in your kitchen sink filled with warm water.) 

Separate the eggs and set the whites aside in a large clean bowl. Stir the yolks into the batter with the salt and leave for about another hour.

The batter should now be spongy and bubbly.

When you are ready to cook the blini, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold them gently into the batter.

Heat your pan or griddle over a low heat and smear with a little butter. 

Once it’s hot, ladle on small dollops of batter, whatever size you want your blini to be. I used a small cookie scoop but still managed to get wonky shaped blini. Mine would probably be booed out of new sun celebration for not being round. 

Never mind. Just keep telling yourself that looks don’t matter. It’s all about the taste.

When bubbles start to form and the bottom is browned, carefully turn the blini over with a spatula to cook the other side. 

When both sides are cooked, put them on a warmed plate and cover loosely with foil to keep them warm. 

Serve them with butter and jam or topped with cured salmon, cream cheese and capers. 

Enjoy! 

This month my Bread Baker friends are sharing breads made with whole grain flour. Check out the recipes below. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. 

• Zesty South Indian Kitchen: Einkorn and Spelt Whole Wheat Flour Sourdough Bread 
• Passion Kneaded: Marble Wheat Loaf 
• Magical Ingredients: Multigrain Carrot Rolls 
• The Wimpy Vegetarian: Oatmeal Rolls with Molasses
• Making Miracles: Seedy Soft Sandwich Bread 
• Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Sourdough Boules with Quinoa, Oats, and Sprouted Seeds
• Food Lust People Love: Sourdough Sprouted Spelt Blini 
• Sneha's Recipe: Spelt Banana Bread 
• A Messy Kitchen: Sweet Wheat Braid
• Karen's Kitchen Stories: Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Bread
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
• Ambrosia: Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread 

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakershome page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

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