Thirsty Thursday: Winter Citrus Shandy

I want to shout: "I'm back bitches!!" at just the hint that I can drink cocktails again, but alas, drinking hard liquor while breastfeeding is sort of frowned upon. So I'm easing my way back into the adult beverage business with a light and lovely beer cocktail usually reserved for summer sipping - the Shandy.

Shandies are a mixture of beer, lager or pale ale, and lemonade or ginger ale. The low-alcohol, high flavor drink has been enjoyed for hundred of years. Usually shandies are enjoyed in hot weather when you need something light & refreshing, but I've always wondered why summer time gets all the lemonade love. Winter is prime citrus time. And who couldn't use a glass of sunshine when there are 6 more weeks of winter left?!  I've started juicing all the citrus and mixing it with a little maple syrup and water for a wintry lemonade that is a perfect 3 pm pick-me-up. Add a little lager and you've got a darling little drink.

Shandies are also great for breastfeeding mamas because they are low alcohol. There are anecdotal reports that beer drinking (in moderation) can help support milk supply. In fact, our lactation consultant prescribed non-alcoholic beer when I was struggling to breastfeed Ella, because brewers yeast is good for milk production (as seen in these cookies)! But honestly, I just don't enjoy drinking a O'Douls the way I enjoy a cocktail. There is a certain ritual missing. And while I'd recommend waiting until your breastfeeding routine is well established before imbibing, I do think an occasional adult beverage is beneficial, because mama needs to relax a little.

Making your own lemonade is the key to this Shandy. I like a mix of 50% lemon juice and 50% other citrus. Cara cara and blood oranges give the juice a sweet pink hue, while clementines will lend a sweeter sip. Grapefruit juice is ridiculously delicious in a shandy made with a not quite pale ale.

Maple Winter Citrus-ade
makes 1 quart or 8 servings

1 cup fresh citrus juice - I used 4 lemons, 2 cara cara & 2 blood oranges (or about 8 lemons)
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup maple syrup

Combine the citrus juice, water, and syrup in a pitcher. Stir to combine, chill until ready to serve.

Winter Citrus Shandy
makes 2 drinks

Ice
1 cup Maple Winter Citrus-ade
12 ounces chilled Lager or IPA

Fill two rocks glasses with ice and divide the Citrus-ade between the glasses. Top with beer and stir gently to combine.

More Shandy Facts & History from NPR
More on Breastfeeding & Alcohol

Thirsty Thursday | Vanilla Lemon-Limeade

This week's installment of 'lets pretend this drink is a cocktail" looks a lot like lemonade. It also looks a lot like the only non-water or coffee thing I want to drink right now. Vanilla Lemon-Limeade is a dressed up version of that ubiquitous summer sipper.

I had a crazy crazy pregnancy for lemonade and there wasn't even time to let sugar dissolve. Luckily I had some vanilla simple syrup on hand (I use it for iced coffee, because I'm fancy…) so I threw that into some lemon juice and water. My crazy pregnant mind was blown.

Turns out lemon and lime (and citrus in general) is pretty awesome for pregnant ladies. Besides being loaded with vitamin C, citrus may help with nausea and aid digestion for mamas-to-be. Sometimes I wish the same were true for Champagne.  Still this Vanilla Lemon-Limeade feels like a fancy cocktail in my hand while I'm drinking it.

Both the vanilla and lime juice cut the acidity of the lemon juice - making this ade taste softer and sweeter than traditional lemonade. You can use all lemon juice, if thats what you're craving!

Vanilla Lemon Limeade 
Makes 1 1/2 quarts

1 cup Vanilla Simple Syrup, recipe follows
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1 quart water
pinch of salt
Ice, lemon and lime slices to garnish

Combine syrup, citrus juices, water and salt and chill for at least an hour before serving.

Vanilla Bean Simple Syrup 
Makes 3 cups

2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

Combine the sugar, water and vanilla bean in a small saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Cool completely before using.

Thirsty Thursday | Dirty Shirley

Oh, Shirley! You classy lady, you've been with me since I was a little girl. A Shirley Temple is the first drink I ever ordered at a bar. Really! My dad worked in restaurants throughout my early childhood and I remember bellying up to the bar, (before the restaurants were open), ordering this drink, and feeling like a real pro. 

Thirsty Thursday: Clementine Hot Toddy

Winter is this|close to being over and wouldn't you know it, last week I had my first sick session of the year. Snotty nose, sore throat, congestion, headache - the whole damn shebang. But you know, I took the whole thing in stride, by creating a cocktail that I will now promote as a cure all as to excuse my day drinking. 

{Thirsty Thursday} Happy Happy Hour

Have you seen the wonderful dates that Ashley at Not Without Salt makes with her husband? I love this idea. Sometimes I get bummed because between the hubs and I both working full time, plus our own passion projects, and trying to see friends and family we don't often get one-on-one time. It is a blessing to have a full life! And I know I often take for granted being married to someone who works so hard. 

{Thirsty Thursday}: Strawberry Shrub

Why, yes, I am talking about drinking a shrub, and, no, I don't mean a plant. I mean the sweet, vinegary concoction that can be made with whatever berries are in your fridge that pairs decidedly well with soda water. Oh, and gin. 

{Thirsty Thursday}: Sweet Tea and Bourbon Slushie

Dear Summer: 

  It is so nice to see you so early this year! I just love sweating before 9 am and not being able to go outside between 10 am and 3 pm. No really, my husband getting a sunburn before its even actually June, is just, well its incredible. 

{Thirsty Thursday} Bocce Ball

Do you have a go to drink? There's been some discussion about what to order when you don't trust whoever is making your drink. Mine changes seasonally - the fall and winter are for drinking cold beer and spring and summer are best sipped in cocktails. 

Thirsty Thursday | Meyer Lemon Mojito

Spring has come and gone in the South. No, really, we seemed to have bypassed winter and spring entirely and gone straight from fall to full on summer. Highs in the eighties, massive pollen, and thunder storms all before Easter.

This doesn't mean we should neglect the lovely edibles that brighten winter into spring: asparagus, ramps, strawberries, and sunny citrus. Oranges, clementines, lemons, and kumquats are all enjoying the would-be-spring at my house.

I first discovered Meyer lemons while baking at Colombia City Bakery, my first internship in culinary school. We whipped the juice into curd for filling danishes and tiny tarts. A Meyer lemon, supposedly a hybrid of a Eureka lemon and a mandarin, has a sweeter, more mellow juice than a lemon. Their thin fragrant skin has a slight orange tint and is lovely for zesting and saving for syrups or salad dressings. These little gems of the citrus family have a short season and are worth the extra money if you can get your hand on them.

I bought a few over the weekend in hopes of turning them into curd, but the days got away from me. Last night, we put a few to use in one of our favorite spring cocktail: the mojito. A lovely muddle of mint, sugar and citrus mixed with rum and a little seltzer, these Meyer lemon Mojitos are sweeter than their lime counterparts.

Meyer Lemon Mojito 

makes 1 lovely beverage

3 fresh mint leaves
1 Meyer lemon, juiced 

1 ounce muscovado simple syrup (see below)

1 1/2 ounces dark rum 

ice

soda water 

Put the mint leaves in a old fashioned glass and gently muddle (a muddle works well, but a mortar or even a wooden spoon will too) - you want to bruise the mint and release some of its oils, but not smash to smithereens. As soon as the kitchen smells like mint, stop. Add a handful of ice, the Meyer lemon juice, simple syrup and rum and stir to combine. Top with soda water and enjoy.

Muscovado Simple Syrup: Combine 2/3 cup muscovado sugar with 2/3 cup water and bring to a simmer, stir until the sugar is dissolved. Cool before using. Dark brown sugar can easily be substituted.

For More Fun with Meyer Lemons, check out:

Meyer Lemon Donut Holes at Matchbook Kitchen 

Meyer Lemon Vodka, Oh, makes me want want to make Meyer Limoncello!

Meyer Lemon Aioli {with Green Bean Fries!}

{Thirsty Thursday}: Fuzzy Peach

A peck of peaches is becoming my new summer tradition. Lured in by cute roadside farms or beauties at a berry farm, I enthusiastically pick the prettiest peck to bring home. A peck is between 12 and 20 pounds. I didn't know that last summer, but somehow that fact slipped my mind as I payed for and carried home another twenty this year.

Thirsty Thursday: New to Me Negroni

The subtitle of this post should be "Or how I accidentally got drunk on a Sunday afternoon".

Thirsty Thursday: Toasted Almond

I don't know about you, but I generally don't keep amaretto stocked in the bar. Among my bar regulars are bourbon, vodka, gin, and rum. Sure, we have a bottle of Kahlua and now some Rootbeer liquor. I mentioned picking up the amaretto for a very special cake I made recently. Now that I have a bottle of amaretto in the bar I feel obligated to give it a go in a few classic cocktails.

Thirsty Thursday: Blackmaker Floats

I stopped to buy amarretto for a cake I am making for Saturday. Something about the label caught my eye. What can I say - I liked the label and I love root beer.

The label tells a story of a strange "maker" herbalist who created the secret blend for this liqueur. Dude sounds like a creep to me or at least some sort of gypsy wanderer who shouldn't really be hawking anything that reminds me of childhood.

After sniffing and tasting and reading the label's suggestions, we decide a "float" would be the best drink for this liqueur. It is sort of sweet and reminds me of both my favorite adult beverage, the White Russian, and of a good ole fashioned rootbeer float.