Fresh Herb Cocktails

For a Great Garden Cocktail use Fresh Herbs!

Whether you muddle, infuse, make an herb simple syrup, or just garnish your cocktail with herbs, they make a magnificent addition to summer drinks.

Some of our favorite herbs to use in cocktails are;
Mint
Rosemary,
Lemon Verbena
Lemon Balm
Basil
Borage
Cilantro
Dill
Lavender Growing Lavender

Here is a favorite recipe for a Lavender Cocktail:
Ingredients:
1 8oz. glass filled with ice
1 1 1/2 ounce of vodka
Tonic Water
1/2 ounce of Lavender Simple Syrup(recipe below)

In  Cocktail shaker mix the above ingredients and shake well! Shake it baby, shake it!
Pour the drink back into the glass with the ice and garnish with a lavender sprig. Enjoy on the terrace, a balcony, in your garden or home. Most enjoyed with friends and family.

Lavender Simple Syrup:
Ingredients:
1 cup of water
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of finely minced lavender leaves and flowers (I suggest a food processor and mincing with all of the sugar)
In a small saucepan, bring the water and lavender sugar combination to a boil, simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool completely. The syrup can be refrigerated for up to a month.

Getting ready for Spring in the herb garden

Herbs From the Garden to the Table and Home  Like so many herb gardeners, I often caught up with the desire to plant just one more herb, or for that matter, layout one more garden.  I made a list of basic herbs to grow, then realized....this is crazy, most people will be overwhelmed! The list was 58 herbs. So, I narrowed it down to a dozen. Not an easy task for me, because I had to leave out so many of my favorites. Virgil said it best,"Admire a large estate, but tend a small one." With that in mind, for most people I would suggest a small garden.

A great advantage of herbs is that regardless of your limited space, almost all herbs can be successfully in containers and small spaces. In fact, potted herbs will make a garden where nothing else will.

No place is too small for a garden of potted herbs, and there is always a place in any type of garden for decorative containers of herbs. To read the rest of the article go to
http://www.urbanherbal.com/bill_varney/index.htm

A refreshing glass of Ice water with Fresh Herbs

The Bird Girl Early Spring


So, here is my suggested short list:

Basils
Chives
Cilantro
Dill
Lemon Balm
Mint
Oregano
Parsley
Rosemary
Lavender
Sage
Thyme

To make a refreshing glass of iced herb water, cut a sprig of mint, lemongrass and slice a piece of vanilla bean. Add water and stir! Of course you can make whatever blend you would like.