Our first pocketbook, “Drinking the Summer Garden” has been out for a week. Now that the flurry to publish has started to settle, we’ve decided to roll out a few fun surprises.
Homegrown Crème de Menthe
As with all of my books, I have put together a few free bonus downloads. The first is a recipe for homegrown Crème de Menthe that I think you will love, especially if you have a ton of mint in your garden that needs to be used up pronto. As I mentioned in the recipe intro, crème de menthe was one of the very first liqueurs that I enjoyed. My favourite way to have it then was as a grasshopper, a drink that is so sickly sweet I never imagined that I would ever drink it again. Fortunately, the homemade version is about a thousand times better than anything I’ve bought commercially. I love it! I made the recipe as a small batch, but you can easily double or triple it if you’d prefer a larger batch for gifting. I used 80-proof vodka as it is most widely available. However, 100-proof vodka is great if you can get it — just be sure to add more simple syrup to taste. Finally, the real deal is traditionally made using corsican mint. Again, I adjusted my recipe to be concocted using any mint that you have available since corsican mint is a bit of an acquired taste and harder to come by. I suggest a really strong spearmint to capture that cool minty bite.
Download the free, printable Crème de Menthe recipe here
Please come back if you make it and tell us how it turned out!
$9.99 eBook Bundle $19.99 Paperback
Giveaway
For the second surprise, we’ve decided to giveaway three eBook bundles. To enter, tell us in the comments below about your favourite summer drink. We shared our favourites in our bios at the back of the book. Davin loves sour citrus drinks so his favourite is the Mint Limonada recipe in the book. Mine is a bloody mary sipped through a lovage straw. My homegrown recipe for that drink was published in my previous book, “Easy Growing: Organic Herbs and Edible Flowers from Small Spaces.”
I will draw three winners tomorrow night (Thursday, August 9, 2012) at 9pm EST.
Update: Thanks for entering, the winners have been contacted.
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From frosty, low-sugar thirst quenchers that will keep the kids hydrated and happy, to fun and unusual twists on classic grown up libations, DRINKING THE SUMMER GARDEN is packed with more than 40 recipes to satisfy every taste. Featuring instruction on syrup-making, pickling, homegrown garnishes, fermenting, handcrafting liqueurs, as well as handy how-to techniques written and presented in Trail’s irreverent, friendly style, this volume will encourage and inspire further explorations in the kitchen and the garden.
