Cucumber and Strawberry Vodka

I made cucumber vodka and strawberry vodka for my annual summery drinks party. I'd seen this recipe around the Web, and was really curious. I'm not a huge fan of vodka, except in my newly discovered love of homemade Bloody Marys, so I was mostly excited about the process. Basically, you cut up stuff, put it in a jar, fill the jar with vodka, and agitate twice daily for a few days. Then strain, chill, and hand out the tiny glasses and the aspirin.

Here are the two jars on the first day



Here are the jars on the second day:


Here's a photo of straining the strawberry vodka through coffee filters. It takes a while, because the little strawberry hairs clog up the works. I had to switch filters frequently. And look at the strawberries - all of the color has been leached out. Icky!



Here's a photo of the cucumber vodka, unstrained, still in the jar.


I didn't really care for either flavor, but everyone else seemed to.

A Visit to Shelburne Falls

We took a trip to the Bridge of Flowers, where there were some especially nice poppies in bloom:






I admired the view:


And the new mosaics around town:


I like this funny little MOHAWK DETECTIVE AGENCY plaque. I'll have to add it to my peeling paint project!:


I admired some fresh graffiti:








I made some plans with my grandmother's recipe book. This page has recipes for doughnuts, cinnamon rolls, and Syrian bread!:


The end:

Marriage

This weekend I attended a truly lovely wedding in Brooklyn. The personality of the bride and groom shone through brightly, and it seemed like everyone had an excellent time. I did. Congratulations, guys!

In honor of the recent gay marriage legislation in New York:


(Zurich, 2008)

In honor of my friends who married around this time a couple years ago, also a wedding with lots of personality:


(Zurich, 2008)

Brimfield!

Well, I seem to be generally about a year behind. These photos are from a trip to the Brimfield antique show in May 2010.







(I like my lucite & abalone table better, but this one is nice too. I think the white slices are agate.)








Dolls are creepy enough anyway, but these are extra creepy:
















Check out the base of this table:

Chilly Art

I always like visiting the deCordova ScupturePark & Museum.

2010 in Review: Bakey Bakey

For my May Day/ birthday party I made myself a pretty lemon cornmeal cake with candied violets. This year I'd like to make Smitten Kitchen's chocolate peanut butter cake, though this year's party will be delayed due to school and work conflicts.


And a pretty birthday cake for a friend:


I made stained glass jello:


I baked about 14 batches of cheese straws:


I made english muffins:




I charred eggplants on the gas burner and didn't burn down the house:


I made fleur de sel caramels: