foodliker – let's eat

(Affectionately nick-named Babartinis, named after this little elephant from my childhood)

Back when I was a kid and actually liked fruit, one of the main reasons I looked forward to summer was swimming in the backyard under the Santa Rosa Plum Tree. My brother and I would grab plums off the tree periodically, rinse their dark skins of dust in the blue pool water and enjoy them in the shallow end. The plums were dark purple inside and their sticky juices would run all over your hands as you bit into them. No worries for mom, we just rinsed off in the pool as we gorged ourselves on the plums that fell from the tree.

We moved out of that house 20+ years ago and every summer since, plums haven’t been the same. After searching grocery stores and farmers markets alike for what seems like decades and coming up empty, I’ve often considered stopping by the old house to see if I can grab a few plums. Hannah and I even planted some trees in our backyard, hoping one day to get something close to what I remember a plum tasting like. A recent trip to the Ferry Building Farmers market and little more hunting in Mountain View got us close to Santa Rosa Plum Greatness. So we decided to commemorate the moment with a festive cocktail. And thus, the Babartini was born.

Here’s a recipe that should make about 4 Martinis, or at least 2-3 giant ones.

• 2 Elephant Heart or Santa Rosa Plums, nice and ripe
• 8 ounces of Vodka
• 1/2 cup of water
• Sugar, preferrably superfine, as much as 1/2 cup depending on taste and ripeness of your fruit
• Sparkling Water to top it off
• A dozen or so nice, fresh basil leaves, reserve 4 for garnish

Simply cut your plums in half, remove the pit and add to a simmering mixture of water and 4 tablespoons of sugar. Don’t cook the mixture, just simmer it but stir frequently, the fruit will break down and the skins will start to liberate from the flesh. This is all good. After 10 minutes remove from the heat and allow to cool. What you now have should be a rough puree of beautiful plummy goodness. I let this mixture cool for a few hours.

Once cool, break out your cocktail shaker and pour in 8 tablespoons of the cooled plum mixture and 8 ounces of Vodka over 1 cup of ice. Shake liberally, give it a little taste and add more sugar if you need to. Once you get the sweetness right, lightly muddle about 8 basil leaves in the cocktail bath and get ready to serve. Pour into martini or short Italian wine glasses, top with sparkling water, garnish each with a basil leaf, and finally toast with a “cheers” & enjoy.

We’re always on the lookout for the perfect cocktail and here’s one we found in our very own backyard. Hannah’s Mom & Dad had given me a Meyer Lemon tree for my birthday and sure enough about 6 months later we’ve got some beautiful yellow Meyers on the tree. Hannah suggested we make lemon drops, which has to be the girliest drink of all time so I decided to class it up a bit. On my search for Lemon Drop recipes I came up this Roasted Lemon Martini Recipe (via). By using our Meyer Lemons and a few tweaks this cocktail came out rich, floral, slightly sweet and full of lemony-smoothness. I can’t wait to make these again. Here’s how:

Ingredients

• 1 roasted lemon, ends removed, cut into 4 thick slices
• 1 ounce simple syrup
• 2 ounces vodka (Tito’s Handmade Vodka is my favorite, available at Trader Joe’s and much to my delight all over Austin / SXSW)

To roast lemons

• First wash and dry the rinds, then slice each lemon into 4 thick slices. Bake them on a cookie sheet in a 325 degree oven for an hour, turning once.
  Let cool before using.

To make the Roasted Meyer Lemon Drop

• Combine lemon slices, syrup and vodka over crushed ice in a shaker.

• Shake vigorously and strain into chilled martini glass.

Ideas for next time

• Since Meyer Lemons are smaller and have more sugar in them, next time I’ll try halves instead of 4 slices. This should help the Meyers hang onto a little more juice.
• To bring even more floral notes in from the garden I might try adding some fresh rosemary or basil.