Spring has Sprung

It was a beautiful day in Portland yesterday. Spring Equinox fell on a perfectly lovely spring day. I had daffodils, hyacinths and a couple of straggler crocuses in bloom.

I spent the day doing battle with the laurel hedge in front of the house. I'm trying to whack it down to a manageable size and still maintain the privacy screen it provides. It's a long slow process - you'd think I was Michelangelo working on the marble sculpture of David.

The beautiful weather got me thinking about summer drinks. One of the cocktails enjoy in the summer is a Gimlet. It's a simple enough drink; half gin and half Rose's Lime Juice and yet I've always thought it could be a bit better. The Rose's Lime juice is made with HFCS instead of sugar (apparently it's still made with sugar in Canada) and it seems overly sweet. So I was delighted when I came across a recipe for a homemade lime cordial while poking around on eGullet a few months ago.


Yesterday after I'd had enough of tormenting the hedge I hit the two local Asian markets for limes and kaffir leaves. It only took about twenty minutes to get the limes peeled and juiced and get it simmering. I let it cool and settle overnight and ran it through a coffee filter this morning. So here I sit enjoying the first Gimlet of the year and it's much better than what I'm used to and all that I'd hoped for.


I"ll be drinking a lot of these this year since this made about three or four times the amount of lime cordial that I usually go through in a year. This is limeade for adults with the added benefit that a regular ration of it will help prevent scurvy!


Housemade Lime Cordial

Submitted by: Katie Loeb on Recipe Gullet

The below recipe will make about 5 cups of lime cordial. This works in gimlets (vodka or gin) for cocktails, or as a base for limeade, or with ginger beer for a non-alcoholic ginger-limeade with a bit of club soda splashed in with the cordial and ginger beer.

3 Cups  Water
1-1/2  C Organic Evaporated Cane Sugar
1/2 Tbls Citric Acid (available at homebrew shops)
1 tsp Tartaric Acid (available at homebrew shops)
2 Cups fresh lime juice - This will be 15 or 16 large limes
Peel of 4 limes
6 Kaffir lime leaves, shredded (Get them at a Thai or Asian Market)
1 tsp Rose water
1 tsp Orange Flower water

Stir sugar, citric acid and tartaric acid together with a whisk. Bring water to a boil, then add sugar mixture. Stir thoroughly to dissolve sugar mixture into water. Add lime juice, lime rinds, kaffir lime leaves and stir. Heat mixture for 10 minutes on high heat, turn off heat, cover and cool overnight. Strain out lime rind and add Rose and Orange Flower water. Refrigerate for another day before using (the flavor continues to change a bit). Stored in the refrigerator, it should keep better than simple syrup.

Gimlet
1 1/2 oz Gin
1 1/2 oz Lime Cordial


Mix the ingredients over ice in a highball glass and garnish with a slice of lime