// Country Time * and Lemonade//

Soooo, last weekend was the State Fair and we decided to go and partake in the fried food, sheep watching, and pig races… yup there were pig races. They were also awarding tons of prizes and apparently the BEST glue you could ever own was for sale.

Can you tell what they’re sellin’ here?

Brant took this of me while I was getting my dinner; a pecan roll. This was eaten after we had our pineapple whip, fried peach, fried twinkie, and (the best) fried cookie dough.

My (unofficial) new friend. I call him Alfred.

Winner.

We had fun being “country” for the night. :) I’m only kicking myself a LITTLE because we missed Willie Nelson play. I heard he killed it!

Happy Weekend!

-JVB

// Last drinks of summer.//

This season has been a memorable one.  I’ve gotten to see lots of my family, enjoy some great BBQ’s, be in a dear friend’s wedding, as well as go on many trips with my husband. They’ve all been great experiences that have added to our lives and I am so grateful for them. Something I’ve been drinking all summer long has been sweet tea! So before the season’s over,  I decided to make my own of sorts.

Blackberry-Bourbon Iced Tea

Ingredients

• 3 cups blackberries
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint, plus mint sprigs for garnish
• 6 black tea bags ( I used assam tea)
• Bourbon ( Maker’s Mark is an excellent staple)

Get a large bowl and toss in the first three ingredients. Mash them up with a potato masher or wooden spoon. Set aside.

Bring 1 1/2 quarts of COLD water to a boil in a medium saucepan.  Remove from heat, toss in the tea bags and let steep for 3 minutes.  Remove the tea bags and pour tea over the blackberry mixture.  Let sit at room temperature for an hour to really soak. I think I got anxious and only did 58 minutes….

Pour mixture through a strainer into a pitcher, pressing on the berries to get the most flavor. Cover and stick in the fridge until chilled, at least 2 hours.

Serve the tea in a tall glass over ice, and float a shot of bourbon on the top, if you please. Garnish with Mint.

Voila!

While taking enjoying my patio on a hot summer night, I couldn’t help but take in some of the pretties growing.

These would be my beets. I soooo want to pull them!

I saved this from getting eaten up by squirrels at my mother’s house.

Happy Weekend!

-JVB

// Summer drinks//

One of my favorite sodas in the summer is ginger ale. I think it brings back fond memories of going to Ontario for camp as a kid. I’m trying to make a lot of my own mixes, so I was thrilled to find a recipe for Ginger Syrup. This is super easy. It just takes a bit of time.

Ingredients for the syrup.

• 2 cups of ginger
• 6 cups of water
• 2 cups of granulated sugar

Chop up that ginger!

Chop it up even more in a food processor….

• Get a large pot.
• Fill it with the water and sugar.
• Then, add in all the ginger and bring to a boil.
• Reduce to heat to simmer.

• Cook for 1 hour and half. When I make this again, I’d probably actually cook for 2 hours because my syrup was a little too watery.

During this time of waiting, I recommend snacking on this. Yum.

You should only have 2 cups left of liquid when you’re ready to stop simmering.

• Put a piece of cheese cloth in a mesh strainer.
• Strain the liquid into a large bowl
• Wait a bit more for the liquid to cool and eat more lemon cookies
• Pour it into your bottle of choice. Ikea has PERFECT ones!

Voila!

Ginger syrup.

Now that you have the syrup, time for the easy stuff.

To make ginger ale.

• a lime wedge
• 1 cup club soda
• ice
• 3 tbsp ginger syrup
• dash of bitters (for extra kick)

Get a decent size glass.

Add all of these together in a glass, bitters last.

There you have it!

Enjoy your summer drink. Next up…Sangria.

-JVB