Wednesday, May 26, 2021

Cucumber Martini #Recipe by @Leslie Karst


Now that we're finally starting to socialize again (yippee!), and with summer almost here, I do believe it's time to break out the cocktails and celebrate. And what could be better than some festive cucumber Martinis to let the season commence!

Not only that, but these cocktails would feature well in a mystery story, as—to quote Captain Hook—they are a “tempting green,” which color would nicely mask any variety of poisons!



And they taste great, too. Very...well...cucumbery!


Cucumber Martinis
(yield: 4 cocktails)


Ingredients

1-2 large cucumbers (enough to make 1 cup juice)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup gin (or vodka)
basil leaves for garnish

Directions

Cut the cucumber up into spears and juice them.


I have a marvelous juicer, which makes it easy for me to get the cucumber juice required for the Martinis:


But you could also put the cuke spears into a blender, and then press the mush through a sieve or some cheesecloth to obtain the juice. One large cucumber yielded about a cup of juice for me. (Using a blender may not result in as much juice, though, so you may need 2 cukes.)


The next step is to add simple syrup to the cucumber juice. This is a combination of equal parts sugar and water; you can just muddle them together with a spoon until the sugar is dissolved. A half cup each sugar and water will make a little more than a half cup of simple syrup. This juice/syrup mixture can be chilled until it’s time to prepare the cocktails.

Now for the fun part. Add the ½ cup of gin (or vodka) to the juice/simple syrup mixture. (In other words, the drink will be 2:1:1, juice, syrup, booze. You can add more gin, of course, if you like your drinks stronger.)

Pour the liquid into a cocktail shaker filled with ice:


Shake it well, and strain into chilled Martini glasses. Garnish with a basil leaf.


(If adding poison, slip it into the drink when the person to be poisoned isn’t watching. And make sure you don’t confuse the glasses!)


🍸 🌿 🍹


The daughter of a law professor and a potter, Leslie Karst learned early, during family dinner conversations, the value of both careful analysis and the arts—ideal ingredients for a mystery story. Putting this early education to good use, she now writes the Lefty Award-nominated Sally Solari Mysteries, a culinary series set in Santa Cruz, California. 
 
An ex-lawyer like her sleuth, Leslie also has degrees in English literature and the culinary arts. She and her wife and their Jack Russell mix split their time between Santa Cruz and Hilo, Hawai‘i.


Leslie’s website
Leslie also blogs with Chicks on the Case
Leslie on Facebook
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Leslie on Instagram

Praise for Leslie's most recent Sally Solari mystery, the Lefty Award-nominated MURDER FROM SCRATCH:
“Karst seasons her writing with an accurate insider’s view of restaurant operation, as well as a tenderness in the way she treats family, death and Sally’s reactions to Evelyn’s blindness.”

Ellery Queen Magazine (featured pick)


All four Sally Solari Mysteries are available through AmazonBarnes and Noble, and Bookshop.


 

And Dying for a TasteA Measure of Murder, and Murder from Scratch are now available as AUDIOBOOKS from Audible!





7 comments:

  1. I'll have to try this, Leslie. Sounds so refreshing, and pretty healthy, without the poison, of course! ;)

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  2. My first reaction was, green!? Blech. Then I thought about how refreshing cucumber is.
    I need to re-think this.
    Does it really need that much sugar syrup?
    Good for you for listing gin first. That is, after all, where martinis began.

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    Replies
    1. Ha! And no, you could certainly go easier on the simple syrup, Libby. This recipe is closer to a Lemon Drop, as far as sweetness goes.

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  3. This is gorgeous Leslie, and perfect for a mystery writer! I don't have a juicer so I'll take one of your drinks please:)

    ReplyDelete