Can you eat any of the plants in this picture? Really? How do you know? This post from the always excellent Rowley’s Whiskey Forge got me thinking about this. He posts a really cool recipe for a liqueur called mistela de chimajá. I couldn’t resist–I had to go look up the plant. But more [...]
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Body: Posted by Jeff Gillman Yesterday Chad Giblin, a scientist who has worked with me since I came to Minnesota, and I were cruising through old pict. […]
Body: Posted by Bert CreggLots of coverage in the mainstream media these days over various initiatives to label GMO foods. I think GMO foods shoul. […]
Body: posted by Holly Scoggins Mosses are soft, green, and tough as nails, as shown in a recent article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of. […]
Fancy cocktails with multiple ingredients are OK with me, as long as I don’t have to make them. I’m with Amy when it comes to obscure techniques like bone lugeing or fat-washing. If the booze is good, it shouldn’t need such interventions. When at home, I use up to four...
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I resisted Pinterest for as long as I could. At some point, one simply has to put the social networking down and back slowly away from the computer. But then I had an actual use for it, and that’s when I folded. I’m creating a new garden (more about...
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Let us review the brief and troubled history of the Modern Cocktail. It began in the early nineties, when youngsters realized that a Martini was a nice thing to order in a bar. A few variations on the martini followed, most notably the godawful “dirty Martini” made with excessive...
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So. Summer is here, and that means that you need to break out the punches. Not that dreadful stuff made with Sprite and sherbet and the worst possible vodka, but a nicely-made, Victorian-style punch, served in that punchbowl you never get to use, or a repurposed pickle jar, or...
Read more in: Drink This, Feed Me, Garden Rant Cocktail HourIt'll be at least a year-possibly more–before my new book is actually printed and in my hands. But it's never too soon for a website, right? So here it is: TheDrunkenBotanist.com, named after my forthcoming book of the same title, which is due out in 2013, probably in...
Read more in: Drink This, Garden Rant Cocktail Hour(via Flickr) This just in: Mexico’s trademark bureau (called the IMPI) has issued a proposal to restrict the use of the word “agave” as it is used to describe some agave-distilled spirits. Under the proposal, which is sponsored by the tequila industry’s trade group, only spirits produced within a...
Read more in: Drink This, Ministry of ControversyHere's the latest in a series of columns I'm writing for the North Coast Journal. The column is called The Drunken Botanist; my book of the same title will be out next year. A friend of mine has been on a grueling book tour to promote her new novel....
Read more in: Drink This, Garden Rant Cocktail HourHere's one way to go about making a city more self-sufficient, food-wise: Start with just one crop. Once you get that one right, move on to the next one. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that Friends of the Urban Forest is doing just that: They are mapping every Meyer...
Read more in: Drink This, Eat ThisHere’s another in my ongoing series of “Drunken Botanist” cocktail articles for the North Coast Journal, loosely based on my forthcoming book of the same name. Forgive the Humboldt references, which are, of course, of interest only to people in Humboldt. Seems like everyone in these parts has an...
Read more in: Drink This, Garden Rant Cocktail HourThis time last year, I made a little homemade grenadine during pomegranate season. We had a party shortly after that in which we mixed up Pink Lady cocktails according to this recipe in Imbibe magazine. The drinks were a hit–and although we hadn’t been using grenadine around the house...
Read more in: Drink This, Garden Rant Cocktail HourThis is another in a series I'm writing for the North Coast Journal based on my book in progress, The Drunken Botanist. (Your intrepid reporter at the Cassissium. Notice the pen and notebook. This is work. Really.) After a week spent touring distilleries in France, Scott and I had...
Read more in: Drink This, Garden Rant Cocktail HourThis is the latest in a series I'm writing for the North Coast Journal loosely based on my next book, The Drunken Botanist, due out in 2013. Read earlier cocktail-ish posts here. Bess assisting with my photo shoot. It is almost too late to write this column–almost. ...
Read more in: Drink This, Garden Rant Cocktail HourPhoto by Vic Stewart, taken with his weird old Rollei. This is another in a series of columns I'm writing for the North Coast Journal loosely related to my next book, The Drunken Botanist. “Is it all right?” asks the tasting room bartender Chris, looking down quizzically at...
Read more in: Drink ThisFirst, go out and get the best fruit you can find. Ripe, juicy, almost past-their-prime peaches and nectarines would be a good start. Watermelons or cantaloupes should also be very high on the list. Strawberries will work, but a firmer fruit like a mango might not. You want more...
Read more in: Drink This, Garden Rant Cocktail HourGin. (vodka if you must, but really–gin. Hendrick's would be a fine choice.) Basil and cucumber, muddled. Squeeze of lime juice. Splash of Dry Cucumber Soda Happy Wednesday!
Read more in: Drink This, Garden Rant Cocktail HourThose of you reading this at 8 a.m. on a Sunday might not be quite ready for cocktails, but ready or not, here it is: another Garden Rant Cocktail Hour. This episode is a bit different: it is a combined Skype recording of discussions between Elizabeth and three other...
Read more in: Drink This, Garden Rant Cocktail HourIn which Elizabeth gets all dressed up for a gala botanical garden event, while Amy drinks vodka straight out of a mason jar and talks to her chickens. Topics include Champagne, hibiscus flowers in syrup, raspberry-infused vodka, a certain Black & Decker home appliance, and–once again–hyacinths. Special guest appearance...
Read more in: Drink This, Garden Rant Cocktail HourWhen we (Elizabeth and Amy) get together, we rummage through our respective liquor cabinets to see if we have anything new and interesting to drink that we can try out on the other. But seeing as how we live across the country from each other—Elizabeth in Buffalo, Amy in...
Read more in: Drink This, Garden Rant Cocktail HourHave you tried a honey lavender martini or a basil mojito? If not, now would be the time, as many of us have the ingredients growing in the garden as well as sitting in the liquor cabinet. I started using more botanical ingredients in cocktails a couple years ago,...
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Commented on I Wish They All Could Be California Flowers { Thanks for this enlightening article- more people need to be aware of chemicals on foreign and domestic cut flowers- for the people involved in production... } – Jun 19, 11:21 PM
Commented on I Wish They All Could Be California Flowers { Thanks for this post. I'm always glad to hear encouraging news. And thanks for stressing the health of the employees, as you say this aspect... } – Jun 19, 11:14 PM Commented on I Wish They All Could Be California Flowers { It is elemental Sulfur...not a sulfate of another chemical. Been used forever and very efficient. } – Jun 19, 11:12 PM
Commented on Plants we Love to Hate { How many like Me are scared to say that We love some of the specimens named in these posts? The plants that come to mind... } – Jun 19, 7:53 PM
Commented on Plants we Love to Hate { White calla (Zantedeschia aethiopicum) is a real bane; I seem to pull up 200 seedlings every time I go outside. The neighbour's place is full... } – Jun 19, 6:28 PMWe are:
perfect
magazine
gardens.
Gardening
our
asses
off.
Having a
hell of a lot
of fun.
