Tropical Drinks

I'm not trying to compete with any of the fantastic food blogs out there like i made that! or orangette so I'm just going to write about my newly created drink and not add any photos, though this drink is beautiful, so you should make it yourself to see.

It's called The My Thai Martini, named after where we live.

First you take several stalks of lemongrass, chop them in rounds and throw them in a saucepan, cover them with water and an equal amount of sugar before they start going brown. Bring that to a simmer slowly, then turn off the heat and breathe the delicious steam deeply while the syrup cools down. Or, if you're like me, take little sips of the hot liquid from a teaspoon. Strain into a jar and keep it in the fridge.

Then you buy some ripe, deep purple passion fruits. Cut them in half and scoop out half a passion fruit for each martini into a shaker. Add 1/2 ounce lemongrass syrup per drink to the seedy pulp. (I think my shaker holds 3 martinis, max.) Add 1 1/2 oz. vodka per drink and lots of ice and shake vigorously to get all the pulp and juice off the seeds.

Be patient while you pour the cold, golden My Thai Martini into your martini glasses. It takes a long time to strain through the seeds. At the end, I take the top off the shaker, hold it over a glass and stir the seeds around to get the last of the liquid. Then I fish out a few melty ice cubes and put them in my drink because I like it to stay cold. Garnish with a few fresh, pulpy passion fruit seeds or a fresh green sprig of mint.

Then clean up all the drips very thoroughly so the tiny ants don't find them.

I actually made the lemongrass syrup for a drink called the Chatham Cocktail that Mike and I always order from The Refinery which has gin and ginger liqueur, but I can't find the ginger liqueur--still looking. Maybe I have to make it. I feel like there must be more we can do with that syrup. It's so delicious. (It's no good in coffee--I tried.)