Market to Table: Strawberry & Meyer Lemonade Cocktail

On Saturday morning, Brian, The Boy, Mazzie and I headed over to the 14th & U Farmers Market bright and early.  We got there a wee bit early and were dutifully waiting in line at Panorama when we almost witnessed two older gents get into fisticuffs over line jumping.  Luckily no one used one of Panorama’s baguettes as a sword and we were all able to get our loaves without further incident.  After securing our carbs, we walked around the rest of the market for inspiration.  The Boy had picked us up some wonderful strawberries from the Truck Patch, which Brian was going to use later for our libations.  I also got some goat cheese to go along with the Gryffon’s Aerie ground beef I bought on Thursday at the Market by the White House.  Asparagus, spinach, ricotta and green onions rounded out our farmers market haul for the week.

While discussing the recipe for the cocktail, Brian suggested using Meyer lemons in the lemonade for a twist.  Since we were only a Circulator ride away from Whole Foods, we decided to pick some up.  Before parting for the day (The Boy and I had tickets to see Iron Man 2…which I loved…because it had electric whips…and Scarlett Johansson in a cat suit), we agreed that Brian would come over for cocktail making, burgers and Dr. Who around 5 that night.

Later that same evening, Brian arrived with strawberries (he had also picked some up that morning at the market), the Meyer lemons and a neatly, handwritten recipe for the cocktail.  I dutifully cut up the strawberries for the drinks and he quickly got to work.  Strawberries were sugared and pureed; lemons were juiced and lemonade was made; straining occurred; a few artful shakes (I really wish I’d gotten video of Brian’s stellar cocktail shaking abilities) and BAM! We had cocktails!  And they were good…perhaps a little too good.  I may or may not have gotten a little tipsy…and a hammock was involved (don’t ask).

This is the perfect warm weather cocktail and can be served without the alcohol (that last part will confuse my Twitterati).

Recipe: Strawberry & Meyer Lemonade Cocktail

Ingredients

• Strawberry Puree:
• 1 cup hulled strawberries, chopped
• Sugar to taste
• Lemonade:
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp Meyer lemon juice (can use regular lemons – may require an adjustment of the sugar)
• 3/4 cup water
• 2 oz vodka

Instructions

1. Sprinkle some sugar over the chopped strawberries (the amount of sugar depends on how sweet the strawberries are by themselves) and allow to sit for 5 to 15 minutes.
2. Puree the chopped strawberries with an immersion blender until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, you can use a regular blender or your own arm muscle.
3. In a separate container, combine the water, lemon juice and sugar. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
4. Place a small strainer over the top of the container with the lemonade. Pour some of the strawberry puree into the container. Using a spoon, stir the puree around as it oozes through the strainer. This step helps to remove a majority of the strawberry seeds from the final drink.
5. Continue this process until all of the puree has been added to the lemonade.
6. Stir the puree to completely incorporate it into the lemonade. Add 1 part vodka to 3 parts strawberry lemonade (in this case, 2 ounces of vodka for 6 ounces of the lemonade).
7. Shake over ice and serve!