Zero - Shake your tamarind

I am so excited about going skiing next week, I can hardly work. It’s weird, it kind of stresses me out on the last couple of days of work. I have to get it all done, plan for my absence and at the same time I am so ready to leave for my trip to Colorado.

I love my job but I think I like skiing even more!

Today I also bought tickets to the Lake Street Dive concert in October in Raleigh, we have a whole group going. We are going to eat at Jake’s new place of work Brewery Bhavana. Can’t wait! My wife Emmy is going, and Brandy, Jake, their better halves and

Ok, so as I go through the book I have to keep up with the shopping, and I dropped the ball and can’t make the next recipe yet “what would honeydew” but I am very excited since I will find out more about clarifying liquids. I had to buy fining agents and Pectinex ultra.

The next recipe “Salad”, calls for fresh green tomatoes. As these will be in my garden in June, I will get back to it later this year. Cooking this book is going to take me a while.

I already know which book I want to cook after this one. It’s called “happy in the kitchen” by Michel Richard, it is challenging, but the recipes are just beautiful.

Moving on to the subject of the day, our mocktail a la Aviary, “Shake your tamarind”. Super easy to accomplish, a quick tea of coriander and super light cinnamon, a little tamarind and a quick 20 minutes steep. Homemade pineapple juice thanks to the masticating juicer. Seedlip 108 which is a premade cocktail base. And kalamansi puree for the bright yellow color. The extra citric acid in there adds a zing.

For the maguey syrup, if you feel like buying a gallon, it’s available, but I just used Agave syrup.

It’s one of the better ones we have tasted, maybe in the top 3 so far. I am about to serve it to my cooking class guests, we will get some real world feedback. They don’t have to say anything, I will be able to tell by what’s left in their glasses… the true test.

I think that if I went to the Aviary as a non drinker and experienced the cocktail there, I would be under the spell of the place and maybe primed to enjoy more easily, expecting exceptional and strange flavors.

When you show up at my cooking class and get a free mocktail, it is about your last thought.

Which place is best to measure true enjoyment? A catering kitchen or a fancy cocktail bar?

I think it is best to stay humble and of service, offer the damn thing and see what happens. Reporting later.

Well, it was very well received, they really liked it and drank it all, fairly quickly too. I would say that is a great result.