Sacramento Digs Gardening Article
Your resource for Sacramento-area gardening news, tips and events

Articles Recipe Index Keyword Index Calendar Twitter Facebook Instagram About Us Contact Us

Quarantinis help you chill

Recipe: This variation of a Lemon Drop features homegrown citrus

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Debbie Arrington PUBLISHED APR 26, 2020

Cocktails for two! Meyer lemon flavors these Quarantinis. (Photos: Debbie Arrington)

Cocktail hour is making a comeback; as they say, it's always 5 o'clock somewhere when you're locked down.

Of course, now our cocktail chitchat is via Zoom and not in person. But the drinks still have the same buzz.

Cocktails take a little extra time for preparation -- extra time is one ingredient we have handy.

But what else is on hand as we self-quarantine? Many cocktail recipes call for unusual ingredients and a well-stocked liquor cabinet (or trip to the store). For a Quarantini, use what you've got and keep it simple.

This variation on a Lemon Drop martini relies on fresh citrus for its pop, honey syrup for its sweet smoothness.

For Quarantini, sweet-tart Meyer lemons, fresh and juicy.

I've got Meyer lemons in my backyard, and this drink shows off their juicy flavor. But this drink would also work with Eureka or other lemons as well as limes, oranges, tangerines or grapefruit.

Honey syrup is easy to make; it's a step that requires a little pre-planning (but not much). Orange blossom honey (which is not that sweet) adds another citrus note.

Pre-chilling the glasses and using a cocktail shaker add some flair to the process and improve the final outcome But in a pinch, a quart jar with a lid will do as a substitute shaker. If using gin, be gentler and stir instead of shake. Either way, the results will help you chill.

Quarantinis
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

Juice of one lemon, preferably Meyer (about 1/4 cup juice)
1/4 cup honey syrup
3/4 cup (6 ounces) vodka or gin
Ice

A lemon peel garnish finishes off the

Quarantini cocktail.

Lemon peel (for garnish)

Instructions:

Ice 4 martini glasses. Put them in the refrigerator (preferably the freezer) until ready for use.

With a sharp paring knife, cut off a few strips of lemon peel before cutting lemon in half.

Pack a martini shaker with ice. (If no shaker, use a 1-quart jar with lid.)

Squeeze lemon juice over ice. Add honey syrup and vodka or gin. Put top on shaker (or jar) and shake 12 times.

Strain drink into glasses. (Store extra drink on ice in the shaker/jar in the refrigerator until using.)

Serve well chilled, with twist of lemon peel.

To make honey syrup: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup water and 2 tablespoons orange blossom or similar honey. Bring to a boil. Let boil 1 minute while stirring. Remove from heat and cool. Store covered in refrigerator.

Comments

0 comments have been posted.

RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

cocktails recipe recipes citrus gardening Sacramento farmers markets coronavirus honey backyard produce produce management lemons

Newsletter Subscription

Sacramento Digs Gardening to your inbox.

Food in My Back Yard Series

May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can

May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success

April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?

April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)

April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers

April 8: When to plant summer vegetables

April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths

March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth

March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds

March 4: Potatoes from the garden

Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space

Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting

Local News

Taste Spring! E-cookbook

Find our spring recipes here!

Thanks to Our Sponsor!

Sites We Like

Garden Checklist for week of May 18

Get outside early in the morning while temperatures are still cool – and get to work!

* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.

* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.

* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions.

* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters. Transplant seedlings for many of the same flowers.

* Plant dahlia tubers.

* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.

* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.

* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.

* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.

* Are birds picking your fruit off trees before it’s ripe? Try hanging strips of aluminum foil on tree branches. The shiny, dangling strips help deter birds from making themselves at home.

* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.

Taste Summer! E-cookbook

Find our summer recipes here!

Taste Fall! E-cookbook

Find our fall recipes here!

Taste Winter! E-cookbook

Find our winter recipes here!