The Joys of Duck Eggs

Buck Bay Shellfish Farm

About two miles down the road from me, on the other side of the miniscule town of Olga, Buck Bay Shellfish Farm, owned by the inimitable Tony Hermansen, is a true gem on Orcas Island.

Buck Bay petites in their tank

Most of the year, you can stop by Toni and Mark’s oyster shack and pick up the prettiest, sweetest little Pacifics, notable for their dark stripes and delicately ruffled shells. All their shellfish are held in tanks, so they are really alive up until you eat them. They also have Manila clams and butter clams, as well as live Dungeness crab in season (boated over super alive from Lopez Island).

This was shot last July - you can tell by the 0727 on the oyster tag. Always check the tag for the freshest oysters!

But in winter, when things are slow around here and the oyster shack isn’t open as often, the biggest reason to stop at Buck Bay is the little chalkboard sign on the road, stating “Duck Eggs – $3.50 doz.”

$3.50 doz?

At the Ballard Farmer’s Market, they are $6 a dozen. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to mess it up for anybody by nudging them into raising their prices. But sheesh! I go home with a dozen or so of these beauties every couple of weeks.

Buck Bay Eggs - Duck (pink & blue) & Chicken (white & brown)

What an amazing, gorgeous source of protein! The yolks are perky and bright orange (they let the ducks forage the garden, which is mulched with seaweed), the shells are super tough, and the yolks are thick and pure white.

Top two are chicken; bottom two are duck

I started out just poaching them, trying to replicate Doe Bay Café breakfast cooks Derek Duce and Lindsey Czech’s masterful execution of the olive oil poached eggs I love so much.

I found this great little copper pot with a lid and little brass handles that works great. My version – a little olive oil, a drop of vinegar (although these eggs stay perfectly self-contained without it), a bit of water, salt, pepper – drop in the eggs, bring to a quick boil, cover and remove completely from the heat. In a bout two minutes, the eggs are perfect, just like Derek and Lindsey make them at Doe Bay, with a perfect sunrise of a half-solid yolk. Then I fried and scrambled. Nice.

Next, I used them in baking. Ricotta goat cheese custard, buttery rich cookies. But I put off the task that would become the pinnacle of the duck egg’s career (and my favorite thing in the world). Pasta. I’ve made pasta before – and taken classes where I’ve watched it being made. It looked pretty easy, and my attempts were … okay. But I don’t have a pasta machine right now, so I thought, Damn, how can I do this?

There’s one thing I’ve discovered this winter – a very lean one, financially – that you don’t need fancy tools to do pretty much anything. I have a Kitchen Aid, but its just easier (and more rewarding) to mix and knead my bread by hand. That’s the way my grandmother and father always did it. That way you get to know the dough, and you can feel when the gluten really starts to happen, when it gets springy and silky in just the right way. So, shoot, I thought, I’ll just make pasta that doesn’t need a machine.

And dang if it isn’t the easiest thing in the world. And the best! You can use different flours to give different textures. Wheat flour, or a bit of corn meal, makes a heartier, toothier pasta. White flour (good old unbleached all-purpose) creates a more delicate pasta.

In a big bowl, mix 2 cups flour with 2 teaspoons salt. Make a well in the middle. Add 3/4 cup of water and one huge, beautiful duck egg. Mix it with a fork until incorporated. Then start mixing with your hands. Knead for 3 minutes. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let sit on the counter for 30 minutes. Then cut the ball into 6 slices.

On a floured surface, you can work the dough any way you want: Roll it into long 1/2 inch ropes, then cut into small pieces. Roll each piece between your floured hands, and you have little “trofie” – thin, twisted pasta. Roll it out with a rolling pin into a long rectangle (as thin as you can – keep it well floured), and you can either cut it into wide papparadelle, or make ravioli, mezzaluna, agnolotti or a number of other shapes of little package pastas.

Carbonara alla Green Flash the first meal I made when I lived in the Shasta Trailer at Doe Bay - Buck Bay Duck Eggs!

There you have it. I had a pot of stock (leftover pork/lamb/duck bones and vegetable ends I’d collected in the freezer over time) on the stove. I boiled a bit of broth, dropped in my ravioli (which I had filled with roasted Hubbard squash sauteed with onion, broth, then mixed with a bit of Parmigiano-Reggiano and freshly grated nutmeg), and added a spoonful of kale I’d sauteed with bacon. Top with more Parm and a drizzle of olive oil.

You can even just drop a duck egg along with the pasta into the broth - a bit of bright orange sun in the dark, wet woods of winter -  if you are hungry for another egg. And I always am these days.

A Dash of Salt Spring Island

Last fall, I had the pleasure of venturing up to the Canadian Gulf Islands as a part of my friend Danielle Custer’s (former chef and current director of Taste Restaurant at the Seattle Art Museum) annual birthday trip. In the gang are three others – Rose Ann Finkel, owner – with her husband Charles Finkel – of the Pike Brewing Company, Linda Stratton (sales and marketing at the Pike), and Monique Barbeau, former chef, now mom and foodista.

Each year we pick a different wine region (so far, Willamette Valley, Lake Chelan, Okanagan, BC) – this year, we had access to a great cabin on Salt Spring Island in BC. And even though there are only two wineries there, we jumped at the chance to visit some of our favorite creameries and see one of the oldest of the settled Canadian Gulf Islands.

The weather was with us. Even though it was October, we had gorgeous, sunny autumn days, and spent the afternoons driving from luminous farm to luminous vineyard, ending each day back at the cabin, cooking up our finds.

When we first got off the ferry in Fulford Harbor, we curved down a little road on the way to the main town on the island, Ganges. The first person we encountered was a little Quebequois guy on the side of the road selling lobster mushrooms. Huge bins of bright orange mushrooms were stacked all around him, and he knelt beside a little Sterno where he had a saute pan sizzling with butter, garlic and mushroom. HIs lunch, and taste samples which, when tasted, ensured a sale. They were delicious. My friend Langdon Cook calls lobsters “silky” – and yes, they are. They are also meaty, and take a bit longer to cook than most mushrooms, even portabellos. The lobster (Hypomyces lactifluorum) is a product of a parasite that sets up shop in  certain mushrooms and makes them get harder and turn a gorgeous florescent orange color. The result tastes like its own animal. Our first purchase on the island was $20 bucks worth, a huge bag that would last us through the trip, but for now, waiting for the rest of our Salt Spring meal to reveal itself.

The mushroom chef

Local Lobsters and Chanterelles

We stayed at a friend’s cabin in an old co-op housing area called Maricaibo – a bit off the beaten path, but with easy access to the island. One thing we loved, is that you could find maps of the island everywhere, and on said documents, all the artisan creameries, farms and weavers, etc. were listed with a number – then their number was posted on a sign on their entrances, so it was really easy to find all these hidden gems.  We also loved the farm stands that were everywhere – unmanned. You would stop and peruse the goods – when we went it was a bounty of squashes, root vegetables, onions, greens, and we bought lamb from a freezer that said “help yourself, leave your money.” Imagine, the honor system! I’d like to think food lovers are a trustworthy sort.

Our cabin at Maracaibo

Wooly friends

Relax! This ain't the mainland!

Monique and the Oyster Guy

Cute locals!

We visited two of the three wineries on the island: Garry Oaks (named after a type of oak tree indigenous to this area), and Salt Spring Vineyards (organic). Both were fascinating in their own way – Garry Oaks was run by a couple – the gentlewoman farmer, Elaine Kozak, makes the wine, and the gentleman farmer, Marcel Mercier, tends the vines. The place is for sale, so if you have a hankering for a slice of paradise (and have poche profond), give them a call. We walked their stone labyrinth, ate grapes almost ready to harvest, and tasted (and bought) some of their delicious Pinot Noir. Meal almost accomplished!

Before heading home to cook up our finds, we stopped at SS Vineyards, happening upon their grape stomp (those are NOT my legs!). The place was teeming with locals and their kids, out for a good time on one of the last sunny, cool crisp days of autumn. A glass of cool pinot gris and about a dozen oysters later, we headed out to find the last course. Cheese!

This is a bit of a longer story, but basically, all five of us are cheese freaks. We stopped at the two best creameries on the island: Moonstruck Organic Cheese, Salt Spring Island Cheese. These cheeses are truly stunning. The Pacific Northwest Cheese Project has some great pics and tells the story more fully than I can do here – but let it suffice to say that we each spent coin on cheese. We got back to the cabin and proceeded into a blissful evening of cooking together and eating (and discussing…for HOURS) some of the best cheeses we’ve ever eaten.

Gorgeous island lamb

Lobsters in their glory

Salt Spring Island Cheese's Marcella soft-ripened goat cheese

Dead Soldiers - believe it!

The last morning at 5 a.m., we packed up the car – I unpacked the fridge and filled coolers with the detritus of our four days of gastronomical adventuring – and we headed out to catch an early Monday ferry halfway across the island at Fulford Harbor.

Halfway down the island, in the darkness of the back seat, It struck me (a similar feeling to when I left my newly placed wedding ring on a truck-stop cafe table and my new husband and I were an hour down the road in a dark Greyhound)…”Ladies, did you all get your cheese out of the fridge?”

Silence.

Ugh. I felt terrible, and a pall was cast over the rest of our drive. We had, as a group, left $150 worth of deliciousness in the cabin fridge. When we got to the ferry, we called the caretaker and asked her to put it aside for us.

Salt Spring Island

After emails, phone calls, communiques for days, I finally decided that it was my mission to return to the island on a cheese rescue. Two weeks later, I went back by myself, sneaking away for another blissful two days on the island, eeking out the very last of the sunny autumn days, and happily languishing in the atmosphere of briny breezes and golden leaves. I felt I had discovered the secrets of the superheroes – they do it not for the glory, but for the pure pleasure of not knowing what will happen next.

the girls: Rose Ann, Linda, Danielle, Shannon, Monique

Tasting Blind: Notes from a Wine Judge

Aromatic White Wines

So how do “Top 10″ wines get chosen? How to Double Gold, Gold, Silver wines rise to the top? Many times, a set of judges (sommeliers, writers, winemongers, etc.) taste a lineup of dozens of wines in flights of five or six wines each. Yesterday, I was at Ray’s Boathouse NW Retrospective, a “single blind” tasting – meaning the judges know what grape the wine is made of, but not the producer. (I also love “double blind” tasting, where you know neither the variety or the producer.) This is an amazing opportunity to taste many wines at once – in this case, 62 whites in about two hours!

So I drive down to Ray’s at noon, and head into the Northwest Room, and am greeted by organizers Lori Magaro and Jenny Neill, who tell me the rules and lead me into the room where the wines are ready and waiting. A few other judges are already there, and I get settled at a table where the “Aromatic Whites” – wines such as Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Chenin Blance, Siegerebbe and Auxerrois which usually show very aromatic characteristics – are waiting. The judging sheet has 30 wines listed by number – X1 through X30 (the numbers have been changed to protect the innocent grapes!). I start with X1 through X6. Six glasses, each with about two ounces of wine, are lined up in front of me. With the single blind system, we know the variety, so therefore, we are looking to see if the wine we are tasting shows the classic varietal characteristics of wines traditionally made from that particular grape.

I have a system, as I know each judge in this room does. First, I smell each wine without swirling, and write down the very first word that comes to my mind. In this case: X1, leesy; X2, linalool; X3, candied pineapple; X4, overripe peach; X5, lime zest; X6, wet dog. Yes. Wet dog. I don’t second guess these – I just let the first word come to mind and I write it down. Perhaps this is just a mental word exercise for me, but I’ve found that doing this lets me go back to my first memory of that wine and my ratings usually are in line with my first impressions.

Next, I go back to X1 and go through the whole rating process: 5 points each for Nose, Palate, Finish and “Other,” that je ne sais quoi that makes one wine shine and stand out. Wine X1 is light straw in color – from that I can tell there’s probably no oak involved, and I didn’t smell any anyway in my first sniff. On this second sniff, the yeasty, leesy smell – brought out if a wine is left on the left-over bits of yeast for a while to gain complexity. I think this wine has gone through that process – which should give it a creamier mouthfeel. It also smells like bright citrus – lime zest and lemon.

Some of the wines are slightly cold – this often happens in judgings, but the judges usually just let them sit to warm up a bit so the aromas can be released. Flaws are often hidden by cool temperatures. I just hold the coupe of the glass in my hand to warm it just a tad. More aromas come out – white flowers and fresh herbs like tarragon. When I taste, sure enough, that creamy mouthfeel is there. Not much, just to soften up the zestiness. This wine is listed as an Auxerrois, an Alsatian variety, not grown in the states much at all. On the palate, it also has lively acidity, with a bright, clean finish.

X2 is a very different wine – more lush, with linalool characteristics – a chemical compound that shows spicy and floral aromas – like lychee fruit, for instance – very common in this grape, Gewurztraminer – which is know for its spiciness (gewurz means spiced or perfumed). In this wine, I smell white pepper, sugared lime peel, fresh peaches and biscuit (prehaps lees stirring?). Then I spit – everything! Even so, after 62 wines, you still get a tiny buzz, so focus is very important!

In other wines, I smell and taste: petrol and evergreen boughs (a Riesling characteristic), baked apple, spiced pear, 7Up, brown sugar, dust, lemon curd, stone, yellow flowers. And some not so great aromas: plastic bag, acetone, sulphur, and yes, the classic wet dog. These can be from flaws in winemaking, overripeness, lack of oxygen in the winemaking process, etc. Learning to taste and smell wine is a lifelong education, and I see myself as just learning this process – and as much as I try to get things right, or smell things right, I know there are some things I just don’t have a clue about – so on the education goes!

These were just the Aromatic Whites. I also tasted through 32 Chardonnays – whew!

I just wanted to give you all a bit of insight into the mind of a wine judge – what we experience and how I, at least, think about the process.  So when wines that end up as Top 20 in the Northwest, or whatever – this is just one process that may have got them there.

The Secret Society of BOFFs

When you have a best old friend forever you’ve known since you were 12 (she says 11), you can read each others’ minds. Amy and I did a lot of that this past weekend, and it usually ended up with a smirk or a cackle. I kicked her ass about not listening to her inner sex goddess. She kicked my ass about not doing all I can in creating my own career – i.e., blog (my answer, why does anyone care what I eat or drink?); nonexistent website (my answer, one more website?); book dreams (my answer, more trees cut down?).

Well, needless to say, she’s right. In MY universe, it matters. My new mantra.  And being the dedicated existentialist, I feel this resonates with me. Not that I’ll become a Food-Network-workin’/global-wine-drinkin’/Barnes&Noble-readin’ superstar, but mainly, there are things I feel I want to do (besides eat, drink and be merry). So here goes – This little entry is just to wish you all (all two of you) a Happy New Year, Hogmanay, etc. and to see what happens. Oh, and to make sure you order the “Last Gloaming” cocktail at the Teardrop Lounge in Portland, next time you go. And that you check out the cocktails and deviled quail and duck eggs at The Secret Society. That’s where we (she and I) spent New Year’s Eve, (my birthday), watching scary men behind Eyes Wide Shut masks and beautiful women in feathers and glitter. Oh, and drinking a buncha Champagne cocktails. Next day: pasta. Yeah, yeah, I have New Year’s resolutions – but as Sophia Loren said, “All I am, I owe to pasta.”  In my Universe, that matters.

I love Teatro Zinzanni!

My friend, Elisabeth and I went to Teatro Zinzanni recently and it was precisely the bawdy, glamorous, hilarious spectacle we hoped it would be. The Beaumont and Caswell Together Forever … Again! show features Christine Deaver as Beaumont and Kevin Kent as Caswell, the “oft-married/oft-divorced” couple who run a variety-vaudeville review. As they work through the shows lineup, they switch genders as they change fabulous getups. Beaumont dons Caswell’s mustache and codpiece, or ‘squeaky toy’ as they call it, for a hilarious Italian opera-inspired send-up, and Caswell squeezes into a gown as bride/groom…/bridegroom.

Throughout the show, the two fall in and out of engagement and love, while a series of acts play out under their tent—Les Petits Freres, a trio of clowns/waiters gifted in slapstick and pratfalls; a truly amazing hooper and circus performer, Vita who spins at least 15 glowing hoops at once; mistress of ceremonies and flamboyant blues singer Francine Reed; and trapeze artists Erika and Andrew, who were at once sensual and fascinatingly acrobatic. The Orchestra DeVille was also a great addition to the performance with their perfectly timed sound effects and jazzy arrangements.

One thing repeat showgoers know is to not sit too close to the stage, as there is a distinct chance—you very well may be singled out for one of their bits – as was an unsuspecting, but game young man, who B&C both fall in love with and proceeded to dress as an Italian maid, granting him the appropriate moniker, Panini. The poor bambino – but he was a charming little morsel, and the piece was a hilarious and raunchy. In light of the fact that the vote on domestic partnership rights was coming up in the Washington election, the whole show seemed as much a political nose-thumbing as anything. LOVED it.

Theatre gives people the chance to observe a world that may be totally foreign to them, to sit in the dark and laugh, ponder and be challenged while laughing their collective asses off. I have to hand it to the writers of this show – it pushes the envelope in so many ways that its retro-vaudevillian veneer seems the perfect glitter to let the audiences consider the current gender/sexual orientation/domestic rights issues that confront us every day in personal and political life. Beaumont and Caswell does this with grace and aplomb and not a few snorts. Go if you can—this show is an amazing spectacle and a welcomed tonic for our times.

Teatro ZinZombie! & ZinZanniversary (or whatever!)

I can’t wait for tomorrow’s Teatro ZinZanni Halloween party – a macabre ball that I’m sure will be a crazy collection of Seattle’s craziest. Zombies are BIG this year, so I can hear “Brains!” being the chosen greeting for the evening. My friend Elisabeth and I are going to dig up a bunch of zombie-esque garb and join the fray. I love Halloween – it’s the only so-called holiday that has no major family or cooking component – no pressure! Just fun.

The other cool thing going on over there is the Sunday night show – the 11th anniversary of TZ, I believe. The lovely and talented Ann Wilson will be the chanteuse for the evening. Will she do “These Dreams”? Her voice is MADE for that song. I’m sure it will be an amazing show – to hear her up close and see her have fun with El Vez and all the ZinZanni krewe. It should be one of the most unique shows of the autumn season! $250 donation goes to ZICA, the ZinZanni Institute for Circus Arts – a worthy cause!! www.zinzanniversary.org.

Salmon Safe Wine

More and more farmers, fisher and winemakers are getting involved in the Salmon Safe program to help renew and sustain the health of our salmon streams. Check out this fun video from Salmon Safe – and my article in Seattle magazine!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HKvCr9ZOuk

http://www.seattlemag.com/0p192a1623/tasting-notes-salmonsafe-wine/

Come support Quillisascut!

I will be signing my book, Chefs on the Farm, at this event on November 5th!

Lora Lea Misterly, Harley Soltes, myself and Karen Jurgenson at our book signing

The Slow Food Seattle Quillisascut Farm Student Scholarship Fundraiser on Thursday November 5th at FareStart in Seattle

Slow Food Seattle and FareStart invite you to a special dinner on Thursday, November 5th to raise scholarship funds for the 2010 Slow Food Youth Workshop at the Quillisascut Farm School for the Domestic Art in Rice, Washington.

The first Slow Food Youth Workshop at the Quillisascut Farm School was hosted in August of 2009. The goal of the week was to offer people between the ages of 18 and 29 a chance to live and work on an independently owned farm that produces food in a sustainable manner. Teaching people how food is grown and where it comes from is an investment in a future of sustainable food systems. An educated consumer is an important partner in sustainable food production that is good, clean and fair for all.

To bring a taste of the Quillisascut Farm to the dinner guests in Seattle at FareStart Guest Chef Karen Jurgensen will prepare a three course meal of seasonally available ingredients with wine pairings chosen by Mark Newton, Proprietor and Director of winemaking at the DiStefano Winery. Featured will be the traditional farmstead goat cheeses from the Quillisascut Farm with DiStefano Wines.

Cheese maker and farm owner Lora Lea Misterly and Shannon Borg, wine writer for the Seattle Magazine, will be on hand to sign Chefs on the Farm, the cookbook that they collaborated on with Chef Jurgensen. Chefs on the Farm takes us through a year of farm fresh foods that are grown and eaten in season on the Quillisascut farm. Recipes created by Chef Jurgensen provide delicious inspiration and instruction for the home cook to prepare seasonal meals from the bounty of their own gardens or farmers market stalls. Chefs on the Farm will be available at FareStart. Proceeds will go to the scholarship fund.

A slide show and presentation about the 2009 Slow Food Youth Workshop at the Quillisascut Farm will be presented by Danny Barksdale, Adriana Rose Taylor-Stanley and Amy Grondin.

What: The Slow Food Seattle Quillisascut Farm Student Scholarship Fundraiser

Where: In the Private Dining Room at FareStart, 7th & Virginia

When: Thursday, November 5th, 6pm to 9pm

Cost: $50 per person plus tax & gratuity – tickets available from Brown Paper Tickets http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/86237

Chef Jurgensen’s Menu for the Slow Food Seattle Quillisascut Farm Student Scholarship Dinner

Quillisascut Cheeses, Breads, Lavosh

2005 Donna Maria (Rhone Blend)

First Course

Bouillabaisse Sip, Tarragon- Hazelnut Pistou

2005 Domenica (Merlot/Cabernet Sauvignon Blend)

Second Course

Oxtail, Parsnip Lasagne

Roots in Bagna Cauda

2005 Red Meritage (Merlot/Cabernet Franc/Cabernet Sauvignon)

If you have questions about Slow Food, FareStart, the Quillisascut Farm School or the November 5th scholarship fundraising event please feel free to contact Amy Grondin at (206) 295-4931.

Rhone Rangers Ride Again!

Last week’s Rhone Ranger‘s event was better than ever. I was delighted to find that a few of my favorites were Washington wines – Jon Martinez, winemaker/owner for Maison Bleue Winery in Prosser (now, with a new tasting room in Woodinville) brought a Viognier that was one of the best, I thought. Peachy, apricot nose, yes, but not too soft on the palate – great acidity and balance. He opened a bottle of Rhone Viognier and was smelling and tasting them side-by-side, and it was strange, but in aroma they were almost identical – stone fruit, a bit of citrus peel, a bit stoney. All the winemakers/representatives should try that next year, bring a bottle of something from the Rhone Valley and taste them together – even if it is just for the curiosity factor. A fun exercise.

Another winery I’m always impressed with is McCrea Cellars. They were pouring a 100 percent Picpoul – which is rarely made as a varietal wine, even in the Rhone region of France. But they finally got enough to make a few cases, and there it is – quite spicy, I thought! But refreshing acidity and soft lime zest and some stone fruit flavors. Ditto with their Grenache Blanc, which in 2007 was the first GB in the state, considering there was only one acre planted in Washington – in the Boushey vineyard. Now, there must be more – anyone? I’ll have to find out. This is a lovely wine, again, fresh stone fruit, a bit of a softer mouthfeel which makes it a good match with grilled shrimp or spicy Asian food, but still a nice glass on its own.

I also liked Cline Cellar’s rose of Mourvedre – really light in color, which I love, with nice strawberry and spice on the nose. Another newer winery I liked was Verge’s Viognier from Dry Creek Valley and Villa Creek (Vee-a), in Paso Robles. Their White, with a blend of 55% Grenache Blanc, 35% Roussanne, and 10% Viogner is lovely and fresh, with a pineapple, peach and stone nose and mouthwatering acidity.

Tea Cocktails! Barnes & Watson Heads to the World Tea Expo

Recently I was asked by Danielle Custer, GM of Taste Restaurant at the Seattle Art Museum and consultant for Barnes & Watson tea company to sit in and give my opinion on some new cocktails she was developing for Barnes & Watson, a Seattle tea company. What a fun afternoon – these cocktails were like nothing else i’ve tasted – the delicate and intense flavors of tea and Asian fruits had use wondering why tea hasn’t been more of a staple in mixology.

Tea in cocktails? Well, according to the London Times, the amazing range of flavors and aromas in tea are finding their way into all sorts of recipes, not to mention cocktails. Guided by Custer and Barnes & Watson owner and tea educator (and vice chair of the Specialty Tea Institute) Ken Rudee, we tried several different cocktails, all contenders for the B&N entry into the cocktail category at the World Tea Expo in Las Vegas on May 1.

First was “Iron Buddha and the Flower” a delicate combination of Maraska (marischino cherry liqueur, not juice!), meyer lemon juice, yuzu juice (an Asian citrus juice) and ti quan yin (a chamomile infused light tea). It had a golden color, and smelled of hay and green tea, wet wood after a fire and artichoke, with a soft lemony, vanilla flavor.

Next was the Pu-er Pisco Sour, made with Pu-er tea, and a dot of angostura bitters. Very earthy but delicate!

The Cinnamon Oolong Lychee-tini had both gin and vodka, a bit of cinnamon and very aromatic and flavorful lychee juice.

Another favorite was the Golden Tip Assam Presse (after Presbyterian), with bourbon, soda, ginger, lemon and Assam tea. The bourbon was strong, but the tea added intense earthy aromas and softened the bourbon bite.

Lastly, here’s Danielle’s great recipe for the Cherry Earl Grey Mojito – a great summer cocktail and a fascinating twist on a basic Mojito. Try it out and raise a glass to Ken – as he heads out to shake up the tea world!

Cherry Earl Grey Mojito

Some say this surprising version is an improvement on the classic… with the addition of earl grey tea infused tart cherries and earl grey tea infused rum combined with classic fresh mint and lime, this becomes an automatic favorite. Don’t forget to nibble on a few cherries while savoring this fun and slightly addictive cocktail… Tell us what you think… did we improve on a classic?

2 heaping tablespoons earl grey infused dry tart cherries

12 mint leaves

¾ ounce organic simple syrup

1 ounce early grey infused Bacardi rum (silver)

1 ounce fresh lime juice

crushed ice

soda

Muddle cherries, mint & syrup in a pint glass.

Add rum, lime and top w/ crushed ice.

Give mixture a quick shake and pour all ingredients into a rocks glass, top with soda and serve with a straw.

Earl Grey infused rum:

Cold infuse ½ ounce or 10 grams Earl Grey tea with ½ (750ml) bottle of light rum.

Stir to combine and allow to steep for at least 2 hours before use (or indefinitely…)

Strain before using.

Note – the tea will never become bitter when cold infusing.

Earl Grey infused tart cherries:

Place 1 cup tart cherries in a container. Pour earl grey concentrate over the cherries until they are covered. Allow the sherries to steep at least 2 hours or longer.

* Enjoy the infused cherries in cocktails, over vanilla ice-cream or as a condiment with extra sharp cheddar cheese…

Earl Grey Concentrate:

Place ½ ounce of Earl Grey tea into a 2-cup measuring cup. Add boiling water to the 2 cup mark. Steep for 3 minutes. Strain, cool and store refrigerated for use.

Organic simple syrup:

Combine equal parts organic cane sugar and water in a small saucepan. Simmer slowly, stirring occasionally until the sugar is completely dissolved. Allow the mixture to cool completely. Reserve.