Rosemary Lemon-Ginger Vodka Spritzers

A beachside refresher

Our vacation got off to a tremulous start - what with the 5.2 earthquake and all - but we managed to get everyone safely in the car and on the road to Rosemary Beach, our almost impossibly lovely destination on the Florida Panhandle.

This place is one of those scarily-proportioned planned "towns" that seem to spring up out of the swamp land as if by magic. What I mean by scary is just the absolute perfectness about it all; it's so self-contained and pristinely designed that it just doesn't seem real.

And, in keeping with the Mediterranean theme of the architecture, there are rosemary bushes springing up everywhere. I don't think that rosemary would grow here as a native plant, but it does seem to thrive in this climate, because the plants seem to grow into large hedgerows.

Rosemary might just be my favorite herb and every spring I put out numerous small plants in my garden. I always hope that one or two of them will make it through the winter, but so far that hasn't happened.

Seeing them casually growing here to the size of happy Great Danes kind of overwhelms me. I'm starting to feel like cooking something. Or maybe I'm just thirsty.

We came up with this refreshing cocktail recipe while lounging on the beach yesterday. It's pretty good. Might be just about time for another!

Rosemary Lemon-Ginger Vodka Spritzers

1 cup sugar
1 cup water
¼ cup peeled, chopped fresh ginger
2 large springs rosemary, plus more to garnish
Pinch of fine sea salt (seems weird, but it really makes the syrup pop with flavor)
Fresh lemons, halved
Ice cold vodka
Chilled sparkling water

Combine the sugar and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Stir in the ginger, rosemary and salt; remove from the heat and let steep for about 10 minutes. Strain the syrup and chill.

To make a drink, squeeze fresh lemon juice to taste into a glass filled with ice. Pour in 2 ounces vodka and about 1 tablespoon syrup. Top off with the sparkling water. Take a sip, and add more syrup if you like. Add a rosemary spring for garnish. Cheers!

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Copyright (c) 2008 FamilyStyle Food

Butternut Squash Soup: Rich, Silky (and Dairy-Free)

A comforting bowl for fall

Now is the perfect time of year to make soup - we can almost see breath clouds while walking to school in the morning (it takes a lot of huffing), pumpkins are stacked on front stoops and the maples are showing off their fall colors.

Plus, Thanksgiving is right around the corner - I just placed my order for a pasture-raised turkey. Now I need to get busy planning our menu. Since we don't have a huge family gathering and the duty to provide everybody's habitual favorite side dishes, I try different recipes from year to year, just to keep things interesting. I'm craving chiles this year, for some reason, and might roast this Southwestern-inspired turkey.

This soup will be great on our holiday table. Made with my all-time favorite fall ingredient, butternut squash, it's so smooth and rich-tasting you might think it's loaded with butter and cream, but no worries! It's completely dairy-free. The secret to its plush, velvety texture is in the ratio of vegetables to broth, and the addition of a little bit of potato for body.

Ginger-Orange Butternut Squash Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup chopped celery
1 teaspoon ground ginger or 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

3 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 small non-starchy potato (such as Yukon Gold or Red Bliss), peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons honey (or brown sugar if you want to make this vegan)
4 - 5 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Fresh herbs and toasted nuts, to garnish (optional)

Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and ginger; cook 5 minutes or until softened, stirring occasionally. Stir in the squash, potato, honey, stock and orange juice; season generously with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower to a simmer. Cover the pot and cook until the squash is soft when pierced with a fork.

Puree the soup in batches in a blender or with an immersion hand blender until very smooth.
Garnish soup with fresh slivered herb leaves (such as chives, basil or parsley) and chopped toasted nuts, if you like.

Serves 6 -8.

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