Twist & Sparkle

The folks at iSi have outdone themselves with their new product, the Twist & Sparkle. This is hands down the best thing to enter my kitchen to date. It allows you to carbonate your favorite juices, wines, water, etc. The possibilities have been endless in my kitchen thus far. So lets give a big shout out to iSi for keeping my kitchen creative...And to all my foodie friends you need to get one as soon as you can!

Here is a drink based on the Le Muse from Bastille in Ballard, WA. It's a less inexpensive and fun way to make my favorite drink on a budget:

Le Muse
2oz Vodka
2oz Creme de Cassis
1/2 fresh squeezed lime
2-4 oz sparkling rose wine
Topped with sparkling pink grapefruit juice ( no sugar added type)


http://www.twistnsparkle.com/

http://www.isinorthamerica.com/


Endless possibilities for summer time fun. Check out the links above to learn more about the Twist & Sparkle and all the other fun iSi products.

Strawberry Rhubarb Simple Syrup

Experimenting with fun flavors led me to making this simple syrup to use as a mixer for both non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks. Mix it with soda water or with Vodka and lime juice for a refreshing after work drink.

YUM!

Ready to be strained

Ingredients
Make 2 1/2 cups Syrup

1 carton strawberries, chopped
3 stalks rhubarb, chopped
2 cups water
2 cups white sugar

Bring sugar and water to a boil on medium heat, use a soup pan when doing this. Once water comes to a boil add fruit and lower heat. Cover and let simmer for about 20-25 minutes, or until the fruit begins to break down. Remove from heat and allow to slightly cool. When safe to handle strain the fruit from the syrup and chill until ready to use. This had a very strong strawberry taste. If you want something a little more tart you can cut back a little on the sugar, or just use more rhubarb and less berries.....Next on my list is to try this with Mango and Raspberries.

The possibilities for mixing this are endless. A lot of recipes I looked at called for 2 oz syrup to 8oz of liquid and it seemed to be a pretty good place to start.

So what to do with all this leftover fruit??? Do we really want to throw it all away? I pureed mine with a hand blender and stuck it in the freezer to spread on pancakes or to throw in a fruit smoothie. Almost sad to admit I liked the unexpected fruit puree more than the syrup.

Finished Syrup

2oz Syrup, 2 oz Vodka, 6oz Sparkling Grapefruit Juice & Fresh Squeezed Lime Juice