Summer Basil Gin Popsicle Recipe

stacy reynaud

I refuse to let all this basil we have go to waste. Voila - the basil gin boozicle!
I didn't want to use those creepy silicone popsicle molds,  nor the $30 stainless steel mold
from Whole Foods, so I improvised.

 

For the mold I used little recyclable plastic cups, (100 of them cost less than $3), and the popsicle sticks are craft sticks, (bag of 150 less than $3). You can get craft sticks at a craft store or that big box store that starts with W. If you want to be really swish - dye the craft sticks with food coloring or blackberry juice.

What you need:

• 1 cup gin
• 2 cups water
• bunch of fresh basil leaves
• 2 limes - juiced
• 2 tbsp agave syrup
• blender
• tinfoil
• craft sticks
• small cups

What you do:

• add everything to the blender and pulse slowly. Don't go too fast or it will get foamy and that stuff doesn't freeze
• pour the mix into the little cups
• pop a tinfoil hat on them
• slice the middle of the hat with a knife and insert the craft stick
• put the cups on a tray in the freezer for no less than 24 hrs.
• you can omit the water if you want - it just won't freeze as solidly

Vintage Peacock Chair - Emmanuelle Chair

I was probably around twelve when I first saw this image of Marilyn Monroe by Milton H. Greene.

Since then, I've wanted one of those wicker chairs - a peacock chair to be exact - they just look so cool every time I see one in a photo.

Back in the winter of this year, I bought one off Craigslist for $25. Damn right it looks cool, but that's about it. The only type of chair I can think of that is as uncomfortable as this type is those plastic white slatted folding outdoor chairs (like this).

 See blondie there in the white sweater? That just about sums up me sitting on the chair!

At least Flo finds it comfortable.

How to Harvest Basil

This one's going to flower soon.  Harvest before it flowers.

via stacy reynaud

Our basil is out of control. To think I never wanted to plant any because I thought I'd end up eating it all in one shot. To get the most out of your basil harvest, here's what to do.

It's best to harvest before the herb flowers as this is when it contains those delicious fragrant oils. Who doesn't love the smell of fresh basil?

1. Start from the bottom of the plant and count up four sets of leaves. When you reach four, snip off the top two. If your plant already has more than four, then pinch off 33% of it. Snip or pinch right above the little leaves that are growing opposite each other. This tells the little guys to keep growing.

2. Once each new branch develops four sets of alternating leaves, pinch them off.  Keep up with this routine until the plant is about a foot tall. By then you'll have a nice bushy plant keen to supply you with enough basil gimlet goodness all summer.

3. To keep your basil through winter, dry it either in a food dehydrator (we have the Nesco Gardenmaster) or air-hang dry it (not in direct sunlight) and put it in an airtight mason jar.

Now, onto our Lemon Verbena plant!

For more in-depth info, check out the post on Vegetarian Times.

This Song | This Color | This Photo

You know those times when you're bombarded with something so much in such a short period of time? Well, over the past 24 hrs I've had three things do it to me.

This color I posted about yesterday,

this song

and this image.

Explanations? Thoughts? Willful exaggerations?

A Green Blue Turquoise Wall Thing

Confession -  I have an issue differentiating between blue and green. Hence, whatever you call this wall colour, I like it. Personally, I wouldn't use it on my walls because I'm too moody for blue (?) - however, my rock star turned designer guy friend Ryan used it in his bedroom and loves it.

I lied. I'd have this bathroom any day - remember my dream of having a window in my shower?

images: mine, bohemian homes, inspire bohemia, Florence Welch's living room in Vogue Living, Shelley Freedman, Velvet and Linen

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Wittgenstein has got it going on

Everything that can be thought at all can be thought clearly. Everything that can be said can be said clearly. 

Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico Philosophicus

Irrefutable Mens Shorts

I'm a leg woman. I can look beyond Magnum's mustache.

Bjorn Borg
Paul Newman
Robert Redford Paul Newman
The Rolling Stones

For the Price of Gold | Put a Bird on It

For close to half an ounce of gold you could buy this Isabel Marant dress.  She did, after all, put a bird on it.

On this Day in 2008

When I originally posted this piece, five years,  ago MCA - Adam Yauch (my favourite Beastie) was still with us. Such a loss.

Matteo Pericoli's Grammy nominated album design

Beastie Boys - To the 5 Boroughs

I loved pop up books as a child.

When I recently discovered that the artist of one of my favourite album covers was also a published author, designer and architect I had to dig deeper.

Matteo Pericoli captures New York City in pen and ink. His first published book, Manhattan Unfurled, Random House (2001) contains fifteen hundred buildings and nineteen bridges that unfold into two 37 foot scrolls of the East and West Sides of the Manhattan skyline. A young person's version is also available under the title, See the City: the journey of Manhattan Unfurled, Knopf for Young Readers (2004). In this version, Pericoli adds simple text and hand-drawn labels, telling young readers how he created his drawing. He also encourages kids to 'draw everything'.

Manhattan Unfurled Random House (2001)

In 2007, Pericoli completed Skyline of the World, a 397 foot panoramic mural for American Airlines' new International Terminal at JFK.

Skyline of the World

photo USA Today

Born in Milan, Matteo Pericoli currently teaches illustration and architecture at Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn, NY.