Sipping on gin and cukes

This instructional post is the highly-anticipated final installment in the My Fare Beloved Garden Project miniseries.

Just over a month ago, Kelsey finished up her summertime garden project by making good use of the cucumbers she grew on our Philly patio.

The Eriksen sister cucumber-gin-and-tonic tradition can trace its roots to the beloved Bourgeois Pig. In summer 2011, as Kelsey harvested an abundance of cucumbers from her garden 1,200 miles from Lawrence, she decided to bring the Pig to her.

And this past summer, lucky for me, she did it again.

She picked up a couple bottles of fine New Amsterdam gin from the Girard Ave. wine and spirits shop. And chose only the blue ribbon winners from the garden.

She peeled and seeded them in her summery wardrobe.

 

Then chopped, filled, poured.

The little cukes should stay in the gin, in the fridge for three or four days. Shake the jars a couple times a day to extract all that goodness.

After you strain the pieces out, you can throw them away, dare your sister to eat one (if she's a good sport, she will) or freeze them to use as ice cubes in your cucumber gin and tonic (with lime, of course).

What was not consumed on the Philly patio moved to Kansas with Kelsey in the original gin bottles. As part of her nesting process (and in preparation for a huge party), she infused some more.

Please note again: the cucumbers need only soak for three or four days. This autumn straining montage is a separate batch entirely.

This fresh, summery cocktail is a wonderful way to toast the end of summer and, as it turns out, a precious bride and groom.

With love.