Sloe Gin

Makes approx 1L

You will find sloes in abundance in hedgerows at the moment. They look deceptively like blueberries but these are high in tannins, making them unpleasant to eat with their drying effect in your mouth and they are almost inedibly sharp. Combined with sugar and gin and left to mature, however, and you’ll have the perfect drink, ready in time for Christmas.

• Ingredients:
• 500g sloes
• 250g caster sugar
• 1L gin

Step 1: Wash the sloes, and prick them all over (alternatively freeze them once washed and then use them when ready, with no need to prick).

Step 2: Place sloes in a large jar, and add the sugar and gin. Seal and place some where cool and dark.

Step 3: Once a day for seven days, shake the jar vigorously.

Step 4: Leave for two to three months before straining the sloes out and bottling.

Lychee Cocktail

Makes 1

A recent Vietnamese meal with the girls led me to come up with this as our first drink of the night. It went down well and looked pretty with its borage flower accompaniment. The puréed lychees left some residue on the glass, but you could avoid this by passing the purée through a sieve before using, but sometimes life is too short.

The quantities below are for a large champagne flute, but if using smaller ones then halve the quantity of liqueur and purée.

Ingredients:

40 ml lychee liqueur (I used a lychee infused white rum)

20ml lychee purée (I whizzed up a tin of lychees with a splash of their syrup) 

Chilled sparkling wine (I used Prosecco)

To serve: an edible flower frozen in an ice cube (optional) (I used borage)

Step 1: Measure the liqueur and purée into a glass, add the flower ice cube (if using) and carefully top up the glass with sparkling wine. Serve immediately.

Lemon Fizz Cocktail

Serves 6

A simple cocktail to serve as an aperitif. Make the lemon syrup in advance and chill in the fridge, ready to serve when your guests arrive.

• Ingredients:
• 75ml fresh lemon juice (approx. 2 lemons)
• 75g caster sugar
• 1 bottle of dry sparkling wine

Step 1: Make the syrup by heating the lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan, until the sugar is dissolved and the syrup begins to boil. Remove from the heat and carefully pour into an airtight bottle container and store in the fridge until needed.

Step 2: Divide the syrup between six champagne flutes (this will be about 25ml each) and top up with a chilled, dry sparkling wine. Serve immediately.

Rhubarb Gin Fizz

Makes 1 cocktail

So today I finished work as a teacher, not just for the summer holidays but for the foreseeable future. After ten years at the same establishment, it’s feels a bit odd but I’ve known for a while that I’ve needed a break from teaching and with the arrival of The Food Baby it seemed like the best time to make the break.

To celebrate, I have decided to crack in to my newly brewed Rhubarb Gin and have decided a cocktail is in order. So here is a recipe for a Rhubarb Gin Fizz.

• Ingredients:
• 50ml rhubarb gin
• 125ml chilled sparkling wine

Step 1: Pour the measure of rhubarb gin into a fluted glass and top up with a sparkling wine of your choice.

Step 2: Drink.