In This Issue
• Asparagus At Last!
• Local Mint Julep: My Old Chicago Home
• Take a Quiz
Asparagus At Last!
We interrupt this mixology lesson with breaking news: asparagus lives!
OK, maybe a little too much drama but asparagus is the first crop to hit the local markets in abundance, thanks to the fact that Michigan — the source of much of the produce that gets sold in season in Chicago — is the nation’s leading producer of these delicious green spears.
Ellis Family Farms (Benton Harbor, Michigan) today gave my asparagus season a week’s head start. I usually get my first asparagus fix on opening day at Green City Market (which will be next Saturday). But Ellis has been doing weekly pickup drops at the Green City site in Lincoln Park, and when I got their email saying asparagus was coming, I was all over it, ordering the three one-pound bunches in the photo.
I also got eggs and ramps, which should give you a hint of the dish that will be in tomorrow’s newsletter.
For years I’ve said it’s not officially spring until the markets open with all that beautiful asparagus. I could declare it spring today, but it’s cloudy and chilly and drizzly. So I’m just going to call this the last week of spring training, and hope the weather gods are kinder for Opening Day.
Local Mint Julep: My Old Chicago Home
The Kentucky Tradition Gets Some Local Twists
Thursday’s Local Food Forum featured a mint primer from Tracey Vowell at Three Sisters Garden in advance of the Mint Julep Fest known as the Kentucky Derby. As promised, here are some actual recipes that feature local Chicago bourbon rather than the brown liquor that made Kentucky famous. Plus, a minty trip to the tropics and some plain old delicious mint iced tea.
KOVAL DISTILLERY, CHICAGO
KOVAL in 2008 became the first distillery in the city of Chicago since Prohibition. All of its products are made with organic grain, and several of their expressions use atypical grains such as millet, as you’ll see in the second recipe below.
Ultra Classic Julep
2 oz. KOVAL Bourbon*
1/2 oz. simple syrup**
15 or so large mint leaves
1-2 oz. soda water
Muddle the mint and the syrup in the bottom of a julep tin
Fill with crushed ice, then add Bourbon and top with soda
Lightly stir, then add more crushed ice before garnishing with a large sprig of fresh mint
* For a fun spin on the classic bourbon recipe, KOVAL Barreled Gin can also be swapped in! The Barreled Gin is a bridge between whiskey and gin (as it's aged in former KOVAL whiskey barrels), so using it would give you a lighter, more botanical-forward experience.
** We like to use a 2/1 simple syrup here — aka 2 parts sugar/1 part water. The denser viscosity helps carry those mint oils throughout the drink, but otherwise it's the same as any other simple syrup.
Here’s a KOVAL variation on the julep theme:
KOVAL Derby
2 oz. KOVAL Millet
3/4 oz. grapefruit juice
1/4 oz. lemon juice
1/4 oz. simple syrup*
4-5 large mint leaves
Combine all ingredients together in a cocktail tin with ice
Shake, then strain into a chilled coupe glass
Garnish with a large mint leaf floating on top
* We also suggest using a 2/1 simple syrup here as well! This recipe is basically a Mint Julep and a Brown Derby married together.
FEW SPIRITS, EVANSTON
FEW also became a trailblazer when it opened in 2011. It was not only the first distillery in Evanston, the suburb that borders Chicago to the north; it may have been the first ever. Evanston was a hotbed of prohibitionism in the late 19th and early 20th century. Frances E. Willard, a Northwestern University instructor, was also the president of the national Women’s Christian Temperance Union. And her initials were… FEW.
FEW Bourbon Mint Julep
2 oz. FEW Bourbon
¼ oz. Rich Simple Syrup
4-6 Mint Leaves
Add the syrup and mint to the Julep cup and lightly muddle
Add the Bourbon and pack the glass with crushed ice
Stir for 10-15 seconds, add a bit more ice, and garnish with a mint flower
TWISTED ALCHEMY COLD-PRESSED JUICE MIXERS, WILMETTE
And now for something completely different. Not into the Derby or would rather celebrate it with something exotic? Here is a Passionfruit Mai Tai garnished with lots of fresh mint. The recipe comes from Twisted Alchemy, producers of delicious mixers made with cold-pressed juices, and naturally incorporates its products.
1 oz. Twisted Alchemy Passionfruit Juice
1 oz. Twisted Alchemy Grapefruit Juice
2 oz. Twisted Alchemy Lime Sour
1 oz. Dark Rum
1 oz. Light Rum
3/4 oz. Cointreau or Other Orange Liqueur
Fresh Mint
Gold Sugar and Dried Lime (available from Twisted Alchemy)
Rim glass with gold sugar and fill glass with crushed ice
Muddle some mint in the bottom of a shaker
Add all ingredients to the shaker with ice
Pour and strain into a glass
Garnish with fresh mint and dried lime
Mint Iced Tea for the Non-Imbiber
This hardly counts as a recipe, because it is so easy, nor does it have anything particular to do with the Kentucky Derby. Rather, this is a wonderful and extremely simple refresher for the whole warm season (and when it’s chilly, you can drink it hot)
About 1/2 oz. fresh mint leaves
Boiling water to cover
Rinse the mint leaves and place them in a tea infuser or large tea ball
Place infuser into a tea pot or other container, then add boiling water
Steep until it reaches the desired strength and color
Put ice cubes in a glass, pour the tea over the ice
Add a mint sprig for garnish (optional)
Take a Quiz
Mizuna is a type of:
a) salad green
b) radish
c) citrus fruit
d) seaweed
Answer: a) Mizuna is also known as Japanese mustard greens. It is described by Serious Eats this way: Mizuna's taste is peppery like arugula and slightly bitter like frisee, yet it's milder and sweeter than either of the more commonly found salad greens. While most typically found in salads, it can also be sautéed, pickled or simmered.