The Geigers' Counter: May 2013

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

ISO refreshment: part 2

The citrus syrup I posted yesterday is extremely versatile for a myriad of spring and summer sippers. Beware though.. One liter of syrup has only lasted Grace and I two days. Here are some ideas that I have played with in the past few days. Some are boozy (for me) and some not so (for Grace and the fetus-Geiger). The first is Grace's favorite, a soda.

Second, is an IPA Shandy. In my humble opinion a Summer Shandy should not be premixed and bottled. I love the ability to choose the beer that I use in my shandies. This time I mixed 2 parts syrup with 3 parts seltzer to make the lemonade then mixed an equal portion of Dogfish Head's 90-minute IPA.

The resulting shandy was bright with grapefruit astringency upfront fading into a sun-shiny lemon zip. The 90-minute IPA asserted its malt backbone and trailed off with a resin hop that was accentuate by the citrus.

Finally I used my favorite Italian soda, Chinotto to make one hell of a cocktail. Chinotto is a soda made from the same bitter orange used in making Campari, an Italian apertif. Shake 2 parts gin and 2 parts syrup with plenty of ice. Strain into a DOF filled with fresh ice and top with Chinotto. Stir and garnish with a strip of lemon zest. For an NA version sub gin with seltzer and stir ingredients in lieu of shaking.

I hope your weather measures up to the beauty in Central Ohio right now. If it does then go grill something and enjoy the spring air with your beverage of choice.

-Jon

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

ISO refreshment: Ideal candidate must be sweet, complex, nuanced

I love getting those tasty little glass bottles of lemonade from the grocery store but I find that the packaged -ade doesn't pack enough umph for my tastes. Solution, prepare my own lemon concoction that will stand up to cocktailing and the making of virgin drinks.

-Ingredients-

-Directions-

1. Zest Grapefruit and Lemons reserve the fruit

2. Muddle Zest w/ sugar to release oils, cover, let sit an hour or as long as overnight (This mixture is referred to as an Oleo Saccharum literally meaning sugar oil)

3. Juice the reserved Grapefruit and Lemons; add juice to the Oleo Saccharum

4. Stir until sugar is dissolved

5. Strain the syrup into container and add 1/2 cup water

Makes about 1 liter of syrup

Drink ideas to come.

-Jon

Friday, May 3, 2013

It's a boy

I had to fake a sonogram today..

Grace and I, encouraged by Grace's mother, decided to go to an ultrasound clinic today because we couldn't handle the suspense of not knowing the gender. The ultrasound tech found the baby quickly and after a few seconds of searching declared us to be having a son. I wanted a daughter.

Grace's Mother, Linda has four grandsons and one granddaughter and everyone in the family had predetermined it would be a girl. We all just sat there transfixed on the screen. Finally, probably for the sake of the tech, Grace exclaimed, "Wow! That's surprising." I didn't speak unless directly questioned for over an hour.

However, after the hour of contemplation I changed my tune. I began to imagine my self with a son and got extremely excited. First of all I am the last Geiger male who is likely to procreate. I didn't think that passing on my name would matter to me but I began to realize that it would. Additionally, new ideas and concepts are dawning on me daily that get me energized for this adventure. I began to understand that I wasn't excited about having a girl. I thought Grace would be having a girl so I got excited about tutus, brushing her hair and being her protector. But when I picture myself raising a son I get equally excited (if not more so) about camping with him, teaching him how to cook, and instilling within him a love and respect for all things. It doesn't matter if this baby is a boy or a girl. I am so ready for fatherhood in a way that I never thought possible. Now if Grace and I could decide between names.