sweet miscellany

This summery bourbon berry smash cocktail is packed with fruity flavor thanks to the addition of berry jam! Lemon juice helps to balance the flavors and sparkling water gives it some satisfying fizz.

I went through a major creative dip throughout most of last year when it came to recipe development and keeping up the blog. As soon as things start to feel forced, I often back away because I know what I produce will err on the side of inauthentic. I was also pouring a lot of energy into Little Radish so when it came time to do something “fun”, I was already spent.

Enter global pandemic and home quarantine. All of my timelines for Little Radish went out the window. Suddenly I was graced with more freedom in my schedule. And then, as if there was some perfect alchemical combination of circumstances, my brain started firing off recipe and content ideas for the blog.

In the first two months of this year, I posted ONCE. Since March 10th? I’ve posted NINE times. NINE. That seems hard to wrap my head around. I decided that if I was going to really start devoting time to this space again, then I needed to tackle the task that I’ve cleverly and successfully ducked for over 5 years: video content. And in typical Courtney fashion, once I had it in my mind to do it, I didn’t stop until I had a basic understanding of the editing process.

So here we are, the first video content for Sweet Miscellany! It’s a bit rough but I’m pretty proud for a first attempt. I wasn’t originally intending for the first video to be a cocktail, but I had the idea for this simple drink on Friday and decided to go with it. To make it easy, I’ve included the written recipe below but you can also find it in the description of the video.

Bourbon Berry Smash

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Author: Courtney West
Total Time: 5 minutes
Yield: 1 drink 1x
Diet: Vegetarian

Print Recipe

Description

This summery bourbon berry smash cocktail is packed with fruity flavor thanks to the addition of berry jam! Lemon juice helps to balance the flavors and sparkling water gives it some satisfying fizz.

Ingredients

Scale

1 jigger (1.5 oz) bourbon whiskey
2 tbsp berry jam of your choice (I used a homemade strawberry blueberry combo)
2–3 tsp fresh lemon juice
sparkling water to top it off
ice

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Instructions

Add the whiskey, jam, and lemon juice to a highball glass. Mix well with a muddler or a spoon to incorporate the jam. Top off with sparkling water and a handful of ice.

Makes 1 cocktail.

Notes

Typically a smash involves muddling fresh fruit and simple syrup in a glass but I decided to skip straight to jam because I made a batch of blueberry and strawberry jam just before shooting this recipe and it was pretty darn delicious. Feel free to use whatever berry jam you love!
Want a mocktail version? Skip the bourbon and up the jam to 3 tablespoons and the lemon juice to 1-2 tablespoons. Add a dash or two of bitters if you like then top off with the sparkling water!

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Category: drink

adaptable green pesto | via the sweet miscellany blog

Pesto is one of my favorite go-to meal starters so I’ve created an adaptable recipe so you can make it to suit your tastes and the season at hand! Nutty, herbaceous, savory, and bright, pesto is the perfect balance of flavors all wrapped up in a pretty verdant-hued package.

I find it curious what constitutes comfort food from person to person. Sometimes there are memories and stories attached while other times it is something that feels deeply nourishing. Of course “nourishing” is not to be confused with words like “healthy”. In my humble opinion, nourishment runs on a deeper level, satisfying body, mind, and soul. Whereas a bowl of kale might be “healthy”, a bowl of macaroni and cheese or your favorite childhood cereal can be nourishing.

Times of stress and uncertainty, like those we find ourselves in at the moment, often require imbibing our own version of comfort food. Mine tends to fluctuate throughout the year along with the seasons, but one constant is pesto tossed with something carb-y (usually pasta). It’s incredibly easy and quick to put together (just throw everything in the blender!) and I can change it up based on what I have. I think the flavor is what makes it comfort food for me: nutty, herbaceous, savory, and bright. It’s the perfect balance of flavors all wrapped up in a pretty verdant-hued package.

Before we get to the recipe, let me say that this is not traditional pesto by any means. Rather, it’s a pesto-like sauce that that just so happens to also be green! Since I make it based on what I have seasonally, every batch tends to be unique. For instance, the batch photographed was made with half of an avocado rather than olive oil because the store was wiped out of olive oil when I ordered groceries a couple of weeks ago. In addition to my favorite combinations, I’ve included recipe suggestions below in case you’re looking for inspiration for enjoying your pesto!

My Favorite Pesto Combinations & Recipe Suggestions

+ I love using sunflower seeds in the summer. They go really well with baby spinach and flat leaf parsley.

+ Pecans and sage make for a good fall/winter combo along with baby spinach or arugula.

+ Pecans and cilantro are a really delicious combo, especially when paired with earthy root veggies like beets and carrots.

+ Pumpkin seeds make a delicious combo with cilantro as well! I love using this combo as a dip for tortilla chips.

+ Since cashews have a natural sweetness to them, I love them paired with pungent herbs like basil and mint.

+ Tired of pasta? Make these oat flatbreads and top them with your pesto and whatever roasted veg you’ve got. Or, spread your pesto on pizza dough before adding the rest of your toppings.

+ If you love snacking on raw veggies, try mixing your pesto with sour cream or plain unsweetened yogurt for a creamy dip.

+ Eat a lot of sandwiches or avocado toast? Use your pesto as a sandwich spread.

+ If you love lasagna but don’t like tomato sauce, use pesto between the layers instead.

Adaptable Green Pesto