I had an idea to share some recipes as well as promote some Bloomingdale businesses and the Capital City Market, and that idea is the East of NJ Ave challenge. The challenge is to create a few yummy things from items east of New Jersey Avenue and west of…. oh face it I don’t bike past the Capital City/Florida Market. The borders are fuzzy. I don’t know how much of a challenge it would be when there is a great farmers market in Bloomingdale, Timor, a big honking chaotic warehouse district, and whatever I or my neighbors grow in their gardens. Yes, a big cheat is the stuff I grow in my yard. Not much of a challenge and it’s an excuse to talk about food.
So Banana Liqueur
Recipe from Homemade Liqueurs by Dona Z. Meilach & Mel Meilach (1979).
2 Ripe Bananas (Mexican Fruit -Capital City Market)
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (Don Pepe’s – Capital City Market) or 2″ vanilla bean
1 cup of sugar syrup (see below)
3 cups of vodka (Bloomingdale Liquor)
Take the bananas, peel them, squish them and place in jar. Add the rest of the ingredients to jar. Tightly screw on jar top, and leave in the back of a cool/dark closet for 1 week. After a week strain and filter to capture liquid. You can drink it but let it mature if you can, for 2-3 months.
Simple Syrup
1 cup of water (WASA)
1 cup of sugar (G&S Grocery on 1500 blk of NJ Ave)
Combine the two in a saucepan. Heat and stir contents until mixture is somewhat clear. Cool and refrigerate. Add a smidge of vodka as preservative.
do you have a recipe for moonshine on file? rr446
Mari (or Anon rr446) — I have a huge amount of mint right now. What should I do?! Can it be made into a sugar syrup and frozen?
Well, freezer space is a precious resource so I dry my mint and use it as a tea. I’ve seen recipes for herb infused sugar syrups, but I’ve never really made one that was meant to last more than a couple of days.