Fun Beverage Recipes Using Herbs!

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Related Articles: Growing Your Own Herbs for Teas | Flavoring Sun Tea with Herbs

Fun Beverage Recipes Using Herbs!

You have your marinade ready to go. You've got your quality olive oil mixed with some brown mustard, herbs, garlic, and vinegar, in perfect position for that 24- to 36-hour sitting time that recipe you pulled from the internet dictated.

As you take that nice hunk of meat for which you just coughed up a pretty penny and carefully lay it in, it dawns on you: "What the heck am I going to serve with this?"

Wine? No. Chances are, unless you have a bona fide sommelier coming over, no one will be able to tell the difference between a ten- or hundred dollar bottle of the stuff. Plus, there are actually some people (yes, even your friends) that are so "wine snobby" they will be let down if the label says California and not Argentina or Italy.

And you can forget beer. No sense in serving a cheap domestic with your version of chateaubriand, so you have other things to consider, like microbrews and imports. Microbrews are great, but offer spotty consistency, and there are some imports you can neither decipher nor pronounce. Really, what do you care if it was brewed by Trappist Monks?

Just as the whole point of your marinade is to impart its flavor into your meat, those herbs you use can convey their flavors and oils into something else: your drinks. From your favorite teas and lemonades to that thirst quencher you crave after a hard day of work, adding herbs to your beverages can both enliven your meal and save it from catastrophe (overcooking that meat to, you know, be "safe")/

Below are three readily available herbs that will make any dinner more memorable.

Add sprigs of mint to freshly-brewed tea and let it cool. The amount you use will depend on both the amount of tea and the resting time, so best advice is to add more just when you think you have enough. You can cut it with more water or tea later if it is too overpowering.

You would be hard-pressed to find a better adder to rum drinks than mint, and any mint works well. The most famous rum-mint concoction is by far the mojito, and making it is a cinch. All you need is a shaker, your favorite rum, club soda, fresh mint, and lots of lime.

Drop the leaves into the shaker, squeeze the limes, add the rum and some ice cubes, cover, and shake. Shake it like it's paint. Not only does that mix the ingredients well, it helps the ice crush the leaves to release their volatile oils, and that is what you are after.

Uncover the shaker, and pour all the contents into a glass. Top with the club soda, garnish with a lime wedge and mint leaf, and call yourself a hero.

Milk is wonderful, especially when it is served warm. In India and Thailand, warm milk is served with meals to help cope with strongly spiced foods. Now, even though you may not add too much spice to your foods at the house, warm milk infused with a little lemon basil is a definite, and easy, winner. Just warm your milk either over the stove or in the microwave. When it is ready, add a leaf or two of lemon basil, and let it steep, just as you would a tea. Go light at first: one leaf per cup is a good starting point until you get used to the flavors. After that, you can add all you want.

When mixing drinks, vodka is the ubiquitous libation of choice because of its near neutrality. Yes, it still has some bite, but as it takes on the flavors of the other ingredients, it becomes a lot like water (just water that makes you more social and fun at parties).

Lemon basil is citrusy and sharp, and when introduced to vodka, lime juice, and simple syrup (or agave nectar), it can make a martini your friends will brag about for years.

Add a shot or two of vodka into a shaker with some ice and the rest of the ingredients and shake vigorously, like you are jamming a crowbar into drywall for a room renovation. Just like mint in the mojito, you want to crush the lemon basil to extract its oils.

Pour everything through a fine-mesh strainer (not that lame one that comes with the shakers) and into some chilled martini glasses, and serve.

To help round out your entertaining adventure, try serving some appetizers such as an easy Italian antipasto salad, or end with a dessert of ricotta cheese topped with an apricot jam. You can serve on a small plate, but even small pasta bowls will do just as well.

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