If your garden is growing as crazy as mine is, you’ve probably wondered what to do with all of those herbs! Of course they are essential to your cooking, but they also add a wonderful, herbaliciousness to cocktails and a fresh, dry flavor. If you don’t grow herbs, your local farmers market is the perfect place to get inspired by the bounty of fresh herbs for your next cocktail.

Shake up some fresh sage in a margarita for a really fresh, green note that pairs so well with the tequila – try a Sunset Sage Margarita for an evening out on the patio with friends. Rosemary and lemon are good friends and pairing the two easily jazzes up a classic Lemon Drop. Of course, the ever popular mojito and Julep benefit from mint’s bright, refreshing kick and teaming up thyme and honey in a Collins puts a sweet, summery spin on the timeless favorite. For the non-imbiber, stir up a Herbalicious H₂O; light, refreshing and crisp!

For the Tuscan Rosemary Lemon Drop recipes, stay tuned to my show Kathy Casey’s Liquid Kitchen on Small Screen Network later this summer or check it out in Sips & Apps!

However you choose to shake them up, give those herbs new life with some garden-to-glass cocktail goodness! – Kathy

Sunset Sage Margarita
Makes 1 drink

1 fresh sage leaf
1 1/2 ounces tequila
1/2 ounce Cointreau, Triple Sec, or Grand Marnier
1/2 ounce cranberry cocktail juice
1/2 ounce Simple Syrup (recipe follows)
1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
Garnish: fresh sage leaf

Crush the sage leaf and drop into a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker with ice, then measure in the remaining liquid ingredients. Cap and shake vigorously until very cold.

Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and float a fresh sage leaf for garnish.

*Simple Syrup: combine 2 cups sugar with 2 cups water in a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil then immediately remove from heat. Cool and store refrigerated.

Recipe from Kathy Casey’s Northwest Table, Chronicle Books

Herbalicious H₂O
The name says it all! Clean and fresh, this drink has no sugar and is very spa-like with its infusion of botanicals.

Makes 6 cups

6 large sprigs fresh mint
4 large sprigs fresh cilantro
1 small lemon, cut into thin slices
1 tangerine, cut into thin slices
4 thin slices peeled fresh ginger
6 cups water
Garnish: Fresh cilantro or mint sprigs

Tear the 6 mint and 4 cilantro sprigs and drop into a medium container. Add the fruit, ginger, and water and stir. Cover and refrigerate, overnight, to infuse before using.

Serve over ice, in large wine glasses with some of the fruit in each serving. Garnish as desired.

Recipe from Kathy Casey’s Sips & Apps, Chronicle Books

Water is essential for all the beverages that we drink from flavored sodas to well-balanced cocktails. Make water stand out by infusing fresh ingredients with it then add a bit of a spirit and you’ll have a simple but tasty drink! Check out this article in Class Magazine for a variety H2O cocktail recipes, including my Berry Purity H2O and Pineapple Cilantro H2O cocktails!

As the summer continues to heat onward, it’s never to late to enjoy a low-calorie sipper while soaking up some Vitamin D. Check out this blog post in Seattle Magazine for my Pineapple-Cilantro H2O infused-water recipe as well as the tasty hotspot Poppy, serving out herbaceous sippers.

Everyone loves a good cocktail, but not everyone drinks. There’s more to a non-alcoholic beverage program than just water or flavor sodas. Check out this article in Nightclub & Bar about how profitable a well executed non-alcoholic beverage program can be.

Canning is a fantastic way to preserve the flavors of the season and an age old custom. Lots of people learned to can from their friends or family – I learned to can from my mom and grandma, making jar upon jar of preserved peaches, apricots and yummy jam… there’s nothing like a PB&J with jam you’ve made yourself!

If “putting up” some of summer’s delicious bounty sounds like a fantastic idea to you, there’s no time better than the present to jump right in – head to Pike Place Market on Saturday, August 13^th and Sunday, August 14th for National Can It Forward Day! Canning Across America and Jardin America, the makers of Ball home canning products, have teamed up to present two days full of fun, educational canning and cooking demos.  But don’t worry if you can’t make it – the entire event will be streaming live at freshpreserving.com from 8:00AM to 4:00PM on Saturday. For the full event schedule, click here!

If you just can’t wait to get started canning, check out my easy and delicious recipe for Strawberry Lemon Poppyseed Jam! And don’t forget to visit Canning Across America to join the Canvolution and find mouth-watering recipes, gorgeous photography and a warm, welcoming community of like-minded canning enthusiasts.

So fire up your canner and here’s to preserving our local flavor! – Kathy

Do you find yourself wondering “Where should I eat?” often? You’re not alone. Finding your way around a city’s food scene, even if you live there, can sometimes be a daunting task. One which Seattle’s foodie maven Keren Brown is making a whole lot easier for the Emerald City’s denizens and visitors alike with her new book, Food Lover’s Guide to Seattle.

Keren knows a lot about her city’s culinary prowess; she writes a wildly popular blog, FranticFoodie.com, and founded Seattle Food Blogger Events and Foodportunity, a citywide series of food-related networking and educational events. She also writes for SeattlePI.com and MyNorthwest.com – it’s safe to say she’s uber-qualified to guide us through some of Seattle best places to eat, drink, shop and celebrate all things food.

Continue reading on Amazon’s Al Dente Blog.

Herbs are a great addition to cocktails, often complementing or enhancing the overall flavor to a drink. Check out this article in the Seattle Weekly for great herbal ideas in cocktails and see what Poppy is up to.

After carefully reviewing all of the Washington recipe submissions, Foster Farms has hand-picked five contestants for the Washington Regional Finals of their 2^nd Annual Foster Farms Fresh Chicken Contest!

The Washington regionals will be held here at the Food Studios in Ballard, Friday, August 12^th, when the five finalists will pit their original fresh chicken recipes using local ingredients against each other in front of the judges. The winner will be chosen to represent Washington against the Oregon and California semi-finalists at the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley for a shot at $10,000 and a year’s worth of Foster Farms chicken.

It’s going to be a fantastic time; I can’t wait to see the final results! Check out last year’s regional winner, grand-prize winner and their recipes and cook up some Foster Farms fresh chicken of your own! – Kathy