Ready to get wild with your cocktails? No, I’m not talking about hauling out some liquid nitrogen, but instead hauling yourself out into nature and using your backyard for some cocktail inspiration. Your guide book? Wild Drinks & Cocktails by Emily Han.
Today we’ve teamed up with Fair Winds Press to offer one lucky Stir and Strain reader their very own copy of the book. Emily is a fellow Los Angeleno who empowers people to cultivate a mindful relationship with nature and nourishment. As a writer, recipe developer, educator, and herbalist she focuses on topics such as handmade food and drinks, foraging and wildcrafting, and herbs and spices. Her cookbook, Wild Drinks and Cocktails (Fair Winds Press, 2015), encompasses healthful, handcrafted beverages using local, fresh, or foraged ingredients. Passionate about growing communities, Emily is also the Communications Director for LearningHerbs.com, founder of LA Food Swap, and co-Âfounder of the international Food Swap Network.
Want a taste? Check out Emily’s recipe for Hazelnut Orgeat (and if you know us, we LOVE our orgeats) and enter below! Check out the options below to enter and get up to 9 entries to win. For more information on Wild Drinks, check that out here! Giveaway ends at 11:59pm PST Monday November 30th, 2015. Please see terms and conditions below (sorry, only open to U.S. and Canada residents). Good Luck!
Hazelnut Orgeat
Recipe reprinted from Wild Drinks & Cocktails by Emily Han, with permission from Fair Winds Press, copyright 2015
Yield: about 2-1/2 cups (590 ml)
2 cups (8 ounces, or 224 g) blanched hazelnuts (also known as filberts)
2 cups (470 ml) water
2 cups (400 g) sugar
Dash orange flower water (optional)
Place the hazelnuts and water in a blender or food processor. Pulse until the hazelnuts are finely chopped but not pureed. Pour the hazelnuts and water into a bowl. (To chop without a food processor, crush the hazelnuts with a rolling pin and then stir them into the water.) Cover the bowl and let stand for 8 hours or overnight.
Line a fine-mesh strainer with a fine-mesh bag or flour sack cloth and strain the liquid into a saucepan. Squeeze the bag or cloth to extract as much liquid as possible. Discard the hazelnut pulp. Stir the sugar into the hazelnut liquid. Warm the mixture over low heat (but do not boil), stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and let cool. Stir in the orange flower water. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. (Because this is an oil and water emulsion, the orgeat will separate in the refrigerator, so always shake well before using.)
