Annapurna Jam Fizz (an ode to the Annapurna Zing)

1 1/2 – 2 oz gin
1/2 oz lime juice
1 tbsp pineapple-passion fruit jam (Bonne Maman)
Fresh mint
Ginger beer

Place 3-4 fresh mint leaves in the bottom of a cocktail shaker, then add ice. Add gin, lime juice, and a heaping tablespoon of jam. Shake vigorously until mint and jam are broken up and combined with gin and juice. Pour over ice and add ginger beer to top.

Quick Curry Aioli

2 tbsp mayo (I recommend Duke’s)
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 – 3/4 tsp curry powder (depending on how strong yours is)
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
Salt & pepper

Mix everything together and let chill in the fridge for at least 10 minutes. If you’d like a little more richness, add a small drizzle of olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings as you like.

Kumquat Blueberry Cobbler
Zest of 4-5 kumquats (or 1 lemon or other citrus of choice)
1 1/2 – 2 cups blueberries
1 cup self rising flour
1 cup sugar + 2 tbsp sugar + 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 cup milk
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 stick of melted butter (1/4 cup)

Grease pan.
Preheat oven to 350.
Combine flour and 1 cup sugar in a medium bowl. Add milk and stir to combine. Add zested citrus into the batter. Add melted butter and vanilla extract and stir until well combined.
Pour batter into pan. Now add the blueberries! They will sink in as the cobbler bakes.
Top with 2 tbsp of sugar.
Bake at 350 for 50 minutes, then sprinkle last 1/2 tbsp of sugar on top. Bake for about 10 minutes more. A toothpick should come out clean from the middle and cobbler should be set.
Serve warm, preferably with vanilla ice cream.

Small Batch Salted Caramel Sauce

1/4 cup salted butter
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Salt to taste

Melt butter and sugar over low-medium heat, whisk until combined well. Then leave it alone! Try not to stir while it bubbles. Once it starts to darken around the edges, you can swish the pan a little. Once it’s all looking a bit darker, add cream and vanilla and stir away! It’ll bubble up vigorously. Add salt and turn off the heat. Stir to combine. Let it cool off for a few minutes then pour over something delicious like french toast. Keeps ok in the fridge but best fresh. This makes just enough to cover two servings of french toast with a little leftover. Double if you need more!

Strawberry Basil Frosé
(Serves 2)
2 cups frozen strawberries
1 cup rosé (cheap is fine, don’t spend more than $10 on the bottle for this since it’s getting blended up with berries!)
Whole lemon, juiced
4 tbsp basil simple syrup (or any flavor)
Add the strawberries, basil simple syrup, and rosé to a blender. Add half the lemon juice to start. Blend until smooth, then taste. Add more lemon if desired, or more of any of the other ingredients to your taste. I used a whole lemon. It should taste like a delicious strawberry fruit roll up. Serve in the most obnoxious fabulous glasses you own. 😉

Pan Fried Okra
4 tbsp self rising flour
1 tbsp cornmeal
1 lb fresh okra, sliced thinly
Vegetable oil

Heat a thin layer of vegetable oil in a frying pan. Combine okra, flour, and cornmeal in a Ziploc bag and shake and massage until okra is coated. I normally season the flour mixture just a bit with salt and pepper. Test your oil with one piece of okra and make sure it bubbles up and starts frying. Carefully add your okra, trying to avoid getting excess flour in the oil. You may have to work in batches. Fry for 8-10 minutes until golden brown on all sides, flipping over when the first side browns. Remove to a paper towel lined plate. Season with salt and pepper or try Cajun seasoning!

Herb infused simple syrup is super easy to make and makes cocktails, lemonade, teas instantly fancier. This recipe works great with fresh mint too. I love to use this in my strawberry frose recipe!

This makes a small batch, double if you’re making drinks for a crowd.

Basil Simple Syrup
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves (or mint leaves to make mint simple syrup)

Combine all ingredients in a small sauce pan on high heat. Boil until sugar dissolves, then turn off heat and let steep for 30 minutes. Pour through a mesh sieve to remove the herbs and store the syrup in the fridge for up to a month.

It has become increasingly difficult to fit some of my recipes into Instagram captions, so I am launching a site to be able to share more details. I will likely only post my original recipes here but keep reviews of other people’s recipes on my Instagram, @klacooksthings. Thanks for reading!