Honey Rosemary Greyhounds and a hot day of mowing...

[LeslieDean]

I got up early and went to the Farmers Market this morning and bought a few things I dearly enjoy.  One was Lemon Cream Almonds.  Just a few of these I have learned can satisfy my desire for something sweet and yet it is quite a decadent treat.  The other was ground turkey and fresh spinach for a Italian Wedding Soup with tiny fluffy meatballs and a really rich broth with pearl pasta and baby spinach.  Oh, and a quart mason jar of local raw honey.

 

I returned home with all my spoils and thought about what luscious cocktail I would make to have this evening after the fields were all mowed.  I remembered one from years ago that I really enjoyed at a wedding.  I went out to the herb garden and picked a large handful of Rosemary and then set about to make Honey Rosemary Infused simple syrup for the Greyhounds.  I took a cup of the honey and mixed it with 1/2 cup of water and brought it to barely a simmer.  Reduced it to warm so as not to crystalize the honey then placed about 7 or 8 3 inch springs of Rosemary in to seep.  I transferred this to a pretty mason jar and refrigerated it while I went to mow.

 

After returning inside where it was nice and cool  I took a quick shower and put on a pair of lounge pajamas and socks.  The house smelled wonderful.  I went to the kitchen and removed the lid from the crock pot and the soup was ready to enjoy.  I took a cup of the soup and sit it aside to cool while I made Pumpernickel Parmesan Croutons for the soup.  The meal was so easy, light and quick to put together I might as well splurge somewhere.  I cut the Pumpernickel bread and cut it into 1 inch squares then tossed them in a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and some butter to toast up.  After about 7-8 minutes they were ready to remove from the pan then I took the grated Parmesan cheese and sprinkled it into small mounds around the skillet.  I cooked this on low to make the crisps then as the oil starts to seep out from the little mounds of cheese I took the squares of bread and pressed onto the top of each mound.  Once they were crisp you flip it over and viloa!--you have your cheese crisp croutons to top the soup. 

 

The next thing I did was fill a shaker with crushed ice and took organic ruby red grapefruit juice, 1/3 about 3 oz of the Honey Rosemary simple syrup and shook it vigorously till the shaker had a thin layer of frost around its sides.  Then I took my glass from the freezer which had been rimmed with a raw sugar and grapefruit juice rim and carefully poured in the concoction.  I sliced grapefruit into big thinly sliced rounds and curled them in such a manner to slide into the glass where it would lay up against the side and put a long spring of Rosemary garnish which doubles as a stirrer.  Actually I should say that salty dogs are gin and grapefruit juice and vodka and grapefruit juice are greyhounds.  But I like the name Greyhound better and went ahead and used the Gin.  It was frosty cold drink that was highly enjoyed sitting on the front porch and enjoying to smell of the freshly mowed grass.

 

Jehovah is so good to us!!!  What a Grand God we serve!

[LeslieDean]

I wish Your Brother and Old were here right now and I would fix them a Greyhound!

[CHecker]

That was my kind of story Leslie. My brain was right there with you, mowin' then sippin' Greyhounds! Sign me up.

[LeslieDean]

My favorite times are the simple, everyday things that Jehovah gives so abundantly.  I can find so much pleasure and nostalgia in such mundane things.  Can't wait to sip Greyhounds with you on a wrap around porch and enjoy the lay of the land!  When we are being heavily persecuted it will be thinking about thinks like this that will help me make it through.