it’s that time of year again– the time of plenty, the reaping of nature’s bounty, the reward for your hard work… autumn harvest. there is such as vast wealth of produce available at this time of year that i find it’s simply not possible to keep up with it all. it’s a crime against nature and humanity when those beautiful plums go rotten, just because you were too full from peaches and raspberries to eat them. a crime it tell you, but fret no more! good ‘ole mom has the solution… and that solution is STEWED FRUIT.

when mom sees the contents of her fruit bowl sliding down the slippery slope of rottenness, she takes the whole lot and dumps them in a pot. she then adds some sugar, with a little bit of water to prevent the bottom from sticking, and simmers on low until what’s left is a big pile of wet lumpy fruit. trust me, this will taste much better than it sounds. after you finish stewing the fruit (20 minutes or so), strain (be sure to squeeze out all the valuable liquid), and add a splash of vodka as a preservative. store in fridge until you are ready to use. voila–no wasted bounty, and a fresh cocktail to boot!

while most but not all fruit falls under the dominion of delectable venus, the very nature of this cocktail is scorpion. taking something whose vital force is all but gone… and giving it an entirely new life in the form of a cocktail–well, that’s scorpio for you. the sign of life and death, and that of the greatest healer as well. like the phoenix rising from the ashes, scorpio will have your near rotten fruit smelling like roses and tasting like heaven. cheers to you all powerful scorpion.

STEWED FRUIT COCKTAIL:
1 cup stewed fruit juice (mom used plum)
3 oz fresh squeezed lemon
4 oz tequila
1 cup or so simple syrup* (sweeten to taste)

add all ingredients to small pitcher and stir. cool in fridge and serve straight up, or over ice if the mixture is very thick. (the ice will water it down). garnish with a piece of non-rotten fruit.

simple syrup is a mixture of equal parts sugar and water. no need to heat, simply stir, shake or agitate until dissolved and store in fridge.

THANKS TO KOCHTOPF HOSTING WEEKEND HERB BLOGGING.