here’s my column this month in MOD MAG:

I didn’t know him, but I knew I someday would. After all, he would be my boss. I assumed from his somber character that he was of Scorpion descent, and as it turns out I was right. Later, I’d come to find he was a double Scorpio, none the less… but for now, the boy standing before me appeared chilly and potentially snobby. our conversation lasted less than a minute, but in that time I was intimidated and interested. His few words were soft and careful in their delivery—and they were also genuinely helpful. all though the Scorpion tried to speak them in a easy manner, there was nothing off handed about them. I casually asked, so what is your birthday? He was surprisingly open with his answer, November 3rd why? muttering that he’d learned more about astrology in the last three days then he’d learned in his whole life. (Our new boss was an avid believer in the zodiac and apparently I wasn’t the only one curious about his sign). I answered, no reason, smirking to myself for being dead on. A wave of sweet relief washed over me as I realized he wasn’t uptight, stuffy or a snob. merely aloof, and reserved, as a proper double scorpio should be.

absinthe and horseradish are jointly ruled by mars, and hence this fab brunch fave is a scorpio. the double use of the two martian ingredients make it so apropros for the double scorpio. (keep in mind, scorpio is jointly ruled by mars and pluto).

DOUBLE SCORPIO:

1/4 oz absinthe
1 1/2 oz vodka
1 dash kosher salt
1 dash ground black pepper
1 dash Tabasco
4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp. horseradish
Dash fresh squeezed clear citrus (lemon or lime)

fill glass with ice and add ingredients, then top with tomatoe juice. stir and garnish with anything green, in honor of the green fairy~

this potent concoction was to be our newest addition to comida’s cocktail menu. but fate, as the old devil would have it, would choose to delay its introduction. unfortunately, comida experienced a fire last night, and like the phoenix rises from ashes, so will comida have to rebuild itself. if you have read my blog dedication you’ll know that i’m no stranger to fire and the baffling devastation it leaves in its wake. what could have caused this? why did this happen? what good will come out of this? what we do know for sure is that no one was hurt, and it was not a kitchen fire. how it started no one knows.

the legendary wise owl is ruled by the sign of scorpio, and that is why i make reference to the phoenix. scorpio is symbolized by so many powerful animals—the owl, the phoenix, the eagle, the snake, and of course the scorpion. and if any sign has the strength, determination, will and wits to win against the odds, it is scorpio. and if anyone has the capability to comprehend the grand scope of tragedy when it strikes, it is scorpio. so here, here, let’s raise our glasses to comida rising with this cocktail of scorpio…

PHOENIX RISING:
2 oz mezcal
3/4 oz maraschino cherry liqueur
1/8 oz absinthe
10 drops agnostura bitters
brandied cherry
***shake all over ice, strain into ice packed glass with a splash of cherry juice and and garnish with a brandied cherry

found a great recipe for brandied cherries in the new york times. thanks to marlene from sloshed, i made these before cherries were in season and used frozen ones which worked out just fine.

1 cup sugar
2 whole cloves
1 2-inch piece cinnamon stick
4 cardamom pods
1 quart sweet cherries, stemmed and pitted
1/2 cup Cognac or other aged brandy.

1. In a small saucepan, combine sugar and spices with a cup of water. Bring to a simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves. Let simmer for 5 minutes.

2. Turn off heat and add cherries and brandy to pot. Let cool, then store mixture in a jar in refrigerator for at least 2 days before eating, and up to several months.

this has become one of our best selling specialty cocktails at COMIDA… the habanero pisco sour. i’m a huge fan of pisco, which is a type of south american brandy distilled from white grapes. it’s delic… now the famous pisco sour hails from either peru or chili. those two heavyweights are duking it out to establish who really created this famous cocktail. apparently, if i’m correct in my research, peru’s recipe calls for a raw egg while chili’s recipe does not. that seems to the main difference between these country’s pisco sour. there is also a version i found called the “Ají Sour” which calls for a green chili pepper.

the habanero pepper is one of mexico’s spiciest. and the best thing about this versatile chili is that it is available in so many colors, as you can see from the photo below. in case you didn’t know, almost all peppers can be found in a similar spectrum of colors, it simply depends on the length of time they are aloud to ripen on the vine… that’s all!

scorpio’s ancient ruler is mars (now co-ruled by pluto), which is the red hot planet of caustic, fiery, energy. so that would have to mean that the habanero is a scorpio, or an aries (also ruled by mars). but for this post, we’ll call it scorpio.

HABANERO PISCO SOUR:
3 oz pisco
1 oz lime
1 oz simple syrup
12 dashes angostura bitters
sliver habanero chili
***shake all and strain into a martini glass. garnish with the pepper if you like.

in honor of our new president and vice president elect, i present you with the OBAMATINI. this recipe is based off of LAMB MARTINI’S now famous libation, the BARACKTAIL. phil went to the great trouble of creating a drink that called for “native obama ingredients,” such as, pineapple. pineapple comes from hawaii where barack spent much of his childhood. the cardomom-infused vodka is a tip to indonesia, another one of barack’s global stomping grounds, of which we really no so little. i added orange as a salut to leo, barack’s sun sign.

all though barack’s sun is in leo, libra is the president-elect’s rising sign. due to libra’s ascending influence in barack’s natal chart, he portrays himself as a pleasant looking, diplomatic, refined, and cocky (yes i did say this) individual. this libran placement only heightens his innate leoan star power.

however, as i tasted this cocktail, the cardomom flavor far outweighed any other. for that reason, i have listed this particular libation under the rulership of scorpio. the spicy flavor of indonesia’s cardomom makes it an herb of mars, ancient ruler of SCORPIO. ruler of death and rebirth, scorpio will assist in the killing our antiquated ways and help birth a new america. scorpio is the great healer, and the great destroyer… which type of scorpio will obama turn out to be?

in his victory speech, barack stressed that he can’t create change alone. he asked that we prepare to chip in and help rebuild the united states. barack is not a magician, but he has instilled within us magical hopes. thoughts are things, and these should manifest into reality. i think the very first thing we can do to help is to sip this intriguing tipple. cheers to change…

there are a few more obama-inspired cocktails out there… FELICIA’S SPEAK EASY and SACKBEE.

THE OBAMATINI

* 1 oz rye
* 3/4 oz fresh lemon juice
* 1 oz pineapple juice (fresh is best) or 2 oz pineapple puree
* 1 oz cardamom vodka
* 1 oz fresh orange juice
* 1 oz homemade grenadine

Shake in a iced cocktail shaker, strain, serve in a cocktail glass. garnish with pomegranate seeds, pineapple wedge or orange twist.

cardomom vodka: add 1c cardomom pods to 750 ml vodka and infuse for about a week. strain and store.

grenadine: add the seeds from 1 pomegranate to 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar in sauce pot. Bring to boil, stir and allow to simmer for 30 minutes. Strain into final storage container, adding 1 oz vodka as a preservative. Store in fridge.

basil is an herb of scorpio, who is ruled by mars. it’s feisty bite will add a good dose of flavor to whatever recipe is calling for it. i mean, this cocktail would have been great with just the tomato, but add a tad basil and it’s even better. see, having a scorpio around always adds an element of interest. so don’t forget that when you are planning your next cocktail party. go ahead and invite that quiet scorpio across the hall. because whoever you thought they were, will no doubt be the opposite of who they really are, once you get to know them.

TOMATO BASIL TINI
3 oz tomato water*
1 oz vodka
1/2 oz lemon
2 pinch of sea salt
3 leaves basil
cheesecloth (grocery store)

muddle tomato water, basil, salt. do not over-muddle the basil or things will get bitter fast. add vodka and shake over ice. strain into martini glass and garnish with leo’s cherry tomato and scorpio’s leaf basil. or, if you’re not a vegan, garnish with a ball of sagittarius’ fresh non-rBGH cheese.

TOMATO WATER:
puree ripe tomatoes in food processor. place in cheese cloth for several hours, allowing water to drip through. when the water has all dripped through, squeeze out the remaining liquid into a separate container. (drink that tomato juice alone, or make a bloody mary). the water should be pale yellow in color and crystal clear.

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.

scorpio is anything but simple. in fact, they tie with capricorn for the title of most complex sign. often times misunderstood, and other times just completely unreadable. i have several scorpio friends and i can’t tell you how they constantly shock the shit out of me. they often seem to live double lives… the life they want you to see, and their own private underworld to which even their most intimate friends are closed off from. i’ve actually found that scorpios appear to be almost simpleton-like on the surface… blissfully unaware of the pain that is life, or the opposite… unfortunately unaware of the pleasure that life can be. i must have spent hours pondering my scorpion friend’s deceptively simplistic outlook on life. how can they be so one dimensional i ask myself? and then they hit me when i least expect it with: i’m quitting my job of five years to do absolutely nothing, or i’m moving across country forever, or i’m breaking up with the woman i was engaged to marry, or i’ve wanted to sleep with you for the last six years, or i’ll never forgive that person who still thinks i’m their good friend! and this grand plan that they’ve been mentally perfecting for months on end comes to fruition and hatches into this monstrous chick that will eat us all alive. i am always left wondering, how did i miss that one coming? so, in honor of the most seemingly naive, yet uber complicated signs, i bring you one of the simplest, yet most delectable tipples. compliments of the god of war herself, mars’ red currant smash is deliciously trite, and unexpectedly addictive… it’s just smashing, darlling, like the scorpion queen herself.

SMASHING DARLING (red currant smash)

3 oz vodka
3 oz raw organic simple syrup
1/2 oz fresh lemon juice
2 handfuls red currants

muddle everything but vodka in low ball glass. when macerated, add ice and vodka. stir and serve.

NOTE: some peeps love the floating berries. strain the drink if you think you’ll mind them.

now you might think i’d be all against using blatantly out of season produce, such as the red currant. but keep in mind, to add yet more complexity to scorpio’s red currant, that there is sometimes less of a carbon footprint to import something than there is to grow that same something locally. hard to keep it all straight, isn’t it? i’m not sure about the red currants i purchased specifically, but it’s just food for carbon thought.

the punishing sign of the scorpion holds watch over the valley of life and death. as swiftly as their co-ruling planet, pluto, delivers the final knock down punch, scorpio will be up again, ready for round two. raid, bug be gone, nothing can kill the scorpion. (actually, i hear that’s quite true in some parts of the states where they’re apparently as prolific than termites). those born under the sign of scorpio carry that sense of seriousness, intensity, drama – and as molly reminded me – that powerful healing energy with them at all times. such painful antics would have many signs fold, but scorpio just takes the lickin and keeps on tickin. of course that carries through to their love life too. they like sex. a lot. kinky & twisted or just overwhelmingly passionate, it’s probably not missionary tonight.

which brings us to our liquor at hand, the recently legalized ABSINTHE – which we can drink tonight, for the first time in many years! the perfect spirit with which to celebrate the upcoming REPEAL DAY on december 5th, which is the anniversary of the day the United States repealed the Eighteenth Amendment and gave us all the constitutional right to consume alcohol”. why, thank you jeffrey.

so like why is ABSINTHE a scorpio? well, i’ll tell you! it is ruled by scorpio’s OTHER co-ruling planet – mars. legalized only a few months ago, absinthe is made from highly potent wormwood, along with some other herbs and flavored with anise. wormwood by itself is actually poisonous, and in medieval times was used to cure all sorts of ailments, especially those having to do with the stomach. like worms. and like killing them. in people’s stomachs. ew. but true. oh speaking of turning stomachs, did you know that MARILYN MANSON has hopped on the celebrity spirit bandwagon with his very own brand of ABSINTHE named MANSINTHE. kudos for hawking something other than vodka!

UNTO DEATH (absinthe & black current)

4 oz blackcurrant juice
1/2 oz vodka
1/2 oz absinthe
1/2 oz cassis
3 dashes agnostura bitters
ice

add all ingredients to shaker and shake well without ice. pour over ice and serve.
(recipe created by gwen sutherland kaiser)

buy absinthe here, and get one bottle FREE!

thanks to JEFFREY MORGENTHALER for hosting MXMO XXII.

today i attended the now famous GARLIC FESTIVAL in new york’s hudson valley. what started out with a few farmers getting together after the harvest for a garlic pot luck dinner has turned into a major tourist attraction. the two day event draws 50,000 visitors who can watch cooking lessons, learn gardening tips, listen to live music, buy arts and crafts and of course, sample many types of GARLIC flavored food!

garlic is a scorpio. not because it’s odorous breath strikes you when you least expect it – the next day, through your pores… but because of it’s spicy personality, it is ruled by the feisty planet of mars. not only that, but due to garlic’s regenerative powers, it is also ruled by pluto. to grow garlic, you simply bury it in the garden – the bulb will regenerate itself into a plant over the winter! the outermost planet is one of life and death, whose nature is exhibited in the rising of the phoenix, or the growing cycle of a garlic plant, or if you will, the undead vampire. scorpio will not be extinguished easily, and this little clove is soooo scorpion in nature!

and who can forget it’s vampire-fighting capabilities? just in time for halloween cocktails!

BITE ME NOT
3 oz freshly extracted apple juice (substitute unpasteurized cider if you don’t have)
2 oz garlic-infused gin*
1 1/2 raw simple syrup*
1/2 fresh squeezed lemon juice

GARLIC-INFUSED GIN
chop up 3 cloves garlic and put in 750 ml bottle of gin. allow to sit in dark place for 3 days to 3 weeks. agitate to expedite infusion time. strain and store.

RAW SIMPLE SYRUP
shake in container a mixture of half water and half raw organic sugar until dissolved. store in fridge.

(created by gwen sutherland kaiser)

FUNNEL CAKES WITH CARAMELIZED GARLIC

GARLIC ICE CREAM

GARLIC COOKIES

GARLIC INCENSE

thanks to KUCHENLATEIN for hosting WEEKEND HERB BLOGGING #102.