i recently spent a nice fall afternoon brewing a couple batches of beer with some friends! it had been awhile since i’ve brewed, so i was excited to get back into the swing of things.

we made a bell’s two hearted clone and a pumpkin amber, although we had to substitute some ingredients on the two hearted. the ipa ended up being 9.6% (wohoo!) and the pumpkin amber a respectable 5.2%!

here is the bottle rocket brewing website if you want to check out previous beers i’ve been a part of.

– ryan

brewing recipes:

pumpkin amber ingredients:
5-8 large okra sliced

egg wash:
1 lb pale ale 2-row
1 lb caramel/crystal malt (10l)
6.6 lbs amber sparkling lme
2 oz willamette pellet hops
1/2 oz fuggles hops (dry hop)
wyeast 1098 british ale
2 tbsp pumpkin spice (2 tsp dry hop)

two hearted clone ingredients:
1 lb pale ale 2-row
1/2 lb munich
1/2 lb carapils
6.6 lbs golden light lme
2.3 lbs pilsen light lme
4 oz amarillo hops (centinnial was the hop we wanted)
1 oz cascade hops (dry hop)
white labs high gravity yeast

our summer garden provided its first vegetable of the season! we have lots of okra and tomatoes that are very close to being ripe, but this cucumber won the first crop of the season award. we made a tasty cucumber & tomato salad with it, adding the lemon cucumber mentioned in yesterday’s blog post.

– ryan & gub

cucumber & tomato salad recipe:

ingredients:
1 cucumber diced (peel if desired)
1 tomato diced (or 1/2 package cherry tomatoes diced)
1/4 cup italian dressing

directions:
– clean tomatoes and cucumber and dice
– place in serving bowl and mix with italian dressing
– let vegetables soak in dressing for 30 minutes or more
– serve cold

whenever in maine, we try to visit the moxie soda shop in lisbon falls. moxie was the first mass produced soda in america and is still popular in the new england area. lisbon falls is known as the moxie capital of the world and is home to the annual moxie festival.

the old timey soda shop in lisbon falls is where you’ll find all things moxie, including shirts, stickers, pencils, frisbees and more. they also have sodas, candy and ice cream (even moxie flavored ice cream). not much has changed over the years, i can remember going to this same little shop as a kid and it looks exactly like my memories of it. plus it’s the same guy behind the counter, frank. we have a good amount of moxie gear from many visits and wear them quite a bit.

people generally love or hate moxie. i like it, but i only like it every few years when in maine. i’m not sure if i’d love it as an everyday soda. it tastes sort of like cream soda meets dr. pepper, but a little more medicinal. there is a mixed drink called a new englander made with moxie, the recipe can be found below.

when in maine, keep your eye out for the bright orange soda cans. you’re in for a true new england experience.

– ryan

new englander recipe:

1 part gin
2-3 parts moxie
a large slice of lime
a dash of worcestershire sauce

we were able to find lots of yummy fresh blackberries & cherries at the store this week. the blackberries were not super ripe yet and ry was having me try bites of them together with the cherries. the combination of sweet and sour was so good we decided to make a blackberry & cherry cobbler!

we used the basic (add any fruit) cobbler recipe from the first paula deen cookbook & finished with ice cream.

– ryan & gub

blackberry & cherry cobbler recipe:

ingredients:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
3/4 cup self-rising flour
3/4 cup milk
2 cups fresh sliced fruit (we used blackberries & cherries)

directions:
– preheat oven to 350 degrees
– put butter in deep baking dish and place in oven to melt
– clean and slice fresh fruit, place in a bowl and sprinkle with some sugar
– add the fruit, 1 cup of water and 1 cup of sugar to a saucepan
– bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring often
– mix 1 cup sugar and flour; add milk slowly to prevent lumping
– pour over melted butter in baking dish, do not stir
– spoon fruit on top, gently pouring syrup, again without stirring
– bake 30 to 45 minutes, batter will rise to top during baking
– serve with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream

we made fried green tomato BLTs for dinner last night and they were delicious! we used a tomato from our garden and had sautéed zucchini as a side, which was also from our garden.

to prepare, slice a green tomato and place on a plate or splatter guard. sprinkle salt on top and let the slices sit for a couple of hours. this will cause the water to drain out of the tomatoes for a better frying experience. pour off any excess water as it builds. when ready to fry, just dip a slice in egg wash and batter before frying in oil at medium heat. we used corn meal in our batter, but feel free to use flour.

– ryan & gub

fried green tomato recipe:

ingredients:
1-2 large green tomatoes sliced
bread, mayonnaise, lettuce & bacon (if BLTs are desired)

egg wash:
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup milk

batter:
1/2 cup corn meal
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp parsley

directions:
– clean tomatoes and slice
– place on a splatter guard and sprinkle with salt, let sit for a couple of hours
– pour off any excess water as it builds
– heat oil in a frying pan at medium heat
– dip tomato slices in egg wash and then in the batter
– gently place battered tomatoes in frying pan and fry until golden brown
– place on splash guard to let cool and drain the oil
– serve on toasted bread with mayonnaise, lettuce and bacon or with a dipping sauce

we recently made some fried squash blossoms from our garden that were delicious! we were getting frustrated over the amount of flowers falling off our plants but it turns out they were male flowers that don’t grow fruit. gub remembered having fried squash blossoms in italy so we found a recipe and did some frying.

to make these tasty treats, first gather and clean some squash flowers. next dip the flowers in egg and batter before frying them up in some oil at medium heat. it’s the same as frying anything, you’ll just want to use a light batter since the flowers are so delicate. we went with corn meal and loved it!

– ryan & gub

fried squash blossom recipe:

ingredients:
fresh squash flowers
whipped cream cheese for stuffing (if desired)

egg wash:
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup milk

batter:
1/2 cup corn meal
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp parsley

directions:
– clean squash flowers
– stuff squash flowers with a little whipped cream cheese if desired
– heat oil in a frying pan at medium heat
– dip squash flowers into egg wash and then batter
– gently place battered squash flowers in frying pan and fry until golden brown
– place fried flowers on splatter guard to let cool and drain the excess oil
– serve hot