Adventures in Booze: Aronia-infused Vodka, an on-going project

Ah, the aronia-infused vodka project.

Colander full of dark red aronia berries

I don’t think my initial batch of berries was ripe. This is the first year I’ve actually paid attention to this plant as a food source instead of as a bird feeder so I wasn’t quite sure. It turns out that when they get ripe – and the birds start eating them – that they’re pretty much black. They’re also soft, which should have been a clue. Compare the berries below to the berries above.

Black-red berries in a colander

Much darker color! Hindsight, man. However, this just means I’m going to have two batches to sample. The first has been steeping for a few weeks now.

Jar full of berries and red liquid in front of books

Bet you can’t guess who’s books those are.

It’s probably about time to add the sugar to the first batch. I still need to buy vodka for the second batch which have been chilling in the fridge for a bit while I get my act together. More updates soon!

Thursday Pics

Juvie catbird sits on the porch railing covered in grape vine

One from the front porch. I’ve given up on the grape vine and will hopefully be giving it to a friend in the spring who has more space than I do. I’m letting the birds have free access to it this year. The catbirds and robins are there most of the daytime and the cardinals move in at dusk.

Thursday Pics

A Meal. A butterfly sinks into the trap of a pitcher plant

Breadseed Poppy

Two from the garden this week. The first is a butterfly that couldn’t make it out of a pitcher plant in my bog garden.

The second is one of the breadseed poppies I grew this year. They came in an amazing array of colors and shapes. The seeds were as varied, which I suppose shouldn’t have been surprising. They made fabulous lemon poppyseed muffins.