Cucumber Ginger Fizzes
September 9, 2014
14 Comments
I can’t believe it’s been almost a month since my lakehouse vacation! Between my move, redesigning the site, and starting a new job, I realized I haven’t gotten a chance to share almost any photos from my trip. We’ll fix that now.
We rented a house right on a quiet little lake in the Finger Lakes regions of New York. It was decorated in a “Shabby Chic” style. I had no idea this was even a style, but it reminds me of the “distressed wood” look combined with an airy light feeling.
The kitchen was a dream to cook in. Big and spacious with high ceilings. White marble counter tops with endless counter space. It even had a built-in butcher’s block to play with. I was definitely taking notes for the some-day when I design my own kitchen. Sigh.
Chris and I live in the land of “no-grills-allowed” apartments, so we made great use of the grill here too. It if fit on the grill, we grilled it. I love the charred little bits that you can only seem to get on a grill. A grill will be a big part of my future life.
On a non-food note we spent a couple lovely afternoons gliding around the lake in kayaks. I had no idea they were so easy. And after all that hard work, we relaxed on the porch, enjoying the lake views, with the fizzy little drink I’m sharing with you today, Cucumber Ginger Fizzes!
I love fizzy cocktails. And I love ginger. From the deep molasses taste of ginger bread to the palate-refreshing ginger that comes with sushi, I love it all. When I first saw these fizzy-ginger drinks, I knew they had to be part of my vacation (and probably every vacation yet to come!). I tweaked around with the ratios, unsurprisingly deciding that they needed even more ginger.
These drinks are cool as a cucumber with just enough tangy ginger to give them a little zing!
Top them off with fresh lime juice and add a little fiz and you definitely won’t be disappointed. Cheers!
Cucumber Ginger Fizzes
Ingredients
GINGER SYRUP
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1 cup sugar
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1 cup water
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1 piece of ginger about 10 inches long and 4 inches wide, peeled and diced
CUCUMBER VODKA
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1 ½ cup vodka
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1 large seedless cucumber
FIZZES
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1 large seedless cucumber thinly sliced lengthwise to create long strips
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crystalized ginger from syrup recipe above
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1 lime cut into 6 wedges
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1-2 bottles sparkling water
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Plenty of ice
Instructions
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To make the ginger syrup, combine water and sugar in a small sauce pan. Heat over low heat until sugar dissolves and water just starts to simmer. Stir and remove from heat. Let sit for at least 1 hour. Then strain, saving both the syrup and the crystalized ginger.
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To make the cucumber vodka, peel and dice one cucumber. Place in a medium sized nonreactive container. Pour vodka over cucumber pieces, cover, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (I let mine sit overnight).
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To make Cucumber Ginger Fizzes, fill each glass with ice. Place 1/6th of remaining cucumber slices and 1 tablespoon of crystalized ginger into each glass. Pour ¼ cup cucumber-vodka and 2 tablespoons ginger syrup into each glass and gentle stir a few times. Squeeze the lime juice of one wedge into the glass then drop lime wedge in. Fill glass with sparkling water and enjoy!
Elizabeth @ SugarHero.com
What a beautiful house, and what a fun vacation! Love this drink combination.
Karen
Thanks Elizabeth! I definitely enjoyed the house, the lake, and the drinks 🙂
Denise | Sweet Peas & Saffron
Oh my gosh, that kitchen is SO CUTE! Sounds like the most perfect, relaxing vacation, and these cucumber ginger fizzes look just delicious.
Karen
Thanks Denise! These drinks were definitely a perfect complement to both relaxing by the lake and cooking in the fabulous kitchen 🙂
Anne
This looks amazing! I bet it would be a wonderful flavor combo! But, I’m a bit underage for that… I’ll just enjoy your beautiful photos… 😀
Karen
Thanks Anne! You could totally make a nonalcoholic version using infused cucumber water. The flavor combination is definitely worth trying 🙂
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef
What a lovely lake house – a perfect holiday spot. Those cucumber ginger fizzes are perfect to enjoy while relaxing on holiday.
Karen
Thanks Maureen! The fizzes were definitely the perfect complement to relaxing by the lake 🙂
Jessica | A Happy Food Dance
That kitchen – swoon! What a wonderful trip plus that drink looks delish!
Karen
Thanks Jessica! I totally agree about the kitchen…It’s hard to say which one I dream about more, the lake view or the kitchen 🙂
judy @ImBored-LetsGo
Yup! That’s a great kitchen – oh what I would give to have one of those right now! This drink sounds great! I’ve been wanting to make some cucumber infused vodka for a while now…will have to give this a try.
Karen
Thanks Judy! I had no idea I could/should crave cucumber infused vodka until I tried this recipe! Now I’m definitely feeling the craving 🙂
Liz @ Floating Kitchen
Wow – looks like such a great little rental house that you found. I feel like it’s rare to get a rental with an amazing kitchen. Cheers to you!
Karen
Thanks Liz! We absolutely loved it! The kitchen looked nice in the photos but didn’t really blow me away until we arrived. Definitely quite the find 🙂