Huck & Young

Terrain Lights Up Our Life

Terrain

Last week, we had our first honest-to-goodness book event. And boy, did we feel spoiled. Not only did we discover that Amtrak has loads more legroom than the Long Island Rail Road (so that's why you're so expensive, Amtrak!), we got to spend our entire day in a magical place called Terrain. If you love gardening, food, beautiful things, and ridiculously nice people, then you absolutely must hasten to this sprawling Philadelphia haven. Seriously, it's worth planning  a vacation around. After a couple of happy hours spent dishing about campfires, signing books, and passing out well-received samples of our Indoor S'mores (recipe coming soon!), we changed our train ticket so we could squeeze in some shopping. We brought home all kinds of booty, but above are a few of our favorite high-stylin', camp-worthy items we ferried back to Brooklyn. Tell us these wouldn't make a perfect gift, perhaps with a copy of our book? Included:

1. A nifty firestarter kit with everything needed to set a blaze in a hurry (tucked into a cool glass beaker that we will eventually repurpose as a spice jar).

2. A dogwood-scented soy and beeswax candle, for those stuck-at-home days when you want life to smell of rugged adventure. Quick fact: rugged pioneers used to brush their teeth with wild dogwood branches.

3. Farmaesthetics Tansynella Bug Screene, a natural insect repellant with a fragrance redolent of eucalyptus. We can't wait to dab a little behind our ears on our next hike.

4. A pretty, rustic-looking box of matches, because why not light a fire with flair? Also, the longer length buys you an extra moment before that match fizzles out and scorches your fingertips.

We had such a great time at Terrain that we're already planning our next event there, an evening of camping-inspired food and drink at their cafe in October. Think fireside mugs of steaming, spiked cider and bowls of hearty stew. Stay tuned!

 

Drinky Poos: The Strawberry-Rhubarb 75

 

 

If our purses bulged a bit more, we would pluck out some pennies each spring for a splash over to Paris.  For although we love the blooming of the Great Outdoors this time of year, it is also a sublime moment to visit The City of Lights, the hour at which roughly 2,000,000 sybarites emerge from hibernation in search of open-air debauchery. One could hardly be blamed for a fleeting willingness to swap the drift of woodsmoke for the haze of Gauloise fumes floating defiantly across Paris' terrasse-lined, champagne-soaked boulevards.

But with a decidedly deflated purse and the thrum of accordians a long way off (3628 miles, or 5838 kilometers, to be precise), we determined last weekend to take matters into our own hands--"matters" being an immediate need to approximate French cafe revelry without digging up the ole' passport. A friend's birthday (see her excellent blog here) provided the perfect excuse, and a battered Savoy cocktail manual supplied the inspiration: the French 75, a concoction so powerful in its ability to inebriate that it is named for the French 75mm howitzer, a 19th-century field cannon that could deliver dozens of rounds per minute.

We aren't sure of the exact correlation between artillery rounds and alcoholic strength, but we can say that it only takes a single round of this champagne cocktail to send one spinning. To give the drink an "ode to spring" spirit, we subsituted the usual sugar for a rosy-hued rhubarb syrup, and garnished with some finely chopped, sweet-as-can-be local strawberries. Pretty, festive, and potent, it is just the thing for a patriotic weekend of fireside celebrations, backyard barbecues, and park floor picnics (European military roots notwithstanding).

THE STRAWBERRY-RHUBARB 75

Makes 2 cups syrup, or enough for one dozen moderately sweetened cocktails; scale cocktails measurements accordingly

 

Rhubarb Syrup:

3/4 pound rhubarb, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pices

1 1/4 cups sugar

2 cups water

 

The Actual Cocktail (per serving):

2 ounces gin

1  to 2 ounces rhubarb syrup, to taste

1 ounce freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 ounce Grand Marnier (optional)

5 ounces champagne or prosecco

Finely diced fresh strawberries, for garnish

 

1. In a large saucepan, combine the rhubarb, sugar, and water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the rhubarb is falling apart, about 20 minutes. Strain mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, pressing on the rhubarb solids to extract maximum flavor. Discard solids and cool syrup completely. Transfer to a smart-looking carafe (or store in an airtight container).

2. In a cocktail shaker filled with ice, combine the gin, rhubarb syrup, lemon juice, and Grand Marnier, if using. Shake and strain into a highball glass. Top off with champagne or prosecco; garnish with a smattering of strawberries. Continue firing off cocktails in quick succession until ones's battalion of guests beg for mercy (or the syrup runs out).