Use fresh produce for cocktails

Q: Do you have any ideas for non-alcoholic cocktails? I would like to use fresh produce from the garden and farmers market.

A: While the alcoholic drinks may now define the term for the most part, cocktails may be nonalcoholic (e.g. cranberry juice cocktail) and don’t even have to be drinks (e.g. fruit cocktail and shrimp cocktail.) To make sure there is no misunderstanding, some people use the term “mocktail” to refer to cocktail drinks that do not contain alcohol.

Whatever you call them, good hosts always provide non-alcoholic options to their guests and never assume that a guest will automatically wish to imbibe, as there are many people who do not drink alcohol for health, religious or other reasons such as being a designated driver. No one should feel slighted for not choosing an alcoholic beverage and it is the host’s job to make sure they don’t. Since there are numerous tasty, attractive and fun non-alcoholic drinks, no one should feel left out. A good cookbook will provide lots of recipes, but here are a few ideas:

Tomatoes are the base for many savory cocktails and are available all summer from your vegetable garden or farmers market. Cut the tomatoes into cubes and cook them to release their juice. Then strain out the seeds and skins with a pestle and colander. Salt to taste. Serve the juice chilled in small glasses. Mixing in finely grated cucumber to the juice after it has chilled will add an extra level of summer garden goodness.

The juice can also be seasoned with ground horseradish, celery salt and Worcestershire sauce as used in a Bloody Mary. Garnish with a slice of cucumber or a speared okra pickle.

To add more flavors to the tomato juice, cook the tomatoes with chopped onion and celery. Removing the strings from the celery stalks before cooking will help in the juicing process with the colander.

Peel and puree Georgia peaches and add club soda for some peachy refreshment. For a twist, puree a little fresh mint or basil with the peaches or use them as a garnish.

Ginger ale with a few whole and muddled fresh blueberries will be a colorful and cool treat.

Grapefruit or orange juice with a little juice from sweet watermelon rind pickles along with a watermelon pickle garnish is a good choice for brunch instead of a mimosa. Experiment with adding club soda or lemon-lime soft drinks if you want a little fizz. The sweet pickles are usually flavored with cloves, allspice, and cinnamon.