Fancy Glass Friday

Homebrewed Ginger Lemonade

Fancy Glass Fridays. This week I am kicking off two regular features. One was Special-Tea Tuesday (first tues) of the month, to talk all about one of my great passions- TEA

And Every Friday I am going to do FANCY GLASS FRIDAY!

What is all this fancy glass stuff you say? Well, I believe that in our efforts to enjoy our lives, revel in pleasures and really enjoy food and drink we should through caution to the wind! I got this idea from my mother who has a gorgeous set of limoge china- Cute with these little pink flowers. She doesn’t pack it away in a special box in the attic or in the diningroom cupboard… she uses it. Everyday! Toast, soup, regular stuff all dressed up in Limoge. And why not?! Why save something pretty that you love for only a few rare occasions. Why not celebrate the everyday. So when I was in college I started to enjoy silly stuff like Pepsi in a wine glass… Milk in cut crystal with my cookies. And I swear far from making the special become mundane, it makes the everyday a little more special. And thus the fancy glass was born.

Now on fancy glass Fridays, I am going to talk about drinks! Wine, Fun Cocktails, and even some everyday stuff all dressed up for Fancy Glass.

And to launch FGF- Homebrewed Ginger Lemonade and some musings about ginger beer. After a long time of having the same Mocktails (or non-alcholol Cocktails) on our menu at fujimamas… my boss took the bull by the horns and gave the menu some brand new items! One of my new favorites is our Chef’s new recipe for Homebrewed Ginger Lemonade. This drink is spicy from a secret ginger syrup concocted back in our kitchen. And it is fresh and citrusy from a lemon juice base made in the bar. Add a little soda water and garnish with a lemon and you have something everyday- sassed up a bit and made special. The ginger really adds some zing! This reminds me, We also have a brand new ginger liquer in the bar… I will write about that and the shiso martini soon.

Now about ginger beer. I love it- but it is hard to find, and lots of folks think it is too strong a flavor to dry in the back of their throats. I am looking high and low for good ginger beer in Japan. But here are some good ginger beers listed on this one stop shop for soft drinks from everywhere. Soda Pop Stop

If you have never given ginger beer a spin- try it. Everything is worth trying once. And while you are at it, don’t forget to try it in a Fancy Glass.