Elegant Green Cocktail

How do you make a green martini? First, you make two Greek recipes, Tzatziki (uses cucumber) and Zucchini Fritters (yes, uses zucchini). In the assembly of both recipes, you are required to grate the green vegetable and squeeze out most of the juice. What to do with the juice? Well, the easiest and smartest thing to do is drink it like a tonic-- lots of fresh nutrition there. Then there's the old standby for just about anything that's left over in food preparation, put it into your next pot of soup! But, if you're craving a little social time and a refreshing martini, you may want to stick around for my green cocktail concoction.

First, you need to know how much of each vegetable to grate and squeeze, because you won't always want to wait until you need some Tzatziki or Zucchini Fritters before enjoying your cocktail. You'll need one cup of shredded cucumber (that's three 6" cucumbers) to get 1/3 cup or 3 ounces of refreshing cucumber juice. For zucchini, you'll get a little less juice. Buy more and you'll have enough. Vegetables just don't come in standard sizes and juice output. :)

PUT THE SHREDDED VEGGIES IN A SIEVE
sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and
MIX AND SQUEEZE WITH YOUR HANDS

And what do you do with the shredded veggies after you've squeezed the life (or juice) out of them? Stir them into your next rice dish or soup or omelet or stir-fry. Easy, right? They still have nutrition and fiber to deliver to your body.

You also need to know that making simple syrup is as easy as combining one part sugar and one part water (as in one cup of each or 1/2 cup of each or...you get it) and heating until the sugar's dissolved. Cool and set aside for your cocktail.

Z-C Vodka Martini (that's Zucchini-Cucumber)

Ingredients

2 ounces of cucumber or zucchini juice (or one ounce of each)

1 tablespoon simple syrup

1/2 tablespoon lime juice

12 large mint leaves, torn

1-2 ounces vodka (cucumber vodka is even better)*

club soda or cucumber Perrier

ice

Mixing the Cocktail

In a cocktail shaker with 1 cup ice, combine everything except the club soda.

Shake, shake, SHAKE. You can also pour into a pitcher and stir rapidly 20 times.

Strain into a martini glass.

For a spritzer, don't strain. Just pour into a tall glass and top off with club soda or Perrier.

Garnish with mint, thin cucumber slices or lime.

*If you want a mocktail, omit the vodka.

Besides serving in a martini glass, for a more refreshing cocktail, you can pour into a tall glass.