Shrub

This is the cold-process method for making a shrub. This is one of those ‘don’t have exact measurements’ recipes, but if you get the ratios close, it is hard to mess it up. Although I’m usually a fan of using fresh ingredients, frozen fruit/berries actually work well and sometimes give a little more juice (don’t tell!). I combine the shrub with sparkling water to make a nice soda. It can also be used in cocktails and salad dressing.

Step: 1

Wash and sterilize a bowl or jar. Add blackberries; cover with sugar. Add thyme and sage. Stir well to combine. Cover with a lid or plastic wrap. Refrigerate, stirring occasionally, until a pool of juice and syrup forms around the blackberries, 1 to 2 days.

Step: 2

Remove thyme and sage from the bowl. Place a fine mesh strainer over a separate bowl and pour in blackberry mixture. Press lightly on the solids to expel all the juice.

Step: 3

Sterilize a glass jar or bottle. Pour in juice and add vinegar. Cover with a lid and shake gently to dissolve any remaining sugar. Let rest until flavors intensify, at least 1 day.

Per Serving: 140 calories; protein 0.3g; carbohydrates 35.7g; fat 0.1g; sodium 0.2mg.

One of most clear way to choose a side dish is to look at your main dish (pasta, chicken, seared tofu) and pick something different. If you’re cooking pasta, make sure for a simple vegetable . Making steak? Go for more light. If you’re want to cooking stir-fry with rice, it must not a best idea to adjust with make a rice salad.

This also can apply to cooking method . You don’t want to push more often your oven by making to do list three dishes at once in there, or be rounding four pans on the cooking items . But sometimes you can made a dish do double-duty .