Hello FRIDAY!!  Only 12 more Fridays (give or take a few) without the love of my life (I hope I'm not breaking OPSEC here.  :o).  I can't WAIT to see him and share a martini with him....errr....scratch that.  I'll have a martini & he'll have a beer.  Can you believe he doesn't like martinis?  Oh well, more for me. 

Happy Friday!

Zest from 1  lemon
1¼ cup freshly  squeezed lemon juice (about 6-8 lemons)
1 750ML bottle of  **GOOD VODKA**
2 cups  water
1 ½ cup  sugar

Make simple syrup  by simmering sugar and water together in a saucepan until all sugar has  dissolved and syrup get a tad thick.Turn heat off, throw in all lemon zest.Let cool.Once cooled, pour lemon  simple syrup through a strainer to remove all the zest.Using a funnel, pour the lemon simple syrup  into the storage container, (I use a Simply Orange Juice container....works PERFECTLY!)  add lemon juice and vodka. Put the lid on and shake. If you want one  right away, just add ice to a cocktail shaker add a martini and shake, pour into  a prepared martini glass with a sugar rim. If you are making these in advance for a party, they will last a very long time in the freezer – when you pull them out of the freezer just shake and  pour.  Ahhhh……

Basil + lime juice + vodka = divine combination  (and sometimes a headache the next day if you are not careful!)

If you are my friend and you partake in adult beverages then you have most likely sampled one of these heavenly drinks.  If you are not my friend and you just hang out here peering into my crazy life, you should run to the store, buy all the ingredients and make your own BLM's now!  (Make sure to invite some friends over, because these are deliciously smooth and you don't want to drink them all yourself.)  And always remember the rule my friend Lara (the person I got this recipe from) reminds us of:  Martinis are like boobs, one is not enough but three is too many.

Basil-Lime Martini

 15 – 20 large basil leaves
1 ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (about 8-10 limes)
1 750ML bottle of GOOD vodka – I like Grey Goose  (The Grey Goose got your girl feelin' loose...")
2 cups water
1 cup sugar 

Make simple syrup by simmering sugar and water together in a saucepan until all sugar has dissolved and syrup get a tad thick.  Turn heat off, throw in all basil, and muddle (smash) together until leaves are well bruised.  (This is much easier if you have ‘real’ muddler, but you can also use a wooden spoon or potato masher, etc.)  Let cool.  Once cooled, pour basil simple syrup through a strainer to remove all basil leaves.  Using a funnel, pour the basil simple syrup into the storage container, add lime and vodka.  Put the lid on and shake. If you want one right away, just add ice to a cocktail shaker add a martini and shake.  If you are making these in advance for a party, they will last a very long time in the freezer (unless they are in my freezer) – when you pull them out of the freezer just shake and pour.  Ahhhh……

I use the "Simply Orange" containers.  A full batch fits perfectly in one of these.