Dishing Up the Dirt

Pear + Ginger-Sage Champagne Cocktails

It’s been a rather dramatic week at the farm. Some uninvited and very hungry deer arrived and within a 24 hour period they demolished our fall plantings of spinach, arugula and beans. To say we are devastated is an understatement. It’s time, money and back breaking work completely gone. Most importantly, our CSA members count on us to supply them with a variety of produce each week and the loss of these crops is huge. Damn deer!

The good news (yes there is good news!) we have a lot of other veggies still thriving in the fields and our storage crops (potatoes, squash and roots) are all safe in the barn.  Life obviously goes on but we still feel awful about letting our customers down. Farming is our livelihood and unexpected losses are a big deal.

These cocktails are dedicated to our CSA members for supporting us through thick and thin. If I could individually package these cocktails into each of their boxes with the rest of their veggies I totally would.

Stressful times call for farm fresh cocktails. Local pears, local honey and sage from the farm make a fabulous combination. The addition of ginger and champagne complete this drink.  After just one sip we almost forgot about the deer. Almost….

Thank you everyone who has supported and rooted for us both near and far. You guys totally rule. These autumn cocktails are for you! Cheers.

Pear + Ginger-Sage Champagne Cocktails

Prep Time: 15 minutes    Cook Time: 20 minutes    Serves: 4

  • 1 cup honey
  • 3 cups water
  • 2 whole pears, peeled, cored and diced
  • 1 large chunk of ginger, peeled and diced
  • 20 fresh sage leaves + additional for garnish
  • 1 bottle of your favorite champagne or sparkling wine

Preparation

  1. In a saucepan combine the honey and water over medium heat and bring to a light boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the honey has dissolved completely. Add the pears, ginger and sage leaves. Simmer until the mixture has reduced by 1/3. About 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and let the mixture steep for an additional 10 minutes.
  2. Strain the syrup into a large mason jar. Discard the ginger and sage leaves.
  3. To assemble the drinks place a few pieces of the cooked pear into each glass followed by 1-2 Tablespoons of the simple syrup. Add the champagne and enjoy.

Notes

*This makes more simple syrup than you'll need for 4 cocktails. Save extra simple syrup in the fridge and enjoy over ice cream or even in smoothies. *Use this recipe as a guide and adjust measurements and ingredients as necessary.


Leave a Reply

22 thoughts on “Pear + Ginger-Sage Champagne Cocktails

  1. Pat says:

    So sorry for the losses and the feeling of helplessness in such circumstances. Here in Wisconsin we’ve resorted to fences, quite high fences.

    1. Andrea says:

      Thank you for your lovely comment and for following us along. Proper deer fencing is going to be part of our farm budget for the 2015 season. It’s very expensive but necessary!!!

  2. Jaclyn says:

    So sorry to hear about your crop 🙁 Dumb deer.

    1. Andrea says:

      dumb deer is right!!! Thanks for your lovely comment 🙂

  3. Oh no, I am SO sorry about the deer! Farming is so full of those unexpected and uncontrollable events, it seems 🙁 Hang in there my dear! I always love your creative cocktails and hope they are drowning your sorrows at the moment 🙂

  4. An exceptional combination. Sage is so lovely and I can imagine when married with pear and ginger is absolutely stunning!

  5. Wendy Brunson says:

    I’m sorry to hear about the damage done by the deer. Remember, though, people don’t join a CSA for predictability. If they wanted to be sure to have arugula and beans, they’d just buy them when they wanted them. They’ve partnered with you to be surprised each week and to be a part of something that matters.

    1. Andrea says:

      Wendy,
      thank you so much for your lovely comment. We are so grateful for our CSA members and you are totally right, they are with us for the surprises that include ups and downs. It’s a beautiful thing.

  6. Carrie says:

    Oh, no! I’m sorry about the damn deer!

    You probably don’t want to get political on your blog, but I’m dying to know what you think of the GMO measure on the ballot.

    1. Andrea says:

      Thank you Carrie! It was a crappy week but thank god for good coffee and cocktails!
      I won’t get political in posts but I will let you know that I am 100 PERCENT voting YES. Label GMO’s! It’s just my personal stance and I won’t judge people who vote against it, but we’re pretty fired up about GMO’s over in these parts!
      Coffee date in November? Hope you guys are doing well. xoxo

  7. Francesca says:

    I’m so sorry about those pesky deer :/ Are you guys taking any preventive measures?

    1. Andrea says:

      Thank you for you comment. We have deer fencing around part of the farm but not around the entire farm. It’s crazy expensive but slowly we’ll be adding fencing around everything. Work in progress…..

      1. Francesca says:

        Sounds terribly gross, but human hair is supposed to be a natural repellent!

  8. Dominique says:

    Gorgeous pictures! Thanks for the post, I cannot wait to make this myself.

    Love Domi x

    http://www.barenaturals.com/news

  9. Deer are so destructive sometimes. I’m so sorry to hear about your crops. This cocktail is the perfect way to forget about the damn deer.

  10. Alizée says:

    Hello there! Just stumbled upon your lovely blog. So many great recipes. How long does the simple syrup can stay in the fridge for? Just trying to prep for the holidays. Thx!

    1. Andrea says:

      Thanks for reading along on the blog! The simple syrup should stay fresh for up to 5 days in the fridge.

  11. Terry says:

    Just made this for a party a late morning party and it was well received and delicious! Perfect was to turn Prosecco into a fall drink and plenty left over to freeze for next time. ; )

  12. Cheryl Tate says:

    Love your good spirits. It’s nature having its way. Keep up the good work.

  13. Carl says:

    It was great! Making again.

  14. Erin says:

    Can you make the syrup ahead of time?? And use it the next day?

    1. Andrea says:

      Absolutely. It’ll last 7 days in your fridge.

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