THE MOCKTAIL BAR

Not much says “SPRING!” more up here on the northeastern U.S. seaboard, than local strawberries. “Youpick” farms sprawl over rolling acres of fragrant berries; I always brought my son Max and we’d pick and gobble up just as many as we could before sunset. Of course, the charm of roadside berries for sale never fades. I’ve had some luck planting my own, though the cunning songbirds and baby chipmunks just couldn’t resist always foiling harvest just before I could.

This libation is a perfect balance of earthy fennel with the berries and a few other healthy ingredients.

1.5 cups fresh chopped strawberries (reserve 2-3 larger halves, with a partial slice, for garnish)

½ cup fresh sliced fennel

½ cup lemonade

¼ rounded cup honey

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Zest of 1 lime

The juice of the lime

If available, fresh mint for garnish

¾ cup crushed ice

method servings 2 Hint: Freeze your martini glasses overnight.

1. Have your iced glasses ready

2. Blend ingredients in a blender on high for 1-2 minutes, til l frothy and fully blended.

3. Pour. Garnish. CLINK! Drink.

4. (You’ll be glad there is some left in the blender for a top-up!)

Pat is the Producer/Chief Editor of (this), Life Recipe Magazine; a creation that stems from her 3-pronged background. Hundreds of her cover and feature articles appear in dozens of newspapers and magazines, spanning 25 years. At the same time, Pat built her career path in development and marketing in the for-profit and non-profit sectors. She has owned and operated a large, organic cafe’, Soup to Nuts Coffee House. With 12 employees and a whirlwind of local farmers, it became the place to see and be seen; an arts mecca as well as a fabulous eatery. As a tireless volunteer & community leader, she’s worked closely with school districts and Universities, libraries and land trusts, and most recently has been a head chef for soup kitchens – and an organic farmer for neighbors in need. Max is graduating college with honors, while working full time in project management in Providence, R.I Pat works tirelessly on Life Recipe Magazine, both from the U.S. and Croatia.