Lavender lemonade, a truly great experience
(as is lavender iced tea). Here’s the recipe.
Photo © Edith Frimcu | Dreamstime.

While mixologists have long been creating menus of specialty cocktails, nonalcoholic customized beverages are moving to the foreground as well.

In addition to being a money-maker for margin-squeezed restaurants, customers can view these beverages as novel and better for them, tempting some to trade up from tap water.

Recently, the National Restaurant Association polled nearly 1,300 chefs about nonalcoholic happenings in their restaurants. The top five answers follow.

For us at home, it’s an opportunity to follow the trend and treat family and guests to something special.

1. GOURMET LEMONADE

Chefs point to gourmet lemonade as the hottest nonalcoholic beverage trend in restaurants. The “gourmet” aspect usually comes from adding another fruit or an herb (or both: rhubarb basil lemonade, anyone?), via a syrup or preferably, fresh fruit infused with the tea.

For people who want something more potent, add a shot of eau de vie, gin, lemon liqueur (like Limoncello), saké, tequila or vodka (regular or lemon-infused).

To start you off, here’s a basic lemonade recipe that you can customize into your signature beverage, plus a recipe for lavender lemonade, made with organic dried lavender.

 
2. SPECIALTY ICED TEA

A minor upgrade can turn the ubiquitous liquid refreshment into something special. It was second on the list of trending beverages, both at fine restaurants and chains (Friendly’s offered mango iced tea nd raspberry iced tea as limited-time offers last summer).

It’s easy to use flavored syrups, but the best taste comes from infusing the fruit with the hot water and tea. You can also try cold infusion, adding the fruit to the cooled brew tea and letting it infuse overnight in the fridge.

Alternatively, you can buy You can buy fruit-flavored tea bags, loose tea or ice tea mixes (mango, passionfruit, peach, raspberry and more); but when peaches are in season, use the fresh fruit.

Our local Japanese restaurant makes a celestial lemongrass iced tea (and for what we’ve been spending on two or three glasses each visit, we’d better start brewing our own).

We added the syrup from canned lychees to iced tea (yum!) and when fresh lychees arrive in June and July, we’ll be making fresh lychee iced tea.

3. HOUSE-MADE SODA

One tactic restaurants use to get guests to trade up from water is to offer a soft drink that they can’t get anywhere else. For several years, we’ve been tempted by house-made sodas, both to see what “real” cola and root beer tasted like before their flavors were fixed on our palates by commercial brands; and to experience the new (to us) and different (celery and basil, for example).

The easy way to start at home is to get a Sodastream, practice with their syrups and then create your own.

Get a recipe book like Homemade Soda, with 200 recipes for making fruit sodas, fizzy juices, flavored sparkling waters, root beer, cola and more.

 
4. ORGANIC COFFEE

Consumers are increasingly interested in foods that are healthy and sustainable: two words that describe organic products. Organic coffee is a hot trend.

Instead of a simple cup of coffee at the end of the meal, some chefs at better restaurants are offering coffee brewed from better beans: organic beans or single-origin beans.

Tiny Footprint is a brand that hits the trifecta: Certified Organic, Fair-Trade and part of the Rainforest Alliance, which is carbon negative and replants forests. It’s also delicious coffee (here’s our review). You can buy it online.
 
 
5. COCONUT WATER

Americans are now buying some $400 million in coconut water annually.

Coconut water is the clear juice of young coconuts, as opposed to opaque white coconut milk, used for Piña Coladas (among other purposes). Here’s more about coconut water.

The trendy liquid is sought for its high content of potassium and other nutrients, as well as its relatively low calorie content. It’s drunk straight or added to smoothies.

While coconut water is sold in flavors (peach mango, pineapple, etc.), you can flavor your own. Lemon Cayenne, anyone?

 
Now that warmer weather is here, it’s time to begin your journey to creating signature nonalcholic beverages. Have fun!

 
*Coconut water is simply drained from young coconuts. Coconut milk is made by steeping the grated flesh of mature coconuts in water, then puréeing and straining.

Growing wild in grassland habitats, sorrel has long been cultivated as a garden herb and leafy green vegetable. It’s a member of the Polygonaceae family of flowering plants, which include foods such as buckwheat and rhubarb.

In older times, sorrel was also used as medicine. The leaves contain oxalic acid, which provides both the tart flavor and medicinal properties (respiratory tract and bacterial infections, diuretic).

Sorrel used to be consumed widely as both herb and vegetable, but has fallen out of style. Some recipes still use it in a sauce for lamb, sweetbreads or veal. Occasionally a chef will offer sorrel soup.

But it’s time to revisit sorrel at home. Both the stems and leaves can be eaten, raw or cooked.

Depending on your farmer’s market or produce store, you can find:

 
Or, you can plant sorrel in your garden: It’s a perennial that will bloom for years. It grows well in containers, too.
 
WAYS TO USE SORREL

Since it can be used as a herb or a vegetable, you’ve got a lot of flexibility when cooking with sorrel.

In addition to classic uses, think of it especially with dairy, duck, goose and pork, where its acidity counters the fattiness. For the same reason, it goes well with stronger fish. Try sorrel in a side, a sauce or a plate garnish.

Sorrel recipes from Mariquita Farms, a grower of sorrel, include:

 
Also use sorrel in your own recipes for:

A field of sorrel. Photo courtesy Mariquita Farms.

 
If we’ve overlooked your favorite use for sorrel, please let us know!

The new Half & Half champion. Photo courtesy Red Jacket Orchards.

Arnold Palmer, make way for Joe Nicholson: There’s a new tea and lemonade blend in town.

In a Palm Springs country club in the the 1960s, with his order of a glass of half lemonade—a drink he mixed at home—golf legend Arnold Palmer established the soft drink that bears his name. Others who overheard him said “I’ll have what he’s having,” and Arnold Palmer, the drink, has been popular ever since.

Manufacturers and restaurants have created their spin on the drink, also called a Half & Half. But no one has done it better than Red Jacket Orchards, which debuted Joe’s Half & Half this month.

Named for company founder Joe Nicholson, the drink fuses the company’s NY Style Lemonade with guayusa tea, a NIBBLE favorite.

Available in 12-ounce (individual) and 32-ounce bottles, Joe’s Half & Half is a new favorite of ours, for sure. Thanks, Joe!

Discover more at RedJacketOrchards.com. You can also send someone a gift of the Cold Pressed Juice Of The Month Club.
  

Here’s what’s in season for Spring. Not everything may be available in your area, but what is there should be domestic—not imported from overseas.

Some of the items are harvested for only a few weeks; others are around for a while.

So peruse the list, note what you don’t want to miss out on, and add to your shopping list.

The list was created by Produce for Better Health Foundation. Take a look at their website, FruitsAndVeggiesMoreMatters.org for tips on better meal planning with fresh produce.

> The year’s 80 fruit holidays.

The year’s 60+ vegetable holidays.
 
 
SPRING FRUITS

 
 
SPRING VEGETABLES

 

[5] Red sorrel is a hardy, leafy herb that you can grow at home. It has a bright, tart flavor with grassy undertones and tangy notes similar to lemon or sour apple. Use it raw in salads or as a garnish, or cooked as a leafy green vegetable like spinach. Add them to casseroles, marinades, omelets, sauces (including purés), soups, or stir-fries (creamed of sorrel soup is a real treat. Its flavor pairs well with cheese, cream, eggs, potatoes, sour cream, whole grains, and yogurt. Also use it with veal and fish, especially smoked or oily fish like salmon and mackerel.

[1] It’s jackfruit, and it’s in season. You’re most likely to find it at Asian markets. Jackfruit is the largest tree fruit, reaching as much as 120 pounds in weight, 35 inches in length, 20 inches in diameter. It has become more prominent over the last few years as a meaty substitute for vegetarians and vegans. Here’s more about it (photo by August Binu | CC-BY-SA-3).

[2] Cherimoya, often called the custard apple, is the fruit of a tropical evergreen tree. The fruit is heart-shaped, with a creamy texture and a flavor blending pineapple, banana, and strawberry. The fruit is eaten fresh or used in desserts (but its seeds, leaves, and limbs are toxic and should not be ingested).

[3] Butterhead lettuce. Popular varieties include Bibb (Limestone), Boston, Buttercrunch, Mignonette (Manoa) and Tom Thumb. Check out the different types of lettuce (Abacus Photo).

[4] Cardoons look like celery, but they’re not related. They’re actually a close relative of the artichoke, and have an artichoke-like flavor, rather than a celery-like taste. .

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

Scafata is a dish from the Umbria region of Italy, typically made with spring vegetables such as artichokes, escarole, fava beans, green (English) peas, and Swiss chard, and flavored with basil, mint, and often, guanciale (bacon made from the jowl of the pig). They inspire this recipe for spring salad with prosciutto.

We’ve adapted a recipe from ParmaCrown.com into a spring vegetable salad with prosciutto (Parma ham). In our version, you can:

 
The difference between prosciutto and serrano ham is below.
 
 
RECIPE: SPRING SALAD WITH PROSCIUTTO

Ingredients For 4 Servings

For The Cooked Version

 
For The Raw Version

 
Vegetables For Both Versions

 
Toppings

Preparation

For The Cooked Salad

1a. COMBINE the wine, oil, and onion in a large skillet; cover and bring to boil over medium-high heat. Add the zucchini, snow peas, peas, artichokes, asparagus, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat, simmer partly covered about 5 minutes, stirring frequently until vegetables are al dente (or, if you prefer, tender).

For The Raw Salad

1b. MAKE the vinaigrette: Whisk the oil and vinegar with salt and pepper to taste. A pinch of dry mustard helps keep the emulsion from separating. Toss the vegetables in vinaigrette just to moisten. Place the remaining vinaigrette in a small pitcher for those who would like more.
For Either Salad

2. POACH the eggs. Divide the vegetables among four plates. Top each with two slices of prosciutto di Parma and an egg. Garnish with chopped fresh mint, if desired.
 
 
PROSCIUTTO & SERRANO HAMS: THE DIFFERENCES

Both prosciutto and Serrano hams are dry-cured: salted and hung in sheds to cure in the air. Both are served in very thin slices. Country ham, preferred in the U.S., is smoked, and a very different style from dry-cured hams.

While prosciutto and Serrano hams can be used interchangeably, they are different.

Italian-made prosciutto is never made with nitrates. American made prosciutto, as well as both domestic and Spanish Serrano-style hams, can have added nitrates.

 
MORE

 
 
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*If serving the salad raw or blanched, substitute 1/2 cup green onions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, for the cooked onion.
 
 
†The artichokes should be plain, not marinated.

[2] Prosciutto, Italian ham, is always thinly sliced (photo © Consorzio di Prosciutto di Parma).

[3] Spring peas, also known as English peas and green peas, are part of our spring salad (photo © Maude Restaurant | Los Angeles).

[4] Snow peas, popular in Chinese cuisine, are finding their way into more non-Asian dishes (photo © Burpee).

[5] Prosciutto in the making: hams hanging to cure in the air.

[6] Air-cured and delicious (photo © )