I’m going to keep this pretty short and sweet. Today is/would have been my dad’s 63rd birthday. We’re having a little family birthday-Easter celebration. I'm making a twist on his favorite spring dessert (a tart with mascarpone and fresh strawberries), we're going to play several rounds of ruthless, competitive, cross-country croquet, eat a lot of Amanda’s amazing pulled ham, and of course, we're going to hunt some Easter eggs (with which we'll make classic deviled eggs, maybe this deconstructed egg salad, and probably this sriracha-sesame egg salad).
We’ll also sip on something fizzy, like these springy strawberry-balsamic-vanilla sodas! They’re sweet, but also a little tart, with tons of warm vanilla flavor. Super for a spring brunch or Easter lunch.
hbd, jfk. <3
Strawberry Balsamic Vanilla Sodas
Makes about 6 sodas
You can use regular vanilla extract, but I like the vanilla paste, because it adds little flecks of vanilla bean!
A little more than 1 cup fresh strawberries, diced
1/4 Cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 Cup honey
1 Teaspoon vanilla paste (or regular vanilla extract)
1 Pinch sea salt
1 Pinch fresh ground black pepper
Ice & soda water to serve
To a saucepan, add all ingredients except ice and soda water. Stir together, and heat over medium-low heat until honey is dissolved and the berries start to break down, about 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature, the blend until smooth. You can strain through a fine mesh sieve or cheese cloth if you desire, but I like the berry seeds.
To serve, add about 1.5 tablespoons of syrup to a glass, fill with ice, then fill with soda water. Stir, and add more syrup as desired.
