Garden Fresh: Infused Vodka

Earlier this year, I admitted that most of the food and drink "recipes" I share would be quick and easy, but gosh, I'm really stickin' to it. Kale chips, chive oil, mint ice cubes and now infused vodka all take under two minutes to prepare.

You will need:

• Jar to infuse and keep your vodka in. Must be air tight.
• Vodka: try your first round of experimenting with some cheaper vodka but not too cheap. I recommend Crater Lake Vodka.

• A funnel.
• Coffee filter or fine strainer. 
• Herbs, citrus, vegetables, whatever you want to infuse your vodka with. 

How to do it:

1. Rinse the item you are using to infuse the vodka with. If it is fruit or a vegetable cut it up so the flavors can seep out.
2. Place the item in your jar. I recommend doing the infusing part in a mason jar. Add vodka so there is about 1/2 an inch of air at the top of the jar with the lid closed.
3.   Try not to let the contents touch any air by pushing the item down into the vodka. You never know what kind of bacteria your item is carrying, so best to let it sit in the alcohol.
4.  Tip: add some lemon juice to keep the vodka from turning brown. I didn't try this but wish I had.
5. Wait at least 2 days and then sample the vodka. If you wait too long, the flavor will become bitter, but pretty much everything will take 2-5 days. Make sure to gently shake the bottle a few times a day.
6. Once the flavor is just right, use a coffee filter or strainer to pour the vodka into another container.

I chose these flavors that were all from my garden:

1. Cucumber

2. Jalapeño

3. Rosemary

4. Lavender

The cucumber and lavender were my favorites. Although this rosemary lemonade was quite refreshing: