Ulysses Cocktail (serves 4 people)

Ginger Syrup

• 3 decilitres (dl) cane sugar
• 3 dl. water
• 36 grams peeled and thinly sliced ginger

Mix sugar and water in a small saucepan and put on medium heat. When the sugar has dissolved, add the ginger slices and allow to reduce for about 15-20 mins. I like my syrup sort of thick so I can use it for desserts, smoothies and salads, but you can also cook it for a shorter period (depending on how big a portion you’ve chosen to make of course – just watch the consistency and flavour and you’ll be fine) and leave the ginger in to infuse until it is cold. Either way, remove the ginger slices and lay them flat on a silicone sheet or piece of baking paper to dry overnight. When they’re done you have something resembling pickled/candied ginger which you can throw in your chocolate muffins or ginger snaps. Pour the syrup into a disinfected bottle or jar and allow to cool before using.

Cocktail ingredients

• 1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1 bottle of Carl’s Special 33cl / Classic 33cl (or any ale that isn’t too overpowering)
• 12 ice cubes
• 2 dl gin
• About 5 tbsp ginger syrup
• 1/2 lime

Move the cucumber slices to a mortar and give them a good squashing with the pestle. Pour over a little of the gin (to make sure you get out all of the cucumber juices) and move the whole mixture to a large jar or cocktail mixer. Pour over the remaining gin, fasten the lid and give it a good shake (think Tom Cruise). If you are well prepared, you can do this an hour in advance for even more cucumber flavour. Add four tablespoons of syrup, the ice cubes, fasten the lid and shake. Then add three tablespoons of ginger syrup, the juice of half a lime and shake. Finally, distribute the cocktail mix evenly in four glasses, being careful not to splash the glass when the cucumbers come a rushin’. Top up with a drizzle of syrup and 1/4 of the beer in each glass.

And do try to resist the temptation to stretch the cocktails by adding more beer. When reconstructing the cocktail for the picture above I added a little too much beer. It is not supposed to be noticeable as a beer flavour, but just adds body, fizz and colour to the other ingredients.

Enjoy responsibly as they say (while really meaning “As long as you buy my alcoholic beverage I don’t give a donkey’s kong.”).

It is very tipsifying.

Hello honeyz! It’s Sunday night at the lazy mansion and I want to tell you about last week’s treat for the knitting club (yes, I am 80 years old and need to start wearing a diaper). I had two friends over for a knitting session and made some toffee from a Swedish recipe book called “Julgodis” (~Christmas candy, a book by Johanna Westman about whom I know absolutely nothing, but seeing as you have a computer too you can do me the honour of googling her yourself, lazykins). It contains a lot of very accessible recipes for hard caramel, soft toffee and all sorts of chocolates. Very tempting stuff. Here’s a combination of two recipes of hers, or rather one roughly translated lemon toffee recipe with a bit of ginger. It’s dead easy. Hell, I think you can have it done by the time a new X-Factor contestant is voted off the island. And then you get to sit there and gloat while enjoying the lemony-gingery butterness of the softest toffee you’ve ever had.

Swedish Ginger & Lemon Toffee (25-30 toffee bits)

• 50 grams butter
• 1 decilitre cream
• 1,5 decilitre sugar
• 1/2 decilitre light syrup (as opposed to dark)
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla sugar
• Grated zest of 1 organic lemon
• 1 tbsp grated ginger

Melt the butter in a large saucepan with a thick bottom, mix in the cream, sugar, syrup and vanilla sugar. Boil the mixture without a lid until it has reached 122-125 degrees Celcius or time it for 15-20 mins and you should be alright.  To make sure that the mixture is done, drop a teaspoon of it in a glass of cold water and if you can shape it firmly between your fingers, it’s ready. If not, boil it for another 5 mins. Now add the lemon zest and the ginger, stir it well and pour it into a greased and lined tray or square cake mould. Then leave it in the fridge until it has set (took mine about 15 mins). Remove from the tray and cut  the toffee sheet into individual bits (I recommend using a pair of scissors) and wrap them in baking paper. They can keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 5-7 days.