Drink and a nosh: Violette cocktail and parsnip hummus

 

This is one of those empty-the-liquor-cabinet recipes. Well, depending on what's in your cabinet.

Violetta thyme

From Kindred cocktails

Ingredients

1½ ounces gin

¾ ounce St. Germain

¾ ounce lemon juice

½ ounce Crème de Violette

½ ounce Maraschino liqueur, such as Luxardo

1 dash Angostura bitters

3 sprigs fresh thyme

Instructions

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake and strain into a cocktail glass. (Use a fine strainer to catch the thyme leaves.)

Rating: St. Germain and thyme notes are nice. Violette liqueur makes for an unusual color. Fine enough, although I'm starting to think I'm not in love with Luxardo's liqueur. Minus that note, I think I'd like it better.

Spicy parsnip hummus 
From "The Paleo Foodie Cookbook" by Amy Vartanian. No, I have not gone Paleo. Never going to happen. But I recognize a good recipe from any source.

Ingredients
2 cups parsnips

½ cup tahini

3 tablespoons lemon juice

4 cloves garlic

½ teaspoon sea salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Paprika for garnish, optional

Method

Cook parsnips in boiling salted water until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain and put in food processor. Add tahini, lemon juice, garlic, salt, olive oil and red pepper flakes and puree. Season to taste with more salt. Sprinkle with paprika for garnish.

Rating: Further proof that you can make hummus out of almost anything. The sweetness of the parsnips contrasts nicely with the hot pepper and bite of the garlic. If you want to be all Paleo, you can have it with pea pods instead of pitas. Personally, I could just eat it with a spoon. Very repeatable.

Play along: Chastity Brown, "Back-road Highways." If you've got Amazon Prime, you can listen to it for free streaming.