Honey Thyme Cocktail

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//The spring days are getting longer and I feel summer approaching in the breeze off the Puget Sound.  The last few weeks the sun has been shining and the thyme in my kitchen garden has been going wild.  Naturally, my mind starts formulating ways in which I can make a refreshing cocktail of this prolific herb.

The honey thyme cocktail uses a homemade honey syrup infused with thyme instead of the traditional simple syrup made from refined sugar. It will not only retain the subtle sweetness that we love in our summer refreshments, but it will also give you a bounty of health benefits from the honey including vitamins and minerals like vitamin C and calcium.

Honey Thyme Cocktail

Serves 1

Honey Thyme Syrup

½ cup of water

½ cup of honey

10 sprigs of thyme

Honey Thyme Cocktail

3 ounces of gin (about two shots)

Juice of half a lemon (about 1.5 tablespoons)

1.5 tablespoon of honey thyme syrup

Splash of sparkling water

Ice cubes

2 sprigs of thyme for garnish

In a small saucepan, combine water, honey, and thyme over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer and then reduce to a low simmer for 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside to let the flavors marinate for at least 10 minutes. Remove the thyme by straining the mixture through a sieve. Place the honey simple syrup in the fridge to chill until you are ready to serve.

Shake gin, lemon, and honey thyme syrup in a cocktail shaker filled with ice.  Strain into a cocktail glass and pour just a splash of sparkling water over the top.  Garnish with 2 sprigs of thyme.  Cheers!

//Cook’s Note: If you want to make this in a larger quantity, the honey thyme syrup mixture is enough to make 12 servings.  In a large pitcher or punch bowl add syrup, 1.5 cups of lemon juice, and 4.5 cups of gin.  Keep in the fridge until ready to serve.  Upon serving add 2 cups of ice cubes and 1 cup of sparkling water.  Pour into cocktail glasses garnished with 2 thyme sprigs.

Meditation: A Mantra

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Meditation: A Mantra

//Mantra: a word or a phrase repeated over and over to aid in staying focused during meditation.

//Meditation: a formal, scientific practice of turning your attention inward, away from external distractions, toward a concentrated focus on a single point of reference, such as the breath. Utilized to increase self-awareness, enhance presence in daily living, promote relaxation, and understand the most basic essence of peace and bliss.

Language is a powerful tool that I am in the process of learning how to wield in my daily living and in my mindfulness practices. It is one gateway between our inner world and our outer world. What we say has a great impact on how we think and act. When I contemplate the correlation between my thoughts, my words, and my actions, I see an open channel with each element flowing through and into the other. We can use language to permeate both our thoughts and our actions.  In doing so, we can connect back to and manifest what inspires us and our truth, or sankalpa, in its simplest form.

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At the moment, life is moving in all sorts of directions.  Providing me with the opportunity, let’s be real, the challenge, of staying tuned into my center.  New opportunities and life changes that are worthy of pursual have the habit of arriving all at the same time. Keeping in alignment with my center, my truth, during the busier times of my life is a two-part act. Part one is being honest, and part two is being balanced.  In that order.  I have found, more often than not, that it is a very fine line between utter balanced bliss and fulfillment, and the feeling of being completely overwhelmed and out of sorts by the amount of to-dos.  We will always shift and move between both existences, back and forth, side to side, to some extent.  With a little self-awareness, honesty, and compassion for our journey we can dwell in our center and maintain our balance.

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