All my creative pursuits.
Dance and sing, drink and eat
Pour champagne, taste something sweet
Celebrate, because come tomorrow
We cannot beg, steal or borrow
The time that flies beneath our feet
Sorry, still in a bit of a funk. Thus my contribution for this week’s limerick challenge from Mind and Life Matters is a little sour rather than sweet for celebrations.
Week 43 in The Year Of Drinking Adventurously. Vodka.
Here is a beverage I can endorse without reserve. If for no other reason than its extreme versatility. Everybody likes vodka. You know why? Because it doesn’t taste like anything. It’s the perfect addition to make anything you want alcoholic. By definition, vodka should be flavorless, colorless and odorless. Vodka can be made from potatoes, wheat, rye, corn or a variety of starchy bases. The multiple distillation process ensures that none of the source distillate’s character remains, therefore the original ingredients aren’t that crucial to the process. Or so says the guide. 
Except… That the premium vodka market is booming for the very reason that these higher end products boast even LESS flavor, color and odor than their more humble counterparts.
My current bottle is Ketel One. I don’t have a go-to cocktail per se, but that is the cool thing about good vodka, it goes with everything. In the summer, I sometimes add it to root beer for a little kick. I use it instead of gin in a martini when I just want to taste the olives. Vodka gimlet, vodka in lemonade, vodka and tonic, and so forth. The danger with vodka is the fact that being flavorless, etc. is that it can sneak up on you pretty fast. 
When you can’t taste it, you get wasted.
Vodka can be the basis for all sorts of interesting infusions, too. From fruits like mango, berries and pineapple, to pickled vegetables, horseradish or tomatoes, vodka infusions can be subtle, sweet or savory. These are not the flavored vodkas that are flooding the market. Seriously, marshmallow vodka? Salted caramel? Gross. Its the new pumpkin spice and you know how I feel about that! No, we are talking about fresh ingredients, steeped in vodka for at least six days (to do it at home) or with nitrous oxide pressurization (if you are a bartender) for about 30 minutes. I’ve never tried infusing my own vodka but I sense an experiment coming on…
I am imagining Lula, the mistress of mixology, had a good time with this week’s adventure.
It’s been eight months since I looked at the fifth novel in my series. For those of you just joining me, my novel series is set in my home area of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Bucks County is situated in the southeast corner of the state, within shouting distance of Philadelphia. The books have followed a group of friends, each book concentrating on the story of one of them, or two as the case may be, as a couple gets together.
As the series progressed, I moved from the original six characters to write the story of some of the minor players. The fourth book has set up the plot for the fifth and after the fifth, I have one more book to write to finish the series. Six is a good number -a half dozen, a double trilogy.
It’s been hard to get my mind back into the world I’ve created there, however. I never gave it any thought, but my writing has drifted far away from that original style and genre. I hope I can still write a lighter, more humorous story. But to give you a taste, here’s the novel synopsis I entered for NaNoWriMo:
Even though Maya Kaminski is just getting by, her dream of opening a French bakery/cafe in her hometown has finally come true. Although she struggles financially, she is too proud to accept help from friends who have the means to ease her burdens. Its only when a ruthless competitor opens a rival enterprise right across the street, that Maya finds herself with little choice but to bring in a partner or go under.
Not perfect, I know. The blurb is the hardest thing for me to write. This story will be part mystery, part comedy and –as expected–part romance. I will be posting updates and excerpts here during the month of November –that is if I manage to write something I’m particularly happy with.
Thank you all for your support and encouragement. It really means the world to me.
Meg Sorick, Author/Artist 