Cold Summer Drink III

Cherry Juice

I wake up from a dream. In the moment before waking, someone whispers something that seems present and pressing to me at the time, words that don’t mean anything outside the moment of their dream context. Something under my skin is with me all day, but I can’t remember it, or can’t hear it.

I’m standing in the sun after some wandering around, looking for I’m not sure what. I’m drinking cherry juice through a straw from a box. When I turn with the light on my back, I see my dark shadow and a clear red line from my hand to my mouth, part of my shadow’s body.

The taste of the cherry is under something, not as easy and upfront as you might think. It’s under the sweetness. Like how a walnut has a flavor that is below and looks up at you, cherry juice is there being sweet but not knowing it. It’s not missing anything and not self-conscious, looking at you in the eye but saying something in your ear.

Cold Summer Drink II

How could you not get neck-deep in a thorn bush for this?










Wild blackberries found in Central Park make beautiful and tasty cocktails. Press them gently (they're fragile enough that they'll crush if you talk to them directly), strain from their seeds, add a tiny pinch of sugar to the liquid and combine syrup with vodka, ice and soda.

Cold Summer Drink

I love this satisfying and interesting drink-and I've never purchased buttermilk so frequently. A Polish version appeared in Saveur Magazine, and I adapted it. I think there must be a creamy cultured beverage from every corner of the world...

tall glass of cold 1% buttermilk
small handful of chives snipped tiny with scissors
several grinds of black pepper
small pinch kosher salt
large pinch ground cumin
equal pinch ground coriander

When you think about it, these are all things that will NOT make your teeth look awesome afterwards. Stir it up well and drink anyway. And chew. Sound bad? its not. Its great.