The founder of Blue Barn Kitchen, a healthy lifestyle blog, Beth Ritter Nydick decided to become a certified holistic health coach to fulfill her passion of working with clients to improve their health and family life. She has been certified by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and leads cooking classes, workshops on nutrition and offers individual health and nutrition coaching to parents and families. In her book, Clean Cocktails: Righteous Recipes for the Modern Mixologist (Countryman Press, 2017), Nydick and co-author Tara Roscioli share an array of drink recipes made with naturally low-calorie spirits, fresh juices loaded with vitamins, gentle sweeteners like honey and maple syrup, and anti-inflammatory spices like cinnamon, cayenne, and turmeric.
Beth Ritter Nydick’s Violet Beauregard
Cooking Tips:
1. To muddle fruits, herbs and spices, place them in a sturdy mixing glass and, using the muddler, firmly press down and twist to gently release the flavors of the chosen ingredients.
2. Garnishing drinks isn’t just about aesthetics. Garnishes allow you to enhance your drink, adding layers and textures, with the zests or peels of fruits and vegetables and the stems of leaves and herbs.
3. Rimming is the art of creating a tasty accent on the lip of a glass. To rim a glass, place elements of the rim—let’s say kosher salt or coconut sugar—on a plate. Moisten the outside rim of the glass with a lime wedge (if working with salt) or an orange or lemon wedge (if working with sugar). Then, dip the rip of the glass in the salt or sugar until it’s coated. Do your best not to coat the inside of the glass; you don’t want the excess to land in your cocktail and ruin the taste of your drink.
