We made Lemon-Basil Gimlets!

Hi.  This is Hillary's brother, and I have a recipe for you.  Normally, I wouldn't describe making a cocktail as cooking, but this actually involved applying heat to ingredients, so I think we'll count it.  Besides, they were delicious.

First you have to make the Lemon-Basil simple syrup.  Here's the recipe:

• 4 cups packed fresh basil sprigs
• 4 cups water
• 2 cups sugar
• 9 (4 by 1 inch) strips of lemon zest (I ended up with lots of smaller strips, but it served the same purpose... these are really tasty after they come out of the syrup, by the way)

Bring all the ingredients to a boil in a saucepan, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.  Then let stand at room temperature, covered, 1 hour.  Then transfer to air tight container and chill until cold, about 1 hour. Strain into a bowl, then squeeze solids to get out extra liquids.  Syrup will keep in fridge up to 5 days.

Cocktail:

• 1 cup Lemon Basil syrup
• 3/4 cup vodka (we put a little extra splash of vodka into the glasses... they're a little sweet as is)
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• Ice cubes
• Basil sprigs for garnish

Stir together all ingredients in a pitcher until cold, then strain into 8 to 10 ounce glasses half-filled with ice.

Bad camera phone pictures of mason jars filled with the syrup: