Making a Green Meanie Martini

Make the ginger syrup and kale juice ahead of time and refrigerate until needed.

  • 1 ounce ginger syrup (recipe below)
  • 1 ounce kale/apple juice (how to do this in a blender below)
  • 2 ounces limoncello (or 1 to 1 ratio of limoncello and vodka)

Add syrup, juice and limoncello to a shaker with ice. Shake, pour into martini glass and garnish with lemon.

Ginger Simple Syrup

  • 3/4 to 1 cup thinly sliced ginger, no need to peel
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 cups water
  1. Bring all ingredients to a soft boil, turn heat down to medium-high and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. It’s done when it reduces by about half, bubbles like a syrup, and a taste test confirms a strong ginger flavor.
  2. Strain into seal-able container and refrigerate until needed. Yields about a cup of syrup.

Kale/Apple Juice via a Blender

  • 1 bundle of kale leaves, torn from stem (about 14 leaves)
  • 1 large apple, chopped (your choice of flavor)
  • 1 cup water
  1. Place items in blender as follows: chopped apple, then kale, then water. Blend until very smooth with no visible chunks. I use a Blendtec and have not tried this in a normal blender.
  2. Strain resulting smoothie in a nut bag or paint strainer bag over a big bowl. Paint strainer bags are about 1/4 the prices of a nut bag and you can get them at the hardware store.
  3. Go slow, if it splatters on you, it can stain. Twist the bag like you would a garbage bag and slowly squeeze the juice from the pulp.
  4. Pour juice in a jar and refrigerate until needed. Attempt to clean the bag. You may save the kale pulp and use in soups or smoothies.

TIP: I used Lacinato Kale for it’s milder flavor but you could try other kales of course.