When you go to the grocery store and venture to the bread isle to grab your favorite slice, do you ever wonder when it was actually made and packaged.  I found out recently that the twist tie on the package is the time stamp for the bread’s freshness.  Bread is made and delivered 6 days a week, Monday through Saturday.  Each day of the week is assigned a color coded twisty tie for the end of the loaf.  The colors are alphabetically sorted through the days of the week. The bread in your grocer should have the freshness marked as follows:

Monday – Blue

Tuesday – Green

Wednesday – Orange

Thursday – Red

Friday – White

Saturday – Yellow

Now, if you decide to purchase these presliced breads, make sure you give them a light squeeze.   If the bread bounces back, then it is probably fresh.  When purchasing whole loaves, try cutting a chunk from one end and then obtaining your slices from the middle of the loaf, returning the end you cut back to the loaf before storing it.  Also, be sure that the packaging that the bakery placed the loaf in doesn’t have small holes. If so, you may want to transfer the unused bread to a storage bag.

My husband has a penchant for making unusual drinks. He had read an article online about a rosemary infused cocktail and was set on trying it. As it went, he forgot the exact recipe; only remembering specifically that it called for Rosemary Simple Syrup.

After some experimentation, he came up with this refreshingly herbal cocktail.

Ingredients:

• 1 oz premium vodka
• 1 oz premium gin
• 1 shot of rosemary simple syrup
• Citrus Soda (like Sprite or 7up)

Directions:

In a rocks glass, pour vodka, gin, and simple syrup over ice and stir until chilled. Top off the glass with the citrus soda. Garnish with a sprig of rosemary, if you wish.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 4 sprigs fresh rosemary

Directions:

In a medium sauce pan, combine all ingredients. Over medium heat, bring mixture to a boil. Allow it to boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat and let steep for 30 minutes.

Once cooled, strain the syrup into a sealable container. Yields around 1.25 cups of syrup.

This simple syrup should keep for up to 1 month when kept refridgerated.

Let’s change it up a bit…

You could substitute the rosemary for other fresh herbs for a variety of tastes. Thyme and various mints (spearmint, peppermint, etc) would work nicely.