The Lush Chef

Last week, I was on a three-day BluePrint Juice Cleanse, and after you come off of these things, you have to eat of lot of green, raw veggies.  I had a fridge absolutely full of celery, cilantro, parsley and cucumber, so this recipe for a Celery & Cilantro Cocktail from Sweet Paul was the perfect way to use up some of these ingredients.  Oh, and it was darn tasty too.  The original recipe called for citrus-flavored vodka, which I never have (I just can't do flavored vodka), so opted for some good ol' Grey Goose instead.  It's an incredibly refreshing and herbal cocktail for the summer.  I'm looking forward to making these for my girlfriends for Friday cocktail hours.
Celery & Cilantro Cocktail
Ingredients:

• 2 small celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup loosely packed cilantro leaves
• 1 oz simple syrup
• 1 oz fresh-squeezed lime juice
• 1 1/2 oz vodka (I used Grey Goose)
• Cilantro and celery leaves for garnish

- In a shaker, muddle the celery and cilantro with the simple syrup.
- Add the lime juice, vodka and ice and shake.
- Double strain through a small, fine-mesh sieve into an ice-filled glass.
- Garnish with some cilantro and celery leaves.