SWEET TEETH
A SPRING SYMPHONY
The orchestral arrangement of Spring is climbing to fortissimo.
A robin perches herself on a branch of the red maple outside my kitchen window. She trills an airy melody accompanied by a flutter of her wings, as if to say “hello”. I attempt to mimic the tune, and a spume of spit sprays from my mouth and into the batter of the cake I am mixing. The bird twitters out a bar of bright, buoyant notes. I think she might be laughing at me.
Children squeal as they chase each other off the sidewalk and into the street. A car horn blares, and brakes shriek. Metal grates against metal. A tense caesura before a crescendo of nervous laughter. The giggles fade to a diminuendo as the children scurry back to the safety of the concrete, unscathed.
Raindrops patter against the pavement, sounding like a marching band of drummers has gathered in the street to practice their press rolls. Gusts of wind whistle discordant harmonies over one another, competing for a solo. Off in the distance, wind chimes clang, punctuating the haunting score. I put in my headphones, opting for something a little less ominous.
The organ in the church next door to my apartment begins to bellow. The congregation erupts into a warm, bouncy chorus, engulfing our block in song. Each note dances across the rooftops of the surrounding brownstones, igniting the Sunday morning into pastel flames. I can’t help but hum along, despite having never heard the hymn before.
On the corner outside a wine bar, a couple spits obscenities at each other through gritted teeth. Her consonants are short and sharp, ricocheting off one another and reverberating into the surrounding intersection. His vowels are drawn out and ragged. A piano and a cello are at battle with one another. Across the street, another couple kisses. The woman lets out a soft, breathy laugh into the man’s mouth. He joins in with a whistling chuckle. A harp and a flute are in perfect balance.
My dog zips from room to room, from window to window, his paws glide across the polished hardwood floor, like a horsehair bow dancing over a violin’s strings. His wagging tail thwacks the walls, a metronome of sorts. He spots a yellow lab on a walk and wimpers, his falsetto. He spots a squirrel climbing a tree and barks, his belt. He spots my boyfriend coming home from an afternoon walk and howls, his mix. He is the greatest living vocalist.
There is a constant buzz in the air, a sustained exhale, the symphony of stepping out into the sun once again.
Another one of my favorite springtime sounds is ice clinking against a glass full of a bubbly beverage. So this week, I have a delicious green soda to share with you. It starts with a base of celery and dill, and is rounded out with some black pepper, fennel seed, and lemon. The final product is bright, refreshing, and herbaceous—the perfect treat to sip while you step out into the sunshine and enjoy all the sounds spring has to offer!
THE RECIPE
CELERY SODA
makes one 16-ounce jar of syrup
Ingredients:
For the syrup:
2 cups (400g) granulated sugar
3 cups (726g) water
1 pound (454g) celery, ~1 small bundle, roughly chopped
3 sprigs (~36g) dill
~1 tbsp (6g) lemon zest, from one large lemon
1 tbsp (9g) black peppercorns, lightly crushed
1 tsp (2g) fennel seeds, lightly crushed
For the soda:
3 tbsp (48g) Celery Syrup
1.5 cups (360g) soda water
Lemon wedges and rounds, for garnish
Celery stalks, for garnish
Directions:
Make your syrup: In a medium-sized heavy-bottom saucepan, combine your sugar, water, chopped celery, dill, lemon zest, black peppercorns, and fennel seeds. Heat over medium, swirling the pan to help the sugar dissolve. Once all the sugar has dissolved, let the mixture simmer, undisturbed, for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside.
Let cool & store: Let cool completely in the pot before straining into a mason jar or other airtight container. Store in your fridge for up to 1 month.
Make your soda: Add your Celery Syrup and soda water to a large ice-filled glass. Stir to combine.
Garnish & enjoy: Garnish with a squeeze of lemon and a few wedges or rounds! Stir with a celery stalk!
I'm thirsty already!
This sounds so intriguing - I used to hate celery but am slowly embracing it. Plus I love nothing more than a tasty recipe that uses quite a lot (why can you never buy just 1 or 2 ribs if that is all you need? My solution so far has been to turn any surplus into pickled celery).