Welcome to Quarantine Kitchen, a cooking show focused on easy recipes and tips you can execute in your home kitchen using basic ingredients and pantry staples. The show airs live on Facebook every Sunday at 1:30 p.m. Tune in by heading to the OnMilwaukee Facebook page.  You can access past recipes and shows using this link.

Last week I found myself with two quarts of absolutely delicious strawberries from the grocery store. I ate a few of them out of hand (they were so good) and enjoyed some of them with plain yogurt and granola. And then, off the cuff, I decided they’d be great muddled into a cocktail.

When I shared the photo of the cocktail on Instagram, a number of you reached out and asked me for the recipe. As a result, I decided the drink would be a perfect feature for this week’s Quarantine Kitchen. 

The build of the drink is fairly simple and it makes use of a rhubarb syrup that’s easy to make at home. The syrup also lends itself well to a number of uses, from homemade lemonade to soaking your next bundt cake. It also makes a delicious late spring and early summer cocktail.

Strawberry rhubarb fizz

1 ounce rhubarb syrup (recipe below)
2 ounces strawberry infused Campari (recipe below)
1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
A pinch of kosher salt
Seltzer

• Combine syrup, Campari, lime juice and salt in a shaker tin.
• Add ice and shake until well chilled.
• Strain into a 12-ounce glass filled with ice and top with seltzer.

Want to make a cocktail now, but don’t have strawberry infused Campari? No problem. This recipe will give you a similar result.

2-3 strawberries, washed, de-stemmed and sliced in half
1 ounce rhubarb syrup (recipe below)
2 ounces Campari
1 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
A pinch of kosher salt
Seltzer

• Muddle the strawberries with one ounce of rhubarb syrup in the bottom of a shaker tin.
• Add Campari and lime juice.
• Set aside for 10 minutes.
• Add ice to shaker and shake until well chilled.
• Strain into a 12-ounce glass filled with ice and top with seltzer.

Strawberry infused Campari

1 pint of ripe strawberries, washed, de-stemmed and roughly chopped
375 ml of Campari

Place strawberries in the bottom of a one quart jar and pour Campari over the top. Place a cover on the jar and give it a gentle shake. Set the jar in a cool dark place for three to five days, giving it the occasional shake. Once the Campari is well infused with strawberry flavor, strain out the strawberries with a fine mesh strainer. This recipe can be doubled.

Tip: Don't discard the strawberries from your infusion. They're great served over the top of yogurt or ice cream.

Rhubarb syrup

Makes just over 1/2 cup of syrup (enough for 4-5 drinks)
This can be easily doubled.

1 cup sliced rhubarb stems
½ cup water
½ cup sugar

• Place rhubarb, water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat.
• Bring the fruit mixture to a boil, stirring to thoroughly dissolve the sugar.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the rhubarb is soft and beginning to break down.
• Strain the rhubarb out of the syrup using a fine mesh strainer and transfer it to a clean jar for storage. Allow it to cool before using.
• The syrup will keep for one week in the refrigerator.