Recipes: Perfect beer batter; lavender gin

I perfected the beer batter recipe tonight.

Batter:
1 c all-purpose flour
2 T cornstarch
1 t baking powder
1 T salt
1 egg
1c beer

--I just adjusted the salt. Make sure to dredge the stuff in flour first; the batter seems to stick better.

Fried: Button mushrooms, tilapia, white onions (sliced very thin to offset their stronger flavor), pickle slices. I love the pickle slices.

Dipping sauce: 1/4c mayo, 2 T capers, 1 t ground chipotle powder.

I deep-fried some capers, too; the flavors in the admittedly-overused oil overwhelmed it. Not recommended.

Lavender Gin

1 oz. good gin
2 T raw sugar (stir the first two)
6 oz dry lavender soda, if you find it

I wanted some fresh rosemary to muddle up with it, but I didn't have any. Mint would also have been nice. I like "dry" flavors, but the soda was too dry. I could have made some simple syrup, but this did just as well.