A Pitcher of Summer Pimm's

Summer Pimm's is a very big English tradition for having at any BBQ or in the back garden of a pub in the summer time. Made in England, Pimm's has a unique spiced taste to it but by adding in a mixture of limes, strawberries, mint and, yes, even cucumber this drink heightens all senses and is perfectly refreshing on a hot day. I purchased my Pimm's at a larger liquor store as it's not a common liquor to find in an average American grocery store. I would say you get a bottle of it for about $20US. Also you can use really any sort of fruit combination but it is essential to have the mint and the cucumber. Enjoy this with a group of friends at your next get together.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Pimm's No.1 (more if you are a feeling a little cheeky)

3 cups ice

2 cans lemon lime soda (Schwepp's Lemonade is my favorite but it's only in the UK)

2-3 sprigs of fresh mint

2 orange slices, cut up

1/2 lime cut up, diced

2 inches of a cucumber, sliced

4-5 strawberries, hulled and chopped

*You can also add diced apples and/or lemon slices as well.

Directions:

Put ice in a large pitcher. Add Pimm's.

Add diced up fruits and mint.

Using a wooden spoon you can mash down fruits and dent the mint to release juices.

Add lemon-lime soda and gently mix.

Serve chilled in a tall glass topped with lovely lime and enjoy!

Mojitos

My friend Laurie introduced me to mojitos and taught me a really simple way to make them. They are now one of my most favorite "girly" drinks and I made my husband go to 6 different grocery stores on New Year's Eve to find a bag of fresh mint so I could ring in the New Year with one of these fabulous drinks.

Ingredients:

1 lime

1 shot Bacardi Rum

1-2 sprigs of fresh mint leaves

crushed ice

Simple Sugar solution

Simple Sugar Solution:

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

Boil water and add sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Cool before use. For more solution, continue to add equal parts of sugar to water.

Method:

Cut a lime into fourths and squeeze juice in a pint-sized glass.

Pull leaves off of 1-2 mint sprigs and put in glass on top of lime. Using a wooden press (like the Pampered Chef tart press), crush down on mint leaves to bruise them.

Pour in 1 shot (1/4 cup) Bacardi Rum.

Add enough crushed ice to fill up glass. Then pour Simple Sugar solution in until you fill the glass. Stir up drink with a straw and enjoy!!!

Sparkling Pomegranate Punch

 Pomegranates are so fun and fairly plentiful in the fall so I wanted to use them to make my holiday party very special.  I was inspired by a recipe for a sparkling pomegranate drink in a Better Homes and Garden's magazine, but I wanted to make it more than just juice and sparkling wine.  Being me, I decided to combine two recipes I liked to make this sparkling punch that you can make alcoholic or non-alcoholic.  The ladies at my party raved over these and I actually had a friend highlight my new drink at her holiday Champagne Party, so you've got to try it for yourself!  Have fun popping the pomegranate pips in your mouth as you sip down the fruit juice. Cheers!

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh orange juice

1 quart pomegranate juice

2 cups chilled limeade

ice

1 cup pomegranate seeds

1 (750ml) bottle of champagne or sparkling wine or Sprite/Schwepps Lemonade/7-up

orange slices to garnish punch bowl (opt)

Method:

In punch bowl, mix pomegranate juice, orange juice, and limeade. Pour in champagne and float lime and orange slices on top along with some pomegranate seeds. Ladle into 12-ice filled glasses. Sprinkle with pomegranate seeds and serve.

To de-seed a pomegranate:

Cut the top and bottoms off the pomegranate. Then make a slice down through the side skin from top to bottom and then again on the other side. Break open the pomegranate and then submerge it in a big bowl of cool water as you pop out the seeds. The pith will float to the top and the seeds will sink.

How to Make Homemade Limeade:

Make limeade by mixing 1 cup of limeade concentrate with 2 cups of water.

Limeade Concentrate:

1 cup lime juice

1 1/2 cup (300g) sugar

1 1/2 cup (360ml) water

Heat sugar and water in pan on the stove until sugar is dissolved. Add lime juice and remove from heat and allow to cool.

Homemade Lemonade

Ingredients:

8 cups water

2 cups lemon juice (8-10 lemons)

1 1/2 cups sugar

Method:

Mix all ingredients together until sugar is dissolved. Serve over ice. Garnish with lemon slices.

Tips for squeezing fresh lemons:

Before cutting a lemon in half, roll it firm with your hand on a hard surface to soften up the lemon.

Cut the lemon in half and firmly push down and twist.

To make fun garnish slices for your lemonade to place on the edge of a glass or floating on top of the lemonade you can use a scorer and cut strips out of the sides of the lemon.

Next cut the lemon into slices. Remove seeds, if any, and float them on top of a pitcher or punch bowl of lemonade or make a slit the middle to one edge and place in on the rim of a glass.

Raspberry Sorbet

A tasty cool treat that is made up on only 3 ingredients. Eat it alone or plop a scoop in some Sprite, Schwepps Lemonade, sparkling wine or champagne to make a nice summery drink.

Makes 1 quart.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pints raspberries

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp lemon juice

Method:

Puree half of raspberries, sugar, and lemon juice until smooth.

You can strain puree into a bowl if you do not want seeds or you can leave the seeds in (I like to leave the seeds).

Repeat with remaining ingredients. Freeze in ice cream maker or put in freezer covered for a few hours.

Transfer sorbet to a container and store up to three days.

***On a Green Note: To be a little more GREEN, you can re-use old ice cream containers to store your new sorbet.

Mango Sorbet

I love mango sorbet and you can make a really tasty girly drink by putting a big scoop of it in a glass of champagne or sparkling wine. One day I couldn't find my little carton of mango sorbet for my girly get together, so I decided to find a way to make my own. I found this recipe and it is really tasty and very sweet!!!!

Ingredients:

3 cups sugar

3 cups water

4 ripe mangos (3 1/2 pounds)

3 Tbsp lime juice (or lemon juice)

Method:

Heat sugar and water. Bring mixture to a boil until the sugar dissolves and then cool.

Wash and dry mangoes. The easiest way to get the most flesh out of the mango is to cut down the two flat sides of each mango (the seed is large and flat).

Then scoop out the flesh with a spoon from all sides.

Put mango flesh in blender. Take 1 cup of cooled syrup and add to blender. Add lime or lemon juice and puree until smooth.

You can also finely chop some extra mango to add to the mix to have chunks of mango in your sorbet as well.

Freeze with ice cream maker. If you do not have an ice cream maker you can put it in a container to put in the freezer. Take out of freezer about 15-20 before serving so that it is easier to scoop out.