Beverages

MEXICAN CANTALOUPE HORCHATA

Mark Bittman notes that the Mexicans blend the entire cantaloupe–seeds and all–into this drink and it’s the seeds that give it its complexity. It’s probably a tad early in the year for a drink like this, but I’m in crazy anticipation of some sunshine and barbecues.
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1 very ripe cantaloupe, 2 pounds or more
1/4 c. fresh lime juice (to taste)
1/4 c. sugar (to taste)
Cut the cantaloupe in half and scoop everything–fruit, seeds, and liquid–into a blender. Add a couple tablespoons of lime juice and sugar and 2 cups of water. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust the lime juice/sugar and serve cold immediately or chill for a few hours before drinking.

Serves 4 greedy people
From Mark Bittman’s The Best Recipes in the World

BASIL-LIME ELIXIR

The process is easy, but it does require overnight steeping of the sugar syrup. Start the process a day ahead.

HERBAL INFUSION

The success of the drink is in the balance of lime and basil, but getting the basil flavor can be a challenge. To do so, you need to make basil sugar-syrup, and you need a lot of basil. The picture to the left shows two types of basil–regular Italian and the variegated  petso perpetuo, which has a sweet, pure flavor. I used both for the recipe because we grow both types and encourage you to experiment, but common basil you get in the supermarket works just fine.

You need about 4-5 cups packed basil, 2 cups sugar, and 1 cup water to make the syrup. Rough-chop the basil. Combine everything into a pot and bring to a boil, then take it down to a simmer, stirring occasionally to make sure all the sugar is dissolved. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Take the pot off the stove and then transfer to the refrigerator and let the basil steep in the sugar syrup overnight. The next day, take the sugar syrup and pulverize it in a blender. These two steps–steeping and blending–help to impart maximum basil flavor. You do not need to (and probably shouldn’t) strain the syrup.

MAKING THE DRINK

Assembling the drink is a bit like making lemonade–make it sweeter or tarter according to taste. For a pint glass, we like to start with the fresh juice of about 2 small limes. Combine that with about an equal amount of the basil sugar syrup. It should be about 1/4-1/3 of the glass. Then add seltzer water, leaving a little room at the top to accomodate adjustments–you can add more lime juice, more sugar syrup, or more seltzer water, depending on what you like. Pull up an adirondack chair, lounge chair, or fire escape ladder rung, and enjoy.

MINT DRINKS, HOT & COLD

WARM DAYS
Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken’s (remember when they were Two Hot Tamales?) chic LA restaurant Ciudad serves a “minty lime cooler” (translation: virgin mojito, but “virgin” means “there’s no alcohol so charge less” where as “minty lime cooler” = $$) that, despite my snark, is really wonderful on a hot afternoon.
1 c. freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 c. packed mint leaves
1/3 c. sugar, or more to taste
2 c. club soda
4 mint sprigs
4 lime wedges

Blend the lime juice and mint in a blender until the mint is finely chopped. Remove from the blender and stir in the sugar. Add ice to a tall 12-ounce glass. Add one-quarter cup lime-mint mixture and one-half cup club soda to each glass. Stir to combine. Garnish with fresh mint and a lime wedge.

Serves 4

 
DREARY DAYS
A classic, but still one of my favorites and so pleasant to drink in the afternoon.
Combine about 15-25 mint leaves with 3-4 t. of green tea and 4 T. of sugar (or more, to taste) in a teapot. Pour 4 c. of boiling water in and let the tea steep for about 3-5 minutes and stir to make sure the sugar dissolves.
Makes 4 cups

WHITE SANGRIA

I got this recipe on the Internet, so it’s not hard to come by, but it is a great one for sangria. And white nectarines are a welcome swap for white peaches–fuzz in your drink? Maybe not. Have a great weekend!
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1 (750 milliliter) bottle dry white wine
3/4 c. peach flavored vodka
6 T. frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1/4 c. white sugar
1 lb. white nectarines, pitted and sliced
3/4 c. seedless red grapes, halved
3/4 c. seedless green grapes, halved
In a large pitcher, combine dry white wine, peach vodka, lemonade concentrate and sugar. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Add sliced peaches, red and green grapes.
Refrigerate sangria until well chilled, at least 2 hours, or overnight to blend flavors. Serve over ice, and use a slotted spoon to include sliced peaches and grapes with each serving.

Serves 6