Bottoms up – cherry season is short so let’s have them every way possible – drinks included! I didn’t spike this one but go for it! This was a perfect mid-afternoon drink to sip while getting some stuff done. I can see this being ideal by the pool or for happy hour.
This one features some lime juice & simple syrup (or limeade), dark cherries, and topped with a few bubbles.
Cherry Lime Refresher Ingredients: (for 2 drinks) ~3/4 cup cherries, pitted (fresh or frozen) 1 lime, juiced 2 teaspoons simple syrup 1 1/2 cup ice 1/2 cup bubbles (tonic, soda water, sparkling water, sprite, or soda)
Directions: Chop the cherries and add to a glass with the lime juice & simple syrup and stir.
Add in the ice and top with bubbles. Enjoy!
I loved this. The cherries are great and so sweet so the lime fits perfectly.
The cherry pitting trick is to push the pit through with a metal straw or a wooden skewer or a chopstick since I never want to track down a 1-task tool. I find dark cherries in the freezer section too.
This one is summer in a glass – refreshing tea, sweet peach, and a little spike. Also, when I say peach- I always am using nectarines but if fuzz is OK with you, go for it!
I usually only drink tea hot and exclusively in the fall and winter but this summer while I was home I embraced (iced) tea time, in the afternoons to have something fun to look forward to. I was surprised to love mint tea iced and blackberry/elderberry tea was a great treat too.
Directions: Brew the tea and let cool. It should be very strong for iced tea as it will get watered down.
Add ice to a cocktail shaker with the tea, peach, alcohol, and sugar/simple syrup (if using).
Shake well and serve over ice. Enjoy!
This was so so good. The tea makes it really light and refreshing and gives you the chance to make it as sweet or not as you’d like with simple syrup or sugar. You could amp up the peach flavor by tossing some peach and the pit into the pot when making the simple syrup (and removing when it cooled). Herbal tea isn’t caffeinated so this is ideal for something fun to sip on a hot night. Cheers!
Cheers! Starting with lemonade, these cocktails get some muddled strawberries and basil and a splash of lemon vodka. They’re sweet and fresh. Make one or these would be great as a pitcher batch to spike as desired.
I love love love the herbs in a cocktail. I’ve been adding our boatloads of mint to my water and to iced tea so the basil flavor was a welcome change.
Strawberry Lemonade & Basil Cocktails: Ingredients (for 2): ~6 strawberries, halved or quartered 1 teaspoon of sugar (or simple syrup) 3-4 basil leaves 2 cups lemonade 1-2 oz lemon vodka
Directions: Split the strawberries into 2 glasses and add a sprinkle of sugar (or simple syrup) and muddle a few times to crush them. Use a cocktail muddle or the handle of a spoon. Then add in the basil and gently muddle once or twice.
Pour in the lemonade and the vodka and stir well. Top off with ice and another strawberry or basil leaf to garnish. Add in ice and stir again. Cheers!
I loved this. I made it first and was too aggressive muddling the basil (thus, why they’re best done separately) and I wanted more strawberry. We had just gone strawberry picking so these were the best of the best BUT muddling would really bring even grocery store ones to life!
Fall in a cup! This hot cocktail came out of my love for fall hot drinks so I mixed vanilla tea and apple cider and spiked it. It was delightful!
Apple Cider & Vanilla Tea Hot Cocktail Ingredients: (for 2) 1 cup cider 1 cup vanilla tea (or a tiny bit of vanilla extract into black tea) 1-2 shots vanilla vodka ~4 tablespoons whipped cream sprinkle of cinnamon sugar
Directions: Brew the tea and warm the cider.
Mix one part tea (1/2 cup) with one part cider (1/2 cup) and half the vodka and stir. Sweeten to taste – I left my tea unsweetened but normally sweeten when drinking it by itself! Top with whipped cream and a cinnamon sugar sprinkle. Enjoy!
I loved this! It wasn’t so so sweet since I hadn’t sweetened the tea but could see it being good either way. Rim the glasses with cinnamon sugar and skip the whipped cream if you wish!
This one seems great with brunch since it is light, and would be great at Thanksgiving! These would work well as a big batch, like in a pitcher and guests could spike it (or not). Serve them for day-drinks or tailgating!
Hot weather brings on the smoothies! I rarely make them in the winter and this one is so so summery plus I have lots of adaptations for you!
It is a bit sweeter than my usual which I credit to a lemonade. Kids would love this and blueberry based smoothies are ideal for hiding greens. I don’t pretend they’re not there, but you also don’t see them in the finished one.
Blueberry Lemonade Smoothie Ingredients: (for 2 small servings as snack, or 1.5 large servings as meal) 1 1/2 cups greens (mine is baby spinach, then frozen) 3/4 cup vanilla yogurt 1 cup lemonade 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional) 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed 1 teaspoon lemon juice lemon zest
Directions: Blend together the greens, yogurt, and lemonade. Then add in the blueberries, protein powder, flaxseed, and lemon juice. Blend well and add a splash of water if needed for consistency and pour into cups. Top with some lemon zest. Enjoy!
I loved this one and like them to be a breakfast meal – sometimes with a handful of cheerios or 1/2 a granola bar or a hard boiled egg. I often workout in the morning and hate to feel like I’m only on liquids when I’m starving.
Adaptations: – swap lemonade for: lemon juice + water + honey/agave (doesn’t even have to be mixed- just dump it in!) – skip the protein powder and/or skip the flaxseed – increase the yogurt or swap for Greek yogurt – skip the yogurt all together or substitute banana for creaminess in a dairy free smoothie. – if using fresh fruit & greens, it won’t be as think/cold but adding in some ice helps. – if sharing with the kids, I usually water theirs down with whole milk and serve it as a drink, alongside their breakfast (~2 oz smoothie + 2 oz milk).
Since mine are usually a meal, I go for yogurt as a dairy serving and the protein powder to keep it filling (I like this kind best).
The best way to blend the greens is to incorporate with the liquids blending well then adding in other fruits. A high speed blender will blend them all at once. I blend all at once with a Vitamix and used to blend in 2 stages with a Ninja for the best consistency.
I buy baby spinach fresh in a bag and pop the whole thing into the freezer. Pulling out a bunch for the smoothie has such a satisfying splintering effect. Also in real life, I dump into the blender without measuring!
This is a nice twist considering I pretty much only make the Peanut Butter & Jelly Smoothie anymore. Leftovers are great into popsicle molds!