Alcoholic Beverages

cherry sangria with peaches & mango

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I went for a nice, healthy bike ride this weekend on the Vineyard. Destination: the liquor store. Oops.

It my defense, it actually made the bike ride a better workout because pedaling back with a jumbo bottle of wine strapped to my back was challenging. Anyone who says alcohol is bad for your health is clearly lying. And if you’re going to completely negate your workout by indulging in a few adult beverages, trust me, this sangria is worth it. It is SO delicious.

Here’s what you’ll need:

A 1.5 liter bottle of fruity white wine (I chose Cavit Riesling)
½ cup of brandy
2 cups club soda
4 cups pitted, halved cherries
2 mangos, skin removed and sliced
2 peaches, sliced
6 sprigs of thyme

To make this heavenly beverage, mix the wine, brandy and cherries together in a bowl. Refrigerate for 7 hours.

Add in the peaches and mango and refrigerate for another hour. The reason I held off on adding them was to give the sangria a predominately cherry taste. I also love eating the fruit at the bottom of my glass, and the less time the fruit spends in the wine/brandy, the less booze-sodden it is.

Add the thyme and club soda before serving.

I adapted the recipe from a cherry sangria featured in Cooking Light magazine, but removed all the sugar for a healthier twist. And, as I find with most recipes, the sugar wasn’t even necessary—the sangria turned out perfect.

And even more perfect? Enjoying it on the deck on a warm summer night. Seriously why does this season ever have to end??

Hope you all enjoyed your weekends as much as I did!

P.S. Can you tie a cherry stem in a knot with your tongue? This girl can. It’s pretty much my only special skill.

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strawberry kiwi lemonade puree popsicles

I always feel that summer starts Memorial Day weekend, but the calendar begs to differ. Today is the official start to my favorite season, and there’s no better way to celebrate than with fresh fruit popsicles.

I LOVE the textured consistency of pureed popsicles, which is why I decided to blend my own fruit instead of just dumping a bottle of strawberry lemonade into popsicle molds.

These are super simple to make. Blend together the following ingredients. Make sure to set aside a few thin slices of kiwi and strawberries.

½ cup water (for a thicker, more textured consistency, use less water or none at all)
4 cups chopped strawberries
2 kiwis
The juice from 2 large lemons

Fill up your popsicle molds with the mixture and then drop a couple slices of kiwi and strawberry in each one.

After I’d filled that all-star mold, it was time to bring in the Popsicle Mold Farm League. Tell me this is not that sorriest looking bunch you’ve ever seen.

Freeze your popsicles for at least two or three hours and then enjoy!

BOOZEY BONUS!

Save some of the mixture, pour it in a glass with an ounce of vodka or rum and you have an amazingly delicious, healthy summer cocktail. I used vodka, and it was such a tasty drink I almost regretted using the mixture to make popsicles in the first place.