Happy Memorial Day + Strawberry-Chia Aqua Fresca

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Happy Memorial Day + Strawberry-Chia Aqua Fresca

First off, Happy Memorial Day to everyone!  It’s the unofficial start of summer, and I am hanging out with friends and enjoying it – I hope you are too.  I wanted to start off the summer with something very simple, something you could even make today if you wanted.  It’s refreshing and is all about easy summer cooking and entertaining. – an aqua fresca.

I love when something in another language makes it sound so much more interesting or complex!  The reality is aqua fresca, or “fresh waters”, are traditional Latin American beverages that blend seasonal fruits and sometimes even grains or seeds with water and a touch of sugar or natural sweetener.  The succulent strawberries that have been staring at me in the market seemed a natural base for a refreshing drink, and I decided to include another popular aqua fresca ingredient: chia.

If you didn’t read my diatribe last week on chia seeds, you should if you are interested in all of the amazing health benefits of this superfood.  If not, they add a nice gelatinous texture to the drink and at the very least increase hydration on a hot day.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields approximately 4 cups / Serves 4 to 6

1 lb fresh strawberries, washed and hulled

1-2 tbsps honey

2 cups cold water

Juice of 1 lime

4-6 tsps chia seeds

Procedure

In a blender, puree the strawberries with honey, water and lime juice.  Pass through a strainer.  Chill further if desired or pour into glasses.

I like to add the chia seeds, 1 teaspoon per serving, directly to the glasses and let sit in the aqua fresca for about 10 minutes to bloom.  The chia seeds will absorb some of the liquid and become gelatinous.   Serve with or without ice.

Yuzu-Basil Rickey

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Yuzu-Basil Rickey

The art of the summer cocktail…something light, refreshing, icy cool, perfect for a summer bbq or a breezy night out on the porch (or stoop as the case may be), and preferably in a pitcher so friends can help themselves!  I personally love something that has a tart-sweetness to it like a mojito, caipirinha, or a spiked lime rickey, which was the inspiration for this drink.

I’ve talked a bit about yuzu in the past, but, basically, it’s a Japanese citrus that has an interesting flavor mix of lime, grapefruit and mandarin with a musky and slightly salty quality to it.  It’s rarely found fresh here, but a bottle of yuzu juice from the Asian market will last forever (a few dashes go a long way).  I love it in salad dressings, anywhere I might use lemon, and particularly in cocktails like this one.

A lime rickey is pretty simple – usually it’s made from fresh lime juice, carbonated water, and sometimes simple syrup to sweeten.  My take here replaces lime juice with lemon and yuzu juices, includes club soda, and is spiked with vodka.  The very simple syrup gets infused with fresh basil leaves, which complements the yuzu incredibly.  This drink goes down a bit too easy if you know what I mean (what vodka?), but truly it’s my perfect summer drink – flavorful and totally refreshing.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 8 to 10

1 ¼ cups water

1 ¼ cups sugar

10 to 12 leaves of basil

¾ cup lemon juice

1 ½ tbsp yuzu juice

2 ¾ cups club soda

1 ¼ cup vodka

Procedure

First, make the basil-infused simple syrup.  In a saucepan, heat the water, sugar and basil stirring until water comes up to a boil.  Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 15 minutes.  Strain and cool.

In a large pitcher, mix together the remaining ingredients with the cooled simple syrup.  It’s best to let it chill for a few hours for the flavors to come together, but it’s still great right away.

Serve the yuzu-basil rickey over ice.