Watermelon Ginger Sparklers. (I made us a mocktail!)
That’s really delicious.
While everyone else around me is all omg fall! and pumpkin spice lattes and scarves and boots and chilly weather I’m still trying to figure out how I can hoard every bit of summer produce in the universe. All the fruit, all the time.
Oh but I did buy one fall colored nail polish already. Like I really needed another one. But I DID. It’s dark blue with gold flecks and… and… and… totally different from all the other dark blue with gold fleck shades that I have. I KNOW.
But really.
I don’t even feel like it ever got hot enough to eat watermelon, but I sure as heck devoured my share so far.
Perhaps the craziest thing that I’ve experienced in this pregnancy (okay, not the craziest by any means, but odd for me) is that I’ve wanted flavored drinks. I’ve mentioned it a few times here and there and I’m not talking about cocktails or anything (though a margarita sounds amazzzzzing as does some ice cold pinot grigio), just beverages other than water. I’m a lunatic and have always loathed carbonation (burns my mouth, chest and throat) and haven’t cared about flavored drinks, because water tastes so dang good to me.
Like so, so good.
Well.
Now I want every beverage known to man that has some sort of flavor other than plain water. GIVE ME ALL THE DRANKS!
So I made us this.
It starts with a vanilla bean (see the beans??) ginger syrup and some watermelon juice. A drop of club soda. Lots of crushed ice (the best kind, yes ice connoisseur-ism is a thing) and then a few cucumbers added in because they are 1. pretty 2. cute and 3. a vegetable which makes this a health food which means you are practically drinking a salad.
Seriously. Now go eat a donut. It’s friday.
Watermelon Ginger Sparklers
Yield: serves 4
Total Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
4 cups watermelon cubes
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 knob fresh ginger
1 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
1 seedless cucumber, sliced
1 cup club soda
candied ginger for serving
Directions:
Place the watermelon in a blender and blend until pureed and liquified. Pour the contents through a fine mesh sieve, saving all the watermelon juice in a large pitcher.
Add the sugar, water, ginger and vanilla beans plus the empty pod to a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat while whisking constantly until the sugar dissolves. Allow the mixture to simmer for a minute or two until it becomes syrupy. Remove from the heat and let cool.
To assemble the drinks, add crushed ice in a cup. Pour a few ounces of the vanilla ginger syrup into the cup, then add 4 or so ounces of watermelon juice. Pop the cucumbers in the cub and add about 2 ounces of club soda. Taste and adjust the drink to your desired taste - more syrup or juice, or more club soda. Stir well to mix. Serve!
