Summer drinks

Even though summer has been treating us in central Europe really badly so far, I am always trying my best to drink enough fluids during the day. I have on occasion reffered to myself as a camel because of my general lack of thirst....
All joking aside I struggle with drinking enough water. So these tasty alternatives will really help when the next heat wave will hit. I am still hoping.
Regarding gadgets I have really come to love the little countertop smoothie maker my sister gave me a couple of years ago! But you can use a regular blender instead. (In case of the lemonades you can even use a stick blender.)
These quantities are all guestimates for one ca. 3 dl glass. Multiply and make pitchers if you are more than two!!! Chic straws optional.

Iced coffee
One espresso or alternatively instant coffee
Sugar sirup or sweetener to taste
Ice
Water
Milk
Mix the coffee while still hot with the sugar/sweetener to dissolve. Add lots of ice to a tall glass and pour it over to cool down. Then add milk and water to taste. I usually go for a half and half mixture to keep the drink on the refreshing side.

Mint or strawberry lemonade
Juice of a lime or half a lemon
Sugar sirup or sweetener to taste
One sprig of fresh mint/two to three hulled strayberries
Water (try sparkling)
Ice
Add the sweetener to the citrus juice to dissolve. Add the mint or strawberries then blend as finely as possible. You might have to add a splash of water depending on the gadget. Pour over ice and fill up with cold still or sparking water.

Watermelon smoothie
Watermelon, cut into chunks
Ice
One squeeze of lime juice
Some water, if you would like the consistency more fluid
Fill your glass half with watermelon chunks and then ice. Squeeze over a bit of lime juice and add water if you would like it to be more like lemonade instead of a smoothie. Blend until smooth. Drink with a stray.

 

**Please excuse the lack of watermelon smoothie pic. It seems to have gone missing. Just imagine a very un-tanned strawberry lemonade above. :-) 

Post edit

I forgot the most classic option: Iced Tea! When I grew up the summer months always meant a huge jug of this in the fridge. Since I don't have the fridge space for it I compromise by making this concentrate in a 0.5 l measuring jug.  Just add two or three black tea bags, ca. two heaped tablespoons of sugar or sweetener to taste and top with boiling water. When it has cooled remove the tea bags and add the juice of one lemon. Fill a glass with ice, half iced tea concentrate and half cold water. That's it. So much better than the bought stuff...

White peach, strawberry and mint bowle

When the temperatures outside are high and a lot of people are expected, it's very convenient to be able to make a large quantity of drinks in a very small amount of time. Preferably the concoction should taste nice as well.

This is something I threw together for a BBQ evening with friends. I liked the results so much, it was repeated the following evening.



ingredients:
3 white peaches, peeled and chopped
one small punnet of strawberries, hulled and chopped
three sprigs of mint, leaves picked and slightly crushed
3/4 cup of vanilla vodka
3/4 cup of white rum
3 table spoons of brown sugar
half a bottle of white wine
1 liter of mineral water

Mix the chopped fruit with the mint, sugar and the spirits in a large bowl. Let it stand for about an hour so the sugar can dissolve and the fruit release some of there juices.
Add the wine and the mineral water. Serve ladling into drinking glasses like punch.



Since I don't take careful notes when experimenting the measures here are approximate. Feel free to adjust to your taste. I used a homemade vanilla vodka (three split vanilla pods go into a bottle, then wait for three weeks and shake it once in a while), since I thought it would go nicely with the strawberries. You could substitute both spirits with dark rum.