Chew on This | Watermelon Lime Agua Fresca

Dear Rain,

I'm bored with you.

Without enthusiasm,

Cares

That's all that has been happening here. Rain. 

Well, that's not all that has been going on, but it feels like it. Rain yesterday. Rain the day before that. Rain today. Rain probable for tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day after that. And....are you getting bored yet, too?

I certainly have lots that I could be getting done at the moment. Cleaning out closets, the pantry, the mudroom. However, I could also be weeding the garden and the landscaping. Trimming bushes, pruning my basil and deadheading my flowers. I'd rather be doing that. But, I can't. It's pouring rain.

So instead of lamenting my boredom and/or cleaning out The Sprite's closet, I've decided to make a fruity drink and call it a day. Watermelon Lime Agua Fresca - reason enough to laze the rainy day away.

Cares

Here's our recipe:

Watermelon Lime Agua Fresca

10 C cubed watermelon flesh, seeded (this will produce about 4 1/2 - 5 C watermelon juice)

1 C fresh lime juice (I needed five limes to make 1 cup)

1/2 - 3/4 C simple syrup

fine mesh sieve 

lime wedges for garnish

granulated sugar, to rim glasses

To start, I pureed my watermelon. I added the cubed flesh to the blender and whipped on high. I poured the liquid through a fine mesh sieve, into a pitcher, to ensure no pulp or white seed remnants remained.

Next, add your lime juice into the watermelon juice and stir. Finally, add your simple syrup (recipe and directions below). I added my simple syrup slowly, a bit at a time, to make sure I didn't over-sweeten. Stir.

When you're ready to enjoy, rub the rim of your glass with a lime wedge and dip your rim onto a plate that has about a 1/4 C of sugar on it. Pour in some agua fresca, add some ice cubes and a wedge of lime - Enjoy!

*For an adult version, just add some light rum to your taste!!! Delicious!

Simple Syrup

1 C water

1 C granulated sugar

In a small sauce pan, combine your water and sugar over medium-low heat. Stir and warm mixture until the sugar has completely dissolved. Turn off heat and allow mixture to cool. Pour simple syrup into a glass container with lid and store in the refrigerator until you're ready to use. Can be stored in the refrigerator up to 1 month.