Aqua Fresca Time

It was a hot day outside today.

Not that I spent much time outdoors.  Just saying.

Instead I played janitor at work today.

Let me just tell you, it’s not like playing doctor or teacher.

I was pretty tired when I was through.

As soon as I got home I said to myself “I think it’s aqua fresca time!”

And yes, I talk to myself sometimes.  Don’t judge me. 🙂

I decided that blackberry would be the flavor of the day.

Blackberries and what though?

Thinking, thinking…

Ah, limes!

Perfect.

Blackberry Limeade. 

Ready, set, go.

First I put the blackberries into the VitaMix.

Then I zested a lime.

Not the whole lime, just some of it.

It went in with the blackberries.

I decided to use the juice of the lime too.

So I cut it in half and squeezed all of the juice out of it.

   

I think I used about one and a half limes total for juicing.

With all of this tartness going on, it really needed a sweetener.

My sweetener of choice today was honey!

Sometimes I use a simple syrup, but I was just in a honey kind of mood today.

Almost done!

I wanted to add some ice cubes to the mix for some chill factor.

   

So I threw in a few cubes.

By the way, I think I’m the only one who still makes ice cubes the old school way.

I’m not priveledged enough to have an automatic, fancy schmancy ice dispenser built into my fridge.

One day, it will be mine. Oh yes. It will be mine.

Quick name that movie!

Back to the limeade…

I gave it a whirl in the blender, tasted it, adjusted the sweetness a bit and added some water to thin it out.

Note: If you have a VitaMix or a blender that’s equally powerful, the seeds should crush up quite nicely.  That’s why I didn’t strain mine.  I know that sometimes with the less powerful blenders, the seeds stay pretty whole and can get annoying.  If that’s the case, then I would strain it!

I chilled a glass down with some more ice cubes and poured the limeade over top.

Bottoms up!

I garnished it with a slice of lime and a whole blackberry on top.

After I was through drinking the limeade, the blackberry was a nice treat to munch on at the bottom!

Mmh, this was SO good and refreshing!

I love how it’s sort of foamy on top too.

I love making flavored limeade and lemonade at home!  That way I can control what I want inside!

I was never a fan of the premade lemonades in the cans that you could buy at the grocery store.

Blegh. 

They were either too sour or too flippin’ sweet.

No thank you.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again.

Summer is the perfect time to make homemade fruity drinks!

There’s just so much fruit at the markets right now, it’s crazy.

So yea, go make yourself a fruity drink.  Spike it if you’d like. Whatever floats your boat!

Hoping to get some baking done tomorrow!

Fingers crossed!

See ya tomorrow!

Vanessa 🙂