It’s cold, rainy, and windy here in our part of North Carolina, but I am still enjoying some cold Agua Fresca and dreaming of getting my toes in the sand and hearing the waves lap the shore.
Yes, it is mid-May. Why does it feel like winter? Just crazy.
My original thought for today’s post was a recipe for a shrub. Mine would have been non-alcoholic, by the way.
Anyway, it involves rhubarb and I haven’t been able to get any yet. I was literally in the produce section at our local Walmart, searching for that dang rhubarb two days ago. If you are a rhubarb grower, please let me know when that stuff comes off and is available in the stores.
So I had to think on my feet with Google in hand. I knew I had just cut up two humongous canteloupes back at the house and there were only two of us that were going to eat it and I didn’t think we could get through it before it went bad.
Then it came to me–Agua Fresca!
When we lived in El Paso, Texas, I was able to try a lot of the local fare, and the first time I tasted one of these fresh fruit drinks I was smitten. Well, I was really diggin’ it.
My favorite is Jamaica. And that is not pronounced like the island in the Caribbean. It’s huh-my-cuh. Delicious on a day that was hot and dry and it was the perfect refreshment. And it’s made from hibiscus. The others were horchata, which is made with rice–don’t say yuck, because it’s crazy good–and watermelon. We were having a Cinco de Mayo party with the kids at our church and we had a table set up with huge jugs of these awesome drinks.
You know, it occurred to me as I was making these cute little aguas fresca today that they would be a great base to make chilled fruit soups. Have you ever had one of those?
My first one was on my first cruise. I had never even heard of one! It was incredible. Pretty sure the first one was canteloupe with cream. Oh my. Not all cruise lines have that, I don’t think. But Royal Caribbean does them up right.
So the next time you are looking for a nice refreshing snack and want to dream of days on a sunny beach, try one of these fresh fruit delights.
Don’t forget your chips and salsa.
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Agua Fresca
Description
This roughly translates to fresh fruit water. Yeah, it’s so much more than that. Try this delicious, refreshing beverage any time of day. The possibilities are endless.
Ingredients
- 1 cup roughly chopped fresh fruit (I made 3 different frescas–watermelon, canteloupe and cucumber mint)
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 medium lime juiced, or use equivalent in bottled juice
- 1–2 tablespoons sugar;Chopped mint (opt. if using cucumber);
Instructions
- Put all ingredients in a blender and process to desired consistency
- Adjust lime and sugar, as needed.
- Pour over ice and serve right now!
