Refreshing Drinks

I wanted to do a little something different for our girl's night "out" this week. Instead of the usual red or white wine I wanted something light, cool, and refreshing since it's been so darn hot here in Georgia! I found some fun recipes to try out from my July copy of Real Simple. (Love my Real Simple subscription, thanks boyfriend!) Below you will find the drinks I made and how I did it. Try it out the next time you have guests over and let me know how it goes!

Cucumber and Lime Spritzer
3 limes cut in thin circles
1 small cucumber cut in thin circles
some sugar (about 3 tablespoons, but I don't measure)
chilled Seltzer water (depends on how big your pitcher is)
Muddle the lime and sugar in the bottom of a pitcher, add the cucumber and seltzer water. Serve in fun cocktail glasses, and here is what you get:

Very refreshing and crisp. You get a taste of the lime and seltzer first, but the cucumber hits your tongue at the end. Kind of interesting for those of us that don't really like cucumber all that much. (Tray and yellow pitcher are both estate sale finds and the glasses are from the Kudzu Antique Market)

Next up:

Iced Tea with Plums and Thyme
5 to 6 tea bags - black or herbal (I used red zinger)
2 plums sliced
6 or 7 sprigs of Thyme
Make tea and add sugar or honey to sweeten(I didn't sweeten it). Let tea cool to room temperature then add plums and thyme. Refrigerate and serve tea chilled, with or without ice, and here is what you get:

I'm not sure how I feel about this drink. I couldn't really taste the thyme or the plum. :( Next time I would probably add the thyme and the plum in while the tea was still warm to see if the flavors came out with the heat. Either way it was fun to try something new and the cool drinks were certainly refreshing for a warm night in Georgia.

Back tomorrow,
J Squirrel