Hello Friday!

We are in the middle of a move. Since we already moved all the way to Scotland, you would think that I pretty much have this moving thing in the bag.

Not so much.

I will spare you the drudgery of listening to me whine about how I cannot be bothered to pack things up to move two miles away, so I am throwing duvets, legos and spatulas willy-nilly into the van and then vomiting them all over our new digs, insuring a sense of TOTAL OVERWHELM on the other side of this move.

Forget about it! It’s Friday and I have a new drink to share!

I have long been a fan of the basic mojito. If I close my eyes and sit right next to the heater, when I taste that little bit of mint, I can imagine I am far, far away from tiny lego pieces, stray socks and gray skies.

But adding a little color to the mojito? Well, that’s just crazy fun. Taido and I had our own two person party last weekend for Valentine’s Day and this drink played a starring role.

Simon had a scouting event on the evening of Valentine’s Day, so I went with Taido to drop him off for the event. We thought we would run and have a drink or a bite to eat together for the hour or so that Simon had to be downtown. But when we got downtown we could not find Simon’s scout leader anywhere at the meeting place. Or any of the other little scouts. After about half an hour, I looked the event up on my phone and ahem, it was actually March 14th, not February 14th. Did I mention that it was dark and rainy? None of us wanted to be out. We stopped at the store on the way home and bought the ingredients for this drink + ice cream for the kids. PARTY!

Pink + Blue Mojitos for Two

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup rum

Juice of 2-3 limes

1/4 cup cranberry juice

1/4 cup blueberries

12 fresh mint leaves

Dissolve brown sugar in water. (There are several ways to do this. We usually keep a mason jar of simple syrup (1 part any sugar dissolved in 1 part water) in the fridge. We use brown sugar or maple syrup when making drinks with whiskey or rum because I think it makes for richer flavor. If we don’t have the simple syrup already made, then Taido sometimes just stirs the sugar with a whisk in the water until it dissolves, easier to do with maple syrup of course.)

Mix simple syrup, rum, lime juice and cranberry juice together in a small pitcher. (We used a 2 cup liquid measuring pitcher.)

Fill two glasses with ice. Crush 6 mint leaves into each glass and divide the blueberries between the two glasses as well. Pour the mojitos over the ice, blueberries and mint leaves.

Of course, it goes without saying that you could multiply this recipe and make a pitcher of it ahead of time for a party, in which case I would go ahead and add the mint leaves to the pitcher but still reserve a few for serving.

Happy Weekend Friends!

The post Pink + Blue Mojitos appeared first on Alison Chino.

Fresh Juices + Tequila = Orange Pineapple Margaritas

Friends, is there anything happier than a fruity drink by the pool in the summertime?

If that fruity drink is made with all real fruit juices and freshly squeezed limes, and it is served in a bright cup with fresh fruit on the side, well, then I’ll be having seconds.

You can mix together this pitcher of Orange Pineapple Margaritas ahead of time and then prep them poolside with your food and a pile of salt.

Wipe the glass rims with pineapple or lime wedges, so the salt will stick.

Twist the rims into salt.

Fill your cups with ice.

Pour the drinks and watch the fading sunlight make shadows on your sweet friends’ smiles as they taste the yummy.

Cheers, y’all!

Here’s to summer and sunshine!

Recipe for a pitcher of yummy fruity-licious margaritas below.

Orange Pineapple Margaritas

3 cups pineapple juice

1 cup orange juice

1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

1 cup tequila

1 cup Triple Sec

1/2 cup simple syrup*

Mix ingredients together in a pitcher and chill until serving time.

Makes about 8 margaritas.

Enjoy!

*I  keep a mason jar of simple syrup in the fridge for cocktails.  It is just one part sugar and one part water, simmered until sugar has dissolved.  I often use brown sugar or maple syrup for the sugar if I want the drink to have a richer flavor.  For this recipe I used brown sugar simple syrup.

PS All of these GORGEOUS margarita photos were taken by the VERY TALENTED Whitney Loibner, which is sadly why she is not pictured in any of them.  However, I promise you that she enjoyed her margarita just as much as the rest of us!

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The post Orange Pineapple Margaritas appeared first on Alison Chino.

We (and by we I mean, Taido) made this special drink last weekend to go with dinner.

Even though the calendar has rolled into September, the summer vibe is still strong at our house.

It is still warm enough that you want your cocktails cold, so instead of red wine with dinner we had this Citrus Sangria.

I highly recommend you make a pitcher of it this weekend.  I will be happy to come and share it with you!

Cheers!

 Citrus Sangria

1 bottle medium bodied red wine (we used Shiraz)

2 cups sparkling water (we used Pellegrino)

1/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons Triple Sec

Juice of one orange

Juice of one lemon

Juice of one lime

Mix all ingredients together and chill for 4- 6 hours.  You want it to chill long enough to for the flavors to blend well, plus you want it really cold.

Enjoy!

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