One Hungry Mama

August 10th, 2010

{recipe} Blackberry Mint Limeade

After last Thursday’s post, I figure I owe you a real drink.

I spent last week at a beach house where I fully expected to cook up a storm. I imagined night after night of farm fresh apps and multiple courses of grilled goodness, followed by freshly made cobblers and crisps, all washed down with cocktails lovingly made with just-picked fruit. Most of these things happened (except for the cobblers and crisps—s’mores and ice cream won out every night), but instead of feasting on all of these things every night, we picked one great dish to focus on each meal.

Well, except for one night when a feast is what we had, indeed: ribs, grilled asparagus, grill roasted potatoes with herbs, wilted cucumber and radish salad, s’mores (told you!) and these blackberry mint limeades, virgin for the kiddos, spiked for the mamas and papas.

These are best made with homemade limeade, but are still delicious with high quality store bought (like Newman’s Own Virgin Limeade). We spiked our adult drinks with vodka, but I plan on making another batch soon with bourbon.

The easiest approach is to mix limeade with muddled mint and blackberry, but there are other options. You can make a mint simple syrup to mix with lime juice, water and muddled blackberries. This is a good option if you don’t want mint leaves in your drink—just be aware that heating the mint with sugar and water will give it a sweet mint flavor as opposed to a zippy, fresh one. I’ve also heard of folks pureeing mint with simple syrup and then straining through a sieve. Another good way—albeit a little work intensive—to avoid mint leaves without sacrificing fresh mint flavor. In fact, if you want a totally smooth drink, you can even throw blackberries in the mix before pureeing so that the seeds get strained, too.

However you make this, you’ll be happy you did. I mean, really, how can you go wrong with this?

Limeade
makes about 5 cups, serves 4 (one its own, more as a mixer)
(can be shared with kids 12+ mos)*

3 1/2 c water
3/4 c granulated sugar, or to taste
1 c lime juice

1. Combine 1 cup water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves, and simmer for 2-3 minutes. This is your simple syrup.

2. Mix lime juice and remaining 2 1/2 cups water. Slowly add syrup, tasting along the way and stopping when it’s sweet enough. If you add all of the syrup and still want it sweeter, you can always stir in more sugar until it dissolves.

Note: I’ve recommended this for children 12+ mos because of the relatively high sugar content. You may even want to consider watering this down for toddlers.

Blackberry Mint Limeade
makes 4 servings
(can be shared with kids 12+ mos)*

1/4 c loosely packed, cleaned mint leaves
1/2 c halved blackberries
2 tsp sugar or to taste, optional
limeade
seltzer water, optional
vodka, optional (for adults only, of course!)

1. Muddle mint, blackberries and sugar. (Using sugar in this step depends on how sweet your blackberries are, whether you’re only mixing this with already-sweet limeade or watering it down with water or booze and, of course, personal taste.)

2. Top muddled fruit with a shot of booze (if using), limeade and a splash of seltzer (if using).

Note: I’ve recommended this for children 12+ mos because of the relatively high sugar content. You may even want to consider watering this down for toddlers.