Hot, Hot, Hot & a Sparkling Cooler

What a difference a week makes! Those who follow me on Instagram may have rolled their eyes a few times after seeing some of my photos complaining about the weather (have I become Dutch or what?!). But how could I not? It felt like we hadn’t seen the sun in at least a month! Okay, okay… maybe I was exaggerating just a tad. All I know is I was not amused with the thick cloud cover, heavy rains and the fact that I was walking around in a bulky sweater!
I started to question whether we would have a summer at all. Kicking myself for putting so much work into a garden I wasn’t even able to enjoy (we renovated a few months ago). And yes, every time someone mentioned or posted a photo of beaches, pools, blue skies or ice cream, I turned just a little bit green. Like the weeds that were abundantly growing in my garden thanks to the damp weather. Or this beautiful mint plant, which isn’t doing too bad either…
Luckily, things are looking better this week, and if I am to believe the weather folks (which I will, for the sake of my sanity), the sun will stay for at least a while longer. Good, because I don’t mind the warmth of the sun against my skin at all. Or the long summer evenings in my garden eating good food and sipping cool wine. Or not having to have carry my umbrella everywhere.
Today we were blessed with a sultry 34C, or as they say in Holland ‘a tropically warm day’ — not so sure about the ‘tropical’ part, I’ve seen hotter when I lived in New Jersey or vacationed in France!
To celebrate (and hydrate !), I made a gorgeous and fresh, non-alcoholic cooler. No sugar, all natural and so refreshing!
This is exactly the type of drink I like to serve when I’m being angelic and laying off the wine. Hey! I’ll be in France next Friday so I’m cutting my liver a little slack for the time being!
This is hardly a recipe if you ask me though, but here’s what I did:
Squeeze two limes into a large glass jug (mine holds about 1 1/2L), add some fresh sprigs of mint, about 250g ripe red & hulled strawberries and 1/2 a cucumber (sliced). Now top with a liter of sparkling mint water (the kind with no sugar or calories, just natural mint aroma). Refrigerate for at least three hours and serve over ice!
So pretty, so easy and so deliciously cooling! Here’s to hotter days! 😀