Mother Nature has been having a hard time deciding whether she was going to actually let us have Summer this year. This week she finally came through after I wished really hard and gave us just a little bit too much sun all at once. 44 C is ridiculous. I really need to learn to modulate this wishing business...I did the same thing with boobs when I was 15. I wished for them and ended up with mine and someone elses. Sorry to whoever is running round with 12 AA boobs, but I assure you it isn't any fun running round with DD's either. In point of fact I rarely run, because you cant do that when you have huge hooters without a world of pain.
Thank Goodness the delectable Rachael from Blue Mountain Daisy had picked a lovely summery cocktail this week. I was craving something to cool me down (it seems the air conditioner is slowly working it's way into Summer too ) and this cocktail was perfect.
So let me introduce you to the Cucumber Collins (click the link for the original recipe)
You're going to need a bunch of stuff that looks like this stuff . You should probably go buy a lemon since the recipe calls for one. I thought I had one and didn't and it was too hot to leave the house so I just substituted lime instead.
This recipe calls for simple syrup which is really simple to make. Just equal quantities of sugar and water. I chucked in a 1/4 cup of each and brought it to the boil, then let it cool right down .
The recipe calls for you to "muddle" your simple syrup, cucumber and lemon /lime juice. Muddle is just a polite way of saying smash the crap out everything you just put in your cocktail shaker so it releases all the cucumber juice. I used a wooden spoon. It was at this point that I was thinking "this cocktail is actually healthy - it has salad and fruit in it. I'm so good to my body"
I crushed my ice (which means I whacked the crap out of it when it was encased in a tea towel. This cocktail is great for releasing tension) and chucked that into the cocktail shaker, along with the rest of the ingredients aside from the soda. Then I merrily shook away. Violently.
Strain it into a glass and top with soda water. I had tonic water so that's what I used. And top with a mint leaf or two. Or coriander if that's what floats your boat. I have it on good authority that you can drop strawberries into your glass and that'll taste fab too.
Rachael put a cucumber finger in hers but I didn't want to shock my system with too much salady goodness .Pop over to see her post because honestly she went all out making this cocktail. Her pictures are gorgeous.
I really liked this and think it would be the perfect cocktail for a summer picnic. Mainly because you could chuck a cucumber stick in there and nobody would think you were drinking booze. It looks more like a health drink from Boost Juice.
Definite 4 out of 5 for me. Thanks for the cocktail for this week Rach!
Yeah for you, you managed to fit one serve of veg and one serve of fruit into an alcoholic beverage and you released alot of pent up anger in the process! Looking forward to 27C tommorow and hopefully a drop of rain! I actually had a drop of white wine last night (three days of oppressive heat drove me to drink) and had a headache before i even got to bed...sorry my body is not up to serious drinking, like your stunning cocktail!!
ReplyDeleteVery pretty! And definitely summer-y!
ReplyDeleteAlso, could we have about 6 of those degrees? 38 C isn't too bad, right? It's freezing over here. Temps below freezing most of the time right now. We're in for snow today.
xo -E
Bit too healthy with the veggies in there!
ReplyDeleteIf you have double quantities with DDs, whose have I got with Gs?!
Oooh yours looks good! Hubby turned his nose up at the cucumber so we went back to your lemon meringues from several weeks ago and they were yummy!! I claim that I only had one cocktail because my I only emptied my glass once so that's only one right, even if it might have maybe been topped up a few times? It's really not my fault, the bottle of white creme de cacao was sitting right in front of me, and it is soooo yummy, like alcoholic white chocolate, and what's not to love about that right?
ReplyDeleteWow, that must be one of the healthiest cocktails ever! You can keep your 44 degrees, we're expecting high 30s over the coming weekend and that will be bad enough.
ReplyDeleteHa! So it was your fault we were melting this week? I'm just hoping the forecast for Christmas Day stays the same, 30 degrees would be just perfect (probably too good to be true seeing we'll be in Murray Bridge for lunch and its always hotter up there!
ReplyDeleteA sneaky cocktail, looks too healthy to be interesting! Good one!
I love reading your posts Shay. They always give me a good laugh. Have a Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year. Hugs.....
ReplyDeleteOMG...I have to remember not to read your blog posts when my bladder is full. Being 51, full bladder, and laughing does not make for dry panties! :)
ReplyDeleteAha, so it was you that got mine then! I spent my younger years hating my flat chest - now I'm happy because there's nothing much to drop!!
ReplyDeleteYou crack me up Shay, I love your explanations of muddling and crushing ice. You've proved that not only are cocktails good for you but provide an opportunity for strenuous exercise and stress relief too. Glad you liked the cocktail!!
ReplyDeleteI hope you had a couple of these as they must be really good for you with all those vegetables. :)
ReplyDeleteBeing smaller chested makes buying clothes a lot easier, at least! The salady drink looks pretty nice, hope it did the trick on taking your mind off the temperature gauge!
ReplyDeleteThe drink even looks cool. Fresh, breezy. And I bet yummy. :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you found another winner. I don't do anything with cucumber, not even the make your face pretty stuff. I'm allergic.
ReplyDeleteThat looks great! I wasn't sure we were on this week so I bagged it. Actually, I was exhausted from making breakfast for work and vegged out all night.
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