Fill Up A Cup

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it is HOT outside. The kind of hot where the breeze is warm and sticky and your plants wilt every evening, mimicking the sort of feeling you have. I broke a sweat last night trying to stir fry vegetables. That only takes a short amount of time at the stove, but even still it managed to produce a lingering heat that was stagnant in the kitchen for the entire night.

Heat on weeknights always seems oppressive and tiring, whereas heat on weekends makes it feel like the summer of childhood. You can get sweaty, go swimming, play a game and just relax. This is what I plan on trying to do this summer. Play like a child. Forget ‘chores’ and ‘responsibilities’ let’s go to the pool!

Maybe it’s the week or so spent in Hawaii that I am unwilling to get rid of, but I refuse to be a grown-up on weekends (and only when absolutely necessary on weekdays). Although, one perk to being a grown-up is the ability to eat whatever you want (double chocolate ice cream at 3pm, hello) and this can include drinks as well.

In fact a nice cool drink is a great way to cool down on sunny Saturday afternoons. Mint juleps or aqua frescas have been standbys for decades and I would like to add one more to that list. The No. 1 Pimm’s Cup. I know, I know, I am a bit behind the times on this one. Wimbledon and the Henley are over but it took me this long to procure Pimm’s here in Maine.

For those of you who are not initiated into the world of Pimm’s please allow me to be your guide. When Joe rowed at the Henley a few years back, he came back with a bottle of Pimm’s, knowing I would fall immediately in love with it. Since then, whenever I see it in a store I snap it up with all the fixins and settle in for a slow afternoon filled with ice cubes and carbonation. So on your next lazy, hot, weekend afternoon, make yourself a Pimm’s Cup and settle in for some cooling relaxation. Just make sure the condensation doesn’t interfere with your Scrabble tiles.

No. 1 Pimm’s Cup
There are several variations to this drink, but I like this one the best. I used an all-natural lemon lime soda, but ginger ale, conventional lemon lime sodas or even a lemon lime seltzer would work just as nicely.

1 part Pimm’s Cup (original)
3 parts soda
2 whole strawberries (sliced, or whole and frozen)
1 large sprig of mint
3 cucumber slices
Ice

Fill a tall glass with ice. Tear 4-5 mint leaves over the ice and add to glass. Add strawberries and cucumbers. Add one part Pimm’s and soda. Stir lightly to combine. Top with a few mint leaves. Enjoy.