I experienced some amazing things this Spring while traveling to Dubai with my husband for business. Two favorites were dune bashing and Middle Eastern style lemonade. Dune bashing is a popular off-roading activity over sand dunes in parts of the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Crazy fun – we loved it! But on a hot, dry day in the Middle East, nothing was so delightful as coming into the hotel lobby and being greeted with a cold glass of mint lime lemonade. So fresh!

Now that I am home I can’t recreate our dune bashing excursion, but I did make some delicious mint lime lemonade like we had in Dubai. And we’re also sharing another great summer drink – the watermelon slush!

MIDDLE EASTERN STYLE LEMONADE

Mix well in a blender:
– juice from 5 lemons and 8 limes (about 1 cup of juice)
* TIP: For easy juicing, roll lemons/limes on counter top with your hand applying gentle pressure. Cut lemon in half, pierce a fork into the fruit and squeeze juice into a strainer over the blender so you can catch the seeds.
– 3/4 cup of sugar
– 1/4 cup fresh mint, very finely chopped
– 8 cups cold water

Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve. If you don’t like the green mint floaties, just before serving pour the juice through a fine strainer or sieve. Serve in chilled glasses or with crushed ice. SO DELICIOUS – but remember it is not as sweet as our American lemonade!

WATERMELON SLUSH

This frosty-fruity drink is perfect for a summer afternoon-especially when you have some leftover watermelon from last night’s dinner.

Cut, cube and freeze seedless watermelon. Pull out of freezer and mix in blender until smooth.  Add Sprite to watermelon mixture using 1 part soda pop to 4 parts blended watermelon. (For example: 1 cup Sprite to 4 cups watermelon mixture) Top with a squeeze of fresh lime and serve with a lime wedge for anyone who wants that extra lime kick.  Ahhhh!

 

Shari