Sour Cherry Lime Summer Mocktail

July 11, 2018 The Provident Princess 0 Comments

Here at Provident Princess we love enjoying seasonal foods and the easiest time to do that is definitely during summer with the abundance of crop varieties and farmers' markets popping up all over. Right now we are celebrating all things cherry. Summer always seems to include all sorts of fun drinks. And for all of you non-drinkers out there, I have the perfect Sour Cherry Lime Mocktail to share with you!  It is supper easy and like all recipes you will find here, this Cherry Lime Mocktail has the simplest and most whole ingredients. I'm not into a lot of fuss. When we buy food in season, the flavors don't need a lot of help to shine.

I was coming back from dropping one of my daughters off at a friends and I noticed a house with a beautiful cherry tree out back which didn't look touched or taken care of at all. So what did I do? I pulled over and knocked on their door of course. The nicest man answered and assured me that I was welcome to take as many cherries as I wanted.

Honestly, I know many people feel intimidated by knocking on a stranger's door asking if they are going to use their fruit; but most people are relieved to give it away. They are usually not the ones who planted the trees and don't really know what to do or can't use all the food it produces. Many people have acted like I was the one who was doing them a favor by taking it off their hands so they wouldn't have the mess to pick up later when it all fell unused to the ground. So if you ever have the chance, Do. It.

I showed back up later that day and we picked and picked and picked. It was so hot. We stuck with it until we had about 3 grocery bags half full and you couldn't even tell where on the tree we were picking because there were still so many cherries on there.

We got back home and were in for a huge surprise. The cherries weren't pie cherries like I had thought. They were Sour Cherries! Instead of the Cherry Pie filling I'd envisioned making for a decadent cheesecake, I had to think of how else to use this sour cherry harvest.

Have you seen that Cherry Juice Costco is sampling at Costco? They are touting it like it's the next pomegranate juice because of its high volume of anti-oxidants . It's made from this type of cherry! (And it is delicious btw, 2 thumbs up from the toddlers.)

Since the cherries are so tart, you can't really eat them plain, so we had to get to work washing and  pitting. My girls had a blast working the cherry pitter and really learned how to get in the groove.

So what can you do with sour cherries? They dehydrate wonderfully. Dried sour cherries at the store sell for 5.99/lb! That was by far our favorite method to eat these delicious cherries. We also made Sour Cherry Jam which I couldn't eat all the time but it is fun to have in the rotation. We also made Sour Cherry Syrup for pancakes and waffles.

I'm not a soda drinker. I've just never liked it, but my children and husband do. So every now and then I will buy some sparkling water to add to some juice to make it a little special. Sparkling water is so much better than soda. No sweeteners, added sodium or caffeine buzzes for the kids.

I had a box of La Croix Sparkling Lime Water left-over from one of these purchases and thought it would be the perfect vehicle to try our new Sour Cherry Syrup we canned. Let me tell you. This drink is like summer in a cup.



Ingredients________________________________________________________________________
3 (12 oz) cans of La Croix Sparkling Lime Water
3/4 cup Sour Cherry Syrup (you can find cherry syrup in the store too by the drink mixes if you don't               have your own homemade)
Slices of fresh limes and cucumbers for garnish (1-2 per glass)

Directions_________________________________________________________________________
Fill 4 Tumblers filled with cubed ice. In a pitcher combine sparkling lime water and cherry syrup. Add the cucumbers to the pitcher to start to infuse its flavor into the drink. You can leave it like this in the fridge until you are ready to serve. Stir to combine syrup and pour into tumblers of ice. Garnish with a lime slice and enjoy immediately.


Perfect for a summer evening spent outdoors.  I also like to garnish the serving platter with limes and sweet cherries so guests know what flavors to expect. I love how this recipe takes so little effort but really gives such an elevated look to any get-together.

Let me know in the comments if you try this recipe. And if you are looking for just a single drink for yourself to enjoy, 2 Tablespoons of the cherry syrup to 1/2 cup of sparkling lime water. You're Welcome.

Cheers,

PP