Last Summer we had a crazy long heatwave. Crazy for the PNW (where temps rarely rise above 75) and looooooong because it lasted, now don’t laugh here, about a week. And, YES, that IS long for us PNWesterners.

I was catching up on some emails, and this recipe from Bon Appetit caught my attention. It was a drink I’d never heard of before. I had all the ingredients on hand and whipped up a batch. And OMG…..it was AMAZING! Not only did it completely cool me down, but, it was fabulously tasty. Equal parts sour and salty with the barest hint of sweet.

It’s a recipe you can EASILY adjust depending on your tastes. Add more, or less salt. More, or less, sweetener….you get the idea.

And a big bonus — you can leave this as a mocktail OR whip up a batch for your next warm weather party. Have tequila, vodka and gin on standby for people to add if they want.

Recipe from Priya Krishna, Bon Appetit

Ingredients

7 limes (be sure to get nice heavy limes, the heavier the lime – the more juice inside)
Water
Ice cubes
1/4 cup sugar (you can also honey)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

Juice all 7 limes and add the juice to a blender.
Using the measurements on the side of the blender, make note of how much juice. Depending on the limes you should get about 1 – 1 1/2 cups of juice.
Double the amount of juice, and that's how much water you now add to the blender.
Add 1 cup of ice cubes, sugar, salt and pepper.
Blend until foamy.
The next step is VERY important — TASTE. If it's too salty for you, add more honey. If it's too sweet, add another 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
Pour into chilled glasses.
OPTIONS for serving:
* Sprinkle with extra pepper
*Top off each glass with a little club soda
*Rim each glass with lava salt
*Add to blender — tequila, vodka or gin — for a cool cocktail

Have you made this recipe?I’d love to know! Leave a comment or recipe rating and tag me @amenuforyou on social media!

Shikanji (Limeade)

Recipe from Priya Krishna, Bon Appetit