If you can't take the heat...

Then get in to the kitchen to make cool drinks! We've experienced record highs this week for this early in the summer (heat index above 100 for almost 5 days straight now), and despite my Louisiana and Texas roots, I have to admit it has been quite unbearable. Maybe because we haven't had a chance to warm up to it...literally. (That said, I still managed to bike to work every day this week.)

So on Friday, I turned to this recipe for Berry Vodka Spritzers. So refreshing on a hot summer night! Then Saturday, with many leftover ingredients, and inspired by the blueberry mojitos I had a few times in New York and my over-flowing mint plant, I crushed the blueberries and added mint to the recipe. Very nice, too. Watch out, though. It's easy to forget these drinks have vodka in them! I only made it through the first hour of Atonement when we saw it on Friday night outside at the North Carolina Museum of Art. (The combination made my sleeping inevitable: late movie, heat, several vodka drinks, slow-paced storyline.)

For another cold drink recipe I've been making lately, courtesy of my cousin, blend several bunches of baby spinach, frozen fruit (I usually use strawberries but the variations are endless), and vanilla-flavored almond milk. I have added a tablespoon of peanut butter, flax seed oil, yogurt, plain milk, and fresh fruit before, too. It's the new favorite smoothie in our household, and you would never know there's so much spinach in there but for the green color (sometimes overpowered by the color of the fruit you choose).