I grab my phone to check the weather and get distracted by all the other apps trying to vie for my attention. I say to myself out loud, “What was I doing on my phone?” Oh yeah, I remember, I was supposed to be checking the weather. My hand clutches the phone scrolling my with thumb down my iPhone weather app. I study the day’s expected weather and then start scrolling the days ahead. Weather in Minnesota is completely unpredictable, case in point the image below:
I sat there looking at the weather: 63 and sunny now, tomorrow 73 and rainy, take a look down to Monday and Thursday, those funny stars? Snowflakes. I also love the note at the bottom, “Sunny currently. The high will be 61. Clear tonight with a low of 39.” Sometimes I think the weather app should include extra commentary like, “No this isn’t a joke. But remember, August is beautiful!”’
Recently the weather spiked a high of 40, Minnesotans ran outside adorned in flip-flops and shorts, the grills were fired up and neighbors toasted drinks together on their decks. We know a good thing when we see it. A week later, snow hit and we were back in our parkas and snow boots. I’m not one to dwell on the loss of spring or what appeared to be a glimpse into it. But guys, it’s not just spring. Sometimes the summer is unpredictable too. A couple years ago I was so afraid people would be overheated at my son’s end of July birthday, I rented a snow cone machine. The rain and chilly 50-degree weather swirled around that snow cone machine, as we all huddled inside our tiny house. But you know what? The kids loved it and the adults? We made the best tasting margaritas in town. So while the weather is unpredictable, the fun and cocktails don’t have to be.
One of my very favorite drinks to make when I’m in the mood for warm weather is Sangria. It’s a perfect drink to sip on the deck with friends, sitting in a lawn chair up at the cabin or even cozy inside at a bridal shower. But best of all, it’s easy and people think you went to a lot of effort to make it.
My basic sangria has the following four components: fruit to soak in alcohol, liquor or rum to soak the fruit, wine ($5-$10 bottle) and juice. You really can make any kind of variation, I recommend starting in the juice aisle of your grocery store to get inspiration. For this recipe I saw black cherry juice so I decided to make a black cherry sangria. You can also use the same measurements and make sangria with white wine and tropical blended juice and fruits. For any sangria recipe, you are going to want to soak the fruit at least an hour before serving. Once the fruit is soaked you just combine the remaining ingredients and serve.
So whether you are enjoying Minnesota in the snowy spring or sunny summer, cheers!
Black Cherry and Pomegranate Sangria
Ingredients
1/3 cup Pomegranate Seeds
1 cup Jarred Dark Morello Cherries or Fresh Cherries (pitted)
1 cup PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur
1 bottle Red Blend Wine (look for wines with notes of cherry, Hot to Trot from 14 Hands is a good choice)
2 cups Pure Black Cherry Juice
2 cups Ice
Directions
An hour before serving, combine pomegranate seeds, cherries and liqueur. Set aside.
After an hour, in a large pitcher add the red wine, pomegranate and cherries and liquor mixture and cherry juice.
Serves 8-10
Alice Seuffert is a Twin Cities mom, wife, education researcher, television foodie and blogger who writes about parenting and creative comfort food at www.diningwithalice.com.
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