My first job was at a drive-up burger joint. It was the early 90’s (gasp) and I lived in Texas, where it’s SO hot in the summertime. The perks of this job were that (1) I was able to work the day shift which gave me the weekend nights off to raise as much trouble as possible (and boy did I!), and (2) it gave me the all-you-can-drink-fancy-beverage-plan while I was working. 
Now this drive-up burger joint was famous for one drink in particular: the cherry limeade.
And it was delicious.
And I drank it by the gallon load.
And this was before corn syrup was in every drink and my metabolism burned off the sugar before it had time to visit my hips. But now as those two things are no longer, I tweaked a recipe to make it as delicious and as healthy as possible.
And just last week I started seeing cherries pop up at the farmer’s market and it immediately made me crave a cherry limeade. I sparkling, sweet-sour cherry limeade. And it certainly hit the spot.
Time to go and raise as much trouble as possible…
cherry limeade
1 1/2 cups cherries, pitted
1/4 cup water
1 cup lime juice (or 8 limes)
1 cup simple syrup (recipe to follow)
2 1/2 cups sparkling water, soda water or club soda
In a blender, add the pitted cherries and water. Blend for about one minute or until the cherries are completely pureed. Strain the cherry puree into a clean bowl.
In a large pitcher, combine the lime juice, simple syrup, cherry puree and sparkling water. Stir to combine. Add ice cubes, lime slices and cherries for garnish.
notes:
Make sure to wear your favorite black shirt, because pitting cherries is messy business. After your wardrobe change, wash the cherries and remove the pits. (I took the cherries and placed them on my cutting board. Then I took my chef’s knife and slowly pressed down on the cherries until I could reach in and pull the pit out. You can also just cut them out with a pairing knife.)
Strawberries or raspberries can be used in place of the cherries.
Also, depending on what amount of trouble you want to raise…vodka would be a great addition to this recipe. 🙂
simple syrup
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water
Place water and sugar in a small saucepan. Stir to combine and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and cool completely before using.
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