Summer cocktails and sorbets!

It's been really frickin' hot in Florida. That's pretty much the bottom line. Hot. Sweltering actually. Feels like 100+ degrees out. Literally. Thanks global warming.

Anyway, I was having a lazy Saturday this past weekend and trying to get rid of some lingering remnants in my fridge. So I decided to try my hand at summer cocktails. I'm not usually a big liquor drinker, or lemonade drinker for that matter. Or anything but coffee, water and wine when it really comes down to it. But when one has these sorts of things on hand it seems prudent to get creative.

The first cocktail attempt was my cross between an Arnold Palmer and a Hot (or rather cold) Toddy. I mixed ice tea and brandy with a splash of raspberry lemonade and some seltzer. Pretty good.

The second was inspired by my adventures in Europe, where vodka and Fanta seemed to be all the rage. I mixed some vodka with the raspberry lemonade and lemon lime seltzer to give it that little, refreshing bubble.

It didn't take long before I got sick of drinking all that sweet stuff (we're talking powdered lemonade here ... left over from the baby shower). But I couldn't let all of that raspberry lemonade go to waste. So I busted out the hot pink ice cream maker and turned it into a sorbet. Just threw in the rest of the lemonade, some seltzer and the frozen raspberries. That's what I call resourceful!

I was so encouraged by the results (the sorbet seemed to come out better than any of the ice creams I've tried) that I decided to clear off some space for the ice cream maker on my counter. After all, it's just the start of summer in Florida. And it looks like it's going to be a hot one.