It’s that time of year when most of us Brits are, not so secretly, hoping that we actually get a good summer for once. We wouldn’t need to have a mass exodus to sunnier shores, instead we would kick back in our own little slice of British heaven, soak up the sun and laugh heartily that we didn’t have to pay for this year’s tan, or freckle in my case.
Having said all that, last year we had a couple of good weeks and one day, upon opening the curtains to be greeted by glorious sunshine, I decided to have an impromptu garden party that very afternoon. Facebook hurled invites to various corners of my town whilst I emptied the cupboards and the freezer to see what lurked there in the way of offerings. After that it all seems a bit of a blur. There were hysterical photos circulating the information highway, the Conifers will never look the same and there was an obligatory traffic cone on top of my shed. Why?
It was the Punch.
Take it from me, you really don’t want to empty the entire contents of your booze cabinet into a bowl, add a bottle of Lemonade and a sliced 4 week old lemon and hope that everything will be ok. It won’t. Trust me. In no time at all things will be seen that can never be unseen and those pictures will be around forever. FOREVER.
Fast forward to this year and I have been crazy enough to pencil in a couple of dates, weather permitting, to spend quality time with friends and family, however, this time I shall be measuring the alcohol quantities, therefore limiting any further damage to my mutilated Conifers.
A trial run was in order so I popped out to Tesco for a few ingredients and below you will find my amazing recipe for my Summer Fizz Punch that should keep a few of you with full glasses for an afternoon and not a glimpse of a hangover the next day.
YOU WILL NEED (per jug, based on 6 glasses per jug)
1 x Glass Jug
1 xBottle of Tesco Bucks Fizz
6 x 25ml Shots of Cointreau
1 x Grapefruit
1 x Apple
1 x Lemon
2 x Lime (1 for cutting, 1 for squeezing)
Some grated or finely sliced Ginger
Ice cube Tray
Fresh Orange Juice
HOW TO MAKE IT
- The day before make some ice cubes using fresh orange juice. Add a tiny bit of mint to each cube just for added ‘Awesomeness Factor’.
- Grate or finely slice approx. 2 levels teaspoons of Ginger and put in the jug.
- Chop or slice (your own preference) the remaining fruit and also place in the jug, remembering to juice one of the limes.
- Add the shots of Cointreau to the fruit and leave to rest in the fridge for at least half an hour. This lets the fruit soak up the alcohol.
- When you’re ready to serve, pop the cork from the Bucks Fizz, pour over the fruit and ginger, add the ice cubes and kick back and relax.
- If you think you’ll be having more than one jug then prepare some plastic containers with the fruit and Cointreau in and keep in the fridge until needed. Et Voila!
Enjoy lazy summer days!
Vix x
(written for Tesco, Words and pictures by Vix Ward)
