Giant in the Kitchen: Cool Summer Sangria
I forgot to mention the sangria! We made some awesome sangria to go with the sushi…because Spain is kind of close to Japan, right?
Sangria is a great way to have a classy summer drink when you have no money. You can make it as extravagant as you like, but basic sangria is just cheap wine, and some citrus fruit. The wine can be cheap because the fruit flavors overpower any subtleties in the wine. I used a bottle of cheap shiraz that I got off of a clearance shelf at Target. (I’m talking 3$ here)
Here is a simple sangria recipe:
Wash two oranges and a lemon. Cut into bite size pieces and place all of the lemon and 2/3rds of the orange into a large pitcher. Press the pitchered fruit with a wooden spoon to release some of the juices. Pour in a single 750 ml bottle of wine and stir together. Put this concoction in the fridge for a couple of hours, garnish with the remaining orange slices and you have basic sangria. I like to mix in about 6 ounces of frozen limeade concentrate. This makes it a bit sweeter and really gives it a punch of citrus.
Try some of these variations:
- Mix in a cup of dark rum with the wine.
- Make it a fizzy drink by filling a glass 1/3 with seltzer and 2/3 sangria.
- Use a white wine and substitute peaches, apples and grapes for the citrus fruits. Sprigs of crushed mint can be delicious here as well.
- Withhold the limeade concentrate and use a cup of simple syrup instead. For simple syrup, mix 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water in a sauce pan over medium-low heat. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Let cool before mixing into the sangria.
- Grate 2 tablespoons of fresh ginger into the sangria.
- Use a cup of orange or apple juice as a sweetener.
