The Scent of Summer

After an amazing, absolutely gorgeous weekend of fun times with friends, midnight revels and SUNSHINE (I know, it just needs to be shouted to the world), I came back to the scent of ripe peaches filling my room. I could almost taste the sweet flesh as I walked in and dumped my bags onto the floor.

But I didn't think of writing a post until a few seconds ago. Now that I'm perched on the side of my bed and studying for my next exam, I keep catching whiffs of that sweet summery scent. There's just something about ripened fruit that brings to mind pictures of laughter and lemonade, of relaxing in the sun, dipping wiggling toes into cold water. It's like the seasons are changing within the walls of the apartment.

I remember the first time I ever made this recipe. It was on the island with Chey. We were knitting and thinking up a list for the store and while we were doing all of that, it seemed apropos that we had a drink. But what to make? After searching through her magazines, she found the recipe for a ginger peach sangria which we've made tons of times since then.

Simple. Sweet. And the perfect summer drink.

Ginger Peach Summer Sangria

Ingredients

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup water

3 tbs finely chopped crystallized ginger

¼ cup Grand Marnier

¼ cup peach schnapps

1 (750 ml) bottle white wine (like Viognier or Sauvignon Blanc)

24 oz chilled ginger ale

2 peaches, pitted and thinly sliced

¼ cup mint, chopped

Method

Heat sugar, water and ginger in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer 5-10 minutes, until the sugar and ginger dissolve. Refrigerate until cold, about 2 hours. In a large pitcher, stir together ginger-sugar mixture, Grand Marnier, Peach Schnapps, wine, ginger ale, peaches and mint. Serve over ice.

It's supposed to serve 8.... but really, only two people are needed. :)