How Weather, Cooling, and Drink

It has been over 90 degrees (Fahrenheit obviously) for 2 days in a row.  The hard core desert dwellers try to see how long they can hold out before they turn on the air conditioning or cooler.  The hardest of the hard core never use AC or coolers.  There are the in between hardies who use an electric fan, perhaps with a wet cloth thrown over it to cool the air.  It has been stated that there would be fewer people living in the southwest desert if we didn't have air conditioning.  I say, turn off the AC and let's see who's the last one standing.

I have a passion for ice cold water during the hot weather.  Sometimes I add lemon and a straw.  Sometimes I add limes and honey making a limeade.  If I had one of the fancy cooking blogs, I would take photos of lemons, limes, and honey.  I would show a photo of cutting a lemon in half.  I might link you to a YouTube video of juicing lemons and limes with my $15 plastic electric citrus juicer and then pouring the juice into a quart of water in a ball canning jar.  I would remind you to add the ice cubes before the water and juice to avoid splashing your granite counter with the acidic juices.  I don't have granite counters.  Perhaps we could pan to a cactus outside.  I could educate you about the alleged health promoting properties of honey, maple syrup, and xylitol.  I could show you how elegant it looks to add a straw and a sprig of mint, and/or very thin slices of lemon.  And finally, my secret ingredient... a whole, dried or fresh, cayenne chili pepper.  I grew peppers 3 years in a row.  Last year's plant produced a very thick skinned chili which I did not like for cooking or eating, but it is good for visual presentation in lemon or lime water.  I leave a half inch of green stem on the bright red cayenne pepper and the visual is spectacular in a tall thin glass or quart jar.

I am fortunate to have purchased some beautiful, mild, domestic (i.e., USA) lemons at my local grocery.  These lemons have such a refined, graceful taste that they require no sweetener.  My water of choice is distilled because a mighty tasty mystery blend comes out of our tap.  A generous  white sludge remains in the distiller after distilling each gallon of tap water.  A trick my Texas relatives taught me is, if you are in a restaurant always order water with lemon and a straw.  If the water tastes "bad" the lemon will usually disguise the off taste.  The straw ... maybe you can drink from a glass that has someone else's lipstick on the rim?

If the lemons are bitter and I do not want a sweetener, I forgo lemons and drink simple iced or refrigerator cold water.  I like it.  It is cooling.  I also like traditional iced tea with lemon and a straw.  Once in a while I drink carbonated water, perhaps over ice, with lemon or lime; sometimes I add a cayenne pepper just to remind myself that I am in the hot desert.

Stay cool and well.