Double Fisting Aguas Frescas: Watermelon & Mint and Cherry Lime Chia
Hello! It’s approximately Hell degrees down here in the swamp! It’s awful! We’ve been working outside, in the attic (which the inspector referred to as “basically an oven” given its poor ventilation), and on the front patio. Our arms are sore and our shoes are all scuffed up and so far we’ve avoided serious injury!
To reward our hard manly man work, we made some aguas frescas!
Agua fresca is a classic Mexican beverage that basically just consists of fresh fruit (usually melon) blended with water and sugar. It’s not a smoothie, it’s not a juice, it’s just… agua fresca. And there’s a whole section on the stuff in Esteban Castillo’s Chicano Eats, which is a fantastic little book full of recipes and stories from a Mexican-American kitchen.
We’ve been to Mexico twice—once to Playa del Carmen and once to Mexico City—and I think the only time I’ve ever had agua fresca was at a hamburger chain in the middle of Utah. Clearly, I’m a no-good failure. But Chicano Eats saved the day with these two agua frescas recipes. I don’t know how often chia seeds find their way into agua fresca? Maybe it’s often, or maybe it’s never, but it surprised me and it’s great. Such a fun little surprise to have with such a refreshing the beverage.
And the watermelon one? Couldn’t keep our mouths off of it. That sounds disgusting. We non-sexually drank a lot of it. It was so refreshing and because our watermelons were so sweet we didn’t even need to add any sugar.
10/10 would recommend you try these babies out for your hot summer days, and check out Chicano Eats for more fun recipes! We’re gonna get back to tearing our house apart, but check out the recipes below and have a lovely day, sweetie!
xoxo Beau (& Matt!)
Watermelon Mint Lime Agua Fresca (from Chicano Eats)
16 cups cubed watermelon (about 2 whole mini watermelon, 4-5 pounds each)
Juice of 2 limes
30 fresh mint leaves
Granulated sugar (optional)
Working in batches, place all ingredients in a blender with 1/2 cup water and blend until combined and fairly smooth, about 30 seconds. Strain through a fine mesh sieve into a pitcher. Add sugar to taste. Refrigerate to chill completely before serving. Serve over ice with a mint leaf garnish.
Cherry Lime Chia Agua Fresca (from Chicano Eats)
1 pound dark sweet cherries (about 2 cups), fresh or thawed if frozen, pitted
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon chia seeds
In a blender, combine the cherries and 6 cups water (if using frozen cherries you may end up with juice when they thaw, and you can substitute this for some of the water). Blend on high for 20 to 30 seconds until the mixture is smooth. Strain the juice through a fine-mesh sieve right into an 8-cup pitcher. Stir in the sugar and lime juice, then stir in the chia seeds and refrigerate to chill. Make sure to wait at least 20 minutes for the chia seeds to gel. Serve cold over ice.