Free Range Friday ~ Matt Armendariz

Taking good photos of food and drink is not as easy as it might seem. Frankly, I do a pretty crap job of it. This is not self-deprecation, I'm just not that practiced in making food look beautiful. Matt Armendariz, on the other hand, is very good in this art form.

When I opened my email and saw these photos, the heat of the day lifted and I fell into the coolness of them. Since I'm not really cooking much these days, this became the offering. You can find these drinks on Matt's blog  Matt's Bites, as well as a link to Chandon for the recipes. If you are into food porn, make sure you check out his link to his other photos on his page. Delicious!

Summer in a Glass

photo credit - Matt Armendariz

The photo in the upper left is called The Refresher. What is there not to like about this, including the glassware? Just reading the recipe blew in some fresh breezes.

Yields 1 cocktail (ed. note - makes ONE! which could get you into serious trouble in my world, so I suggest you'd better make a pitcher!)

Honeydew, canteloupe and watermelon balls
1 oz honeydew mint syrup (4 cups chopped honeydew melon, 2 sprigs fresh mint, 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar)
2 dashes orange flower water (do not substitute orange blossom perfume, trust me on this)
3 oz Chandon Rosé (no Chandon? Use your imagination here)
Fresh mint sprig for garnish

Put the melon balls on a plate and freeze.

Combine the chopped honeydew melon, fresh mint, water and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Stir. Remove from the heat and let steep for 20 minutes. Strain into a container with a sealing top and chill. Discard the solids.

Pour the honeydew mint syrup into a decorative glass. Add the orange flower water and Chandon Rosé. Add a selection of melon balls and garnish with the mint sprig. Serve.

Recipe from Chandon.

(If you enjoyed that and want to stay in the moment of cool refreshing, beautiful drink, do not continue reading. Just click and get outta here. Fair warning!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Truly the WORST food item I saw this week was sent to me by my brother. I was really, really hoping it was a joke. But...it isn't. You can read about it here on ThinkGeek. If you must. I'm sorry, but I couldn't be alone with this.

I'm going back to look at cocktails. Then, when the sun looks like it is thinking about going over the yardarm, I will make something delicious and jump in the water. Even if it's the sprinkler. I will forget about all the ugly things in the world, including the above. You do the same.

Have a fruitfully festive Friday. Do something fluidly frolicsome.