Frozen Coconut Limeade

It's National Tequila Day, but I'm going to go ahead and rebel against that with a little bit of rum. And some toasted coconut, and a few limes, and pretty pink glasses. Is that alright?

I saw this recipe on Smitten Kitchen a few weeks ago, on one of the hottest days yet in this LA summer, and was just like, yeah. Coconut, lime, rum, blended? Sign me up. I tweaked it a little bit, adding some toasted coconut and switching the sugar for simply syrup (and some rum because duh), and the result was a refreshing, tangy, adult slushie! Keep in mind - this is not a sweet drink, unless you make it so. Coconut milk is not naturally very sweet, but you can switch it for coconut cream or add other sweet things to dress it up a bit. 

Frozen Coconut Limeade:

2 1/2 cups ice

1 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/3 cup lime juice

Simple Syrup, to taste

Choice of rum, to taste

Toast coconut over the stove on medium heat, stirring often, until golden brown (and your kitchen smells amazing). Remove from heat & set aside. Blend remaining ingredients, adding simple syrup slowly, to taste. Pour into glasses & garnish with toasted coconut & lime slices. If you want a little extra sweet, you can also blend some toasted coconut in with the slushie. Cheers!

do it cheap: caramel iced coffee

There's that saying the best things in life are free, which is true. But guess what? The second-best things in life are expensive. Like espresso machines and daily trips to Starbucks for caramel sauce iced lattes. And there's also that saying work with whatchu got, which is my mantra when it comes to iced coffee. 

So let's make it easy and let's make it cheap: brew a small pot of coffee, but use almost twice as much the amount of grounds as normal. Put a spoonful of caramel sauce in the bottom--I used Trader Joe's 'fleur de sel' caramel sauce. Pour half the hot coffee over the sauce, and mix. Save the other half in the fridge, for tomorrow. Fill the glass the rest of the way with milk, then add ice cubes. Sip slow, preferably in the sun. 

Perfect for an afternoon pick-me-up, which I need most days. Cheap, easy, and almost as good as the real thing. Which is all we can ask for, really.

note: this recipe would work perfectly with soy or almond milk as well!