cucumber + lime fizzball (with a hint of mint)

Can’t….write. I don’t know what ‘s wrong with me.

Lie: yes I do. I’m far too excited about this whole RFT “Best Food Blog” finalist and upcoming awards ceremony thing. I realize the other finalists are probably way chill, but it’s safe to say they’re all cooler than I am. I’m just over here being totally nerded out about it.

So: writing escapes me at the moment. But making food does not, and there’s no reason to make you wait for another fizzball.

We enjoyed the lemon-ginger fizzball so much around here that I decided to throw another one at you. This one has a deliciously light and sweet (but not too sweet) flavor of cucumber and lime, with a little zing of mint thrown in for good measure. You could do this with ginger ale, but I liked this with sparkling mineral water; it gives it a crisp finish with no pesky extra calories.

I’ll remember how to write this weekend, perhaps. I’m sure I can put on my cool face. I mean, right? (sigh)

Adapted as a variation on my lemon-ginger fizzball.

Cucumber + Lime Fizzball (with a hint of mint)

• 1 large english cucumber, grated with box grater
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup lime juice (about 6-8 limes depending on their size and juiciness)
• zest of 1 lime
• 6 mint leaves, chiffonade, plus more small whole leaves for garnish
• 1 bottle of your favorite sparkling mineral water

In a small saucepan over medium heat, bring water and sugar to a simmer and stir until all the sugar has dissolved. Remove from heat and add the shredded cucumber. Set aside and let cool for 15-20 minutes.

Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the syrup into a large, shallow glass baking dish; discard the cucumber solids. Add the lime juice, zest, and mint, and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into a shallow glass dish; I use an 8 x 8 Pyrex dish. Cover tightly and freeze the syrup for 6-8 hours until firm.

Psst: worried about freeze time? Make it the day before; then there’s zero chance your cucumber lime ice will be slushy.

Remove the cucumber lime mixture from the freezer (it should be icy but will cut easily) and let stand for 5 minutes. Use a large thin knife to slice the mixture in half, chunk up the half you’re using, and add the chunks to your food processor (or blender) along with 4 cups of crushed ice. Pulse until it resembles fluffy snow, using a spoon every so often to scrape down the sides.

Once it is evenly chopped and snowy, use a large ice cream scoop to scoop snowballs out, pressing against the sides of your machine of choice so you have big, round snow. Place in martini glasses, and make enough snowballs in each one to pile above the rim, like a super-sophisticated ice cream cone. Pour mineral water slowly around the sides and over top the snowball pile, filling the glass. Garnish with mint leaves.

Yum.

Serve immediately, probably with cute drink picks or tiny straws so your guests can stir it up a little, slushie-style.

Each half-batch you whiz up makes 6 glasses, depending on the size of your snowballs, for a total of 12 servings per whole batch.