Thursday, May 14, 2009

The one with all the beverages

I've been meaning to report here for a while now that the wonderful people at, um Pom Wonderful sent me a heaping case of pomegranate juice to enjoy. I'd had some before and liked it a lot, so I jumped at the chance to get some free. They also threw in some information on the juice's antioxidant properties as I requested because the SO-now-husband has blood that collects things in it that are bad for his heart.

As I mentioned, I'd had it before, but only bought it when it was on sale. It's crazy yummy, but a bit expensive in comparison to other juice. But now that I need to be more cognizant of what goes into Husband's body, I need to re-think that a bit. He needs the antioxidants. And ya know what? It's cheaper and easier to get than red wine. And doesn't have any of those pesky liver damage side effects. It's all about context, y'all. [FTR, you can't buy wine in the grocery here in Tennessee. Yeah, I know.]

Next on my list of beverages that are worth the extra money are Pepsi Throwback and Mountain Dew Throwback. I'd heard how good they were and trekked all over hell's half acre until I found them yesterday. Okay, that meant Kroger (where they were sold out) and then Super Target. But still, it was after work and I was tired and pissed that I had to go to a second store. But they're only available for a "limited time," which means I bit on the marketing bait and felt I needed to get them before they were gone. Verdict: worth it. Totally worth it. I started my day with the Pepsi today and the sun shone and coworkers were nicer and traffic was not as congested and I saw a unicorn farting rainbows by the side of the road as I drove to work. As for the Mountain Dew, well I've only had a couple of sips because if I'd consumed a can in it's entirety, I would not have slept last night (when Hubs had his) and I may even be divorced by now. I really can't believe I used to start every day of my college career with a Mountain Dew and a Pop Tart and remain focused. I can't take all that sugar (*cough*HFCS*cough*) and caffeine now. But let me tell you, that drink was good. Better than I remember from college. Probably because of the real sugar. Anyhoo.

And to continue my theme of tasty, sugary drinks, let me tell you about shower punch. I hosted a baby shower for a bunch of yankees (anyone not from the south) recently and none of them had ever had shower punch. You can google that, but you'll find a bunch of slightly more unnecessarily complicated recipes than the one I'm going to share with you. Don't bother with the fancy stuff. You don't need to add fruit or wine or Jell-O (!?!) or whatever. Here goes (pay attention!):

Good Old-Fashioned Southern Shower Punch
for baby showers, wedding showers, and wedding receptions held in Fellowship Hall

1 half gallon sherbet (I like lime the best, but any work except maybe rainbow)
1 two-liter bottle of ginger ale (not refrigerated)

Dislodge the block of sherbet from its container and drop into a punch bowl. Pour the bottle of ginger ale over the sherbet. Stir. Serve when cold.

See? Simple. Delicious. Though it used to be a lot simpler back in the old days when a block of sherbet came in a box that could be peeled apart. Now you gotta get your spatula out, which kind of sucks. Anyhoo, I had nine guests at the shower...plenty of leftover hummus and crackers and sandwiches, but barely a sip of that punch. Even though I served it in those tiny cups that come with punch bowls. They liked it. It's just not a celebratory event in the south without this stuff.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

A couple things to keep in mind for antioxidants - there's really no evidence that extra antioxidants provide any health benefit. We know we need some antioxidants, but no evidence that a LOT of antioxidants helps any more than a few antioxidants. Studies are inconclusive so far. Antioxidants probably are beneficial, but they aren't the miracle certain fruit juice bottlers make them out to be.

Also, if you want antioxidants, one of the best sources is just regular grape juice. It contains almost as many antioxidants and beneficial nutrients as pomegranate juice, but costs far less.

Anonymous said...

Posting that punch recipe just warmed my little grew-up-in-the-heart-of-dixie heart. I can't tell you how many baby showers and bridal showers I've had that at!

ErinsFoodFiles said...

I love POM. Especially with vodka. And I tried Throwback Pepsi too! It was good! I could definitely taste the difference in the aftertaste. I only tried a little bit of a friend's, but I think I want to pick some up for myself. I hope I have better luck locating it than you seemed to of had!

michael, claudia and sierra said...

i love this post
it's this kind of writing that makes me wanta have dinner with you - again and again.

isn't it HFCS as opposed to HCFS?

ftr - i have never ever had that punch ever. i'm going to see if i can run with this streak...

Lesley said...

@Andrew Oh yeah, grape juice. I love that stuff. And I remember from Confirmation Class that Welch was a good Methodist who didn't think the kids should be drinking wine. Yes, a suitable substitute (for non-Catholics).

@Rebekka Isn't it the bestest? It makes those puffy mints taste better, too.

@Erin Pom and vodka...hrm. I've got some Hangar One Mandarin around here somewheres. Thanks for the idea! And get yourself to a Target and load up on the Pepsi Throwback.

@Claudia This is a post on SUGAR. Took me about 30 seconds to type it all up. SUGAR! And thanks for the correction--you're right, it is HFCS! Really, I should have just written out high fructose corn syrup, but in my oversugared, overcaffeinated state, my mind was already five words ahead and I couldn't be bothered. And the punch? Is yummy. Don't knock it. It's a southern delicacy. If you like hot fish and fried chicken, you will most certainly like shower punch and all its foamy goodness.

Anonymous said...

for the record...I was at the shower and I have definitely had shower punch before! y'all must have had that discussion before I arrived seeings how I was also "the late one". lol

Malia