Three Seltzer Drinks

- Amanda

I will buy tabletop goods until I'm bankrupt, but you can't get me to buy another countertop item. No toasters are allowed. No bread box. And certainly no knick knacks will be found on my counter. Just a workhorse mixer and the bare necessities: coffee maker, tea kettle, salt bowl, oil, and utensil jars (the last of which I'd usually banish to a hanging rack but I've let my guard down).

But then everyone was talking about seltzer. Kristen wrote this article on seltzer makers. And Jenny had this one in her home. I wanted spritzy, optimistic drinks like everyone else, and I really wanted to get rid of the box of cheap seltzer we always had lying around for me to trip over.

Just this once, I let in another countertop squatter: the SodaStream. We've been getting to know each other over the past few weeks. He's slim and unassuming. He doesn't require an outlet. And he's only noisy when swooshing air into tap water. My kids love him. My husband has a new toy. And I now have a small but burgeoning repertory of summer drinks.

If you'd like to join me, here you go!

Gingerale with Cucumber

Makes 2 drinks (can be easily doubled)

• Three 4-inch-long slices English cucumber
• 2-inch piece ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup raw sugar
• Chilled seltzer
  
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See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Lemon and Sherry Spritzer (aka Rebujito)

Makes 2 drinks (can be easily doubled)

• Zest of 2 lemons
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 shots chilled fino sherry
• Chilled seltzer
• 2 thin slices lemon, for garnish
  
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See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.

Vanilla Egg Cream

Makes 2 drinks (can be easily doubled)

• 1/2 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise and seeds scraped
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup whole milk
• Chilled seltzer
  
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See the full recipe (and save and print it) here.