Watermelon Hibiscus Refresher
Happy Earth Day!
Here’s a thirst-quenching refresher to keep us hydrated while we discuss the effects of climate crisis and the implications of global warming.
Earth Day 2022
The theme of Earth Day this year is 'Invest in Our Planet'. The focus is to accelerate solutions to combat our greatest threat, climate change, and to activate everyone – governments, citizens, and businesses – to do their part. Everyone accounted for, and everyone accountable!
How does food relate to climate change?
Food justice is climate action.
“Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. It puts the aspirations and needs of those who produce, distribute and consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations.” ~ excerpted from the Declaration of Nyéléni, 2007 Forum for Food Sovereignty in Sélingué, Mali.
Through deforestation, farming, transportation, processing and packaging, refrigeration and retail, and waste, the industrial model of agribusiness – guided by generation of profits, exploitation of labor, commodification of the earth, and manipulation of natural systems – is a major contributor to the climate crisis. Between 44% and 57% of all greenhouse gas emissions come from the global food system. These fields of poison, heavily reliant upon toxic fertilizers and pesticides, wreak havoc on the health of humans, wildlife, and the environment. Read the rest here.
Recipe | Serving Size: 1
I’m starting to realize I have a knack for making solid cocktails and mocktails. The idea for this drink was just circulating in my head for days and I made it on the spot! What you see in the video was my first time making it. And we loved it so much, I ended up making it again the next day. I also made this drink with Ramadan in mind, and it is a great iced tea to break your fast with. It’s perfect for Iftar!
The recipe below is for single serving but this is something you can easily make ahead for a large party. Just multiply the recipe for as many people as you need. Store it in the refrigerator and it should be good for at least 8 hours. You could push it to 24 hours but I feel like iced tea in general starts to it lose the snappy astringent-ness and tastes flat overtime. And that’s not just according to me, even the CDC recommends no more than 8 hours when it comes to iced tea.
Ingredients
Tazo Passion Tea — 6 oz, I used 2 teabags to make it super concentrated
Watermelon — 1/2 cup
Mint Leaves — 3-4
Fresh Lemon Juice — 1 oz
Simple Syrup — 2 oz
Directions
Bring fresh, filtered water to a boil. Pour the hot water over two teabags in a heat-safe measuring jug. Let it steep uncovered for 15 minutes. You can do this step way ahead so the tea isn’t piping hot and has time to cool down.
In a cocktail shaker or a mason jar, add fresh watermelon, mint leaves, fresh lemon juice and simple syrup. Use a cocktail muddler to mash and muddle everything until the watermelon and mint leaves break down and you have a syrupy mix.
Fill the shaker with ice, and top of off with hibiscus tea. Then close the lid tight and shake vigorously until you no longer hear the ice.
Double strain into a glass of your choice and garnish with a watermelon slice.
