Is it Cinco de Mayo yet? Because I think I've discovered my new obsession (other than this pizza swimsuit). Agua fresca made with roasted fruit!

And, in particular, a roasted strawberry rhubarb agua fresca swirled with lime zest and vanilla bean. AKA heaven in a glass!

I've slowly been cutting alcohol out of my regular life routine. For one simple reason: I feel better without it. I'm bored of hang-overs. I notice my weight and energy are more stable. I don't get pointless cravings. And I'm a complete light-weight anyway. Seriously, I'm a one-and-done kind of lady.

But I also really like sipping something special at the end of the day. It's curiously relaxing to have any sort of special drink to signal work is over, time to play! Cue: agua fresca time!

In this strawberry rhubarb agua fresca I roasted the fruit bare then blended it up with vanilla bean, lime zest and maple syrup. Oh, and a little bit of balsamic. I know, it sounds weeeeeeeird. But trust me it really punches up the strawb flavor!

I've been making big jars of the juice in double batches -- sans sparkling water -- to have on hand for drinks at the end of the day. It's been putting gigantic smiles on Logan's face which makes it totally worth actually roasting the fruit instead of just blending it up like a lazy pants.

To serve I like to load up my glasses with crushed ice and fresh sliced fruit. Top with sparkling water. Then pop a pretty straw in there.

Side note, paper straws SUCK. I use them as photo props because they're pretty. But don't drink out of them unless you like the taste of paper pulp. YUM.

Variations!

Use whole frozen strawberries instead of ice to keep it cool and extra fruity!

Freeze ice cubes full of violets and pansies and more fruit for a fancy presentation!

Sweeten with a couple drops of liquid stevia instead of maple syrup for a sugar-free version!

Add a dash of cardamom for a totally Scandanavian Mexican love-child situation!

If you can't find rhubarb, sub out rhubarb for fresh raspberry and add 2-4 tablespoons lime juice to get that tangy zing.

Roasted Strawberry Rhubarb Agua Fresca (Refined Sugar Free)

Created by Renee on April 21, 2016

This recipe makes 2-3 servings or enough to fill 2 large tumblers or 3 sixteen ounce mason jars. And you can make this ahead! Store it in your fridge for up to 24 hours in a mason jar with a lid — but don’t add the sparkling water until you’re ready to serve.

• Cook Time: 15m

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh strawberries, green tops removed & halved
• 1 cup rhubarb, sliced roughly into 1/2\" pieces
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 1/2 teaspoon lime zest
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon maple syrup (plus more to taste)
• sparkling water
• more fresh strawberries, to garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Spread your sliced strawberries and rhubarb out on your baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes. Then remove from the oven and immediately pour the fruit and the juice into your blender cup.
3. Along with the roasted fruit, add to the blender cup your balsamic vinegar, vanilla bean seeds (scraped from the vanilla bean pod), lime zest, water and maple syrup. Blend until smooth.
4. To serve, pour the juice over ice then top with a couple of inches of sparkling water. Stir everything together. Garnish with fruit as you like! Sip and enjoy!