Whew! What a week. We can do it, everyone. The weekend is nigh. But I am not waiting for the weekend to have another one of these babies.

Dave has been in New York. There’s a potluck tomorrow at work. Did I mention we’re in the middle of a renovation? And I am getting in the groove with my new volunteer opportunity at the Montavilla Farmers Market – we had another board meeting this week, and I’ve already learned so much in such a short time. It is really amazing what goes on behind the scenes (spoiler alert: it is a lot!) The best part is getting together with members of my community to do some good and to support local agriculture. Every time, I walk away with a smile.

This weekend at the market we are highlighting strawberries in a new feature called “Taste of the Market.” And while I was planning our weekly newsletter, I was reminded that I still had some homemade strawberry syrup in the fridge. No fresh strawberries left, though – I’ll be picking more of those up this weekend.

This cocktail is a fancier version of getting a jug of lemonade and adding a shot of vodka, but in my opinion it’s well worth the extra steps. I mean, it’s sparkling. That alone makes it better. But using real simple syrup and actual strawberries and lemons is what really makes it. And I think it’s a perfect refresher for when you’ve just finished tidying the garden. The plants aren’t the only thing that need a little watering!

But I also like it because it uses one of my very favorite tools in the kitchen, the Sodastream (btw, this is not a sponsored post). That baby gets me through the hot days in the summer (and I use it way more than just then). I love being literally seconds away from sparkling water all the time. I keep the bottles chilled in my fridge, just full of tap water, so I can have the fizzy water nice and cold whenever I want and at peak carbonation – which has really curbed my sugary soda consumption, I might add. When I was ready to make this cocktail, all I had to do was pull one of the plastic water bottles out of the fridge and buzz it in the Sodastream.

Here’s what you need for one cocktail:

• 1.5 oz. vodka
• 1 oz. strawberry syrup (you can also use regular simple syrup and add some smashed strawberries to the bottom of the glass)
• .75 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Sparkling water
• Fresh mint or other herbs for garnish (optional)

Gently stir together the vodka, syrup and lemon juice at the bottom of the glass. Finish filling the glass with ice cold sparkling water and serve. If you’d like, you can garnish with fresh mint.