Joseph Gordon The Phoenix

Wow, we're already into February and this weather has been extreme.

High temperatures have made for horrifically dry days, so remember to slip, slop and slap and increase your fluid intake due to these muggy nights.

One of our customers wanted a simple Sangria recipe for a barbecue, so we took the basic recipe and spiced it up. In essence, we combined the Sangria, mulled wine and highly recognised mojito recipes to give more depth to his creation.

So here's the recipe.

‘Spiced up' simple Sangria

Ingredients:

4 bottles soda water

1 bottle lemonade

4 green tea bags

1 crumbled cinnamon stick

1 handful ‘slapped' fresh mint

3 sliced lemons

6 sliced fresh peaches

1 diced watermelon

1 chilled bottle of rose and sauvignon blanc

2 handfuls lestershim flowers, dropped in just before serving.

Method:

Combine all ingredients into a large container, mix well and if possible, leave in a chilled area for a couple of hours before adding two bags of ice. Stir well and serve.

Also, you delete the wines, add two bottles of Aloe Vera juice and you have a very classy summer punch.

Or remove the wines, add a bottle of rum with some brown sugar and hey presto, a wonderful ‘Planter's Punch'.

Speaking of balmy night entertainment, The Phoenix Movie Nights are still going, with ‘Grease' hitting 800 movie-goers, and ‘Inception' playing tomorrow night. It's free so grab a chair or beanbag and come on down. See you here!

The Weekend Sun has a $50 The Phoenix voucher to give away to a lucky reader who can tell us how many cinnamon sticks are in this column's sangria recipe?

To enter the competition, click here.

Entries must be received before Wednesday, February 10.