secret recipe club: minted pineapple lime agua fresca

this month, i have not one, but TWO recipes for the secret recipe club! since it's been abnormally hot and dry here - highs above 90 and 14+ days without rain - and from what i hear, it's hot everywhere, we could all use a nice, cold beverage. or a cold drink, if you live in our house.

i adapted this from paige's blog, recipe paiges. while her adaptation sounded great - pineapple juice + lime juice + seltzer - i couldn't help but add some mint and swap the seltzer for plain old water. with water, instead of carbonated seltzer, this keeps for a couple days. which is perfect when your husband is in orlando for the week and you're sipping this agua fresca on the patio for a couple evenings. and the mint. my mint is going crazy, so i seem to find any excuse to add it. and it adds an extra boost of refreshing.

what's the secret recipe club? it's a much better version of secret santa. each month participating bloggers are assigned another participating blogger to make a recipe from. you pick the recipe, adapt it as you wish, make it, and blog it on the same day as the other participating bloggers. click to find out more information or join.

minted pineapple lime agua fresca
adapted from recipe paiges, who adapted it from real mom kitchen, who adapted it from betty crocker
30 minutes, serves 4

if you don't like pulp in your pineapple juice, pour it through a fine mesh sieve first.

1/4 cup sugar
small bunch of fresh mint
2 cups pineapple juice
2 1/4 cups water, divided
1/4 cup lime juice
frozen pineapple juice for serving

1. add the sugar and 1/4 cup water in a small saucepan. bring to a boil, remove from heat, and add the fresh mint. cover and let sit for about 30 minutes. strain the syrup.
2. in a pitcher, mix the cooled syrup, pineapple juice, 2 cups water, and lime juice. 
3. serve over frozen cubes of pineapple juice.