Naturally Flavored Water

Choosing everyday beverages sometimes seems a little tricky to me. Though I'll admit that I might love to, I can't drink wine, coffee, or tea all of the time. Because of the sugar, I try to make fruit juice an occasional, and preferably freshly-squeezed, indulgence. Soda's triple-whammy of sugar, caffeine, and chemicals severely limits its appearances in my diet. Even drinks like Crystal Light make me stop and consider how much Red 40 I would really like to be consuming. But let's face it, there is only so much water one can drink before it starts to get, well, a bit boring. When I start to feel bored with my water, I use a trick that my friend Amy taught me to add just a bit of subtle and interesting flavor, naturally and without the addition of a load of extra calories. It's really a variation of the ubiquitous lemon in the water, and is a great way to use up fresh herbs from the package you bought for the recipe and that called for one sprig! The idea is to pair a fruit (or vegetable) and an herb to flavor your water. The water quickly takes on not only the taste of the fruit, but also that of the herb, in a delicate and pleasing way. My favorite combination is orange and rosemary, which I made a whole pitcher of today, but many other pairings work just as well. For a medium-sized water bottle, I usually use just two or three slices of the fruit, and one or two sprigs of the herb; That's really all you need. Bruising the herb a bit will bring out more of the flavor, but is not required. Definitely try the orange rosemary version. For more variety, though, here are some other versions that I like too:

Lemon/Basil

Lime/Cilantro

Cucumber/Mint

Orange Watercress Jicama Salad

I first tasted jicama during a trip to Mexico almost seven years ago. I was so taken by the root's unique combination of sweet, crunchy, earthy, and refreshing characteristics that I immediately turned to my surprised Mexican waiter and asked him to tell me the name of it right away! These days, jicama is a frequent visitor to my kitchen. In the summer, I like to make several variations of Mark Bittman's Jicama and Orange Salad, from his wonderful book How to Cook Everything, to take on picnics and pack in portable lunches. Each of those variations really celebrate the fresh herbs that are so plentiful at that time of year, so I thought it would be great to create a winter version that would celebrate the citrus while it is in season. Taking my cue from both Bittman and the meal I had at BridgePort a few weeks ago, today I made an Orange Watercress Jicama Salad. This is a great winter salad, since the combination of sweet jicama, crisp citrus, and spicy watercress is refreshing and warming all at once! I will pair it with something decidedly savory, like a grilled marinated portabello cap or skirt steak.

Orange Watercress Jicama Salad

1 jicama

3 oranges

1 lime

1/4 tsp. salt

1 cup watercress

Peel the jicama and cut into 1/2 inch cubes, or julienne into "matchsticks" if you have more time and would like a prettier presentation. Place the jicama into a medium-sized bowl and add the juice of one of the oranges and the zest from about half of the orange peel. Cut the remaining oranges into bite-sized pieces and add to the bowl. Add the salt and the juice from half of the lime and toss to combine. Rough chop the watercress, then add to the bowl and combine with the other ingredients.