Sangria

Firstly, do you need a drink?  Sangria is a wonderful Spanish cocktail made from wine, liquor of some kind, fruit and soda.  It tastes kinda like a wine cooler if you do it right.  I made this red wine sangria for a barbeque we hosted last night (everyone enjoyed a glass or two :), but you could do it with white or rose wine as well.  I happened to have a big bottle of merlot taking up space in my closet (oh darn)...and decided this would be a good use for a wine I consider a bit too heavy for general consumption.

Also, be sure to fill the pitcher with fruit too...it's the best part.  Yum!  I like sturdy fruits like apples and oranges, but you could use berries, etc too (just throw those in close to serving time).

Secondly: do you have any burning medical questions? (or alternatively, is something burning that you're medically worried about?)  Incase you do, you're in luck!  I'm writing a series on medically-oriented topics geared for the general public, entitled "Stethoscopes to the Streets," as part of my senior project.  I hope to de-mystify diseases like diabetes, explain the amazing changes that take place when a baby goes from inside to outside the womb, tell you exactly what you'd need to do to become a doctor (if you're considering... :), etc, but I'm open to ideas!!  I'll be turning these articles in to my school for evaluation, but I hope to be able to share the "better" ones with the general public, probably on my blog.  If you have a medical question you'd like answered, either facebook, email, comment, whatever you'd like.  This will be fun, people.

Sangria
1 bottle red wine (I used merlot)
Simple Syrup:  1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup water boiled until sugar dissolves
1/3 cup rum or brandy
Fruit: apples, pears, oranges, grapes
Diet 7-up, for serving.

Combine wine, simple syrup, and rum in a large pitcher.  Chill until cold.  A few hours before serving, add sliced fruit; allow the fruit to soak up all the booze in the refrigerator.  When ready to serve, spoon out some drunken fruit into a wine glass, and fill glass with half sangria, half soda.  Enjoy in the sunshine.