“I’m pretty good at staying entertained. Mostly, I like to hang out at a bar I know conveniently located in my backyard.”
— Under the Tuscan Sun
So Chris is deployed, for anyone who didn’t know. I, like many others before me, am practicing a specific skill set in his absence: bartending! When we were in Beijing this winter I bought some lychee (or litchi) tea. It’s round and fruity, very pleasant with a little rose tea, too. 
Back home I bought some lychee juice to try out. That brings me to tonight. I’m listening to 40s music, jazz and other ancient, romantic music fed through the internet on Jacksonville’s Jones College Radio (“A Touch of Elegance”). I love this station for the same reason I love “Casablanca” — it puts a rosy tinge over living overseas and having Chris deployed. Suddenly I feel like some exotic, adventurous film siren in my Asian tatami-mat dressing room. Or a smoky lounge in a Tokyo high-rise. James Bond could walk through the door at any moment. I suppose he and other visiting stars would be offered a Jade Cocktail. It all fits.
Back home I bought some lychee juice to try out. That brings me to tonight. I’m listening to 40s music, jazz and other ancient, romantic music fed through the internet on Jacksonville’s Jones College Radio (“A Touch of Elegance”). I love this station for the same reason I love “Casablanca” — it puts a rosy tinge over living overseas and having Chris deployed. Suddenly I feel like some exotic, adventurous film siren in my Asian tatami-mat dressing room. Or a smoky lounge in a Tokyo high-rise. James Bond could walk through the door at any moment. I suppose he and other visiting stars would be offered a Jade Cocktail. It all fits. .
Anywho, this excellent lychee-based cocktail is named for the variant of the fruit called Jade Purse Lychee. Lychee berries are a bit larger than a grape and grow on an evergreen whose leaves start off coppery and grow emerald in China and other Southeast Asian countries. The thick, inedible reddish skin peels off to reveal a white, fleshy fruit around a mahogany-colored seed. It’s very sweet and makes an excellent Jade Cocktail…very exotic.
Mostly fill a martini glass with lychee juice, squeeze in the juice of 1/3 of a lime, splash in some coconut rum and garnish with a lime wedge! Kampai! (that’s Japanese for cheers!)
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You don’t have to drink alone – let’s drink together! Come over Saturday night – you can even spend the night in a warm house with an even comfier bed! I just have to clean the guest room a little (more like a lot)! I’d love to try your new drink, plus, I have a new one involving roses!
Wow, Mari, I’m totally impressed. That’s one hell of a drink. I don;t know if I could down one of those at home, because I would feel self conscious wearing a cocktail dress and high heels alone … and that seems to be a drink that demands a killer outfit! 🙂
~Brea
Aw, I’m so sorry you’re left alone! How long is he gone? Hopefully it’s just a short cruise around the Pacific.
I can’t help it, but when I try to picture you drinking alone, all I can come up is a drunk Mr. Miyagi in Karate Kid. Remember, when he karate chopped the top off three beer bottles? Daniel asks “how did you do that?” Miyagi says, “Don’t know. First time.”
When did Chris deploy?
We’ve been looking at spring break trips, and we keep seeing trips to Hong Kong listed for like 500 pounds (roughly $700). All I’m saying is that if we end up in Thailand, or Hong Kong, or Japan, you better plan a visit with me! 🙂 Kidding, sort of…
How long’s the deployment? 6 months?
That sounds delicious, Marigirl! I can imagine Nektareeni drinking it in one of her long neck glasses!
I just love this post- so descriptive! It is like a scene out of a movie.
The drink sounds yummy! Also, I do the same thing when I’m doing seemingly mundane things around the house! While cooking, Bridget Jones voice-over: am fabulous and talented kitchen goddess with extraordinary magnetic persona…