I have to admit that this idea came to me while watching my young son drop grape halves into a glass of water. Since that day I have been watching him closely for further inspiration.

　　

Ingredients

28 ice cubes

　　1/2 pound seedless red or green grapes

　　2 cups chilled still water

　　

Step 1

1. Cut the grapes in half and divide into two equal parts. Puree half of the grapes with 1/2 cup of the water in a blender until smooth, for about 30 seconds.

　　

Step 2

2. Pour the rest of the water into a pitcher. Strain the pureed grape mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into the pitcher, and stir well.

　　

Step 3

3. Place the remaining grape halves in the wells of standard ice cube trays. Fill the trays with the grape-water mixture and freeze.

　　Cooks' Note

　　WATER PAIRINGS:

　　Squirt of Apio-Rey

　　TIP:

　　Be on the lookout for interesting seedless grapes. My favorite for this recipe is a new seedless Muscat—it has all the flavor of a regular Muscat grape without the bother of the seeds.

　　Excerpted from Cool Waters, by Brian Preston-Campbell. Photographs copyright © 2009 by Jerry Errico. © 2009, used by permission from The Harvard Common Press.