Summer Beverages

One way to combat the July heat is with long, tall cool drinks with or without alcohol. It’s refreshing just to see an ad showing people with sunglasses and straw hats sipping something colorful and fruity. You can almost hear the tinkling of the ice and taste the coolness.

Beverages of all kinds are often ignored in the culinary world. But what a wonderful arena in which to dabble! They’re easy, beautiful, appreciated and fun. Add to that the abundance of fruit this time of year—and new ways to use it for snacks, thus adding up to that all important sum of 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables. Kids love fruit; dig out your blender and make a puree. Then either freeze it with popsicle sticks for a solid treat, or to a slush (add sugar) to add to carbonated soft drinks or soda water for a great summer treat. I had a good time digging up some great ones—and I’m going to try every one before the summer is over.
I’d love to hear from any readers who try them, too.

Freeze some of these drinks or plain compatible fruit juice in ice cube trays to keep the drinks undiluted.

Watermelon is one of my favorite fruit treats. Trouble is they come in such a huge package that if you have a small family you’ve got a lot of watermelon. Here’s one way to use it up.

Watermelon Limeade (Everyday Cooking, July-Aug. ’03)

Working in batches, puree in blender 8 cups chopped seedless watermelon (about 6 pounds) with one-half cup fresh lime juice (about 4 limes) and 2 tablespoons sugar until smooth. Add up to 2 tablespoons more sugar, if needed. Transfer puree to a pitcher; add one-half cup vodka, if desired. Cover; chill until ready to serve. Stir; pour into tumblers, over ice. Garnish with fruit or mint.


Fizzy Strawberry Lemonade

1 (12-oz) can frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed and undiluted
1 (10-oz) pkg. frozen strawberries, partially thawed
3 Tbsp. sugar (or to taste)
1 (1-liter) bottle club soda, chilled

Process first 3 ingredients in a blender until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides.
Pour into a large pitcher; stir in club soda. Serve over ice and decorate with a strawberry half. (Adding rum to this drink would make a good strawberry daiquiri variation)






How about yet another iced tea variation?

Pineapple-orange Herb Tea

2 cups boiling water
12 regular size herb tea bags
1 (11.5-oz can frozen pineapple-orange juice concentrate, thawed and undiluted
2 cups lemon-lime soft drink, chilled

Pour 2 cups boiling water over tea bags; steep 20 minutes. Remove tea bags and discard. Chill tea 1 hour. Stir in juice concentrate and soft drink; serve over ice.
Variation: Substitute 1 (11.5-oz.) canned frozen cranberry-raspberry juice cocktail concentrate, thawed and undiluted for pineapple-orange juice concentrate. (Adapted from Southern Living, March 2005)
I don’t see any reason that regular tea couldn’t be substituted for herbal tea and you would then get the benefit of the antioxidants found in regular teas.

The cantaloupes I have had this year so far have been very good—of course there are tricks to picking a good one. I have heard so many, as you probably have, I’m not sure which ones are really true but I just do them all, covering all my bases. Have you heard that the melon should be heavy for its size, have a heavy and prominent webbing, yellow tinge, good smell? Me too. Here’s a drink I want to try:

Pineapple-Melon Cooler

1 medium cantaloupe, halved, seeded, peeled and cut up
1 Tbsp lemon juice
8 Maraschino cherries, drained
1 46-oz can pineapple juice, chilled
1 quart ginger ale, chilled
Ice

Put first 3 ingredients in blender container; add pineapple juice to cover. Blend till pureed. Combine with remaining juice in pitcher. Add ginger ale. Serve over ice.

The list would not be complete without a great ice cream drink—and nothing is better than peaches and cream. Use this for a healthy afternoon snack or breakfast drink for the kids—or just a treat for yourself.

Peachy-keen Cream Dream

4 large, ripe, juicy peaches or 6 small
1 pint vanilla ice cream, slightly softened
One-half cup half and half (can use fat-free)
1-2 Tbsp. sugar
One-half tsp. almond flavoring

Peel and slice peaches. Put into blender or food processor with ice cream, half and half, sugar and almond flavoring. Process until blended. Pour into tall glasses and serve with long spoons and straws.