Every day there are two or three sweating, determined men up and down ladders, painting my house. It is So Hot. They are out there for so many hours. The least I can do is bring them frosty drinks: one at 11:00 in the morning, and another towards the end of the afternoon.
Here's what I've made.
• Grape juice frozen to slushiness in the ice cream freezer (popular).
• Apple juice and ginger ale, over ice, or made into a slushy (see above).
• Half iced tea, half apricot nectar, squeeze of lime juice, fresh mint.
• Coffee, half and half, sugar, and ice cubes run through the blender.
• Homemade cherry limeade.
• Homemade strawberry lemonade.
• Homemade vanilla ice cream, raspberry frozen yogurt, chocolate ice cream, strawberry ice cream, coffee ice cream. Etc.
They still have days to go, so, other ideas that don't rely on corn syrup? I'd love to hear them!
You're making me thirsty! I love the ideas you've listed. How nice of you to remember those who are working hard outside.
ReplyDeleteMy husband's favorite is a smoothie. I dump some frozen fruit (usually strawberries) in the blender along with half a banana and cover with milk, then blend. Yum.
I've been collecting drink recipes lately for the summer but haven't tried any yet. But here are my ideas!
•Brazilian lemonade (limeade with a bit of sweetened condensed milk added)
•Water poured into a glass stuffed with ice, lemons, and mint
•Mango lassi
•Watermelon agua fresca
•Lemonade made with iced herbal tea in place of water
Here are some that are as yet untried by me. Maybe one of them will fit your needs.
ReplyDeletehttp://allrecipes.com/Recipe/easy-orange-cream-slush/detail.aspx
http://www.cooks.com/rec/doc/0,183,144160-249193,00.html
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Melon-Slush-353972
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/blueberry-coconut-slush-10000000600563/
Pineapple juice, frozen then broken into a slush. Mix with lemon-lime soda.
ReplyDeleteAnna, a fav at this house is "Mint aide". My 15 year old makes freshly squeezed lemonaid infused with mint from our garden . . .and OH it is so good and refreshing on a hot day! ;-)
ReplyDeleteOne drink popular at our house is half lemonade (or limeaid) half seltzer (plain, lime flavored, lemon flavored...just stay away from orange flavored- that was not a hit).
ReplyDeleteYou can also blend the above with ice and fresh mint leaves for a very refreshing frozen drink.
Spearmint tea like to find at the Mediterranean places? I must say that with a list that sounds as nice as that one I wouldn't worry about a few repeats :)
ReplyDeleteMint refresher: Ginger ale, soda water/tonic water, mint, lemonade, plenty of ice, splash of grenadine (or general mix to that effect - this is how I make it, google will probably have a different opinion)
ReplyDeleteI can imagine what hot work that is, (says she from the depths of winter)!
ReplyDeleteHere are a couple of mine, I hope you can use them:
Pineapple crush
1. Skin & core a pineapple then cut the flesh into chunks.
2. Put the chunks through a blender, if the pineapple is not sweet enough, add sugar to taste.
3. Add one cup of water and one cup of ice, then blend the pineapple until it's pouring consistency.
4. Fill each glass about half full then top with mineral/soda water, more ice and mint.
Australian spider (ice-cream soda)
Three scoops of ice cream of choice, top with lemonade.
Ginger cordial
1 lime (or other citrus)
1/3 cup caster sugar
7cm-piece fresh ginger, peeled, sliced crossways
Ice cubes, lime wedges & soda water, to serve
Peel the rind from the lime, then juice it.
Place the sugar, ginger, lime rind, lime juice and 1.5 litres water in a saucepan, stir over a low heat until the sugar dissolves.
Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low, simmer for 10 minutes.
Remove from heat, set aside to cool.
Strain into a large jug, place in the fridge to chill. Discard the ginger and zest and lime rind.
To serve, place some cordial in a glass with ice cubes and lime wedges, pour over soda water.
Orange juice, with ice cubes made of some different frozen fruit and/or juice put into an ice cube tray. Incredibly good. Crushed strawberries are particularly nice.
ReplyDeletehoneydew mint sorbet: 1 c simple syrup, one pureed honeydew; several handfuls of chopped mint of basil, frozen in ice cream maker
ReplyDeleteYou are the sweetest person.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a kindness and a generosity of spirit.
Not a little thing - making someone (somebodies!) happy.
We love Italian sodas made with Torani syrup or Monin syrup. These are made with cane sugar! Monin you can find online with lots of great flavors. Green apple and lemon are very brightly flavored, similar to a Jolly Rancher piece of candy. There are also lovely flavors such a rose, lavendar, and violet.
ReplyDeleteThe Torani brand can be purchased in stores such as World Market. We mix these with sparkling water and ice.
We also mix sparkling water with juice to make a cleaner tasting, bubbly treat. Great with lemonade! or pineapple juice, our favorite!Blessings,Wendy
Orange Julius:
ReplyDelete1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
6 oz. OJ concentrate
8 ice cubes
1 teaspoon vanilla
Blend.
~mlk
Coconut milk churned with chocolate chips makes delicious dairy free ice-cream.
ReplyDeleteScrolling through the comments, I was reminded of the Orange Julius - a fav from my childhood.
ReplyDeleteNot a drink, but we've had lots of peach sorbet lately: 2 c. pureed peaches (fresh, frozen or canned), 1 c. + 2T. simple syrup and 1/4 c. lemon juice thrown into an ice cream maker. Delicious.
We've been running O.J. and ice through the blender - might be better with OJ concentrate. We have also been making frozen hot chocolate by putting tons of ice, some water and instant hot chocolate mix - generous on the mix!
ReplyDeleteFor their hydration of the non-frosty variety, a large glass pitcher of fresh water infused with floating slices of lemon, cucumber, and strawberries.
ReplyDeleteSet under the shade of a tree in an ice bath
to keep it chilled.
Fancy, yes,
but they are worth the effort and the visual enticement will add to the beauty
of their sweaty work.
Simply refreshing.
{{* *}}
I used to love the watermelon coolers at Friendly's. They're just watermelon sherbet and seltzer water. Refreshing in the humid air.
ReplyDeleteWhen we lived in Central America we drank a lot of melon drinks. We'd mix chunks of watermelon in a blender with water and sugar (I'd probably use honey, now, and it doesn't take that much...), and sharpen it with lime juice. And then canteloupe the same way, only with pineapple juice, or fresh pineapple chunks blended with the melon. Our house helper would usually push the blended drink through a seive to make it thin and smooth (labor intensive, I know), but I'm not sure that that would be necessary if it were served slushy. Very thirst quenching.
ReplyDeleteI so appreciate the continual inspiration offered here! Thank you.
Iced tea (Thai or American) and Italian sodas are both great with a little milk or cream.
ReplyDeleteI also love this Greek recipe: Sour cherries cooked with lemon and sugar until soft and plump, placed (with their juice) in the bottom of a glass, and topped with ice cubes and lemonade. The cherries at the end are a surprise treat!
Yogurt berry smoothies. I'm sure you've done this.
ReplyDeleteFrozen mixed berries, plain or vanilla yogurt, milk to thin it, vanilla extract and bit of honey or sugar to taste. Play with the proportions to make it as thick as you like. You can sneak in a few ice cubes, but you don't need to. I use a store brand blend of four berries. It's delicious.
The old classic: frozen bananas, vanilla, milk and sugar, well blended. Ice cream headache cold!
Unsweetened sun tea infused with lemon balm or lemon verbena leavesover plenty of ice. Who needs sugar?
Easy Pineapple-OJ slushie ...
ReplyDeleteFreeze orange juice in ice-cube trays. Fill a glass with the OJ cubes, then pour pineapple juice over. Let sit a few minutes, then stir till slushy. One of my all-time favorites ... (especially good if the OJ is fresh-squeezed, but good either way!)
We have been going through a lot of iced coffee here.
ReplyDeleteI just make a whole pot of coffee in the morning, and in the afternoon I serve up 1/3 cup coffee and 2/3 cup creamy chocolate milk and fill the glass very full with ice cubes. Since chocolate milk is the new recovery drink for athletes, I figure I am serving up a rather healthy drink (since I believe coffee is one of the food groups) :) Serve with a straw to aid in the stirring.
White House, Black Shutters just had a whole week of yummy summery drinks. I haven't tried any, but they look delicious. http://www.whitehouseblackshutters.com/search/label/summer%20drink%20week
ReplyDeleteI usually do frozen berries, a banana and milk or juice for a frozen treat :)
Tazo Passion Iced Tea brewed strong -- freeze it into ice cubes -- then run thru the Vitamix with another brewing of tea and sweeten with Stevia. Heavenly and not so heavy as a smoothie . .
ReplyDeleteA few of our summertime favorites are:
ReplyDelete-Homemade watermelon lemonade
-Arnold Palmer
-Equal parts ginger ale, pineapple, and cranberry juice
-100% juice mixed with San Pellegrino
-Agua de Jamaica
4 c boiling water
1/2 cup dried Jamaica flowers
1/2 c sugar (or to taste)
3 c cold water
Add flowers and sugar to boiling water. Steep for 10 min. Stir to break down sugar. Strain flowers. Add cold water. Add more sugar or water to taste. Chill. Serve with lime slices.
-Ina Garten's Herbal iced tea
4 bags red zinger tea
4 bags lemon zinger tea
4 cups 100% apple juice
Steep tea bags in 4 c boiling water for 10 min. Add apple juice and chill.
-Serve all drinks with plenty of crushed ice or frozen juice cubes-
Enjoy!
I'm loving all these great drink ideas! Way to go keeping your boys hydrated out in that heat! Here's one I saw on Food Network that I thought looked yummy.
ReplyDeleteApple and Mint Punch
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
Serves:
5 1/2 cups
Ingredients
2 cups water
4 green tea bags
1 1/2 cups (100 percent) apple juice (recommended: Martinelli's)
1 cup Mint Simple Syrup, recipe follows
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from 1 large lemon)
1 cup sparkling water, chilled
Ice
Garnish: fresh mint sprigs, optional
Directions:
In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil over medium-high heat.
Turn off the heat, add the tea bags and let steep for 6 minutes.
Remove the tea bags and cool the tea to room temperature, about 45
minutes. Pour the cooled tea into a large pitcher. Add the apple
juice, Mint Simple Syrup and lemon juice. Refrigerate until ready to
serve.
To serve, add the sparkling water and pour the punch into ice-filled
glasses. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs, if desired.
Ingredients
Mint Simple Syrup:
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 packed cup fresh mint leaves
Directions:
Add the water
and sugar to a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium heat,
stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, about 3 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and add the mint leaves. Allow the syrup
to cool, about 20 minutes. Strain before using.
All of your drinks sound tasty! When I'm hot and thirsty, what I always want is homemade lemonade or limeade, and my one tip is this: I always stir a dash of salt into each glass. This quenches thirst better and helps with electrolyte balance.
ReplyDeleteHere's a recipe that makes a lot of the base--if you don't halve it, it should do you for the rest of the painting job. One of the ingredients does usually have corn syrup (lemonade concentrate) but you might be able to find it sans corn syrup or leave it out and add lemon juice to taste to get the tartness you like.
ReplyDeleteSlushy
6 cups water
1 cup sugar
2 12 oz. cans frozen orange juice concentrate
1 12 oz. can frozen lemonade concentrate
1 46 oz. can pineapple juice
5 very ripe bananas, very well mashed (pureed, even)
Boil water and sugar together for one minute. Cool and mix well with other ingredients. Cover and freeze.
To serve, scrape desired amount of frozen slushy into a glass. Pour something carbonated (we like club soda) over and enjoy!
Ginger
Have you tried your recipe's sweetened with agave nectar yet? It isn't corn syrup.
ReplyDeleteI know it may sound weird but one thing that really seems to hit the spot when you are becoming dehydrated is purple grape juice with a dash or two of sea salt in it. It helps to restore electrolytes. If it is homegrown grape juice, then all the better!
ReplyDeleteAmy F.
One of our favorites is 1 large can of pineapple juice and one can of cream of coconut. Blend and pop in the freezer or the ice cream maker (how smart!) and serve as is. We like this so much.
ReplyDeleteBTW, I think all of the comments here could be put in a summer drink book.
Other than homemade iced tea and lemonade, I have never really made any special drinks. Now I am feeling inspired!
ReplyDelete~Kate
I have a few vintage cookbooks with fantastic ideas for "hot weather menus." I came across "blender fruit soups" which are smoothies - much more clever ideas than what I usually think up. I saw a savory eggnog today in my 1954 Joy of Cooking.
ReplyDeleteSomething that I do that doesn't require a cookbook: take one of those flavored herbal fruit teas and ice it. I can't stand these hot, but iced with a bit of sugar and lime, fantastic. Our favorites are Red Zinger and Morroccan something - roiboos tea and pomegranate.
I just bought vanilla seltzer at the grocery store today - haven't seen that before. I'm going to experiment with putting chocolate ice cream in it for an ice cream soda.
Mush like Tom Sawyer. The "you know you want to paint my house" type of Tom Sawyer. Now everyone is going to want to come "play" at your house.
ReplyDeleteThere's the makings of a brilliant book here. So many good ideas.
ReplyDeleteThe summer drink from Little House cook book, peppermint tea: http://adrienneand.blogspot.com/2011/07/iced-peppermint-tea.html, Blueberry Lemonade (add some caned blueberry juice to lemonade), Cream Cheese ice cream: http://adrienneand.blogspot.com/2011/07/happiness-is.html
ReplyDeleteOhh! So many great ideas! I am reminded of my grandpa telling us threshing stories. His mom died when he was 13 and he was the youngest of 13 children so he followed his brothers to logging camps and out to Saskatchewan for threshing. It was hot, but the women provided bountiful lunches and snacks. They always served up a dill pickle before the beverages so that the boys and men would retain the fluid they were about to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite cool afternoon pick me up right now is:
1-2 ripe bananas
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
3 cups of ice
2-3 TBSP chocolate Ovaltine powder
splash of vanilla
I dump it all in the blender and use the ice crush setting and it make three ice good energizing treats.
Blueberry Iced Tea, made using Celestial Seasonings blueberry tea bags. Follow the recipe on the box! You can add a smidge of sugar if you like it sweet.
ReplyDeleteWe also like mint-infused simple syrup in seltzer water.
Hello! I enjoy your blog SO much, it is a refreshing inspiration to continue making my home welcoming and love-full.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I love smoothies, and a simple favorite is this sunshiny pineapple one:
1 lg. can of pineapple chunks in pineapple juice
(we bought a couple gallon cans at a
liquidation outlet)
Fill several ice cube trays with the juice, ladling it out of the can. Freeze.
Spoon out enough pineapple chunks to cover one or two cookie sheets. Freeze.
Refrigerate the rest of the juice and chunks.
To "smooth":
Toss in 4-6 ice cubes
and around 1/2 a cup of pineapple chunks.
in the blender.
Pour in (1cup?) pineapple juice and
1/3 to 1/2 cup non-frozen pineapple chunks.
Blenderize, adding more liquid as necessary.
Tangy and naturally sweet, this is a snap to make, and also filling!
Emerge