Nourishments—

Summer Memories, Summer Drinks

By Nancy K. Crevier

A really hot summer day calls for lots of fluids, and while water is far and away the best way to re-hydrate, an icy drink with a burst of flavor can hit the spot.

My Aunt Helen was in charge of my two sisters and me during summer breaks from school when we were growing up. She lived on a busy street corner, but her yard was (to small girls, at least) vast and filled with wonderful hedges, bushes, and garden paths that invited games of hide-n-seek, or foot races from the edge of the street to the alleyway behind the house.

Aunt Helen wisely swept us out the door after lunch, no matter the temperature, where we were free to relieve ourselves of excess energy and amuse ourselves with the tools provided by nature: dirt, water, bugs, petals, leaves, birch bark, and a number of large-limbed trees.

After a couple of hours of running ourselves ragged, Aunt Helen would appear at the back door, a large pitcher swathed in a kitchen towel, and a stack of paper cups tucked under her arm. Down to the fishpond we would go, where she would toss down a blanket on the lawn at the pond’s edge, and serve us a cooling drink. Lemonade was always popular, but I loved it when she would mix it half and half with orange juice, the sweet tang of the lemon mellowed by the orange flavor.

Kool-Aid was another favorite afternoon drink, and we didn’t mind when she mixed the grape flavor with the lemon-lime, resulting in a rather shadowy gray beverage. It was sweet and cold, and went down smoothly as we rested in the shade of plum trees and peony bushes, listening to Aunt Helen read an excerpt from Bambi or The Jungle Book.

An exceptionally steamy day might get us called in to the kitchen and bring on a special treat of a foamy root beer float. We sipped happily away from collapsing paper straws, the sticky froth running down the sides of the glasses and arms to pool on the Formica tabletop.

And who can forget the fun of Fizzies, the magical tablets that burst into color and carbonation when dropped into water? Nothing was better at making us forget how hot we were in that pre-air conditioned era.

By the time I had small children of my own, I had become a bit of a snobby food purist, scorning the overly or artificially sweetened packaged drinks and commercial lemonade for 100 percent fruit juices cut with sparkling water, maple syrup sweetened colas, or lemon water lightly sweetened with honey and poured over ice, or of course, plain ice water. Our down time on a hot day included as many videos, I confess, as it did stories, and were more often shared in the shade of the living room furniture than a leafy tree, but it all served the same purpose: chilling our bodies and chilling our minds.

Eventually, I broke down and admitted that a lot of the “natural” beverages just did not taste as deliciously refreshing as their less healthy counterparts, and frozen lemonade (particularly the pink version), and Dad’s Root Beer slipped back into our repertoire of cooling summer drinks. The tumblers of sparkling juices, I’m pleased to report, have managed to stay in the line-up, and grown-up versions have been added. (I still draw the line on serving Kool-Aid, though, no matter what fond memories it dredges up.)

Fruit juices or juice concentrates can be the basis of any creative drink. Still water, mineral water, or sparkling water added can lighten the beverage and make it less caloric, or sweeten it up by using lemonade to complement a berry juice.

Freshly brewed black tea mixed with lemonade is a refreshing picker-upper on a sweltering afternoon. More lemonade makes it sweeter, of course.

A heartier summer drink is inspired by the Indian yogurt lassi, a not-too-sweet blend of yogurt, lemon juice, rose water, honey, and ice. Add some mango puree for a real treat.

For adults only, mix three parts sparkling pomegranate apple cider with one part Cabernet Sauvignon, and serve over crushed ice in a tall glass. Another grown-up sparkler I like to drink on a hot evening is two parts Riesling with one part orange juice, and one part sparkling mineral water, on ice, naturally. For a non-alcoholic cooler, mix apple or pear cider half and half with lemon juice and top off with sparkling water. Thread fresh strawberries or pineapple onto a swizzle stick and let the fruit  mull in any of the drinks.

There is really no end to how creative summer drinks can be. It’s all about making summer fun, and putting out of mind the rocketing temperatures outside.

And don’t forget the best part of beating the heat with an ice-cold beverage — close your eyes, lean back, and have someone read you a story — classics preferred.