It’s too hot to cook…. Davidge Fruit Frappe

When it is hot and humid I don’t want to move, let alone prepare food. Yet, I get grouchy if I don’t eat – and even more grouchy when I am hot and hungry.  My hot weather strategy?  Easy, prepare ahead items that can be stored in the refrigerator and eaten cold. With another hot week ahead of us, over the next few days The Mouse House will feature several ‘it’s too hot to cook’ recipes.

This first recipe is from my husband. When we first met, he made this protein shake weekly; all I needed to do was grab a glass and pour. Since we’ve been married, I've become the shake maker.  In the summer I use whatever local fruit I find in my weekly CSA share (community supported agriculture) or at the local farmers’ market. Other seasons, I reach for the fruit I’ve cut up and frozen during the local growing season, frozen berries, or the apples, pears, and bananas from the local grocery store.

The best thing about this recipe? You can add or subtract ingredients based on what you have in the house. No banana? Skip it. A pineapple that needs to be used today? Toss it in. Experiment until you find the combinations that you and your family prefer. (I always add cranberries: fresh in the fall and the ones I freeze to have on hand all year.)

Davidge Fruit Frappe

Mix in blender (in order shown)

Banana

3-4 Tbsp. yogurt, any flavor, or plain

2 scoops protein powder

1 small container yogurt, different flavor or plain

Assorted fruit (handful of each – fresh or frozen)

Pear (peeled)

Apple (peeled)

Peach (peeled)

Blueberries

Raspberries

Strawberries

Cranberries

Kiwi

  Watermelon or other melon

Or your choice

¼ cup flaxseed oil

¼ cup wheat germ

Sprinkle of Quaker Oats oatmeal flakes (regular, not instant)

Orange and/or cranberry juice to fill container

Keeps for up to one week in refrigerator.

Moon River Root Beer Floats

As always happens, hearing Andy Williams singing "Moon River" brings me back to Auntie Vi's den, sitting on her sofa with my sister Polly, watching Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's. Drinking root beer floats out of Auntie Vi's tall, colorful aluminum glasses, using her silver iced tea spoons to fish bits of vanilla ice cream into our mouths. We loved spending the night at Auntie Vi's as our beloved great aunt let us stay up 'late' to watch movies - a real treat as we sometimes did not have a television at home, although we did have set bedtimes.

In honor of Auntie Vi, who would now be 113, and Polly, who would be 52, I offer my memory of our Moon River Root Beer Floats.

Put a scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream (no low fat or frozen yogurt please....)into a tall glass, then fill the glass with a good quality root beer.
Stir with an iced tea spoon.