By Catharine L. Kaufman — a.k.a. The Kitchen Shrink

If summer conjures up memories of your childhood’s liquid treats, of teenage romance over frothy drinks shared through double straws, or nostalgia for some heady grownup party libation, just sample the cold and wet delights below to bring fantasy to life.

Smoothies are a good place to start if you like a good old American yarn with your made-to-order concoction that’s often thicker than a pudding. The Smoothie was invented, so the story goes, by a lactose-intolerant soda jerk named Steve Kuhnau, who satisfied his craving for the milkshakes he had to serve others but could not digest himself, by whipping up equally satisfying ones with fruits (or sometimes with veggies), crushed ice and whatever flavorings and other non-dairy ingredients he had at hand. His customers noticed, asked to taste, liked his concoctions and encouraged Kuhnau to create various combinations. Before long, he had a nation-wide chain of smoothie shops and came to be known as the “Smoothie King,”

Today, imagination is the limit for smoothie ingredients. Some versions even cater to the lactose-tolerant, with frozen or fresh yoghurt or moo-milk added to the fruit and crushed ice. Others smooth out the smoothies with milks made of soy, almond, hazelnut or rice, to which, of course, are added honey, assorted fruits and flavorings. Smoothies also come in savory and spicy blends, with plain yoghurt, basil leaves, zest of lemon, sea salt and cayenne pepper for both a tasty and healthy kick.

Bananas lend creamy and milk-shake-like consistency to smoothies, even without nut-milk or dairy-based ingredients. Favored by health-minded people, these filling drinks are often ‘fortified’ with herbs, green tea (in liquid or powder form), zinc, vitamin C and other nutrients.

From fabulous berry brain-freeze blasts to mango meltdowns, smoothies are easy to prepare at home—preferably with all organic ingredients, to avoid the heavy load of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals that such a concentrated drink can deliver. All you need is a good blender with ice crushing features, fresh and/or frozen fruits, and some plant-based milk. Serve in plain or decorative glasses with fun garnishes and crazy, twisty straws.

Lemonade — The old fashioned kind made of fresh-squeezed lemons, sugar and water, has been puckering lips and quenching thirst since antiquity, from Egypt to France. Among more recent versions is my blend of honey or brown sugar, fresh or frozen berries, a splash of cranberry juice and a pinch each of peppermint and ginger. I top each serving with floating blueberries and orange slices for eye-pleasing garnish.

Slush or Slurpee—It’s All Shaved Ice — Whatever it’s called, no one can resist it as long as the syrup is brightly colored, knock-your-teeth-out sweet and poured over a mountain of ice shavings that freezes your tongue on contact. Its ancestor is the ‘snow cone,’ which became an instant hit at the Texas State Fair in 1919. Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, it was widely copied and renamed—from Slurpee to Slush and finally, to Hawaiian Shave’ Ice, which comes now all dressed up with tropical fruit slices and exotic flavorings that range from “Piña Colada” to “Grape Juice,” “Lemon Blackberry” and “Strawberry Rhubarb.”

Tea Time — No sooner was the exotic brew introduced to Great Britain that it took hold of the entire British Empire. The national addiction to ‘a cupa’ whenever one needed comfort, an energizing pick-me-up or just a quiet break from daily stress, eventually gave birth to the genteel tradition of Tea Time, around which British social life revolved—and to some degree still does.

Colonial Americans swore off tea drinking for a while to symbolize their break from the Crown, but after gaining independence, the U.S. of A., enthusiastically re-embraced the fragrant—and as it was more recently discovered, quite healthy—brew. In fact, during the 19th century, both British and American cookbooks featured tea recipes. Some of these recommended spiking the tea with brandy, sherry, claret, sweet liquors or champagne—a practice better suited to the pub than drawing room, though no complaints have ever been recorded.
With the introduction of the icebox and commercially produced ice at the 1904 World’s Fair, cooled drinks become popular—a trend that culminated with Iced Tea, which is still enormously popular the world over.
Today, Americans are drinking nearly 100 million glasses of iced tea every day. This adds up to more than two billion dollars in annual sales of iced tea served table-side or sold bottled and canned with various enhancements and flavorings by restaurants, supermarkets and other food outlets.
Although ‘tea time’ hasn’t quite reached the ubiquity of ‘coffee break’ in the U.S., it’s heading for first place, thanks to the proliferation of countless varieties—caffeinated or decaf—from plain or fancy black tea, to the antioxidant green and twig teas, newly touted white, herbal, medicinal, berry, fruity, floral and other brews. Any and all are served year-round—as ice-cold summer refreshments or piping hot to ward off winter chills and sniffles, sweetened or not; with or without milk, honey or lemon; and at times even ‘mellowed’ with alcohol. .
The health-conscious crowd drinks green tea, while down in Dixie black tea is served sweet and made fragrant with mint leaves. A combo of half iced tea and half lemonade is named after golf legend Arnold Palmer, while the John Daly variation is spiked with Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka.
Bubble Tea is a gourmet Asian brew and trendy summer refresher, in which pearl tapioca, black tea, milk and sugar are blended with ice. The ‘in’ tea these days is Chai, which comes in black, green, red and white tea varieties, infused with liquor, spicy or flavored with apricot, amaretto, ginger, honey, berry, coconut, pomegranate, almond, cherry, caramel, chocolate, cinnamon, bee pollen or anything your taste buds can dream up.
Brain Freeze Coffee Buzz — A cup of chilled Java—fully-leaded or decaf, plain, spiked with brandy or topped with whipped cream, chocolate sprinkles or a dusting of cinnamon—may be served in upscale restaurants as an after dinner treat, or made to order at Starbucks and other outlets set up for such assembly.

Takeout pre-fab Frappuccinos can be found in the refrigerated sections of supermarkets and convenience stores. To whip up your own customized iced coffee concoctions at home, try an iced mocha fusion shake blending vanilla extract with sugar, mocha coffee mix and crushed ice. Just as exciting is the cappuccino cooler with its blend of cold coffee with chocolate syrup, crushed ice, a dollop of chocolate ice cream and the whole shebang topped with whipped cream. Or simply blend other kinds of milk—such as almond, rice or condensed—with cold coffee from dark roasted beans, shaved ice and a sprinkling of cardamom. Starbucks now features such summer coffee coolers as caramel Frappuccino and iced coffee using East African beans with a citrus essence.

Whatever Floats Your Boat — Nostalgic soda fountain treats like root beer, Coke or lemon lime floats, cherry fizzes or chocolate egg creams can be revamped to a healthier version using carbonated spring water with a splash of pomegranate, blood orange or grape juice, and frozen yogurt or non-dairy scoops.

Cocktails and Mocktails for Summer Happy Hours — No time like these economic doldrums to take advantage of discounted Happy Hour drinks some bars and lounges offer to attract patrons during the slow business period before dinner. The expression is believed to have originated in 1920s, as Navy slang for sailors’ scheduled down times aboard their ships, when they could watch movies or otherwise relax and have fun. But it was civilians—or rather the managers of cocktail lounges and other drinking establishments—who equated “Happy” with “tipsy,” and transformed the before-dinner Happy Hour into a (drinking) tradition.

Although it survived Prohibition, Happy Hour was tamed somewhat in the l980s, when bars were required to serve free hors d’oeuvres with the drinks to slow the rate of inebriation among the patrons. O yes… Eventually, HH was evicted from military bases.

In today’s hectic and obsessive-compulsive work and play environment, cocktail breaks are taken whenever and wherever one’s schedule and location allows. Drinking, for example, is no longer allowed on some beaches. Lucky for those who will never know what it’s like to cool down with a tall Tom Collins (lemon, sugar and gin) and wake up with third degree sunburn.

Indoors or a shady veranda is best for sipping a peachy Fuzzy Navel, a legendary Kentucky Derby Mint Julep (easily mistaken for a snow cone with shaved ice, bourbon and mint leaves) or a Strawberry Daiquiri. The latter has been reinvented in designer flavors that include chocolate strawberry, avocado, pineapple, passion fruit, melon and mint.

Margarita mavens blend fresh lime juice with tequila—although they may get creative by adding a splash of cranberry juice, blue agave and blood orange—before pouring it into their salt-rimmed glasses.

Fancy a Cosmopolitan? Make it different by swapping the cranberry juice for pear or papaya juice for a refreshing summer cocktail. White Wine Spritzers are the “easy does it” compromise for sunny days and elegant dinners.

Turn any cocktail into a mocktail for your teetotaler friends by leaving out the alcohol and letting them improvise with fruit slices and splashes of fizzy mineral water. Think, Shirley Temples, Tornado Twists, Apple Juleps and virgin varieties of Mint Juleps, Piña Coladas and Daiquiris.

Drink Décor — Light up your mocktails and cocktails with garnishes of whimsically carved fruit or vegetable slices, swizzle sticks and crazy straw props. Hang strips of orange, lemon or lime rind over the glass rim. Float whole kumquats, frozen grapes or lychees on an amber drink. Skewer fruit cubes on a thin bamboo stick and balance it across the glass rim—or use veggie cubes, pitted olives and pearl onions for the savory drinks. Make ice cubes with frozen berries inside and use them in drinks. Float an attention getter in each drink, such as ribbons of shaved fresh coconut, a teaspoon of pomegranate seeds or small dollops of gelato or sorbet. Do, however, steer clear of cherries to protect your guests from the inevitable stray pits.