I've always wished we had an actual grill that we could use in our hypothetical backyard during cool summer nights, but we do have a little stovetop grill, and I find it helps if I turn on some fun music and pretend I'm not in the kitchen. Kabobs are an easy favorite that never get old. I chop up a bunch of different grillable vegetables, along with some meat or fish, and line everything up on skewers for an always satisfying dinner. Last weekend we made kabobs using scallops, zucchini, ginger and sliced oranges. I loosely followed this recipe.
On especially hot nights, I like my drinks to be so cold the glass hurts my hand. I experimented over the weekend with a classic mojito mixed with homeade grenadine and lots of ice. It was incredibly refreshing and not too sweet. The grenadine recipe I followed is here. I bought Trader Joe's 100% pomegranate juice and used a sugar to juice ratio of 1.5 cups to 2. I have enough grenadine to last me the next few weeks, and a tablespoon here and there will make a standard margarita, whiskey and club soda or mojito go far.
Ice cream is a definite must in the summer. Until last Christmas when my mother-in-law gifted us our fabulous ice cream maker attachment, I was a Ben and Jerry's girl. There are times when lack of planning necessitates a quick trip to the store for a pint of ice cream, but there is something to be said for knowing exactly the ingredients you are adding and being able to control the amount of sugar in every batch. I find that the ice cream my kitchenaid yields is often lighter and more "frozen-yogurty" than the Ben and Jerry pints I buy. This is great during bathing suit season.
I made a peach variety on Sunday and didn't follow any 1 particular recipe, but instead added the amount of each ingredient I thought would be healthiest. The end result for my batter was 1 pint of chopped peaches macerated in 3/4 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of lemon juice and a tablespoon of both vanilla and cinnamon. I then pureed half of the peach mixture and left half roughly chopped to create texture. The pureed portion was mixed in a larger bowl with 2 cups of milk and 1 cup of heavy cream. Both mixtures chilled for about 4 hours in the refrigerator, and then after mixing in my kitchenaid for 10 minutes, I had wonderful peach ice cream.
