Miscellaneous Monday - Welcome to Summer!

[Summer Hogan]

Hi everyone, 

Last Thursday, June 20th was officially the first day of Summer! 

Summer is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centered on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice. 

My favorite summer treats are watermelon and gelato! As soon as watermelon is in season I start eating it and can't stop until they stop selling it at the grocery store. I also love gelato. Yesterday, it shot up to 108 degrees in Phoenix so I went for an afternoon snack of gelato and got Butter Pecan! It was so good. 

Share with everyone if you could have an endless supply of any Summer treat, what would it be?

[Shawn Doyle - ReleaseTEAM]

Soft serve ice cream

[Amanda Barber]

Custard is big here in Wisconsin, but I definitely prefer soft serve! Yum!

[Summer Hogan]

Yum! 

[Amanda Barber]

Watermelon is definitely high on my summer foods list. I also love a chocolate banana shake, or a black cow (root beer) shake!

[Summer Hogan]

Love your ideas @Amanda Barber!

[Andy Gladstone]

Butter Pecan! Now I know why we are friends.

I'll break mine down into two treats:

Healthy: Juicy plump strawberries. Nothing like biting into a sweet strawberry while sitting on a lounge chair with an ice cold glass of water. 

Not as healthy: Soft serve vanilla and butter pecan swirl in a sugar cone, with chocolate sprinkles. Must be eaten indoors to avoid melting down my arm.

Now I'm hungry...

[Summer Hogan]

Yes, the butter pecan is so yummy @Andy Gladstone! Yes, strawberries are also so good; they are one of my other favorites! 

[Dave Rosenlund _Trundl_]

Love this topic, @Summer Hogan. And how appropro that your name aligns perfectly with it! 🤪

I have a few to share:

1. I stopped drinking soda many, many years ago, but every summer, I'll have a rootbeer float with coffee ice cream one or two (or three) times.
2. In early summer, a strawberry shortcake made with fresh/local strawberries is a must.
3. Towards the end of summer, nothing beats fresh-picked, local, New England corn on the cob in my book.

And now my mouth is drooling 🤤

[Summer Hogan]

Oh my gosh! Those are all so good @Dave Rosenlund _Trundl_! I might partake in some of those too! Although, I won't have access to New England corn on the cob, but maybe someday I'll get to New England! 

[Matt Doar _Adaptavist_]

A well-made gin and tonic. Though not an endless supply!

[Dave Rosenlund _Trundl_]

OK, I amend my list list…  #4…

I totally agree with you, @Matt Doar _Adaptavist_ !  An awesome summertime libation!  

[Andy Gladstone]

A man who is spending time in Kentucky should be looking at a Mint Julep!

[Summer Hogan]

Great idea @Matt Doar _Adaptavist_! I also love some summer libations! Mojito's are my fav! So refreshing! 

[Rebekka Heilmann _viadee_]

Absolutely second that!

I recently figured out that my thermo cups (that I got gifted at some point but never use, as I don't drink coffee) are absolutely perfect for keeping a G&T cold as well.

So I started going out for evening walks with my cup filled with liquid happiness & some good music - just having the time of my life!

[Esther Strom]

Watermelon is one of my faves, too. Have you ever tried salting your watermelon? Hear me out! Just like salt makes chocolate taste more like chocolate, salt on watermelon intensifies the flavor. I use popcorn salt, because it's super-fine, and just put a tiny sprinkle on each chunk as I'm about to eat it; I learned the hard way that salting it too soon will result in a bowlful of mush.

Sweet corn is another one. I really need to get to the farmers market this weekend!

My favorite cold treat is sorbet - either watermelon or strawberry. For a grown-up "float", a small scoop of berry sorbet in a glass of prosecco is a really nice summer drink.

[Summer Hogan]

Yes, I have salted my watermelon @Esther Strom and I really don't care for it. But the sweet corn is also delicious and your grown-up float sounds great! 

[Teodora V]

I enjoy local summer fruits like apricots, peaches, and plums with some skyr or greek yogurt mixed with protein powder (that's my go-to post-workout lunch the entire summer).

But my guilty pleasure, I would definitely go with graft gelato, preferably very dark chocolate and something nutty. 🤤

[Summer Hogan]

Sounds yummy @Teodora V!

[Sandra Axelsdottir]

I'm very jealous of the ones that have good summer weather that makes them seek out special treats! 

Living in Iceland, we don't get hot summers even though we do get some slightly better weather ... Regardless of the weather or the season, we have a steady all-year-round ice cream culture and we go for ice cream whenever we feel like it. The country as an endless count of ice cream shops and the most popular item on the menu is "Bragðarefur" - Soft ice cream with candy where you choose 3 types of ingredients to mix in with the ice cream (candy, fruit, fudge)

[Johnson, Viki (VJOHNSON)]

I live near Washington, DC and I do NOT enjoy the heat (and humidity) of Summer here - I'm jealous of YOUR climate in Iceland! That makes sense if you look at my genetic ancestry profile; I'm mostly Scandinavian, plus some German and Dutch, so I'd argue that I'm optimized for a cooler climate. :-) And I'd agree that ice cream is good in any season! Thanks for sharing the "Bragðarefur" description - now if only I could pronounce it! ;-D

[Summer Hogan]

This is very interesting @Sandra Axelsdottir! Thank you for sharing! 

[Summer Hogan]

Welcome to the community @Johnson, Viki (VJOHNSON)!

[ABR]

Hi! It was so much fun reading about all the summery deliciousness from you all!

I live in India, and in a warmer clime of the subcontinent - so summer is almost a 8 month reality for us! Although only 4 or 5 months are the most intense with soaring temperatures and high humidity! All of it becomes not only bearable but exciting due to mangoes! With over 1,500 varieties cultivated across the country and enjoyed in countless cooked and raw forms, it is our National Fruit and the secret of surviving the rage of the summer sun! 

Other than that, I love Kulfis! This is India's format of ice-cream/gelato! Made from milk cream, some sweeteners, condiments and flavors (several fruits, spices and nuts may be used separately or in combination, depending on the maker's creativity) - this melt-in-the-mouth piece-of-heaven is generally frozen in metal or earthenware cones! It's served with rose syrup and falooda (strands of flour cooked in sweetened milk). Picture given below -
 

This frozen traditional delicacy is what makes my summers yummy! 

[Vronik]

Summer, heat, ice cream, bikini, could you ask for more??

The best season of the year