Hello Summer!

Wooooohooooo! Summer has officially arrived!

Image via Flickr, photo by Sator Arepo

No, that isn’t me in the picture – I wish! But that’s how excited I am that summer is here :-) I love everything about summer – long sunny days, starry nights, BBQs, eating outside on the patio, biking, gardening, not having to put on a coat and toque and mitts and boots before going outside to scrape ice off the car windows… Eeek, let’s not go there!

Image via RedBubble, artist Lucy Hollis

My very favourite thing about summer is spending weekends at the cottage. This past weekend was my first full weekend there, and I sucked every last minute out of it! I was outside from morning till night, swimming, kayaking, canoeing, walking the dogs, reading, washing the car… right up till my last swim of the weekend at sunset last night. Ahhhhh, good times!

The dock at the cottage…

Time to jump into the lake for a swim…

After we swim, we can do some kayaking…

Well, actually, this is more like the kind of kayaking I do, minus the awesome view!

Squirt likes to swim too…

and she follows me as I kayak around the lake…

Beautiful sunny blue summer skies…

Of course, we need a pair of cool shades to protect the peepers…

And don’t forget the sunblock ;-)

A fuzzy beach towel to dry off with after we’re done…

After all that action, we need to eat! Ever have a BBQ in a donut? :-)

The BBQ-Donut was designed and developed by German inventor and entrepreneur Sebastian Schmitt. This puppy is part lounge, part table, part BBQ, and part water floatation device :-) It comes with a sound system and travels at about 2.5mph.

But if you’re a landlubber, this BBQ might be more your speed… ;-)

Once you’ve got this Nascar BBQ fired up, why not grill up a few racks of juicy mouth-watering ribs (vegetarians, close your eyes!!)

OK, you can look again… mmmmmm, juicy succulent freshly-picked berries :-)

YUM!!!!!! And what’s better on a hot summer day than sipping an icy-cold strawberry daiquiri complete with fresh strawberries…

The Best Strawberry Daiquiri EVER!

• 1 can Bacardi's frozen strawberry daiquiri mix
• 2 cups ice (crushed if you have it)
• 1/2 cup Bailey’s Irish Cream
• Handful washed & hulled fresh strawberries

Put first three ingredients in blender and blend till smooth. Add berries and blend for a few more seconds. Pour into glass and drink!

Warning: You’ll want to lick the glass clean. Don’t be shy, go ahead and do it!!

Or maybe a glass of freshly-squeezed lemonade is just what you need to refresh you…

Easy Freshly Squeezed Lemonade

• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 cup water

Combine lemon juice and sugar in a glass till the sugar is mostly dissolved. Add water. If you add ice, reduce the water a bit to prevent the lemonade from becoming too diluted. If you like extra-tart lemonade, add more juice. Toss in a slice or two of lemon for a bit of extra flavour.

Of course, summer isn’t summer without ice cream!

How cool is this colourful SuperKid ice cream from Laura Secord?? :-)

And check this out — a couple of years ago, Paul at Kitchen & Residential Design posted a recipe for making homemade ice cream in a Ziploc bag. I had to try it… and it really works!

Plastic Bag Ice Cream

• What you'll need:
• 1 tablespoon sugar (I used icing sugar)
• 1/2 cup milk or half & half
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 6 tablespoons rock salt (table salt works too)
• 1 pint-size plastic food storage bag (e.g., Ziploc)
• 1 gallon-size plastic food storage bag
• Ice cubes

How to make it:

• Fill the large bag half full of ice, and add the rock salt.
• Put milk, vanilla, and sugar into the small bag, and seal it.
• Place the small bag inside the large one, and seal the large bag carefully.
• Shake until the mixture is ice cream, which takes about 5 minutes. (I recommend wearing over mitts to keep your hands from freezing!)
• Wipe off the top of the small bag, then open it carefully. Enjoy!

Tips:

A 1/2 cup milk will make about 1 scoop of ice cream, so double the recipe if you want more. But don't increase the proportions more that that.

Happy Summer!