ROOTS & WINGS

23. Cool Trio (Hot Summer Reliefs)

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This triple recipe had its origin in a week that became one of the ghastliest summer weeks I've ever experienced – it was 40°C / 104°F on June30/July 1, 30°C / 86°F of them alone IN my fecking apartment (with no A/C).

It was even topping the summer of 2003 when Europe was hit by its first "desert summer", and optimistic meteorologists still expected that to be an "once-in-a-century event". Well, nowadays – and after SIX such summers in a row! – they've learned their lesson.

Anyway, while finishing clearing out my cupboards (before the heat almost floored me into a coma), I found food that was about / had just expired, and thought I'd better use it up before it gets ugly. This caused a nice twist on the Good Ol' Muffin.

Next, I thought, "F–, it's gonna be ghastly hot mid-week, I need more ice cream!" Peng, the next "part" was on the way.

And, guys, what is better than a nice glass of handmade lemonade, when you've been a good "Touareg" (a desert tribe in the Sahara), and been drinking hot/warm tea the whole time?

(Yes, drinking warm tea paradoxically cools the body, while cold drinks cause more sweating/feeling heated because the body actually produces more heat to keep its core temperature stable.

Sch..., here I'm babbling and babbling, instead of providing you with the threatened COOL TRIO!

So let's quickly go to the kitchen and prep, before it gets too hot, and you floored by the heat!




Serves:

– 12 muffins
– 6+ popsicles depending on the size of the popsicle molds
– 3-5 glasses lemonade depending on the size of the glass


Prep Time:

– 1.5 hrs muffins: INCLUDING cool off time
– 15 minutes PLUS 4+ hrs / overnight cooling time popsicles
– 20 minutes + INFUSING overnight lemonade


Degree of Difficulty: Easy




APPLE-COCONUT MUFFINS Original recipe quantities in (brackets)


WE NEED


1 apple I like to use Granny Smith, so it doesn't extra-sweet the muffins
250 gr / 2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
100 gr / 3.5 oz. butter
2 eggs
60 (80) gr / 2 (3) oz. apple sauce UN-sweetened!
100 ml / 3.5 US fl.oz. milk
70 gr / 2.5 oz. coconut flakes Didn't know what else to do with them... in the original recipe 2 grated
carrots were used



WE DO


1. Let butter gain temperature in a mixing bowl. Dice the apple VERY finely, 5 mm / 0.2 in MAX. (grated in original recipe) Mix flour & baking powder in a smaller bowl.


2. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F.


3. Whisk the butter until slightly foamy, then mix in eggs, apple sauce + milk. Last, fold in flour mix, apple dices + coconut flakes with a spatula.


4. Fill the batter into the tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 20 minutes. OR: until golden-brown. Since every oven is different that can take longer/shorter


5. Remove muffins from the oven, and let cool off completely on a cake rack.




APPLE-SOUR CREAM POPSICLES


WE NEED


200 gr / 7 oz. natural sour cream UN-sweetened / -flavored, or otherwise RUINED

1 pck = 8 gr = 1/4 oz. vanilla sugar = sugar mixed with REAL vanilla, NOT vanilla flavor which is made in a factory and not a pod

1 tbsp icing sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon Only CEYLON as the cheaper CASSIA contains too much Cumarin which at regular use (HERE!) can damage your liver

200 gr / 7 oz. apple sauce UN-sweetened



WE DO


1. Whisk sour cream with vanilla-/ icing sugars & cinnamon in a jug until smooth. Fold the apple sauce gently in with a spatula.


2. Fill the mix into the popsicle molds and let freeze for at least 4 hrs, better: overnight.




HANDMADE LEMONADE => NO photo for this one as it looks like Plain Ol' Lemo but... so sad you can't photograph taste.)


WE NEED


1 liter / 1 US quart + 2 US fl.oz. San Pellegrino Or other water with fizz
3 lemons Juiced. You can also zest the lemons before juicing them and use the zest for pimping porridge, baking projects, dressings, etc.
1 bunch = 20 gr / 0.75 oz. fresh mint The leaves.
2 tbsp sugar Too take off the sourest edge.



WE DO


1. Fill the water into a large jug. Be SLOW – the water shall NOT bubble too much. To achieve that, tip the jug 45° and SLOWLY let the water run in – like Germans tap beer. WHY?


2. Squeeze out the lemons and add the juice VERY slowly to the water. That is because the lemon juice makes the water kind of BOIL – the mix gets VERY bubbly. WHY that's IMPORTANT?


3. Add the sugar and VERY gingerly stir. When you DON'T handle water + juice SLOWLY, the whole sauce "boils over", and you have half of the lemonade on your working surface. I suppose you want to prevent that.


4. Last, remove the mint leaves from their stalks, add them to the mix and – again SLOWLY – stir them in. When you're an anal nitpicker like me, you tear the leaves – that way they release their etheric oil into the mix, which gives the lemonade quite a unique taste.




Enjoy!