Beat the heat

8Treats

School may be back in session, but summer is far from over. Indeed, it is the height of the heat and nothing beats that last steamy stretch of ultra warm weather better than something freezing cold — frozen in fact.

For something simple and healthy, try freezing green grapes or chunks of pineapple; both are fun and tasty for a quick snack on a hot afternoon. Homemade popsicles, made from juice or yogurt, are another easy and inexpensive way to create an icy treat.

The following are a few more frosty ideas including a splendid slushy iced tea and old-fashioned frozen fruit salad to help keep you cool as you celebrate the end of summer.

This is my adaptation of a recipe that must have the made the rounds of many southern cooks in the 60s and 70s. It turns up in some version or another in a great number of my most beloved Southern cookbooks, including the aforementioned Government Street Presbyterian edition and such Junior League classics as "Talk about Good," "River Road Recipes II" and "Southern Sideboards."

It is dandy as a summer dessert, snack, salad or side dish. It is an oldie but a goodie and so much fun served as individual treats. (I omit the walnuts because my children prefer them nutless.)

Frozen Tropical Fruit Salad Makes about 16 individual treats or 1 large loaf pan 1 (20 ounce) can crushed pine apple, drained

cm QTR cup chopped maraschino cherries

cup chopped walnuts

2cm HALF cups sour cream

cm TQTR cup sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 banana, mashed

1/8 teaspoon salt

cm HALF teaspoon almond extract

Combine pineapple, cherries and walnuts and set aside. Combine sour cream, sugar, lemon juice, banana, salt and almond extract.

Stir in pineapples and cherries. Spoon into muffin tins lined with cupcake papers or a loaf pan. Freeze until firm, at least four hours or overnight....