sweeten the day
10 summer recipes from grandma that refresh us in the heat
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When it’s thirty degrees or more outside, the hotplate quickly becomes our personal boss. It should therefore be cold, light and refreshing. Here are some of grandma’s favorite summertime snacks and hacks.
The main goal in the sun and rising temperatures: Please just let the apartment stay cool! And how do we do it? Well, with refreshing food ideas that have already proven themselves with grandma.
With us, the oven stays off, the hotplate is only for emergencies – and is best only set in motion early in the morning or late in the evening. After all, the kitchen door can then be opened wide and the cool air exchanged for the rising steam. Ideally with the help of a fan that stands in the door frame. But in addition to these little cooking hacks for the summer, grandma always had delicious dishes ready that didn’t make us sweat. Here are our favourites:
fruit salad
“Cherries, raspberries and strawberries came straight from the garden under the water spray – or sometimes straight from the garden into your mouth. Grandma’s fruit was always super refreshing and was enjoyed cut up into small pieces with a few scoops of ice cream or vanilla sauce. Sometimes spiced up with melon or bananas from the supermarket. Perfect after a (often far too long) playtime in the hot sun.”
cold shell
“Fresh fruit, a cool liquid that refreshes your throat and head and of course: a lot of sugar. What could be better than this mixture? For me, cold bowl is an absolute childhood memory and was always stirred together when we visited grandma announced. The night before everything was quickly stirred together and ended up in the fridge overnight. Perfect for the hot day and super delicious.”
favorite salad
“It’s no joke, but my grandma’s salad was one of our all-time favorites when we were kids. Just wash a fresh lettuce and cut into thin strips, stir in the sour cream with a little lemon juice and add sugar or sweetener until the salad sweet enough. If you don’t know it yet, I think you should definitely try a sweet salad. In my cookbook, the recipe is still called “Favorite Salad” to this day, and personally I’m definitely in the mood for it again.”
Fresh syrup from grandma
“Whether it’s elderflower, rhubarb or other ingredients from the garden, my grandmother always diligently made various types of syrup and later, when we got older, regularly gave us presents. As children it was really cool to help out, but on the other hand it was also great to have the finished one Juice easy to enjoy with sparkling water, and even the ingredients from the garden that had to be processed early retained their flavor and freshness in liquid form.”
Pudding Treats
“Vanilla pudding with strawberries – that always refreshed grandma on hot days. The fruit turns the dessert into a summer treat super quickly. And it’s soooo easy!”
Ice cream variations à la grandma
“My grandma always had ice cream ready in her huge freezer. From waffle ice cream to popsicles to containers full of vanilla or chocolate ice cream. The selection was just wonderful! We liked vanilla ice cream with fruit and a cold chocolate sauce or fresh one Iced coffee, also with vanilla ice cream and of course a lot of cream.”
Carrot and Cucumber Salad
“What could be more refreshing than refreshing vegetable or fruit salads. A cold carrot and apple salad (everything finely shaved, of course) with a little lemon and oil is simply an absolute dream – and also the cucumber salad in finely shaved slices with finely chopped onions in vinegar and oil was always an absolute pleasure.”
Stracciatella cream and chocolate mousse
“If there’s one thing I learned from my grandmother, it’s that it’s not always necessary to do it yourself. She often had stracciatella cream, mixed from a bag, or a cool chocolate mousse – and to be honest: the taste was GREAT! It’s still a snack for me today, which I like to touch when I have a spontaneous visit and which tastes incredibly good.”
Fresh watermelon
“To quench our thirst in the summer, my grandmother often had sliced watermelons ready for us. To slow us down, they would put them right in front of our noses so that we could take a short break from playing and drink something. Honeydew melon was of course often there too included.”
lemonade creations
“My grandmother always happily dumped things together and somehow it was always totally delicious. Mineral water with basil leaves, some thyme and lemon was one of her creations, for example – or fresh fruit was simply added to the drink, which was crushed without further ado. Everything was great.”