Kool-Aid and Coconuts
Our favorite summer recipes is the theme on the table (hardy har har) for this month at WordWranglers, and immediately, Ina Garten’s Summer Garden Pasta comes to mind. I’m all for summer dishes that help me escape from the heat by not tying me to a hot stove all afternoon, and with Ina’s recipe, I’m not committed to that kitchen appliance for any more time than it takes to boil up a pot of angel hair pasta. Marry that with a bowl full of marinated tomatoes and mounds of parmesan cheese, and “what could be bad with that?” as Ina is so fond of saying. I whole-heartedly agree.
Easy strawberry shortcake is another no-fuss delicious summer favorite, which I make using a store-bought lemon-flavored angel food cake, cut into slices about an inch thick, then topped with really good vanilla ice cream and macerated strawberries—sliced strawberries that have sugar generously sprinkled over them and then “marinated” for several hours or overnight, bringing out the berries’ wonderful juices. And, hey, just because we’re adults and can do what we darn well please, I top that mound of strawberries that’s on top of that other mound of ice cream with ANOTHER mound of whipped cream (store bought, of course. I’ll hang out in the kitchen for hours in the cold weather months, thank you).
So, those are just a couple of my favorite summer dishes, but, as I was thinking through them, trying to decide which ones to share with you, I couldn’t help but think about my favorite summer treats a long time ago.
As a kid growing up in Miami, in the ‘60’s, our treats consisted of the super-easy-to-make-so-you-can-get-out-of-the-kitchen fast kind, especially for those who didn’t have air conditioning, which we didn’t for the first eight years of my life in our old 1920’s home. Finally, we got wall units in most every room, and I probably wouldn’t lose the bet if I put my money on the acquisition of such being the result of Mama telling Daddy it was “take-out, mister, every night from May-September!” if they weren’t installed. And one of my favorite hot-weather treats was Kool-Aid popsicles, especially the grape-flavored. Mama bought trays that most likely the Kool-Aid company had put out for just that purpose and buddy, I can tell you, we devoured them as soon as they were frozen enough to be pulled out of the tray. Of course, we shared with our little friends, so a tray was gone within seconds. But, it just meant Mama filled them up again, and in a couple of hours, heavenly bliss melted on our tongues once more.
Another simple and tasty treat we loved was shimmying up a palm tree and yanking down a ripe coconut. Our street was lined with that majestic, swaying tree of the tropics until a blight killed them off when I was a teenager, but during the golden days of my childhood, we’d yank down a coconut and then took turns smashing it on the sidewalk until its hard shell was cracked and we could rip it and the underlying husks off, revealing the round nut encasing the delectable fruit. One good slam of the nut against the sidewalk exposed the whitest, richly sweet——but not overly so—fruit inside, and we would break off pieces like peanut brittle and savor every mouthful of it.
And, finally, what would a summer day in the life of a kid in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s be without a bike trip to the neighborhood 7-11 for an Icee? Personally speaking, my favorite was the Coca-Cola-flavored version, while my sister liked the fruity one, but either way, when we took our first pull on the straw and our mouths were filled with the chilled delectable concoction, the only sound coming from us was the murmuring of “Umms”, or “Oww, oww, oww! Brain freeze”! Within minutes, we were restored, and our overheated blood-red faces were cooled to a perfectly pink shade then off we’d go on our bikes to the next summer adventure.
Now, of course, with decades behind me since I parked my pink bike with banana seat by the side of the 7-11, my palate has matured. As a result, I enjoy those more sophisticated dishes, like Ina’s Summer Garden Pasta, but I’d give a hundred plates of it for just one of those Kool-Aid popsicles, or a bite of fresh coconut, and a Coca-Cola Icee. Sure, I could make the popsicles, or buy a coconut, and drive to 7-11 for an Icee, but, somehow, they just wouldn’t taste nearly as good as they did on an August afternoon in the 60’s.
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Ina Garten’s Summer Garden Pasta
4 pints cherry tomatoes, halved
Good olive oil
2 TB minced garlic (6 cloves)
18 large basil leaves, julienned, plus extra for serving
½ ts crushed red pepper flakes
Kosher salt
½ ts freshly ground pepper
1 lb dried angel hair pasta
1 ½ cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
Combine the cherry tomatoes, ½ cup olive oil, garlic, basil leaves, red pepper flakes, 1 ts salt, and the pepper in a large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and set aside at room temperature for about 4 hours.
After tomatoes have marinated for 4 hours, spoon them (including the liquid), over hot angel hair pasta, then top with cheese.