Karen Blessing
All while growing up, “school’s out” meant one thing, freedom. I think Alice Cooper said it best “no more pencils, no more books, no more teacher’s dirty looks . . .” Then I grew up, married, had kids and sent them to school. “School’s out” suddenly didn’t mean freedom any more. It meant the opposite. For 13 years, it was more like holy crap, school’s out, Mama needs a cocktail.
It all comes full circle though, doesn’t it? My boys are now in college. My oldest son is local but my youngest goes to school 10 hours away. I found myself once again doing that countdown to summer vacation, anxiously anticipating lazy days and family time together.
The other thing I associate with school being out is the red, white and blue holidays: Memorial Day, Flag Day and Independence Day. We celebrate them all, but with fireworks being legal here, celebrating the 4th of July tends to be a big party. We have friends over for a cookout, and for the rest of the night I always have my kitchen counter set up as a dessert bar. Sundown finds families up and down the street in their driveways with folding chairs and coolers of soft drinks. The adults always share cocktails and each year I challenge myself to develop a new one.
Frozen Berries and Cream Cocktail!
About a month ago, just when the heat was starting to set in with a vengeance and, unfortunately, the day my son flew home from college, our a/c unit took its last gasp and unceremoniously passed on to that great HVAC pasture in the sky. Inspired by the need to cool down in any way possible, I found that taking a cocktail and translating it into frozen form was . . . well . . . genius for the summer months.
That was the necessity from which my Frozen Mai Tai was born. Looking forward to Independence Day and it being berry season, my latest frozen drink, a Frozen Berries and Cream Cocktail is a no-brainer. Color coordinated to the holiday, this drink whips up in minutes and can be stored in the freezer for days, making it perfect for any summer occasion.
Start with just gathering a few ingredients– for a printable list of ingredients and directions, click HERE (the printable recipe is just below Karen’s signature, so scroll down until you find it!)
Blend and then freeze. I kept them in my freezer right in the blender glass jar.
When you’re ready to serve you have a few choices. You can scoop into glasses and serve frozen with a spoon. The other option is to stick your jar in the fridge for a short time (or on the counter for an even shorter time) and serve them slushy with a straw. Either way, don’t forget to garnish.
I like to serve these frozen. As you drink them they defrost to a slush. If you let them become a liquid they’re still delicious, but you’re drinking too slowly!
Bio:
Karen is a former Director of Social Service, Retail Buyer, and SAHM adjusting to a semi-empty nest. She writes and shares recipes at BakingInATornado.com, as well as having developed and administering six multi-blogger monthly writing challenges. Karen also does both editing and design creation for fellow bloggers. She’s a contributor to many websites and has been published in two books.