It broke 95 degrees today, for the first time this year. We buckled down indoors, threw open all the windows, and turned on all the fans. Between that, and eating and drinking lots of cold things. it stayed fairly comfortable. The cats spent a lot of time licking ice cubes, but they seemed okay too. There’s no shortage of cold drinks and snacks for hot days: smoothies, ice cream, popsicles, mixed drinks, you name it. Dinner is a little trickier when you don’t want to use any heat, but that’s a discussion for a future post. One super easy do-it-yourself snack is frozen orange juice. This one may be my own invention; I’m sure it’s been done before, but I’m not aware of anyone else who does it. It takes a few hours to make, but with minimal human effort. All you need is a freezer.
Frozen Orange Juice
Fill a watertight container (I use a mason jar) 3/4 of the way with fresh, not from concentrate orange juice. Stick it in the freezer. Every 30 minutes or so, take the jar out, shake it energetically, and put it back. It’s done when the juice becomes slushy or icy. If it freezes solid, just let it thaw in the fridge for a few minutes, shake, and freeze again.
Depending on how long you wait, this treat could be the consistency of a slushee, or of sorbet. It’s ice-cold and tastes like, well, orange juice.
