Homemade and Hometown Mid-Summer Treats

When the weather gets hot, I normally look for a retreat from time in the kitchen. Turning to fruit, salad and lighter fare always seems like the right move. There are those occasions when you just have to fire it up. No, not the grill, just the stovetop. Potato salad and chicken salad were my latest homemade meals. So I did cheat a little since buying a pre-cooked whole chicken saves a lot of time! (I think this is a permanent change forme. I love shortcuts when the end result isn't compromised.) I was able to have everything ready in time for a late lunch. I did all the chopping, and endured the warming conditions in my apartment as the eggs and potatoes boiled for the potato salad. (Personally, I don't think potato salad photographs well but I posted this pic anyway.) I really enjoyed this version of it because there was a nice mix of celery and green onion and whipped potato. I added a little cayenne to bring some heat and a squeeze of lemon for a refreshing finish.

Once the cooking started, I couldn't stop! Next were the peach pops. Inspired by a recipe from a magazine that I slightly adjusted. It's a really pretty, delicious, refreshing summer combination. It's simply grape juice, chopped peaches (not uniform), prosecco (or champagne) lemon and lemon zest (to add more of a pretty, colorful accent. )

Since I like sweet things so much, I had to add in one more. This sweet always makes me think of my grandfather. In New Orleans we have snowballs which for most of the rest of the US can be closely compared to a sno-cone. Well, Plum Street makes some great flavors. Here's what's left from my nectar snoball. It's sweet and slightly creamy syrup and a playful peachy-pink color. Everyday during the summer my grandfather would ask for a pineapple snowball. When we took him there, he'd get the largest one and usually finish it before we got home. Sometimes eating it so fast caused him to shiver and he couldn't even talk from the chill.

A little heat can get you to a cool ending!