Keeping cool when it’s really hot with flavored waters and frozen juices

I must confess I found out something about myself I’m rather ashamed to admit.

The air conditioning in my house went out during last week’s stretch of 100-plus degree days and, while I have it temporarily fixed, during that time without the AC I found myself morphing into an uncontrollable whiny brat. I mean I couldn’t stand myself.

Trying to stay cool, I started drinking lots of water. And if you know me, while it is refreshing, I kept wishing for something more flavorful.

That’s when I started getting creative.

I had found some cute ice trays while out shopping and decided to put them to use freezing something other than water. Fruit juices came to mind first.

Now, with strawberries, blueberries and peaches in season, you can just follow the Blueberry Simple Syrup recipe below and just substitute your favorite fruit or berry for the blueberries (this recipe works for making savory syrups as well...tomato, celery, an assortment of herbs). If you like citrus, follow the Lemon Simple Syrup recipe and substitute your favorite fresh squeezed juice. Or, you can do what I did: pick up some of your favorite squeezed juices at the grocery and pour those straight into the trays to freeze. I like fresh 100 percent orange juice, grape and cherry juice.

When the juice is frozen, just pop the cubes (or whatever shape you’ve used) and add them to a tall glass of cold water or your favorite beverage.

The pairings, as they say, are only as limited as your imagination.

I popped a frozen orange cylinder into a glass of prosecco for an evening refresher. A lemon simple syrup into tea. I even mixed orange and grape ice cubes in a glass by themselves for dessert.

If you don’t like sweet, go a bit savory. If your garden is like mine, you are probably overrun with cucumbers, herbs (such as basil, mint, rosemary and lavender), and maybe some sweet grape tomatoes.

I sliced up a cucumber and muddled a couple of slices with a couple of basil leaves and then poured in enough cold sparkling water to fill a glass three-quarters of the way. Quite refreshing. Or you could try a version of the Celery Simple Syrup recipe below.

For a coworker who just started drinking iced coffee, why not go meta and freeze cooled brewed coffee into cubes to add to your, um, coffee?

Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil until sugar dissolves. Add the blueberries, zest and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook until fruit releases its liquid, about 5 to 7 minutes. Check for sweetness, add more sugar if necessary.

Remove from heat and cool then strain syrup through a fine mesh sieve to remove solids.

In a small saucepan, combine the 1 cup of sugar with 1cup of water and bring to a boil. Simmer over moderately low heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves.

Pour the syrup into a heatproof bowl and let cool to room temperature, then stir in the fresh lemon juice.

In a small saucepan, combine the water and sugar and bring to a boil. Add celery and return to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool, strain, refrigerate. Keeps up to 1 week.

This story was originally published June 30, 2015 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Keeping cool when it’s really hot with flavored waters and frozen juices."