Hot, hot summer! We’re in the thick of the scorching hot season of summer, and unless we stay in an air-conditioned room the whole afternoon, which is when the sun is at its fieriest, it is impossible not to sweat it out because of the heat.
The way to keep cool is just to drink lots of cold water, fresh fruit juices and other healthy and thirst-quenching (but not sugar-laden!) liquids throughout the day. If this is not enough, since some days are simply hotter than others, there are the ice coolers to keep us not just properly hydrated but at the same time keep our bodies cool and refreshed.
A default ice cooler that we Filipinos naturally turn to is Halo-Halo. Almost every small community or neighborhood has someone opening his/her doors during summertime to offer inexpensive glasses of Halo-Halo to happy neighbors. In the absence of a neighborhood Halo-Halo maker, there’s the fast-food chains and malls to turn to—or, better yet, let us make our own so we get only the ingredients that we really like and in the amount that we want. No rules! Just let our palate do the talking.
There is, however, another fun and creative way by which we can keep ourselves cool and refreshed this summer. Make our own ice coolers, a.k.a. popsicles. Popsicle molds in different shapes and sizes can be bought from the supermarket and department store. They even come free with certain yogurt drinks to encourage everyone to enjoy their products not just as a healthy drink with good live bacteria but also as a frozen delight. Just pour into the mold, cover with the popsicle stick that comes as part of the popsicle molds, freeze until hard, then pop out from the molds and enjoy.
In making popsicles, we can use anything we like—ready-to-drink juices in tetra packs, freshly squeezed and blended fruit juices, yogurt drinks, ice cream, flavored milk… We can make them as chunky or as smooth and liquid as we want, and no one will complain.
Here are some of the ice coolers that you can easily assemble at home to keep you cool and refreshed in the remaining days of the hot summer season.
1. Halo-Halo
Ingredients
1-2 cups regular-sized sago (tapioca)
1 box red gulaman (gelatin)
1 bottle store-bought green nata de coco
1 bottle kaong
1 bottle garbanzos (chickpeas)
1 bottle beans
sweetened saba bananas
sweet potatoes
dry roasted pinipig
1 bottle halayang ube
1 llanera leche flan, sliced
shaved ice
evaporated milk
Directions
1. Cook sago in a pot of water until the solid white core becomes translucent. Remove and set aside.
2. Prepare gelatin according to package direction. Allow to set, then cut into cubes.
3. Place spoonfuls of sago, gelatin, nata de coco, kaong, garbanzos, beans, banana, sweet potatoes and pinipig in a tall glass.
4. Fill to top with shaved ice.
5. Pour evaporated milk in through the sides of the shaved ice.
6. Top with a slice of leche flan and a spoonful of halayang ube.
*For a richer Halo-Halo, top with ube ice cream. For a more indulgent and smooth shaved ice, pour evaporated milk into a rectangular container and shave this instead of a block of ice for the Halo-Halo.
2. Ice Buko
Ingredients
1-2 pcs. buko (young coconut)
1-2 cups water
sugar to taste
Directions
1. Break coconut and pour coconut water into a pitcher.
2. Shred coconut meat into strips and add to pitcher.
3. Pour in desired amount of water. (*Tip: The amount should not exceed the measurement of the actual buko juice, but keeping the juice pure would make the Ice Buko more flavorful.)
4. Sweeten with sugar to taste.
5. Pour into popsicle molds, put in freezer and allow to harden completely.
3. Melon Drops
1/2 pc. melon or cantaloupe
2-3 cups water
sugar to taste
Directions
1. Scrape off seeds with the natural juice into a strainer and place on top of a pitcher. Pour water in through the strainer or sieve and push down with spoon to extract the natural juice of the pulp and make it flow down into the pitcher with the water. Discard the seeds.
2. Shred melon meat into strips and add to the pitcher.
3. Sweeten with sugar to taste.
4. Pour into popsicle molds, put in freezer and allow to harden completely.
4. Pineapple Pops
sweetened or unsweetened pineapple juice in can
crushed pineapple or pineapple tidbits in can
Directions
1. Pour pineapple juice into a pitcher.
2. Add crushed pineapple or pineapple tidbits for more texture and chunkiness.
3. Mix it up and pour into popsicle molds. Mix it every time you pour into a mold to make sure the pineapple does not settle in the bottom.
4. Freeze until completely hard.
5. Two-tone Popsicles
fresh watermelon
fresh avocado
water
sugar to taste
Directions
1. Deseed fresh watermelon and place in a blender. Add water and sweeten with sugar if desired. Process until smooth or slightly to leave chunks in the mixture.
2. Pour into popsicle molds half full. Put popsicle stick in place. Freeze until set.
3. Put avocado meat in a blender. Add water and sweeten with sugar to taste. Process.
4. Pour into popsicle mold with the frozen watermelon juice until mold is full. Freeze until set.
*The flavors may be changed according to preference. Likewise, juices may be used in place of fresh fruits.