I couldn’t come up with a better headline for this blog entry than the one above. Because friends, this oh-so-cold, oh-so-good, pretty-good-FOR-you fruity concoction really DOES taste like summer exploded in your mouth.

I don’t know about you, but with this heat wave griping the nation, I’ve been on the lookout for anything cold and tasty to cram in my mouth. I realize that eating a pint of ice cream every week isn’t good for this pregnant woman’s ever-expanding waistline, so I’ve been trying to come up with better alternatives. Popsicles, mostly. (Unhealthy ones, at that).

When my mom was in town over the Fourth, I brought up this slush. A slush that, back home, where I grew up, has quite the reputation. My mom has made this (and her should-be-world-famous potato salad) for so many friends’ and family members’ graduation parties, I’ve lost count. Both are THE perfect accompaniment to a hot summer day). Anyway…I don’t know why it never occurred to me to ask for the recipe before now, but I was all over it when she sent it my way last week.

This is SO quick and easy to make — I did all the prep for it while I was waiting for some enchiladas to heat through in the oven (so under 20 minutes, tops — ever try to challenge yourself to see how much you can get done while that timer runs down? No? Just me? ;) )

I promise you, if you make this, your kids will think it’s so tasty, they won’t even care there’s fruit in there. You’ll be the person whose dish everyone is still talking about after that Sunday night picnic. And..well, you might just find yourself cheating on Ben & Jerry a little bit this summer. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Summer In Your Mouth Fruit Slush

• 1 can frozen Dole orange pineapple concentrate —12 oz. (let this thaw a bit before you use it)

• 1 large can sliced peaches (for these, I used the kind that came in heavy syrup–to save on sugar and for a slightly less sweet variety, you could experiment with using just peaches in their own juice) .

• 1 large 29 oz. can crushed pineapple (I couldn’t find a 29 oz. can so used two smaller cans’ worth)

• 5 or 6 good-sized bananas, sliced up (do not use greenish bananas, make sure they are ripe; also, cut these pieces up so they’re not too thick)

First drain the peaches, saving the juice in a sauce pan. Add enough water to the juice to make three cups of liquid. To this, add 1 (or 1 1/2) cups of sugar. Stir together well and then heat on the stove until it starts to boil.

While waiting on the syrup to boil, dice up the peaches to about half-inch size. Next, do the same with the crushed pineapple (this should already be chopped up, I just gave it a good once over with my knife to make the pieces slightly smaller).

To cut up the bananas, I found it easiest to half each one vertically, then half the two vertically cut pieces again. Then line up the four smaller slices you’ve created and chop away to get the size cubes you want for this.

Toss all the fruit into a large-sized container (make sure it fits in your freezer first!). To this, add the concentrate and then the syrup (once it has cooled after boiling).

Give it a good stir to mix up all the fruit and then freeze overnight.

Let sit out for about 20 minutes before serving—you want it to stay somewhat frozen but still be scoopable. Do not let it thaw/get too runny.

Refreeze numerous times. Enjoy!!

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