I read somewhere that we only get eighteen summers with our kids. Really, it’s a lot fewer than that- when I think of childhood summers, it’s always the years I was in elementary school. Old enough to remember, but before I started doing more things with my friends/away from home than I did with my family. This means I have *maybe* five summers left with MaM to make the bulk of those memories.
I want her to remember our summer evenings outside on the patio and eating popsicles. I want her to remember evenings where we stopped swimming just long enough to eat supper, and then headed back to the pool. There is no need to spend an extra second in the kitchen when there are memories to be made.
I should hang a sign on my stove: “Closed for the Season”. Once the weather heats up, I don’t do much in the kitchen. I mean, we still eat, but I moved the cooking to the grill and everything else goes in the refrigerator.
I attribute my affection for grilling to my parents, who pretty much cook out all summer long. Even if it’s too hot to eat outside, grilling outside keeps the house cool. You know what else happens when I grill? There are no dishes. Most everything I grill goes directly on grill, and what doesn’t gets cooked in a tin foil pouch, because I am classy.
Tin Foil Potatoes
3-4 baking potatoes
olive oil to coat potatoes
salt and pepper
1. Slice or dice the potatoes
2. Brush with olive oil
3. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (and garlic, if you’re so inclined)
4. Place potatoes in a tin foil packet so that the potatoes are in a single layer.
5. Cook on a medium-hot grill for about 30 minutes, turning once.
Seriously, does it get any easier than that? These potatoes are a staple on my summer dinner menu, and even MaM likes to eat them (with ketchup). You can pretty much grill any vegetable this way- squash cooks faster, carrots take a bit longer.
Summer time isn’t so much about the grill for the kids though. They don’t fully appreciate grilled steaks, or any meat at this point (but for those who do, check out these Grilled T-Bones).
For the kids, it’s the dessert. Specifically, desserts of the frozen persuasion. Hot summer nights get instantly cooler when I pull out the ice cream or the popsicles. We pretty much stick to frozen treats in the summer, because again, remember, my kitchen is closed.
This summer we’ve gotten a little more creative, and have started attempted making our own popsicles. And just like pizza, even if they don’t turn out, there’s no such thing a a bad popsicle. These popsicles came out just fine:
Ready to try your hand at popsicle making? Here are some recipes to get you started!
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I am excited to be an Indiana Family of Farmers Table Talk Contributor. A few times a year I will write a sponsored post on a provided topic. As always, my experiences and opinions are my own. But really, have you ever met a “bad” popsicle?