Friday Five: My Fave Summer Treats

It’s Friday, so I’m linking up with Running on Happy and Fairytales and Fitness for the new Friday Five 2.0. The theme this week is “Summer Treats.” These days, it’s easy to get what you want when you want it. When I was a kid, I remember things that we could only get in summer. Here are five of my faves from summers past and present.

My Fave Summer Treats

1. Italian Ice (a/k/a water ice). I already has my first water ice of the season when we visited Philadelphia in May. Water ice is big in Philadelphia and the Jersey Shore (especially in Southern NJ.) I’ve always been a big fan of cherry and lemon. Watermelon is also a winner, oh, and Chocolate. Basically you can’t go wrong. We have yummy fruit ices in our ‘hood at Soupbox (a/k/a Icebox in the summer months.)

2. Watermelon. This is one thing that you can now get year round that I only buy in summer. It generally tastes better in season and it calls to me. Love the stuff!

3. Summer Fruits – especially peaches. Similar to watermelon, you can now get peaches and plums all the time from somewhere. As a kid, I remember being so excited when peaches and plums were “out.” And especially when peaches were available locally. NJ is the Garden State – don’t forget! I rarely but a peach or plum out of season. The anticipation is worth it! Peaches are also awesome grilled in summer plain or over pound cake. YUM!

4. Sweet Corn. Here’s another childhood fave. Sweet corn is another crop that grows in the Garden State – really! In recent years, I’ve taken to adding it raw to salads. I love it cooked on a grill, too!

5. Iced Tea. This is not really a “treat” in the true sense of the word. That said, there’s something about a tall, cool iced tea in the summer. I recently received a beautiful set of canisters of iced tea bags from Harney & Sons. They sent me Blood Orange, Plain, Green Tea and Raspberry Herbal. I shared some with Brooke and will make up some pitchers in the weeks ahead. I’ll also tell you about an awesome tea tour that they are planning for September, so stay tuned.

What are your favorite summer treats?

Have a great weekend!

PS. Don’t miss out on my great giveaways!