Try 2 recipes for heat

Happy July to you! I hope your summer has been filled with friends, family and nice adventures that may or may not involve the water. Here are two recipes from the kitchen at Geranium Lodge, that magic country hotel on Satter Island. This is from Jorrie & the Skyhorse, the first book in an alternate-world fantasy trilogy. Valdi the dwarrow and Auntie Rúna perform literal magic in the kitchen of Geranium Lodge; they’ve been kind enough to share these recipes. These are fine additions to a sparkly life!

Valdi’s special lemonade

3 washed lemons

Grated zest of 1 of these lemons, peel only

2 tbsp white sugar

¼ rounded tsp stevia (or use a rounded ½ tsp and leave out sugar)

6 cups water

·      First grate one lemon over a large bowl using the fine blade of your grater. Just take the yellow peel; the white pith is bitter.

·      Add stevia and sugar, or stevia by itself. Don’t reduce amount; this produces a tart lemonade!

·      Mix rind, sugar and stevia with a wooden spoon for 1-2 minutes. This combines the sweetening with the fragrant oils from the rind and gives a delicious flavour.

·      If you are organized, have your lemons at room temperature. If the lemons are fridge temperature, put each lemon, one at a time, in the microwave for 12 seconds. This will warm the pulp so you get more juice.

·      On a cutting board, roll each lemon briskly with one hand a few times as if you were rolling out silly putty. This again gives more juice.

·      Juice the lemons, add to the mixture in the bowl.

·      Add water, stir well.

·      Serve over ice.

Valdi makes a much bigger batch than this for the guests at Geranium Lodge. Of course he’s not juicing the lemons by hand; he has a fancy magne-powered juicer. He stores this ambrosia in big glass jugs in the walk-in cooler. The rind will drift to the bottom so make sure you stir or shake well when you next serve. That’s if you are fortunate enough to have some left! I store mine in glass quart jars.

This lemonade is delicious with the following cookies.

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Auntie Rúna’s Peanut Butter Cookies, 19 cookies, bake at 350 for 14 minutes

1 ½ c smooth peanut butter, stirred up so it’s blended

1 tsp vanilla

2 large eggs

½ c white sugar

Salt grater for garnish

Beat peanut butter, vanilla, eggs. When well blended—it will get very stiff—add sugar by hand.

Form into balls by hand, place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Flatten with a fork in two different directions to give a nice look to the cookie.

Generously grate Himalayan salt over top. The salt and the sweet taste wonderful together.

Bake. Let cool before eating as cookies need to firm up.

Suggestion: do NOT reduce sugar; Auntie Rúna says she’s cut it down three times already. This gives a nice texture.

What’s low drama and pleasant in your life right now?