Do you have a favorite nostalgic summer dish? Many childhood moments come to mind when I think about this topic – after all, cooking from memories as a means to relive my past makes up an important part of my humble artistic endeavors. One such moment revolves around ripe grapes, the golden hour, and the simplest distillation of summery goodness: popsicles.
Growing up, my aunt and uncle had a house in the countryside, where my niece and I would go to spend the summers. Going back in time to the spectacular backyard beautifully cultivated by my uncle, one of the details I vividly remember is the golden light passing through the grapevine. The luminous translucency of the grapes was fascinating to observe, especially in the afternoon. While the sun was descending into the abyss of the night, its gentle rays touched the grapes, as my uncle was carefully removing some of the fruits, and was placing them in a picnic basket filled with produce for his mom.
I remember standing still on the veranda, looking at the vines surrendering the grapes, at my uncle using the scissors to make precise cuts through the silky sap, lost in fascination, marveling at the irresistible concentrated sweetness of the fruits.
I tried to replicate the goodness of those grapes in these simple popsicles adorned with a squeeze a lemon juice, a touch of mint, and abundant memories. This has to be one of the easiest “recipes” ever: I placed washed green and red grapes (separately) in a blender, and I turned them into a pulp. I added freshly squeezed lemon juice, blended a little bit more, poured the pulp into popsicle molds, placed them in the freezer – and voila! A few hours later, the popsicles were ready, and no trip to the grocery store was necessary. My source of inspiration was the recipe I found here. I didn’t add sugar or honey because the grapes were super sweet.
Yesterday’s goodness, today’s light, the joy of belonging, of remaking the moment yours – these are formative experiences we cherish for a lifetime, in my opinion.
You are welcome to check out my posts here, here and here for previously shared family recipes that are very nostalgic to me.
Does summer make you feel nostalgic? Let me know in the comments 🙂
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