And the mercury has risen; wham! Brace yourselves folks, here comes summer! Most mums I know are secretly dreading the school vacations: that wonderful combination of having restive kids in the house all day, the inhospitable heat outside and the constant demand for snacks and drinks is enough to make even the most

zen among us go ape. Soft drinks are more or less banned at home and so are packaged snacks. This vacation, the offspring aged 6 and 10 will learn to make basic snacks for themselves — sandwiches, crackers and cheese, dips, fresh veggie crudités, fruit salads — and we’ve also bought a world-class juicer. I was going to bang on about juice being a waste of fibre (and it is) but if you can use the pulp to compost, you’ll feel less wasteful and maybe you’ll burn the extra calories some other way.
As far as feeding and watering les enfants terribles is concerned, not that I proffer this as a panacea — but with drinks and snacks, why not combine the two and make several batches of fresh, nutritious, hydrating cold soups. Last summer we did watermelon, applesauce and ginger ice lollies and a simply divine white gazpacho. This summer, I feel the need for stuff to be lighter, brighter, less oil, more colour and certainly more adventurous tasting. Try these for starters. They can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days (though I’m willing to bet the kids will finish them before) and they range from light ‘juicy’ type soups to more hearty ‘meal’ soups. Very handy if the heat has played foul with the appetite. Convenient because you can chill bottles of ‘lunch’ and send them out with crackers and cheese for a picnic and super healthy too. Teenagers, oldies, little ‘uns and even you mama will be bopping around energised, moisturised and pretty inside and out.

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Cucumber Grape Soup
I nearly didn’t have enough left to take a picture. This soup is a lovely way to start the morning, a great mid-morning pick-me-up or add tequila or gin and you get an excellent, fresh tasting, good-for-you-bad-for-you cocktail. Double the ingredients I think — you’ll want a big batch.

Ingredients:

2 fresh green chillies
2 cups green grapes, seedless
4 cups chopped cucumber
4 spring onions
½ cup fresh coriander and mint leaves
1 big green capsicum
Zest and juice of 2 big limes

Method:

It doesn’t get easier than this. Deseed the chillies and the capsicum. Roughly chop the spring onions, most of the green bits included. Puree the entire ingredient list until smooth. Pour through a soup sieve making sure you get as much moisture out of the pulp. Chill till very cold. When ready to serve (infuse with booze if necessary), garnish with cucumber, grapes or mint.

Peasant Soup

This is an idea I pinched off the net. Take the elements of the classic ratatouille and either use them as a chunky, wholesome light soup for lunch/supper or puree the vegetables to get a smoother texture to use as a starter. Though subtler when cold, the balsamic vinegar adds a lovely bright touch of tart to the soup and using crisp, fragrant herbs will make this soup pop.

Ingredients:

1 onion quartered
1 cup cubed zucchini
1 cup cubed aubergine
1 red pepper
6 medium tomatoes cut into eighths
Handful of fresh basil leaves
Some fresh thyme stalks (use dried if handy)
4 cloves garlic
Salt to taste
Pepper
Olive oil
1 cup stock if you have it
Great quality balsamic vinegar

Method:

In a heavy saucepan saute the crushed cloves of garlic, onion and thyme. When the onion is translucent, throw in the vegetables. Shake the pan gently to coat the vegetables in oil and leave to cook on medium heat, covered for 10 minutes. Then add stock and cook for another five until the aubergines are tender. Turn off heat, throw in basil. Season with salt and pepper. Puree or serve as is, hot or chilled, drizzled with balsamic vinegar and fresh basil and crusty bread.