Weekly pic: S.W.A.K.

Valentine’s Day sentiments for my long-distance sweeties: confetti popcorn and corny jokes, of course. Sealed with a kiss and sent off with speedy delivery!

(Do kids nowadays even know what S.W.A.K. means?)

Happy Valentine’s Day, dear grandmothers and others!

Beat-the-heat treats

The temperatures in the desert during my visit to see Bubby and Mac were, as I expected, ridiculously high. Spending time in the pool or at the water park was a great way to stay cool, but because we're not fish, other ways to chill out had to be devised.

Yesterday, the last day of my visit, Megan offered a frozen treat to the boys that I thought was quite clever — and yummy, too. The night before, she dropped gummy bears into the bottom of plastic cups, filled the cups halfway with 7 Up, then added a popsicle stick and froze the cups.

Bubby and Mac (and Megan and I, too) enjoyed licking the icy pops to free the candy bears from their frozen confines. So cool!

I'm not sure what Megan's treats are officially called — I think she found the idea on Pinterest — but the way the boys enjoyed them reminded me of snow cones of summers past. Frozen fun on a hot summer day made all the difference in surviving the heat with a smile. It still does.

With that in mind, I found the following feature — used with permission from Family Features — for a similarly syrupy sweet and frozen treat that grandparents still have time to make for the grandkids this summer.

Frozen Summer Treat is Frosty Blast from the Pastcourtesy Family Features

Cool down this summer with a rainbow of color and flavor. Just like skipping through the sprinkler when the sun is shining bright, homemade shaved ice offers sweet relief on a hot afternoon. Plus, making this frozen favorite is a fun family activity.

"Celebrate the flavors of summer with Easy Fruity Shaved Ice," said Mary Beth Harrington of the McCormick Kitchens. "The secret is in the flavorful syrups, which come together in just a few minutes with less than five ingredients, including fruit extracts and food colors."

Add raspberry, orange or strawberry extract to a simple syrup and mix in a few drops of vibrant food color to create this classic frozen treat. But don’t stop there. Bring the family together and let their imaginations run wild as they create their own personalized color and flavor combinations. Here are a few tips from the McCormick Kitchens to get you started:

Make it snow at home: If you don’t have a shaved ice maker, crush ice to a snowy texture in your blender or by wrapping a plastic bag of ice in a kitchen towel and smashing it with a rolling pin or mallet. This can be a fun project for kids so long as they have adult supervision.

Mix and match: Store syrups in small squeeze bottles and mix and match flavors in each shaved ice. Create layers of color and flavor in the ice, and then gobble them up before the creation melts. You’ll have a different summer treat every time!

Easy Fruity Shaved Ice

Prep time: 5 minutes

2 cups sugar

1 cup water

desired flavoring/color (options below)

Blue Raspberry Syrup:

2 teaspoons McCormick® Raspberry Extract

10 drops Blue McCormick® Assorted Food Colors & Egg Dye

Strawberry Cotton Candy Syrup:

2 teaspoons McCormick® Imitation Strawberry Extract

10 drops McCormick® Red Food Color

Crushed Orange Syrup:

1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Orange Extract

8 drops McCormick® Yellow Food Color

2 drops McCormick® Red Food Color

Lemon Blast Syrup:

1 teaspoon McCormick® Pure Lemon Extract

10 drops McCormick® Yellow Food Color

Bring sugar and water to boil in small saucepan on medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Boil 1 minute. Remove from heat. For desired flavor syrup, stir in extract and food color. Cool to room temperature. Pour into squeeze bottle for easier serving. Pour syrup over shaved ice. Makes 2 cups syrup.

For more cool summer ideas, visit www.McCormick.com, www.Facebook.com/McCormickSpice or www.Pinterest.com/mccormickspices.

Note: This is not a sponsored post.

Today's question:

What is your favorite beat-the-heat treat?

One-word Wednesday: Craving

Bubby — October 22, 2012

Today's question:

What are you craving today?

Tried-and-true treats

I spend a lot of time gathering ideas for activities I can pack into my grandma bag and tote to the desert to entertain my grandsons. I have a Pinterest board filled with elaborate GRAND ideas, and I have a bookshelf packed with even more.

Sometimes, though, falling back on the tried and true is just as much fun. And just as much fun to photograph, too.

I'm speaking specifically about Rice Krispies Treats, which Bubby and I made together last time I got to be grandma-at-the-wheel at his place. It made for a surprisingly simple and sweet time, largely because I had the process down pat.

If it's been a while and you don't recall the recipe for the easy-peasy treats off the top of your head, the ingredients are:

• 3 tablespoons butter or margarine

• 10-ounce package regular marshmallows (or 4 cups miniature marshmallows)

• 6 cups Rice Krispies cereal

Because sprinkles—on cookies, ice cream, cakes, you name it—are a favorite of Bubby's, I jazzed up the process by including a shaker of various sprinkles for Bubby to shake on top of the treats.

Megan thought making the treats in mini-muffin cups would create perfectly portioned servings for Bubby. So we washed our hands, I sprayed the muffin pan plus a dish for the remaining (the recipe makes a lot), and we set to work.

First, Bubby dumped the marshmallows into the bowl.

I added the butter and set aside.

Bubby then dumped the Rice Krispies into another bowl.

Together we watched the marshmallows and butter melt in the microwave, stirring occasionally til smooth. Then I stirred together the fixings and quickly pressed it into the muffin molds and dish. Bubby immediately got to work at the shaking and sprinkling.

The final step was one that must never be forgotten when preparing food with a grandchild: licking the spoon...or the beaters...or the bowl. In this case, it was a spatula, and Bubby clearly mastered the step.

Still sticky and sweet, we were ready to share. Voila! Rice Krispies Treats!

Fun to make. Fun to photograph. And especially fun to eat.

Today's question:

When did you last make Rice Krispies Treats?

This post has been linked to WOW Us Wednesday.