Vodka Orange Ice Lolly

garnished with mint leaves and Bing cherries

It is 27 degrees in London. It's like seeing Rosol beating Nadal at Wimbledon this year. Unbelievable. A month ago, if you had told anyone that we would be experiencing these kinds of temperatures, they would think you were crazy.

But yes! It is absolutely gorgeous and what better way to welcome the fashionably late English summer than to make cocktail ice lollies. I came across the idea after seeing an article in the Metro a few weeks ago. It was only until I was being slowly tortured (by studying the civil litigation rules ... Lord have mercy) that I decided to give myself a break and create some alcoholic reward.

 

I raided our ever-expanding alcohol storage facility (we really do need a room for the alcohol in our house) and found some Absolut Vodka to mix with the orange juice. In our garden, Mama Wong grows all sorts of staple herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, basel, bay leaf tree ....) and more exotic ones used for Vietnamese dishes. I picked some fresh mint to decorate my ice lollies and selected some incredibly sweet Bing cherries for taste. The cherries will also add this wonderful peachy-pink colour to the ice lolly.

I carefully placed the mint leaves and sliced segments of cherry into the mould. I then mixed the orange juice with vodka. Although you may want to be generous with the alcohol, if you have too much, the lollies will not freeze properly. Slush-puppies are not the desired product.

After ensuring the mould was full, I placed it in our huge freezer over-night ... and voilà! Here is the final product!! The perfect summer indulgence.