Cool Down with a Nice Summer Drink 消暑冷飲清涼一夏
圖片來源：一百隻熊
Growing up in New Zealand, I've always loved summer. To me, it was the best time for all my favourite outdoor activities such as hiking, bush-walking, swimming at the beach, sunbathing, snorkeling and kayaking. Because New Zealand lies in the southern hemisphere, daylight for summer is longer. This is why in the summer months, my mother never yells at me for staying out till 9pm because the sun is still up.
My whole impression of summer changed completely after I moved to Asia. The sweltering heat of summer often drained my energy, making me feel lazy and lethargic. I could barely walk outside let alone go jogging or sunbathing under the sun. The intense heat and humidity took my love for summer away; instead of being my favourite, I started to see it as a loathsome season that I longed to end every year.
Then one day, I had an epiphany about how much I used to enjoy summer. I missed the time when I was able to truly enjoy a nice cold beer or a glass of icy lemonade while sunbathing. So I made a decision to rekindle my love for summer by trying out different summer drink recipes.
After a bit of trial and error, I discovered and came up with my favourite summer drink recipe for Taiwan: Mango smoothie! Taiwanese summer is blessed with luscious mangoes, which are ubiquitous in supermarkets or fruit stalls. It smells fragrant and its flesh is extremely juicy, which makes it a perfect smoothie ingredient.
For this cooling drink, all you need to do is slice up a large mango and put the slices in a blender with some lime juice (from about 3 to 4 limes), 1 cup of water and a pinch of sugar. I prefer a slushier treat, so I normally add ice and crush until smooth. I also like my drinks to be visually appealing, so I always garnish my drink with lime slices.
Summer in Asia hasn't changed much, it is still boiling-hot and I still find it very different from the one back home. But now with this healthy and refreshing drink in hand, I can sit out in the sun and enjoy the summer air. Cheers to summer!
消暑冷飲 清涼一夏
我成長於紐西蘭，總是非常喜歡夏天。對我來說，夏天是進行所有我最愛戶外活動的最佳時機，像健行、叢林徒步旅行、在海邊游泳、做日光浴、浮潛、划獨木舟等等。因為紐西蘭位於南半球，它夏天的日照時間比較長。這也就是夏季時，母親從未因我在外面逗留到晚上9點而對我大吼大叫的理由－－因為這時太陽還沒下山呢。
搬到亞洲生活後，我對夏季的印象完全改觀。夏季悶熱的高溫經常使我的能量流失，讓我懶洋洋又昏昏欲睡。我幾乎無法在戶外走路，更不用說在大太陽底下慢跑或做日光浴了。酷熱的高溫及高濕度奪走了我對夏天的喜愛；夏天不再是我的最愛，我竟開始將它視為令人厭惡的季節，每年都渴望它的結束。
然後有一天，我忽然發現自己曾經多麼享受夏天。我想念那段做日光浴、同時享受一罐冰啤酒或一杯冰檸檬水的時光。所以我下定決心，嘗試不同的夏日飲料食譜，重燃自己對夏天的喜愛之情。
經過了一些嘗試錯誤的經驗，我發現了自己最愛的台灣夏季飲料：芒果冰沙！台灣的夏天，得天獨厚地有著甜美多汁的芒果，在超市或水果攤隨處可見。它的果香濃郁，果肉極度多汁，是完美的冰沙食材。
製作這種冷飲，只需要將一顆大芒果切片，並將這些切片、一些萊姆汁（約3至4顆萊姆）、1杯水及少量糖放進果汁攪拌機即可。我比較喜歡冰沙類的飲品，所以通常加入冰塊後將它攪拌到滑順為止。我也喜歡讓冷飲具有視覺吸引力，總是以萊姆切片點綴它。
亞洲的夏天沒有什麼太大的改變，仍然是令人沸騰的高溫，而且我仍然覺得跟家鄉很不一樣。但現在有這麼健康又清涼消暑的飲料在手，我可以坐在陽光底下享受夏日空氣。敬夏天！
Language Corner
-sweltering（悶熱的）so hot that you feel uncomfortable.
-lethargic（昏昏欲睡的、毫無生氣的） if you feel lethargic, you have no energy and you don't want to do anything.
-loathsome（令人厭惡的）extremely unpleasant.