July 9th is Argentina’s Independence Day, Día de la Independencia. The independence of Argentina from Spain was declared on July 9th, 1816. Celebrate with this blender chimichurri sauce recipe and your favorite grilled food.

Chimichurri (chih-mee-CHOO-ree) is Argentina’s national condiment. In Spanish, it’s a salsa (each Latin American country has its own salsa recipes).

In Argentina, chimichurri is the must-serve sauce with steak, but is equally delicious with anything grilled or roasted: chicken, fish, lamb, pork, vegetables, and potatoes.

This yummy blender chimichurri sauce recipe is from Colavita Recipes.

It couldn’t be simpler to make in your blender or food processor.

The recipe follows, but first:

> The history of chimichurri sauce.

> A additional chimichurri recipe.

> How to create your signature chimichurri sauce.

> 21 ways to use chimichurri sauce.
 
 
RECIPE: BLENDER CHIMICHURRI SAUCE

You can prepare chimichurri a day in advance, and keep it tightly capped in a container in the fridge.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PULSE the oregano, parsley, garlic, vinegar, and olive oil until the mixture resembles a chunky paste.

2. TASTE. Adjust the salt and pepper as desired.

3. ALLOW the flavors to meld for 2 hours. That’s it!
 
 
 
 
 

[1] Easy blender chimichurri sauce (photo © Colavita Recipes).

[2] Chimichurri is the go-to sauce for steak and other grilled meats (photo © Organic Beef Company | Facebook).

[3] Chimichurri is delicious on roasted or grilled vegetables, like potatoes and these roasted beets (photo © Quinciple) | Farm To People).

[1] An elegant ice cream cone (photo © Claudio Hegedus | Wesual | Unsplash).

[2] July is National Blueberry Month, and July 8th is National Blueberry Day. Here’s the recipe for blueberry ice cream (photo © Driscoll’s).

[3] A caramel ice cream sundae (photo © National Honey Board).

July is National Ice Cream Month, and even if it weren’t, the hot weather in July and August gives us a good excuse to indulge in perhaps even more ice cream than in other months.

As if we needed an excuse!

But some people can experience the condition known as brain freeze.

It’s an intense pain in the head that’s caused by eating or drinking something intensely cold.

The scientific term for brain freeze is sphenopalatine ganglion neuralgia.

But you can keep calling it brain freeze or ice cream headache.

Anyone can get brain freeze. Those who eat something ice-cold very quickly may be more likely to get brain freeze.

And those who are susceptible to migraine headaches are also more likely to experience one.

Brain freeze isn’t serious and goes away quickly—in a few seconds or up to two minutes.
 
 
WHAT HAPPENS?

When your body senses sudden, extreme cold in the mouth or throat, it tries to react and warm up.

Blood vessels throughout the head expand to let extra blood into the area for warmth. That quick change in blood vessel size causes sudden pain.

If you experience it for more than a few seconds, try to bring the temperature in your mouth and throat back to normal.

Here are two options to thaw that brain freeze, from Cleveland Clinic:

 
If this happens to you frequently, eat and drink very cold things slowly.

On a personal note, we typically don’t get brain freeze, but we have experienced what we call “face freeze”: a situation where the lower part of the face and mouth becomes ice cold.

One July afternoon, when eating four pints of Wine Cellars Sorbet for a review, our face froze and we were so cold that we had to put on a hat, scarf, and gloves to finish eating.

Why didn’t we just stop eating for a while?

Ah, a professional deadline!
 
 
> The different types of ice cream and other frozen desserts.
 
 
> The history of ice cream.

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July 6th is National Fried Chicken Day. There’s likely no lover of chicken who hasn’t enjoyed plates of fried chicken. But how about fried chicken skins?

The fried chicken skins recipe below is the chicken’s answer to fried pork skins, or chicharrones.

Of late, fried chicken skins have become popular with restaurant chefs, when the nose-to-tail movement began around 10 years ago, encouraging chefs to use all parts of the animal and lessen food waste. Plus, customers love crispy, crunchy chips (as these are, in effect, fried chicken chips).

They make them with flavors from classic Southern style to Asian and Latin American seasonings and beyond.

Chicken skins have long been popular elsewhere, in Japan and throughout Asia. Flavor & The Menu reports that “the KFC in Indonesia offers fried chicken skins that, rumor has it, are better than the french fries.”
 
 
USES FOR FRIED CHICKEN SKINS

In addition to snacking, with or without dips, fried chicken skins can be:

 
Speaking of potato chips, fried chicken skins pair with just about any dip, sweet or savory.

Honey may be messy, but it’s delicious on the fried chicken skins.

While you’re considering which honey to dip, consider chile-infused varieties like Mike’s Hot Honey, and smoked honey like Classic City Bee.

You can purchase ready-made fried chicken chips, and some brands have gone one step further.

Flock Foods makes great chicken skin crisps (photo #5) n several flavors.

Wilde Brands, for example, makes a processed chicken chip that also includes egg whites and bone broth, Certified Paleo and Keto, in five flavors.

> Recipe: Our favorite fried chicken, with crushed Corn Flakes.

> The different cuts of chicken (bet you can’t name all of them).
 
 
RECIPE: FRIED CHICKEN SKINS (ACTUALLY, THEY’RE BAKED)

You can find numerous deep-fried chicken skin recipes, but we like this one because it’s baked (and we really don’t like to deep fry).

Here’s a recipe for fried chicken skins.

Note that you can collect chicken skins in advance, by buying breasts or thighs skin-on, then removing the skins and freezing them. (Then, cook the skinned chicken as you wish. We use skinless thighs and legs to make chicken soup.)

Instead of the seasonings below, you can use any global seasonings: shichimi togarashi, the Japanese seven-spice blend; chipotle; curry; harissa; jerk spice; za’atar; etc.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. REMOVE the skin from the chicken breasts (we use a kitchen scissors to do this). Pat dry and cut the skins in thirds lengthwise. Place them skin-side up in a single layer on the baking sheet.

3. BLEND the seasonings in a small bowl and sprinkle on the chicken skins (you don’t need to use all of it). Cover the skins with another layer of parchment and top with another baking sheet or a roasting pan to press down on the chicken skins.

3. BAKE until the skins are browned and crisp, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove the top baking sheet or roasting pan, and the top layer of parchment paper.

4. TRANSFER the chicken skins to a plate lined with paper towel to cool and crisp up.

[1] Fried chicken skins, dipped in hot honey (photos #1 and #2 © Eugene Dela Cruz | Carson Kitchen | Las Vegas).

[2] Use any seasoning you like, from Southern to Latin American to Asian.

[3] Mike’s Hot Honey, available in Hot and Extra Hot (photo © Mike Hot Honey).

[4] Smoked honey is also a delicious option (photo © Classic City Bee).

[5] We love Flock Chicken Crisps (photo © Flock Foods).

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[1] This attractive dessert is made from cut-up fudge pops (photo © Hannah Kaminsky | Bittersweet Blog).

[2] Gourmet ice pops (paletas) from La Newyorkina (photo © Goldbelly).

It’s National Ice Cream Month, and our colleague Hannah Kaminsky of Bittersweet Blog thought up this creative and oh-so-easy approach to ice cream desserts.

She cuts up ice cream bars and pops into squares, then places them in a rocks glass with fruit or edible flowers.

You can also rim the glass with something spicy like Tajín seasoning or chipotle, or a sweet rim such as decorating sugar or colored sanding sugar.

Try it!

We cut up both fudge ice pops, “gourmet” ice pops from La Newyorkina , and even some ice cream sandwiches.

Because ice cream sandwiches self-identify as casual fare, we dipped the sides of ice cream into a variety of chopped nuts and sprinkles.

Whatever you choose, you can garnish them with:

 
Or, add some sauce—caramel, chocolate, fruit—to the bottom of the glass before adding the frozen squares.

After we cut the squares, we put them in a single layer atop wax paper on a cookie sheet, and tucked them into the freezer until we were ready to assemble and serve.

These desserts are fun to make and fun to eat. Enjoy!
 
 
> The different types of ice cream and frozen desserts.
 
> The history of ice cream.

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In Greek mythology, the gods on Mount Olympus drank mead, a fermented combination of honey and water.

It was called “nectar of the gods” and was also consumed by the Greeks down on Earth, who made it for themselves. Along with beer, mead is one of the world’s oldest alcoholic beverages.

But we’ve discovered our own nectar of the gods, in the form of Natalie’s Guava Lemonade. It’s our Top Pick Of The Week.

Why of all things, pick the Guava Lemonade from Natalie’s Orchid Island Juice Company?

At a recent specialty food trade show featuring thousands of products (of which we tasted hundreds), the luscious, fresh flavors of Natalie’s Guava Lemonade were invigorating, restorative, exquisite, nay, divine.

We didn’t know until the next day that Natalie’s Guava Lemonade had won the gold statue for Best New Beverage in the Specialty Food Association’s 2022 Sofi Awards, triumphing over scores of entrants in the competitive beverage category.
 
 
WHAT’S IN IT?

Natalie’s Guava Lemonade is minimally processed and contains just four ingredients: fresh lemons, guava purée, pure cane sugar, and water. There are no preservatives and no artificial ingredients.

You can drink it straight (you’ll want more! more! more!) or use it as a cocktail or mocktail base.

Natalie’s has quite a few recipes on its website, that turn its Guava Lemonade into even more beverages, frozen snacks, and desserts.

Below, we include one of our own “specials,” the Guava Arnold Palmer. Recipe #2, Guava Lemonade Sorbet, and recipe #3, Guava “Bellini,” are from Natalie’s collection.

If you want to plan celebrations: June 10th is National Iced Tea Day, August 20th is National Lemonade Day, and for recipe #1, September 10th is Arnold Palmer’s birthday.

> The history of lemonade.

> The history of the Arnold Palmer.
 
 
RECIPE #1: GUAVA ARNOLD PALMER

Some people will use sweet iced tea (or regular sweetened ice tea) for this recipe. We prefer that the sweetness come only from the lemonade.

If you avoid sugar, you can make sugar-free lemonade. Here’s a recipe for homemade lemonade, with your sweetener of choice.

We also make Sparkling Guava Lemonade, simply by topping off one-fourth of the glass with club soda.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE equal amounts of iced tea and Natalie’s Guava Lemonade.

2. FILL a glass with ice, if you prefer. Add the beverage mixture and garnish as desired.
 
 
RECIPE #2: GUAVA LEMONADE SORBET

See photo #5. You can also make a sorbet cocktail by scooping the sorbet into a glass of prosecco or other sparkling wine.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE 1 cup of Guava Lemonade and 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan. Stir to combine.

2. BRING the mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

3. REMOVE from the heat, and stir in the second cup of guava lemonade and lemon zest. Pour into a small loaf pan and place in the freezer overnight.

4. SCOOP and garnish as desired.
 
 
RECIPE #3: GUAVA LEMONADE “BELLINI”

This recipe is an homage to the Bellini, which is made with white peach purée and Prosecco (here’s the original recipe and history).

Instead of peach purée Natalie’s substitutes guava purée and its Guava Lemonade. For garnish, you can notch a piece of frozen guava on the rim of the glass.

Ingredients For 4 Drinks

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE the frozen guava and Guava Lemonade and blend until smooth.

2. DIVIDE the mixture among 4 Champagne glasses, add top with prosecco.

3. GARNISH as desired.

[1] Natalie’s Guava Lemonade with a spicy Tajin rim (photos #1, #2, and #5 © Orchard Island Juice).

[2] Mix Natalie’s Guava Lemonade into a green smoothie. Here’s the recipe.

[3] Guava Arnold Palmer. It couldn’t be easier to make, although we have provided the recipe (photo © Torani).

[4] Tajín cayenne, lime, and salt seasoning makes a delicious rim to complement Guava Lemonade or any lemonade. Here’s more about Tajín (photo © Tajin).

[5] Guava lemonade sorbet, recipe #2.

[6] Guavas. Some varieties have white flesh (photo © Margo Schmiederer | Pexels).

*You can purchase frozen guava, or peel, dice, and freeze fresh guava.

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