Polo, Revisited.

It is upon us.

I'm referring to Summer, also known affectionately as "hell" by Houston residents, including myself, who must brace themselves almost daily for triple-digit temperatures and high humidity. You know it's really hot when a part of you wishes there would be a tropical storm to cool things down.  

But let's leave mass-spread devastation by Mother Nature for another day, and enjoy a more modest means of refreshment in the form of a wonderful Syrian drink called polo. I first wrote about polo last year in the dead of "winter" in Houston, and it seems fitting now I revisit the recipe not only because it is now Summer With A Capital 'S' but also because my agrarian-inclined husband has built a thriving rooftop garden that is yielding, among other botanicals, scores of fresh mint.

Twilight in the Garden of Good & Fertile.

Ingredients

• 4 cups of cold water

• 5 lemons, juiced

• 6 tablespoons sugar

• 1.5 cups of fresh mint, rinsed and drained

• 1 teaspoon orange blossom water.

Directions

1. Blend on high in blender; strain out bits. Or not, if you like some pulp in your drink.

Recipe: Polo

No, this post does not contain instructions on how to play golf while riding a horse. Sorry.

Polo, as I learned from the terrific blog, Syrian Foodie in London, is the name for a cool specialty beverage from Damascus, which,  I can tell you from experience, can get very, VERY hot. 

As you can see from the recipe below, the ingredients are fairly straight-forward and would likely be found on any given Friday in my kitchen, save one component: orange blossom water.

POLO

Ingredients:

 4 cups water

Juice of 5 lemons

 6 tablespoons sugar

 1.5 cups fresh mint leaves, rinsed and drained

1 tsp. orange blossom water

But, lo and behold, I had picked up a bottle during my visit to Jerusalem Halal Market. 

Directions:

Blend and strain.

Piquant, tart, and oh-so-refreshing.