Cold Heat

tricks and sips to keep cool while things warm up

The days are getting longer. The sun is getting brighter. And if you live in a warm place like LA without air conditioning, you’ve already started thinking about your plan for staying cool until the fall.

Michelle has zero AC in her life and Matt has been blessed with a small window unit in his place, so these are real problems once the thermostat lingers above 90 degrees. Luckily, we’re on top of it this year and have begun our seasonal ritual of creating delicious drinks to chill out with while we dream of making friends with someone who has a pool.

plz invite us, we’ll bring drinks and torpedo toys

One of our favorite ways to cool down is with lemonade or iced tea BUT elevated to the next level with our Orange Blossom Simple Syrup. It’s stupid simple to make, lasts for a while in the fridge, and makes everything taste ✨fancier✨. And if you use just the right amount, people will struggle to figure out why your spring and summer sips taste so much better than theirs. That’s why we cook, right? To make other people jealous of our delicious food and drinks so that they invite us to swim in their pool. Good, glad we’re all on the same page. So, in honor of OPERATION KEEP COOL ’22 here is the recipe for our secret syrup plus one of our favorite mocktails that we make by the pitcher.

the ol’ tried and true face in freezer technique

Orange blossom water should be easy enough to find in most places. First look by the extracts at your grocery store. Not there? Check near the falafel mix and tahini. Still no luck? Find a local Middle Eastern or Greek grocer and you’ll be good to go. Or ya know, there’s always the internet. A bottle of this magical stuff is affordable and lasts you a long ass time. Plus, it’s literally made from orange blossoms. What’s cooler than that?

This shits so refreshing you feel better just by looking at it.

Orange Blossom Simple Syrup

Makes a little over 2 cups

1 ½ cups cane sugar

1 cup water

2 tablespoons orange blossom water

Juice from 1 lemon

In a medium sauce pot, whisk together the sugar and water. Warm this up over a medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until the pot comes to a simmer, about 5 minutes. Stir the pot around to make sure the sugar has completely dissolved into the water then turn off the heat. Stir in the orange blossom water and lemon juice then let it cool down a bit. Transfer to a jar with a tight-fitting lid and store it in the fridge. This should keep for about a month.

Fire Season Sunrise

Makes about 7 cups or 1 pitcher

4 cup carrot juice

2 cup orange juice

½ cup orange blossom simple syrup

1 cup ginger ale or sparkling water if you don’t want it too sweet

In a large pitcher or mixing glass, stir together the carrot juice, orange juice, and orange blossom water and stick it in the fridge until it’s go-time. Right before serving, stir in the ginger ale so that it stays nice and bubbly. Serve over ice with some orange slices thrown in for looks.

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Thanks for joining us here in The Broiler Room. We got some perks for y’all next week, stay tuned. Until then, keep cool.

Michelle and Matt