Rose Milk, Essence of My Soul

As a child, I was frantic for Strawberry Quick, a product of a certain conglomerate.  My parents obliged me once, only.  Even though it was back in the 50s, they could spot artificial flavour, food dye and chemicals, saying 'no, no, never again' after my first and only box was all used up.

I’ve lamented that ever since.  But this  pink and frothy ice-cold drink is so much better than my strawberry quick of yore. This is a widely used Indian recipe, but I’ve tweaked it to make it a tad more healthy.

This is fast and simple, and your kids will adore you when you serve this on a sweltering day.  Some adults could be mighty thankful as well.

Per Serving

1 ½ teaspoon rose syrup (more or less to taste)

1 cup milk

½ cup frozen cherries, frozen raspberries, frozen strawberries or a ½ frozen banana

I made a jug of this for the birthday lunch.

2 tablespoons plain yogurt

Toss ingredients into a blender.  Frozen cherries are commonly available, as are frozen raspberries or even frozen strawberries.  I like to keep it pink, so no frozen blueberries!  

Frozen fruit ups the nutrition of the original recipe which merely calls for ice.  Adding healthy fibre and flavour never hurts.  The yogurt helps to balance it a bit, so it’s not too cloyingly sweet.  (You can always add more rose syrup if it tastes too healthy.)  Whiz till blended.  

Pour and serve immediately.  The colours will separate after a while, so give it a quick stir when that happens.

This chilled drink is heavenly.  So heavenly that it brings to mind my childhood ‘confirmation’ ceremony where I had to choose a saint who was special to me, and then use her name as my confirmation name for the rest of my life.  Of course, I chose Saint Rose.  After the ceremony I signed my name Mary Rose every time, determined to keep that name forever. 

Unfortunately we had an elderly teacher who became bewildered when passing back our work and keeping track of our records.  We already had a student named Rosemary, so the newly named Mary Rose was more than she could handle.  She forbade me to use my new name, something else I’ve lamented every since. 

Give it a quick stir if the colours separate!

I understand that the Punjabi name for this drink translates to something like ‘essence of the soul’.  So apt in my case… Is it too late to return to my confirmation name now?  It’s only been more than fifty years…

If you need help finding rose syrup, let me know.  Maybe I can help.