Recipe: Zesty Lemon Crush

Zesty Lemon Crush

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• blend :

  to stir together two or more ingredients until just combined; blending is a gentler process than mixing.

• juice :

  to extract or squeeze out the juice of a fruit or vegetable, like a lemon, orange, or carrot, often cutting open or peeling the fruit or veggie first to access its flesh.

• measure :

  to calculate the specific amount of an ingredient required using a measuring tool (like measuring cups or spoons).

• zest :

  to scrape off the outer colored part of a citrus fruit's rind (skin or peel) using a metal tool with small sharp blades, such as a zester, microplane, or the small holes of a grater (avoid the "pith," the white, spongy lining of the rind that can be bitter).

History of Slushies!

• A slushy is similar to the Italian granita but has more liquid content. It is made of ice and a sweetened and flavored beverage. It can be carbonated or non-carbonated. 
• The first carbonated slushy was accidentally made by Omar Knedlik, the owner of a Dairy Queen franchise in Coffeyville, Kansas. In the late 1950s, his soda machine gave him problems, so he stored the soda in the freezer. When he took the soda out, it had become slushy, and he sold it to his customers that way. It was a hit, and he named his concoction "Icee" and started the Icee Company. In 1960, the company began mass-producing slushy machines. In 1965, they sold some machines to 7-Eleven, who named their slushies "Slurpees."
• A slushy does not freeze solid because of the sugar content in it. A slushy machine prevents the water from freezing by continually mixing the sugar and water molecules until they bond.
• Slushy fruit flavors include cherry, grape, pineapple, strawberry, and watermelon. Soda flavors may be cola, lemon-lime, or orange. Other possible flavors are caramel, chocolate, coffee, and vanilla.

Let's Learn About Kansas!

• Kansas is a Midwestern state and the 34th in the United States to be admitted to the Union in 1861. It is a landlocked state and bordered by Nebraska to the north, Missouri to the east, Oklahoma to the south, and Colorado to the west. 
• Topeka, in northeastern Kansas, is the capital. Wichita, in south-central Kansas, is the most populous city in the state. Kansas City, Kansas, is adjacent to Kansas City, Missouri, and they are both part of the larger Kansas City Metropolitan Area.
• The total area of Kansas is 82,278, putting its size between the states of Utah and Nebraska. It has almost 3 million people. 
• The state's official nickname is The Sunflower State. Its anthem is "Home on the Range."
• Kansas got its name from the Kansas River. The river got its name from the Kansa (or Kaw) people, one of the Indigenous tribes who lived in the Midwestern region of the country. 
• France explored the area of what is now northern Kansas, Spain explored southern Kansas, and both countries made claims on the region. In 1803, the United States acquired Kansas as part of the Louisiana Purchase.
• In 1827, the US Army built a military installation, Fort Leavenworth, bringing the first non-indigenous people to the area. The city of Leavenworth was founded in 1854 on the western bank of the Missouri River in the northeast across from the state of Missouri.
• Months after Kansas became a state, the Civil War started. By a vote of the people, Kansas rejected slavery and fought for the Union during the Civil War. 
• In the 1930s, during the Great Depression and suffering from the Dust Bowl, many Kansans, especially in the south, left the state. Later, during World War II, aircraft manufacturing brought people and growth to the state.
• Kansas is part of the Great Plains, a flatland area in the US and Canada of over one million square miles. It is 2,000 miles long and 500 miles wide.
• About 90 percent of the state is dedicated to agriculture. Farmers grow corn, cotton, sorghum, soybeans, and wheat. They raise cattle (for beef and milk), goats, hogs, pigs, and sheep.
• Wind power is the largest source of electricity in Kansas, which produces the most wind energy after Texas.
• President Dwight D. Eisenhower's boyhood home is in Abilene, Kansas. It is also the location of his presidential library and museum.
• Jack Kilby, the inventor of the integrated circuit (precursor to the microchip), grew up in Great Bend, Kansas.
• The Icee, a frozen soda, was created in Coffeyville, Kansas. A few businesses got their start in Wichita: White Castle hamburger fast-food restaurant, Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers, Pizza Hut, and the Coleman company. 
• Kansas is featured in several writings. Dorothy from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz novel lived with her aunt and uncle in Kansas. The novel Little House on the Prairie takes place in Kansas. And, Clark Kent's hometown in the Superman comic books is Smallville, a fictional town in Kansas. 
• Famous Kansas musicians include the members of the rock group Kansas, guitarist Joe Walsh from the Eagles, country singers Melissa Etheridge and Martina McBride, and actress and singer Janelle Monáe.
• Kids and families can visit zoos, animal parks, museums, discovery centers, amusement parks, and water parks in Kansas. They can camp in Kansas State Parks, go fishing in lakes and reservoirs, and go hiking on hundreds of trails.
• Monument Rocks are large chalk formations believed to have been formed 80 million years ago in Gove County, Kansas. Their forms include arches and buttes that reach as high as 70 feet. The site has been designated as a National Natural Landmark. 
• The Keeper of the Plains steel sculpture stands at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas Rivers in Wichita, a sacred site for local tribes. It was sculpted by Blackbear Bosin, a Kiowa-Comanche artist. It was erected to commemorate the United States Bicentennial in 1974 and has become a symbol of Wichita and the heritage of the indigenous people who live in the area. 
• Kansas is known for its Kansas City-style barbecue, which uses a dry rub, a slow smoke, and tomato-based barbecue sauce. Smoked brisket, chicken-fried steak, and fried chicken are well-liked. The unique combination of chili and cinnamon rolls is also popular in Kansas. 
• Kansans are fond of pie, especially cream pies, like banana cream, chocolate cream, and coconut cream.
• Bierock (BEER-ok) is a savory-filled pastry made with yeasted dough, similar to a Cornish pasty, consisting of seasoned ground beef, cabbage, and onions. It is an Eastern European dish that German-Russian immigrants brought to the Midwest in the 1870s and is a favorite of Kansans. 
• German-Russian immigrants also brought their recipes for "pfeffernüsse" or "peppernut" cookies to Kansas and the Midwest. The cookies are popular during the Christmas holiday.
• "Kolache" are open sweet pastries, with fruit, fruit jam, cream cheese, or other fillings, surrounded by puffy yeast dough. Czech immigrants brought them to Kansas and the Midwest.