Keeping Cool

Everything over ice + herbal tonics for hot summer days

Jul 22, 2026

I went down to Somerset for the May bank holiday to visit family which turned out to be a heatwave (the hottest May on record apparently), and I revelled being in the countryside for it.

Everything that could be done outside was done outside - morning coffee, meditation on the hill that overlooks the levels, yoga with my dads alpacas giving me side eye, foraging in the weeds and cooking on a little camping stove: barefoot the whole time.

I shared a note with some favourite hot weather snacks after I returned, that got a bit of love, so I thought it might be fun to continue the theme with more favourite ways of keeping cool for the lingering summer months - it feels especially needed with the weather in London at the moment. I hope you enjoy xx

Fresh Fruit

Slices of grapefruit, fig leaves for ice cream and flat peaches

Just cos maybe there’s nothing better than that sweet sweet nectar of a juicy peach or melon running down your arm when you’re sitting in the sun at 30 degrees.

A little squeeze of a lemon or lime on top and its heaven.

Note to self: try frozen grapes next. They’re making the rounds on my algorithm at the moment non-stop.

Watermelon Kombucha Coolers

1 glass of kombucha, 1/2 watermelon, a few sprigs of mint + 1 lemon into the blender and then served over ice.

Me and my mama came up with this recipe a few summers ago - she’s probably watermelon’s number one fan and I was trying to get more fermented food in her at the time, so we developed this sweet little hybrid that we drank on repeat for a few weeks in Jersey back in 2024. It has now become a yearly tradition when the sun comes out to play.

Everything over Ice

Iced Cacao: I first made this other evening when having those luteal cravings for cacao (or just any dark chocolate / magnesium), but it was way too hot for the full blown experience. Instead, after melting the cacao in a little hot water, I added coconut milk (from the tin), and served it over ice. It landed somewhere in-between a hot chocolate and a cold chocolate mousse straight out the fridge. Satisfying and cooling in one. A pinch of nutmeg and a few strands of saffron are two favourite spices to add to cacao at the moment - so good.

Iced Matcha: I’m just guessing… but I think this might be the most ordered drink of 2026. I see it in everyone’s hands atm. But popular for a reason - it’s just very, very tasty. At home I like to make it with hazelnut milk, a pinch of sea salt and a little spoonful of manuka honey (for added minerals) whizzed up in the milk frother and then poured over ice into the tallest glass in the kitchen.

Iced Coffee: If you are also trying to have less caffeine at the moment: try making it with a swiss water process decaf in the perculator, poured over ice with lots of coconut milk (again from the tin if you want it really creamy). It’s good :)

Iced Tea: Does anyone else reminisce over how good peach Lipton ice tea used to be in the 90s? Me and my brother and were alsways obsessed with this drink on holiday as kids. It always tasted better in France for some reason. I love this substack for ice tea ideas and have become a little obsessed with making them at home this year; playing around with different herbs from the garden. It’s a fun little experimental mocktail to mix up every morning and a chance to play with plants, fruit and flavours.

After waking I step onto my little London patio and cut a handful of herbs I planted earlier in Spring to add to the jug of the day; sometimes it’s mint or rosemary; sometimes it’s sage; this week has been lots of lemon balm. Sometimes slices of fruit are added (oranges, lemons, limes); sometimes dried hibiscus flowers / slices of ginger / a splash of any juice we might have to hand (turmeric was last week) and then fill up the rest with ice, a glug of homemade kombucha and lots of water (filtered or sparkling). The jug gets put in the fridge for us to sip on throughout the day.

I bought some raw apple juice from a local market this morning and am going to have to try that in the mix next week.

Ice Lollies

A couple of summers ago in Provence I started experimenting with different iced-lolly flavours and it’s become a bit of a summer ritual. All you need is a mould and a favourite drink / smoothie / juice. Pour it in and leave it to set for a few hours in the freezer.

Kefir, matcha, cacao and turmeric and lemon flavours have all been a hit so far. I like to to make a bunch at a time as back up for cooling snacks throughout the week; for those times you’re not really hungry but just have a craving for something cold and refreshing.

I don’t currently have any lolly moulds and was craving a matcha one recently, so fashioned some make shift versions from paper cups with a wooden spoon in for a lolly stick. They tasted good, albeit being a little bit on the wonky side.

For future: these lolly moulds look fun - I might have to try double dipping some this summer. The idea of a matcha lolly dipped in dark chocolate sounds too good not to try.

You can find cheap second hand machines on marketplace or vinted and become everyone’s favourite dessert maker by the end of the week.

In lockdown, I bought an ice cream machine that had never been used for £30 from facebook and began experimenting with different coconut cream based versions: one tin of coconut cream, one banana, a handful of berries in the blender and then into the ice cream maker makes a really easy dessert in no time. The berries can be subbed for other favourite flavours too: matcha? mango? miso? it all seems to work and is so fun to play around with and feel like a kitchen witch mixing up different combinations.

When I first found out I had vitiligo and went on a sugar detox; making sugar-free homemade ice-cream was such a hack to keep my sweet tooth cravings at bay. Ice cream making became a love language for a while and I would make tubs of it to transport across the city to different friends in need.

In the May heatwave I attempted my first batch of fig-leaf ice cream following a mixture of these two recipes: here and here. I subbed the cream for coconut milk and the sugar for coconut sugar. It came out a bit like the inside of bounty bar, just a frozen version. Fig leaves have a coconut-ty flavour and the coconut milk + coconut sugar seemed to amplify the overall taste. My 70-something dad, his partner and I sat in the setting sun to try it. He said it was the best ice-cream he’d ever had - I think he was high from the summer heat and his day spent gardening, but it made for a lovely memory I’ll cherish.

Lemon Salt

I’ve been adding a pinch of this to my glass of water in the hot weather for added electrolytes and minerals.

So easy + so good. All you need to do is grate the zest of a lemon (preferably organic) into a small dish of good-quality sea salt. As it sits, the salt draws out the moisture from the zest, slowly drying and preserving it; while taking on all of the lemon’s oils and flavour. Find the full method here.

When I have it to hand, I sprinkle this onto everything from salads, to roasts, to fish.

Herbal Tea Infusions

The key to staying hydrated while also getting a dose of minerals. Steep the herbs overnight (in a teapot or kilner jar: something with a lid to keep the volatile oils in), for maximum effect. Drink it cool or mix half tea, half hot water to your cup if you prefer it warmer like I do.

My little witchy jar collection I wrote about in this post is growing - but nettle, spearmint, lemon balm and tulsi are current favourites for summer.

Adding Herbs to Water

If I see a patch of cleavers, a bunch is always coming away with me to be added to my water bottle. They’re known as one of the best herbs for our lymphatic system and kidney health. Best steeped in a jug of cold water overnight and left in the fridge to drink the next day.

I’ve also been adding random herbs from the garden to add to my water bottle each day. A little handful of mint or rosemary makes for a refreshing sip (add a small pinch of lemon salt and it’s a party on your tongue). I did this on an early morning before a day of travel to Spain (lemon balm, rosemary and sage went in) and kept topping up the bottle with fresh water to sip on throughout the voyage. It kept the water tasty but also felt grounding and a way to stay connected to nature whilst buzzing around bustling airports and stations. Which reminds me… when travelling I always add a few drops or sprays of SOS Formula to my water too.

Foraging & Making Soup

Foraging is one of those things you just have to be outside for (helping to keep the sunshine fomo at bay). Is there anything more satisfying than finding, then preparing and serving food to the people you love most? Knowing they will be properly nourished from something that was picked that day and lovingly made for them with your own two hands?

It’s one of the most abundant times for foraging in the UK at the moment: wild strawberries, mallow, meadowsweet, yarrow are all out and blackberries are just around the corner.

I feel like I write about it all the time but I don’t think anything beats a nettle and nutmeg soup: it’s always my food highlight after a long winter. Rich in iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium; nettles are a favourite among herbalists for good reason.

I always come back to this recipe, although I realise it’s a little late for nettle season. But if you pick the fresh tops of the ones that haven’t gotten too tall yet, it’s still good.

Soup gets attention when the weather turns colder and it’s cosy season but I love how a soup that has been foraged for in the warmer months brings all the aliveness of summer to the bowl. Just eat it when it when the sun’s gone down if it’s a hot day.

And if you head out and about to forage, I made a little summer playlist here to pick along to:

The School of Substack

I’ve learnt so many amazing things on Substack over the last couple of years. I love it here; it feels like a little cosy coven of witches and wizards all spilling the tea.

Recent reads have been: how to dry herbs and store (another lovely thing to do in the hot weather), as well as the healthiest ways to cook fish. I’ve since invested in the sweetest little bamboo steamer (steaming it keeps in more omegas than baking or frying I discovered) for summery fish dinners in the garden. I like to line the base with cabbage leaves and herbs first (which I like to believe is adding even more nourishment to the fish). Something about the heat just makes me want to eat fish and bean salads all summer long.

Recent favourites: