Yes, its summer. Students finished their long time projects and passing some/all of their subjects.

After hard days of work in school, it will all be paid off by serious vacation with lots of refreshments. Refreshments: Summer vacation would not be complete without delicacies that will surely make your favorite time of the year worthy. Here are some foods that will make you feel cool even under the sun. 1. Halo-halo

One word to describe this Filipino dessert.REFRESHING! With this Brisbane summer heat that we are having, this Buko Pandan Dessert will definitely lift your spirit up and cools you down. A Filipino tropical chilled dessert, it is compose of cubes of Pandan Jelly, Buko (shredded young coconut) and mini Sago Pearls in a not too sweet cream sauce. It is the all time favorite of most of the Filipinos. Once you think of food thats great for summer, halo-halo is the first thing that comes in our mind. Halo-halo is a dessert consisting mainly of finely-shaved ice and a delightful concoction of preserved sweets such as young shredded coconut, beans, boiled banana chunks, macapuno, sago, gelatin and topped with crispy popped rice and a glob of ice cream, among other yummy tidbits. Halohalo is available everywhere, considering that there is one vendor selling halo-halo in every street, making it the most popular dessert in throughout the country. Ive only started making Buko Pandan last Halloween and since then I been making this easy version multiple of times now. The sweetness is just right and the balance of sauce/jelly/buko/tapioca ratio are good. Some people tend to drown this dessert with too much cream sauce.if you do that then you shouldnt call it Buko Pandan Salad, it should be called Buko Pandan Drink. I used frozen/defrosted shredded Buko (shredded young coconut) and instant Pandan jelly as I dont have the time yet to do certain things from scratch. But rest assure, this is a wonderful dessert to make specially this coming Yuletide season.simple recipe but definitely a keeper! 3. Mango Float

2. Buko Pandan Salad

Mangoes are great tasting fruits. These are one of the most delicious fruits in the world. The best mangoes are found and grown in the Philippines in the province called Guimaras. It is the well-known Mango Capital of the world. Mango fruit can be turned into one delicious dessert which we can call " Mango float". This recipe is usually served during special occassions especially during Christmas season but it is still applicable even on summer days or whenever we want to. The look of the food makes the people irresistible in tasting just one bite of it. Definitely, people would prefer this dessert than any other else because of its soft, fluffy creams and fruity mango flavor. 4. Gulaman

summer day without gulaman drink in your hand. Gulaman, in Filipino cuisine, refers to the bars of dried seaweed used to make jellies or flan, as well as the desserts made from it. Agarose or agar is made of processed seaweed, mostly from Gelidium corneum--one of the most common edible alga, dehydrated and formed into footlong dry bars which are either plain or coloured. The gulaman jelly bars are used in the various Filipino refreshments or desserts such as sago at gulaman (or gulaman at sago, commonly shortened to sago't gulaman), buko pandan, agar flan, halo-halo, different varieties of Filipino fruit salads, black gulaman, and red gulaman. This drink consists of gulaman cubes and/or sago (tapioca pearls) suspended in milk, fruit juice or brown-sugar water flavored with pandan leaves. It is also sold commercially as Pearl Shakes. 5. Mais con Yelo

Talking about beverages, gulaman is a perfect drink for summer vacation. You cannot come across a street or a road on a hot

One food that is a good alternative for halo halo is the Mais con Yelo. Mais con Yelo means corn on ice. This is a popular refreshment in the Philippines due to being inexpensive and easy to prepare. Any type of milk can be used. It is nevertheless extremely creamy and rich in flavor. The syrup from the corn kernels helps it to thicken and gives it a more natural corn flavor. You can purchase this separately if you wish. Just look for any brand of corn syrup in your local

supermarket. However, if you dont have syrup on hand, the liquid from the canned corn will suffice. Reference: http://www.filipinocooking.net/recipe/mais-con-yelo/ 6. Buko juice

Another refreshing drink popular in the Philippines and perfect when going to a beach or a resort is the Buko Juice. it is a simple mixture of young coconut water, young coconut meat and milk, its very refreshing and very healthy. Buko juice is a very refreshing and healthy drink, it contains a lot of electrolytes, and minerals to replenish hydration levels in the body thats why it can be used as an energy drink, liquid replacement for people suffering diarrhoea and even as an intravenous fluid (This is sometimes used by developing nations). Another benefit for drinking coconut water is it has anti-ageing, anticarcinogenic, and anti-thrombotic properties, it also has better composition of minerals like calcium, iron, manganese, magnesium, potassium, sodium and zinc than other fruits. Reference: http://angsarap.net/2012/01/05/buko-juice/ 7. Sorbetes

Last but not the least is the sorbetes. During a hot day, most of the people would line up to manong sorbetero just to buy one of his refresing sorbetes. Sorbetes is a Filipino version for common ice cream usually peddled from carts that roam streets in the Philippines. This should not be confused with the known sorbet. It is also commonly called dirty ice cream because it is sold along the streets exposing it to pollution and that the factory where it comes from is usually unknown; though it is not really dirty as the name implies. It is usually served with small wafer or sugar cones and recently, bread buns. These are the foods that would absolutely complete your summer vacation. Even when the school is beginning to come, you definitely dont refuse to it because you had a great time spending your whole two summer months with these cool refreshments.