When the weather gets warmer and the days get longer, it’s time for backyard cookouts, sipping cold drinks, and frosty desserts. Here are a few of our favorite summertime recipes, each featuring organic, fairly traded ingredients!

Cold Brew Coffee
Ingredients:
Your favorite Equal Exchange coffee! Try Organic Cold Brew or Organic Love Buzz.

Directions:
1. Using a Toddy brewer, combine 12 oz of ground coffee with 7 cups of cold water.
2. Let the coffee and water combination stay at room temperature for 12-24 hours and filter the grounds when the brew cycle is complete.
3. Store as a concentrate for up to two weeks in the refrigerator.
4. Serve with ice!

For more detailed instructions, click here.

Iced Tea Concentrate
Ingredients:
Try your favorite tea iced! Try Organic Vanilla Rooibos, Organic Black or Organic Mint Green.

Directions:
1. Boil 8 cups water and pour into a heatproof glass pitcher.
2. Add 15 tea bags of your choice (with strings, tags and staples removed) and let steep for 5 minutes.
3. Remove the tea bags and let cool to room temperature.
4. Transfer to sealable containers and refrigerate.
5. When you’re ready to drink, add 1 part concentrate to 3 parts water and ice in a glass or pitcher.

Simple Syrup
Sweeten your tea or iced coffe without the sugar crystals lingering at the bottom of your glass! Simply combine 1 part sugar with 1 part hot water just off the boil and mix well. Add to your glass or pitcher to taste.

Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken
Ingredients
4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 c. Equal Exchange Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2/3 c. lemon juice
2 tsp. minced garlic
1 medium onion diced
½ tsp. pepper
½ tsp. salt

Directions
1. Whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Then add the diced onion.
2. Transfer marinade to a gallon sized plastic bag or container and add the chicken. Place in the fridge and marinate overnight.
3. Place the chicken on a preheated grill and sprinkle with pepper. Cook for about 20 minutes or until cooked through, with no pink in the center.
4. Grill additional lemon slices, for garnish.
5. Serve and enjoy!

Adapted from The Recipe Critic

Citrus Collards with Raisins
Ingredients
2 large bunches of collard greens, chiffonaded, rinsed, and drained
Coarse sea salt
1/3 c. fresh orange juice
1 Tbsp. Equal Exchange Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 c. Equal Exchange Chilean Flame Raisins

Directions
1. In a large pot over high heat, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon salt. Add the collards and cook, uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes, until softened.
2. Prepare a large bowl of ice water to cool the collards.
3. Remove the collards from the heat, drain, and plunge them into the bowl of cold water to stop the cooking and set the color of the greens. Drain.
In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, warm the oil. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add the collards, raisins, and ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Add orange juice and cook for an additional 15 seconds. Do not overcook (collards should be bright green). Season with additional salt to taste if needed and serve immediately.

This content is from the book Grub by Anna Lappé and Bryant Terry.

Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches
Ingredients
½ c. unsalted butter, room temperature
½ c. granulated sugar
½ c. light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ tsp. salt
1 ¼ c. all-purpose flour
6 Tbsp. Equal Exchange Organic Baking Cocoa
½ tsp. baking soda
2 c. of your favorite ice cream

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Add butter and sugars to a large bowl and mix on medium speed with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.
3. Add egg, vanilla extract, and salt. Beat until well incorporated.
4. Combine flour, cocoa powder and baking soda in a separate bowl. Whisk together until well combined.
5. Switch the hand mixer to a low speed and slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients. The batter will be thick – mix only until everything is combined.
6. Spoon the cookie dough onto your baking sheets and bake for 9 to 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack.
7. While the cookies are cooling, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and scoop ice cream into balls – as many sandwiches as you want to make. Once you have all your scoops, immediately put the baking sheet in the freezer.
8. When the cookies have completely cooled, remove the ice cream from the freezer. Using a piece of parchment paper and your palm, gently push down on each ice cream ball to flatten it slightly and fit the width of your cookies.
9. Place the pressed ice cream balls between two cookies, firmly but gently enough not to break the cookies.
10. Serve and enjoy! Or you can wrap them in parchment paper, plastic or foil to preserve them in the freezer until needed.

Adapted from Inspired Taste 

Classic Fudge Pops
Ingredients
6 oz. Equal Exchange Organic Very Dark Chocolate
2 c. whole milk
½ c. cream
¼ c. sugar
2 Tbsp. Equal Exchange Organic Baking Cocoa
2 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. kosher salt

Directions
1. Break chocolate into pieces and put into a blender. In a saucepan, bring milk, cream, sugar and cocoa to a low boil, then immediately remove from heat. Pour the milk mixture over the chocolate in the blender, add vanilla and salt and let sit for a few minutes until the chocolate is softened. Blend on a low speed until the mix has emulsified and is smooth.
2. Pour the mixture into ice pop molds. Let sit in the freezer for about 1 hour before inserting wooden sticks, if needed.
3. Freeze well for 24 hours. Enjoy!

Adapted from the New York Times