banana punch

My cousin Sarah made banana punch for Kathy's shower. And Kathy had made banana punch for the shower she threw for Sarah and me almost a year ago. I swear there is no better punch out there.

We did not have tea at this tea party. Instead, we kept refilling our tea cups with this slushy goodness.

I took my first sip and had one of the strongest taste associations of my life. The moment I took a sip I was back in the entryway of my Aunt Louie's house, offering punch to who ever was visiting for what ever open house it happened to be. It is a sticky mess, fiercely addictive, and I believe Sarah and Kathy and I, serving as the punch pourers at every open house, drank as much as all of the other guests combined.

Banana Punch
makes 25 servings. Or three servings, if it's Sarah, Kathy and me.
4 cups sugar
6 cups cold water
46 oz. can unsweetened pineapple juice
12 oz. can lemon juice
Two 12 oz. cans orange juice concentrate
5 bananas (blended in blender)

Stir sugar and water until dissolved. Stir all ingredients together and freeze in a 5 quart ice cream pail (or a couple gallon pails). Set out so it gets slushy before it is time to serve. Mix 1/3 of the mixture with 1 liter of 7-up. (By mixing it in thirds, it will stay slushy for a longer period of time.)

**FUNNY STORY: my mom made this for my brother's confirmation and had just put the mixed, not yet frozen, banana mixture into the freezer in an kemps gallon ice cream container. My brother, not knowing it was not ice cream, grabbed the handle and pulled it out of the freezer, which dumped the sloshy punch stuff forward, spilling the lid and spraying a gallon of sticky juice stuff on every surface of the kitchen.

My mom has not made banana punch since.