Pretend It's Already Fall With Maple Cream Soda

Something that gets me through the most hottest days of summer is visualizing the autumn to come, when temperatures will be delightfully brisk and I can go back to modeling my impressive collection of jackets. August is for shorts, sweating, and complaining; autumn is scarves, sweaters, and coziness.

To make my visualizations come to life, I like to throw some old crackly jazz records on the hi-fi, put a riveting fireplace video on the TV, fill my house with pumpkin-spice-scented Febreze, and eat like I'm getting ready to hibernate. Fall is defined by its signature flavors: you can fool yourself into thinking it's the most wonderful time of the year by frying up a batch of apple cider doughnuts, tucking into a bowl of warm pumpkin soup, getting creative with a butternut squash, or drenching everything in maple syrup.

At the breakfast table maple syrup is a year-round thing, but after 10 a.m. its warm, woodsy flavor compels me to throw on a cardigan and snuggle up under a blanket. But it's August, and the sun does not care if I've deluded myself into thinking it's November. So instead of mugs of piping hot apple cider or a batch of homemade pumpkin spice lattes, I'll make an ice cold glass of maple cream soda and dream of cooler days to come.

• 1 1/2 Tbsp. pure maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. heavy cream or half-and-half
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla
• 8 oz. seltzer, plain or flavored (I'm a big fan of cherry, blueberry, or any other fruit that tastes good on pancakes)

Mix the maple syrup, cream/half-and-half, and vanilla together in the bottom of a pint glass. Add half the seltzer and stir gently, giving the foam a little time to subside. Repeat until the glass is full, and enjoy with a decorative straw.