unused drink packets

I have mixed them with unflavored gelatin to get some really interesting flavored deserts.

Additionally, they are a nice addition to a pitcher of iced tea, making it a flavored iced tea. I use at about 1/2 the recommended strength in addition to the tea, two tubes/packets of the flavored stuff for a 1/2 gallon of tea.

You could use these as an aid to shop bought cake mixes, I sometimes use a commercial pound / sponge cake mix. And then make a homemade icing, you could add the powdered sachet to the icing sugar before mixing, you might have to experiment with the amount for flavour.

You could also try adding to the dry cake mix before adding the wet ingredients. In my mind I'm seeing an orange flavoured cake, then iced with a lemonade icing.

You can eat some - but not all - flavours as coulis on your ice cream (best use vanilla ice cream) or panacotta.

If you add a little Sodium chloride, and somewhat less Potassium chloride you've converted your drink mixes into a Gatorade like sports drink. Recipes are all over the web.

To mute the possibly over sweet qualities, you might try making making some sort of a frozen desset. If you have an ice cream maker you could go for a sorbet, but if you don't, either a granita, or freeze it in smaller containers with some sort of a stick to make popsicles.

And on the alcohol route ... I had a friend who made something he called 'Agent Orange'. It was Tang, replacing the amount of water called for with vodka. (no water at all, just vodka). I also remember another friend adding various kool-aid powders into mixed drinks.

And my brother brought back a recipe from Pennsic which involved Countrytime Lemonade, some brand of lime vodka (can't remember the exact one, but he was rather specific), and well water ... and he insisted it wasn't the same with tap water.

Daiquiri flavored, hmmm?

Here are my ideas.

• Sno-cones.

Shave or crush some ice. Mound it using an ice cream scoop.

Sprinkle the powder over the shaved ice.

If you can fashion a paper cone using parchment paper that would be great; if not, just served in a short coffee mug with a teaspoon for scooping.

We used to do this with a penny candy called Lik-m-Aid when I was a kid.

• Turn them into flavored ice cubes for use in other drinks

• Picking up on the gelatin suggestion above, make Jello shots using unflavored gelatin, flavor and vodka. Leave out the vodka and give them to the kids