Tag: Dessert

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Basic Milk Lemon Sherbet

Basic Milk Lemon Sherbet is an easy dessert for a hot day. It takes a little bit of planning ahead, but yields a frozen dessert that is perfect for those summer nights. (“Tell me more, tell me more,” chant my back up singers.)

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As I am writing this I have a new variation of Basic Milk Lemon Sherbet in my freezer. Luckily this is not the first time I’ve made this, so I can confidently say that the original recipe works and is delicious. I can easily imagine pouring some lemoncello on top of it and garnishing with a fresh berry and sprig of mint for a fancy cocktail dessert.

While I was typing out the recipe, I started thinking of the word “basic”. In my world “basic” means a jumping off place. It’s the foundation of which to build other things.

What is this recipe? How does it work? Why does it work? Doesn’t adding lemon to milk just make sour milk? Does the freezing prevent the milk from curdling? Maybe it’s the sugar component?

Scoop of Basic Milk Lemon Sherbet in a blue clay bowl.

I decided to call my mom, she majored in home economics in college and has been cooking a lot longer than I have.

“Mom,” I implored. “I have a question.”

At this point, I’m sure she was not surprised. Most of my phone calls to my mom start out with “I have a question.” or “You aren’t going to believe this.” We’re going to assume that this is endearing and not annoying.

“This recipe says “basic” and to me that means that I should be able to change it. I was thinking about adding some herbs into it, but I don’t want chunks. How should I do this?”

She had me go over the recipe with her. We discussed where would be the proper place to add the lavender and mint.

“Should I make a simple syrup and do it that way?” I asked.

We discussed that option. The problem is that simple syrup adds additional liquid. Would that mean that the milk had to be cut down?

Ok, what about infusing the milk? Heating the milk might change the texture.

What about letting herbs soak in the milk overnight? It defeats the purpose of getting the Basic Lemon Milk Sherbet variation made today.

We then hit on the idea of trying to infuse the lemon juice. I tore my mint and lavender to hopefully expose more of the oil and put them into a pan. I got the lemon juice out of the fridge and started to pour a half cup.

Most of my lemon juice was used in canning strawberry jam. I only had a quarter of a cup.

I sighed and went back into the refrigerator to get out the lime juice.

The citrus juice and and herbs gently heated on my favorite burner, while I continued to talk to my mom.

“Do you think you could use things that weren’t lemon juice?” I asked.

“Like what?” She replied.

“I don’t know. Like I have this raspberry iced tea I made. Could I use that?”

“I don’t know why not. Or coffee and make a mocha thing, maybe.”

By this time the ideas were swirling. Raspberries from the garden, pears, ground cherries. I’ll have figs soon. Next year we are hoping for peaches and plums in addition to the apples and cherries.

As visions of sherbet danced in my head, I looked out the window and saw the big “S” shed.

Above is a picture of the shed from when we first moved in. We painted, repaired and re-roofed since this picture was taken. We mounted a giant red “S” to the side. (Which is why we call it the Big “S” shed.)

In this picture, notice the sliver of light coming from the back view. This window opens up and latches to the soffit. The prior owners used the shed as a dog kennel.

Conversations with Lois and Verna (sweet elderly neighbors) revealed that the owners before that used this shed as a farmer’s market stand. What is now my neighbor’s fence was a cow pasture. The owners sold produce from the window.

Perhaps some day when I am done working or when the kids all grow up and leave the nest, we will turn it back into a farm stand in order to sell fruit, jam, and baked goods.

And maybe if the stars align, we will sell basic milk lemon sherbet custom blended for whatever is ripe.

***Update: The Lavender and Mint infused Lemon/Lime Milk Sherbet is delicious. It’s perfectly tart with a faint herby whisper. Enough to let you know this is no longer basic, but without the punch of old lady lavender.

The Recipe:

Original Recipe for Basic Lemon Milk Sherbet

Basic Lemon Milk Sherbet

An easy and refreshing treat for a hot summer day
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Freezing Time 2 hours
Total Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 4

Ingredients
  

  • 3/4 cup Sugar
  • few grains Salt
  • 2 cups Milk
  • 1/2 cup Lemon Juice

Instructions
 

  • Blend milk, sugar and salt until sugar dissolves.
  • Add lemon juice.
  • Pour into 9×13 pan and place in freezer, uncovered.
  • Stir every half hour until frozen. (about 4 hours).

Notes

This is an easy basic recipe that demands further experimentation.  Try adding fresh herbs for a palate cleanser between courses.  After it’s set, mix in white chocolate for a special treat.  When frozen, add to pie crust and top with whipped cream or meringue.  
Keyword dessert recipe, Easy recipe, frozen dessert, lemon, sherbet

For more delicious dessert recipes check out: Secret Rhubarb Dessert Recipe, Any Flavor (Raspberry)Pastel Party Pie, and Snow Ice Cream

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Pistachio Salad

The last thing the internet or the world really needs is another recipe for Pistachio Salad. We’ve all made it and eaten it a thousand times. So why am I posting this?

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My recipe isn’t different than any of the other recipes except maybe that it calls for Dream Whip instead of Cool Whip. But honestly, I don’t know that that makes any difference to the dish. One could substitute homemade whipped cream and pretend to be fancy. A garnish of crushed pistachio pieces elevates the dish.

Photo of Pistachio Salad

But really, that’s all crap. The reason I chose to write this post is because Pistachio Salad is one of my grandma’s favorite salads. You see that white dish in the photo? I got that from my grandma. As long as I can remember it was sitting on the right side of the dark shelf framing her kitchen window.

Now it lives on a shelf above my dining room window. It is surrounded by lovely bits of china that I’ve gotten from my grandma, my mom, and various friends. It makes me smile (even more when it’s filled with grandma’s salad in my herby fairy garden).

Disclaimer: I took these photos last summer. We didn’t actually make this pistachio salad today, yesterday, or even this past weekend.

I spent last weekend visiting my grandma. It was a long overdue visit.

When my grandparents lived less than 2 hours away, I took the kids up to visit fairly often. Often I’d do little more than sit in grandma’s kitchen and talk to her while the kids were playing with grandpa in the basement.

I sat at the table while grandma cooked. She even let me help at times. I told her all about my life. I told her the good things, the bad things, and the really ugly things. She didn’t give me great advice or ease all my troubles, but talking to her helped.

The conversation was not one-sided. She told me about the adventures she and grandpa had. When the boys were young, grandma and grandpa had adventures on the road. They drove around to Amish quilt shops and other places. I asked Grandma about things in her house or her cookbooks and she would be able to tell me where everything came from.

Around the time I got divorced, the conversations changed. The trips all over turned into weekly trips to Appleton to do some errands and to go to the movies. When my youngest was born, they took their last trip to my house.

I have the most beautiful picture of grandma on that day.

Photo of Pistachio Salad

Grandpa never came to my house again. Grandma came one last time with the aunties. I left the baby with them and went to get the boys from school. The baby cried if anyone except grandma looked at her.

Years pass as they do and grandma and grandpa decided the upkeep of a home was more than they wanted to take on in their 90’s. They moved 5 hours away and my heart was broken.

For 3 years, I didn’t visit. There were a million excuses. Mostly related to work and scheduling weekends with the boys’ dad.

I started calling them every other week. I gave grandma the updates on my lilacs and my gardens. I’d listen to grandpa talk about his latch hook projects and the books he was reading.

Photo of Pistachio Salad

Somewhere along the way, things changed. Grandpa isn’t himself any more. He answers the phone, but I need to introduce myself every time. I am asked the same questions. He tells me that he’s living in an assisted living center. There is no indication that he remembers that I helped him move. He can’t remember the word for “latch hook”. But when I say “Caroline” his voice lightens and he laughs. Within a few minutes he calls Grandma to the phone. “Dorothy, there is someone who wants to talk to you.” I know he says “someone” because he can’t remember my name.

Grandma gets on the phone and sounds so good. She sounds re-energized and I realize how much taking care of the house and grandpa had taken out of her. After I ask about her projects, she tells me that she’s taken up latch hook. “I forgot how enjoyable it was.” After filling her in on the kids, I promise to call in 2 weeks and hang up the phone.

Two weeks go by and I call grandma again. Except this time, I called my aunt’s phone. Grandma would hate me telling the world this, so we’ll just say she wasn’t quite her best self. I explained the situation to my friends, to my therapist, to my family, and decided that I needed to figure out how to see my grandma.

She lit up when we showed up. Her joy was comparable only to that of my husband at the birth of my daughter. My daughter, without hesitation, climbed up next to her great-grandma to be snuggled. One son held grandma’s hand and told her how much he loves her. The other son was a bit shy, but readily accepted hugs.

With more planning, I probably would’ve brought grandma a pistachio salad, but we brought flowers instead.

The Recipe:

Pistachio Salad Recipe

Pistachio Salad

Quick and easy, sure to please Classic Pistachio Salad is a soothing elixir for nostalgic souls.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Dessert, Salad, Side Dish
Cuisine American

Ingredients
  

  • 1 pkg Instant Pistachio Pudding
  • 1 cup Milk
  • 1/2 pkg Miniature Marshmallows
  • 1 pkg Dream Whip Prepared
  • 1 small can Crushed pineapple Drained

Instructions
 

  • Make pudding according to instructions on box.
  • Prepare Dream Whip according to package instructions.
  • Fold all ingredients together and refrigerate.
Keyword Dream Whip, Fluff, Pineapple, Pistachio, Pudding

If you like this recipe, you might also like Cranberry Fluff Salad, Butterscotch Bars, and 24, 24 Hour Salad.

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Gumdrop Bars and the Origins of Orange

Gum Drop Bars

When my sister was here to visit we stopped at a gas station for snacks and drinks before continuing to poke around antique stores.  I grabbed a bag of gumdrops because they are my sister’s favorite.  As we munched, we discussed the past and the love of gumdrops.

“I love these things.” She said.
“I know,” I replied.  “That’s why I got them.”

I asked if she remembered the gumdrop covered Styrofoam trees my mom’s old friend put out every Christmas when we were kids.  I don’t remember a lot about this family other than that.  The highlights of the visits were slightly hardened gumdrops adhered to Styrofoam with toothpicks.  I can remember the taste of the green spearmint and white peppermint in my mouth.  

She remembered.

We talked about all of that gummy sticky candy.  Locally produced wine and beer gums that are the adult versions of childhood favorites.   Large bags of gummy orange slices consumed too quickly and that heavy sick feeling.

“Speaking of which,” I segued “I made those gumdrop bars I told you about.”

She didn’t remember that I had told her.  Probably because it was a couple of years ago at Thanksgiving.  That was shortly after I had first acquired all of the recipes and was unsure of what I was going to do with them.  I had mentioned them in passing because of her candy dish full of gumdrops.

“They are basic bars, but they have chunks of gummy oranges in them.”

“That sounds like something I’d eat.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.  But they are really overly sweet.”

“But I’d still like to try them.”

“I should’ve made them when you were here.”

And then we moved onto other conversations.  Like how my husband happened to get a job writing trivia for a local pub trivia company.

We invited an old friend over for dinner.  I was planning on cooking, but I wasn’t feeling up to it for many reasons.  My husband tried to get in touch with our friend to cancel, but he never got the message.  We decided that if he came over, we’d take him out for dinner instead.  I closed my eyes on the couch for a moment and roused myself as he arrived.

It was the first time he’d seen our house so we did the house tour thing and then left the kids with dinner and instructions to go get our own grown up dinner.

It was a cold night and as we walked into the restaurant, I suggested we sit away from the door and “where it’s quiet” not noticing the HUGE speakers and table full of a computer and stuff.

“They must have a DJ or something.” My husband observed.  “So much for the quiet spot.”

We were approached by a waitress with menus and shortly after by another woman.

“Are you guys here for trivia?”  She asked handing us some papers.

We did a quick conference and decided that, yes, we were there for trivia.  I made a quick call to the kids to let them know we’d be later than expected.

One thing led to another and we dominated at trivia.  As we were collecting our winnings, a man approached our table soliciting feedback about how we had enjoyed the game.  He presented himself as the owner.  We had just met the owner of the restaurant in the speakeasy in the basement, so we weren’t sure what this guy was talking about.  “Of the trivia company.” He specified.  

We chatted a bit about what it was like running the trivia games.  They have special themed events sometimes.  I pointed out that my husband had written trivia before.  The man glanced over at my husband as he reached into his pocket and took out a card.  “We’re always looking for writers.  Email me.”

Now at our house, I sit in front of one laptop and work on my blog while he sits at another laptop with his phone out searching for 20 perfect questions for trivia weekly.

Just to loop this all back around for you, the other morning as I was looking through all the recipes I scanned in and talking about what ingredients I needed to make things, he waited for me to pause and said, “Do you know that most languages don’t have a word for the color orange?”

He went on to explain that orange as a color is usually related to the fruit.  But lots of languages refer to orange as being a version of yellow or red-yellow.  He went on to tell me that “saffron” existed a long time before “orange” did.  “In some places they refer to “orange” as “Portugal”.”  He told me excitedly.

Later on, aft my shower, he told me my hair smelled citrusy.  “You mean Portuguese?” I asked.  We crack ourselves up.  

Gumdrop Bars

Combine:
1 cup orange gumdrop slices, cut
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups brown sugar

Add:
2 T water
1/2 cup nuts
4 egg yolks, beaten

Fold in:
4 egg whites beaten stiff

Put mixture in 2 8×10 pans and bake at 400° for 15-18 minutes.

For other bar recipes check out Corn Flake Bars, Groovy Teen Bars, and Butter Squares.