Best Strawberry Ice Cream Evah

I used this recipe. It has a very deep, rich berry flavor, and I'll bet this method would work great with a number of other fruits.

The recipe calls for three-quarters of a cup of sugar, but I used half a cup and it's plenty sweet. I also left out the rosewater, 'cause where the heck do you find rosewater?

Meyer Lemon Pudding

And you thought lemon season was over around here. Not quite. There are still a few fruits left on the tree, so I was excited to find this simple Meyer lemon pudding recipe. It all came together in less than half an hour. My only quibble is that the recipe didn't say how long to stir, so I kind of guessed -- I'd say it took about 10 minutes, though I didn't time it.

I used a tiny bit more lemon than the recipe called for. Next time I make it (and yes, there will be a next time), I'll use less sugar. Husband's reaction: "Whoa, that's sweet." Sweet.

I'm Mad About ...

Happy Friday! I hope you all had a wonderful Fourth of July. Even though the husband had to work, I did a little barbecuing and festive decorating:

Here are a few things that caught my eye this week:

• Good idea: The Everygirl's starting a book club. Are you keeping up?
• Speaking of books, how many books in Rory Gilmore's library have you read? I won't embarrass myself by admitting how few I've read (it's more than zero!), but I will say that I tried to read Kerouac and just couldn't do it.
• I'll probably never make these brownie cookies with salted caramel filling, but it's nice to think that I could!
• It's Pinterest Challenge time again. What are you making?
• Interesting differences between American and British English.

I'm off for a spa weekend with a friend! More on that next week. Have a lovely weekend!

I'm Mad About ...

Happy Friday!

Last week I went I went a little overboard at the farmers market. It was so hot (108!) hardly anyone was there, so the stands were offering fill a bag for $5. How could I resist?

Since Erik doesn't care for fresh fruit and I couldn't eat it all myself before it went it bad, I used some to make a fruit crumble (using this recipe, more or less) for my book group:

It was quite a hit, so I'm making another one to take up to my friend's cabin for a girls' weekend. Can't wait!

To get you in the mood for a fun weekend, here are some things that caught my eye this week:

• Today is Take Your Dog Work Day (although around here, every day is!). Don't have a dog? I have a few I could lend out ;-)
• Love the crisp new look at Sacramento Street and the fresh colors at Danielle Oakey Interiors.
• Corgis + Call Me Baby = Awesome!
• It's certainly not scarf weather in these parts, but when it is I want one of these.

Shopping for Summer

Since I shared my summer to-do list the other day, I thought it might be fun to round up a few items I'll need to get things done.

Clockwise from upper left: Dolly gingham maillot, Anthropologie; wicker picnic basket, Williams-Sonoma; Weber Smoky Joe, Target; O'Brien women's neoprene life vest, Dick's; The Waffle, Hollywood; Cuisinart 1.5-quart automatic ice cream maker, Amazon.

In the interest of full disclosure, I already own all of these items, or reasonable facsimiles. But I have to say, my swimsuit isn't nearly that cute!

What are you planning to buy for summer fun?

Summer Checklist

There's always so much I want to do each summer, but usually when the season's over, I realize that I haven't done most of what I wanted to do. Being a list maker, I find if I write down what I want to accomplish, I'm more likely to get it done.

So, since the season officially starts this week, here's my summer to-do list:

By Joy [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

• Make ice cream
• Go out on our boat
• Have a picnic
• Barbecue (or, as they apparently say in the Midwest, grill out)
• Start a brunch tradition
• Spend a day exploring an unfamiliar neighborhood in LA
• Visit an amusement park*
• See a concert at the Hollywood Bowl
• Make a fruit crumble
• Go for bike rides 
• Go to a baseball game
• Go to the coast
• Go to a flea market 

Notice how many of those involve food? I'll have to be sure to go for lots of bike rides!

What are some things you hope to do this summer?

* Back when I was in school, I worked at an amusement park. I live about a hour from it, but haven't been there in years.

Eating Well

I haven't done much cooking lately, but since my Cooking Light group met Sunday, I had a good excuse to get in the kitchen. We get together a few times a year, each of us brings a dish, and we just have a great time eating and gabbing.

I made Couscous with Chickpeas, Tomatoes and Edamame, using this recipe. It was super simple and fast, and it came out great. I love one-pot meals!

And, of course, I had a helper (or two):

I'll definitely make this again—but I won't have to anytime soon. It made a big bowlful, and there was so much good food at the get-together, I have plenty left over for lunches.

Warm Up to Winter

The short days and cold nights of January make me want to hunker down and cozy up, so I thought I'd round up some illustrations of my favorite wintertime activities.

Indulging in warm, hearty, comforting foods:

Circle B Kitchen

Spoon Fork Bacon

Girlichef

Layering sweaters and scarves:

What I Wore

No. 6

Reading by a cozy fire:

Design*Sponge

Elle Decor via House of Turquoise

And, of course, snuggling with the critters:

Pinterest

Favim

How do you like to keep warm?

Happy Hanukkah

I'm not at all religious, but we celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas in my home, and this year the two overlap. Hanukkah begins tomorrow at sunset and lasts for eight days.

Happy Hanukkah Menorah print, Etsy

Our celebration is intimate and low key, following some traditions of my childhood and some that we've adopted more recently. I pull out my dreidel plates and salt and pepper shaker set and fry up apple fritters and latkes, which are served with apple sauce and sour cream. They're easy but time-consuming to make, and well worth the effort. (We eat that just one night—my jeans wouldn't fit if we ate like that all eight nights!)

And, of course, we light the menorah. I have lovely modern one that I bought for myself, as well as a more traditional one that I bought for (and inherited from) my father. We usually attend the annual community menorah lighting—this year it's on Christmas Day.

It all makes me nostalgic for my childhood. It's nice to be able to relive those times and share them with my new family.

Whatever you celebrate, I wish you all the best.

Gift Guide: Foodie

Who doesn't like food? Whether your friend likes to cook or just consume, there's something for everyone.

Clockwise from upper left:

• Deluxe DIY Cheese Kit, Art Fire
• Farm to Table apron, Anthropologie
• Blend and Cook Soup Maker; Cuisinart
• Chinese 5 Spice dark chocolate truffle, Saratoga Chocolates
• iPad Chef Stand and Stylus, Belkin
• Seasonal striped kitchen towels, Williams-Sonoma (I love Williams-Somona kitchen towels and washcloths—sturdy and absorbent, not to mention cute!)
• Terracotta slow cooker, Reform School
• 3-Pack Coffee Sampler, Grounds for Change (This is a wonderful company. I've been buying coffee there for years, and it's fresh and delicious. Plus it's fair trade and organic. My favorite is the Cafe Femenino, which is grown by women in Mexico and Peru. And it sells tea and chocolate!)
• Le Creuset Two-in-One Pan, Sur La Table

Coming Wednesday: gifts for the Francophile!
Also be sure to visit the fabulous and comprehensive gift guides by Gifted magazine and Emily Henderson.

A Fair to Remember

It's time for the county fair in these parts, and to me that means one thing: food. Deep-fried, artery-clogging, diet-busting food. And this year was no exception.

Our first stop was for feta fries, to make up for the ones they didn't have at the Greek Food Festival this year.

They were very tasty, but the usual french fry shape made it hard to get potato and feta in the same bite. Feta fries I've had in the past were chip shaped—making it easier to eat. But these came with a side of tzatziki sauce—bonus!

Feeding Frenzy

I hope you all had a lovely Labor Day. I had a quiet day, just a little shopping, as Erik had to work.

My father-in-law is here for an extended visit, so I thought this weekend was the perfect opportunity to start the Sunday brunch tradition I've been wanting to initiate. So I made bacon, scrambled eggs with cheese and biscuits. Not very innovative, but it was a hit none the less. If I keep it up, I'll throw in some crepes at some point. And bagels. Definitely bagels.

I made chicken pot pies for dinner Saturday. The recipe (which I found thanks to Cupcakes and Cashmere) is fairly easy, but it took me forever to make—which is probably why I don't cook very often! I also took a few liberties with the ingredients. Another hit with the boys.

It was a weekend of comfort food (including pizza and fro yo), so I'm looking forward to lightening back up this week.

I'm Mad About...

Via fōnuts

• I'd heard about fōnuts and I'm happy to year they taste as good as they look!
• Dream video team: The Muppets and OK Go.
• This almost has me wishing fall would arrive already (but really, I'm still clinging to summer).

Creamy and Dreamy Rice Pudding

I had a yen the other night for rice pudding, so I searched online for a recipe. My criteria was that it had to be easy and quick, and I had to have all the ingredients on hand, 'cause I wasn't up to going to the store. This recipe was the clear winner.

I had everything I needed: I bought the Arborio rice awhile back with the intention of making risotto, but I haven't tried that yet. And I always have cinnamon and vanilla extract on hand. (Notice everything is from Trader Joe's. Love that store!)

It was super easy to make. Just prepare the rice with water, butter and a dash of salt. Then combine it with milk (the recipe called for whole milk, but I used 1 percent and it was fine), sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. (If I'd had any raisins in the pantry, I would have put some in.)

One problem, though, was that Bitsy kept distracting me, wanting to play with her ball, and I let the milk boil over. Twice. Really gotta watch that. It made a bit of a mess, and the smell of burned milk stunk up the house, but it wasn't a disaster.

I halved the recipe since I wasn't sure if Erik would want any and I didn't want to get stuck with too much. Not that I would let any of it go to waste!

It came out pretty good. I'm sure it will be even better the next time I make it—I always get better with practice!

I topped it with a little extra cinnamon. Whipped cream would have been good too, but I didn't have enough cream on hand.

What I love about rice pudding—aside from the sweet, creamy goodness—is it's versatility. It can be served warm or cold, for breakfast or dessert, with raisins or without. Simply perfect.

Do you have a favorite way to prepare rice pudding? Or another quick and easy dish that you'd like to share?

Farm Fresh

One of the best things about living in California's Central Valley is the abundance of locally grown produce. And with that comes an abundance of farmers markets.

Despite the heat, I ventured out to a nearby farmers market this past weekend, and it was well worth the trip. Because I got there about a half hour before closing and the sellers were anxious to get rid of what they had left, I got good deals on peaches, squash and honey candy.

Surprisingly, there was still a good selection of produce at that late hour. The honey candy is delicious, but I'm sorry I didn't buy some of the orange honey—they're about out for the season. Maybe I'll get lucky next week and there will be some left.

Of course, the dogs got a little something, too:

Who doesn't like bacon? Plus, they're all natural and homemade. There are other flavors that I'll have to pick up next time. And maybe when the weather cools down I'll bring Bitsy along so she can try some samples and report back to the rest of the pack!

Supper Squash

In case you're wondering about the first zucchini of the season, I harvested it last week. It was big enough for two meals.

Photo by The Blue Room

The first night I grilled it on the stove top with some salt and pepper—simple and tasty. The second night I sliced and steamed it and served it with butter and lemon pepper.

Photo by The Blue Room

The rest of the zucchinis succumbed to the heat, I think, and shriveled up, as did the fledgling crook necks. But temps have dropped a bit, so I hope that will give the squash time to get a good start.

How do you prepare zucchini?

Gad-Zukes!

Looks like I'll be eating homegrown zucchini very soon. I just checked on the veggie garden and found this:

It looks good enough to eat, which is perfect since that's the plan. The other zucchini (or would that be zucchinis?) are taking their time (you can see one of them to the left of the big guy). But this one has grown practically overnight.

The crook-neck squash is coming along, too, but still has a ways to go before it hits the dinner table:

You Never Know Who You'll See at the Grocery Store

Fashion icon Lilly Pulitzer has been showing up everywhere lately, but the last place I expected to run into her was at the grocery store. Sure enough, though, there she was—on a box of animal crackers!

Before Kate Spade, there was Lilly Pulitzer, whose fun, brightly colored frocks could be found in the closets of high-society ladies, including Jackie Kennedy and daughter Caroline. The brand is still going strong today (as is its namesake, who serves as the company's creative consultant).

So what's the connection with animal crackers? you ask. I wondered that myself. It seems Lilly Pulitzer has teamed up with Nabisco and the Urban Arts Partnership to promote arts education in schools—a noble cause in these days of draconian budget cuts. The result is this fun, special-edition box of animal crackers.

I'm a little late to the party—apparently this has been going on since April. So if you haven't done it yet, run out to the store and get your box before they're all gone. And since eight cookies have just 120 calories, consider picking up a couple of boxes to get you through the weekend!

When Life Hands You Lemons...

... make lemon bars and lemon curd—and even lemonade!

We have citrus trees in the backyard, one each of lemon, orange and grapefruit. Every year around this time we're overwhelmed with fruit, especially lemons (that tree is prolific!). And since it's just the two of us, we really only use a dozen or so lemons. Really, who wants lemonade in January? So we end up giving a lot away.

This year I've had an itch to bake, so I tried my hand at making lemon bars. I found a really easy recipe in my Bisquick cookbook (what would I do without Bisquick?). They came out really good. I've made two batches so far, and I worked out a few kinks so the second one was better than the first.

I also made lemon curd using this recipe. It was surprisingly simple to make and, although I think it's runnier than it's supposed to be, quite tasty. I had some this morning drizzled over cheese blintzes.

Usually the orange tree is the laggard of the bunch, producing only two or three oranges. But this year we got dozens! They make wonderful juice, and I'm even thinking of trying to make some citrusy muffins (thanks again, Bisquick).

Tasteful and Tasty

A friend got me the most beautiful latte bowls for Christmas. Exactly me, in blue and green. She knows me.

Erik got me (among other things) a new Mr. Coffee that makes both regular drip and espresso. This morning I used the espresso maker for the first time and enjoyed the brew in one of my new bowls.