Ice Cream Sodas with Strawberry Syrup

I went hard core on this recipe (Barefoot Contessa Parties!).  I started with homemade strawberry ice cream.  That’s right, I made the ice cream.  I used a recipe for the ice cream from one of my favorite wedding gifts:  a series of Williams Sonoma cookbooks organized by topic.  There’s a whole book devoted to ice cream, and this recipe was in it.  I had, embarrassingly enough, some strawberries left in the freezer from last summer.  I guess it shouldn’t be all that embarrassing:  at least they were locally grown, and they kept well in the deep freeze.  And they weren’t nearly as bad as the strawberries we found in my grandmother’s freezer when she died.  They were labelled “1974.”  She died in 1996.  What’s worse is that she moved in 1987.  The strawberries were old enough to be entering puberty when she moved them from one house to another, where they were delicately preserved until they were old enough to vote.  And drink.  For that matter, they were probably fermented enough to be a drink.

But, I digress.

The strawberry ice cream was awesome, and it made a fine strawberry ice cream soda, with strawberry syrup made from more frozen strawberries.    Actually, I’m taking my husband’s word for it, since I’m not really an ice cream soda kind of gal.  I prefer my ice cream straight-up, but my husband discovered that he’s a fan of the ice cream soda when we were on vacation last summer, so he was the guinea pig for this experiment.  He’s a good sport, that one.  Either that, or he was afraid after hearing stories of my grandmother that I’d be tempted to keep the strawberries in the freezer for another few decades, so he gamely gulped down his dessert without complaint.

Sauteed Carrots

I’m so sorry for the recent hiatus.  I’ve been cooking, but using up things in the freezer instead of delving into the Contessa cookbooks.  Back to work!  I re-watched Julie & Julia last night, and I was inspired once again by this challenge.   The movie not only inspired me, but it also made me grateful that I won’t be cooking any aspics for this project, nor do I have to seek out any odd organ meats.  Thank you kindly, Ms. Garten.

So, easing back into things, I bring you sauteed carrots (Barefoot Contessa Family Style).  This recipe was a staple in our CSA rotation last summer, as it is easy and does not require a lot of time or ingredients.  The recipe brings out the natural sweetness in the carrots, but it’s a little more flavorful than a simple steaming.  Because I actually like carrots, there’s no way a can of condensed tomato soup is coming near them in my house.  I suppose I like carrots simply prepared because my grandmother fed us so many vegetables straight from her garden.  (Incidentally, she also thought that it was sacrilege to peel, or even wash, most vegetables, for fear of stripping them of their vital nutrients, but I don’t often take things that far.)  My younger brother once offered me a bite of his half-eaten, dirt-caked carrot, plucked straight from the garden, but I declined.  Later, he told me that we should all eat carrots for our eye health, because he’d never seen a rabbit wearing glasses.  I told him, as any big sister would, that that was quite probably the stupidest thing I’d ever heard.  Of course, he made sure to tell me the quip in front of our grandmother, who of course had told it to him.  Score one for Baby Brother and the rabbits.

So, for your eye health, and for your palate, ladies and gentlemen, Sauteed Carrots, early in the process: