Tuesday, February 12, 2008

I said to the man, are you trying to tempt me?

It's snowing! We've only had a few snowfalls this winter, and only one that stuck. Oh, we've had plenty of very cold weather, but every time we get precipitation it's warm enough for it to be rain. Nice, huh?

Anyway, yesterday I was heating water for tea in the microwave when it started smelling funny. Kinda chemically/plasticy yuck. But there was also a touch of incense or something in there, so I decided it was our upstairs neighbor and let the microwave continue. Then there was a loud bang and a really awful smell, so I rushed over and turned it off. And that was the end of the microwave that Robert bought when he was a sophomore in college.

So this morning we headed out to buy a new one. And new jeans for Zion. And underwear for both kids. And sunglasses (with flames!) for Zion. What we didn't buy was new shoes for Zion, though he's going to need them pretty soon. The kid has huge feet! He wears a size 11 right now, and he doesn't have growing room in his current shoes. I figure he'll either grow into his feet, like a puppy, or...he'll have big feet. Either way! All in all we were good patriotic Americans and spent a bunch of money. Would've been more fun to spend it on wine, yarn, socks, perfume, and robots, but that's life, right?

In other news, I have created frozen yogurt perfection! In my own kitchen! If you're a frozen yogurt fan you've probably tried (or are at least aware of) the newish chains (Pinkberry, Cocoplum, Red Mango, Hello Yogo etc) that serve a fairly tangy frozen yogurt. It is delicious. Well, the other day I got to wondering (again) why I don't use my ice cream maker more often. Regular ice cream doesn't do a lot for me- I'm a bit of a glutton and find that consuming something that is 40% fat actually puts a damper on my ability to just relax and enjoy my gluttony. So I'm always on the look out for something that tastes awesome and isn't going to harden my arteries while I'm still actually eating it.

Here's what I did: I made yogurt (Hehehe, but it's true!). Then I strained the yogurt to remove some of the water, since more water = more ice crystals and less creamy texture. Then I mixed the strained yogurt with sugar and a teeny splash of vanilla (Penzey's double strength!). Then I chilled it in the fridge, but only for about 20 minutes, cause I got impatient. Then I popped in my ice cream maker.

I am not kidding when I tell you that only my great love of Robert and the kids kept me from eating the entire batch straight out of the ice cream maker. It is by far the easiest and tastiest frozen dessert I've made, and what's more, it would be easy to gussy up with chocolate or fruit flavor.

I am making more today.

11 comments:

Abby said...

don't have a clue, but if no one else posts, do I win today??? :) Just kidding! Sounds like you had a fun day today!

Cookie's Mommy said...

no clue babe :(

you should call your frozen yogurt "Frozen Jovi" just for shits and giggles.

Robert M Geraci said...

when they sing of a "land down under," those men without hats, they sing it in key of bee bop G. and while it is within the rules to ask a smarter friend for help, i insist that i do not deserve credit for getting this one right. i shall win on my own merits!

Robert M Geraci said...

besides which, men without hats never sing "land down under," only men at work sing it. i happened to have been mentally doing the "safety dance" while i answered the question, which explains the momentary lapse in brain to finger coordination.

Unknown said...

because I come from the land of plenty. And he said:
Do you come from the land down under

Men At Work

Yes, Men at work do come from the land down under.

Tamara said...

Because I come form the land of plenty :) And he said DO YOU COME FROM THE LAND DOWN UNDER (men at work?).

Your yogurt sounds FABULOUS :) I need to break out our ice cream maker and actually use it.

Unknown said...

I don't know the song (well, now after reading the comments I do...but that is cheating. ;) )

Your yougurt treat sounds soooo good!

the main stitch upholstery said...

men at work land down under...


because i come from the land of plenty...

the main stitch upholstery said...

did you have a proper funeral for the microwave? always sad to lose something you've had for a long time. congradulations on your yougart making. with all due respect, it does not sound "easy" though. i sounds like an incredible amount of work. you are amazing with all of your food creations.

skyeball said...

Didn't recognize the song, but you sure made me hungry (at 8-something a.m., no less!) for your fro-yo. YUM!

BirdEtt said...

Men at Work - Down Under

And I'm totally going to make that frozen yogurt. I have a killer ice cream maker that i too do not use enough. I like to make sorbet every now and then but I would prefer frozen yogurt. The best frozen yogurt I've ever had (I'll say this until I make your recipe and eat the entire batch at my counter post mixing) was in Shreveport, LA. The yogurt stand only made on flavor: plain. I would put honey and granola on mine. I like it more than I like ice cream. And we Mains were raised to put ice cream in a main food group.