Perhaps you all remember my quandary over the fridge that wouldn’t grow? My svelte refrigerator took some getting used to, and Brian was on the unhappy end of hearing my continual complaints, and the happy end of eating my latest, leftover inventions. So let me tell you what recently happened in my little kitchen. It goes something like this:
Brian answers his ringing cell phone only to hear the voice of his charming wife, “Can you pick up a container of plain yoghurt on your way home?” I ask.“Sure, how much do you need?”“Oh, about a cup, of plain– not vanilla.”“Got it, I’ll see you later.”Then I hung up the phone, and awaited my husband’s return. A few hours later, Brian came trudging home, carrying the hugest tub of yoghurt money can buy.“What is that!?!” I exclaimed.“It’s the yoghurt you asked for.”“Okay, but I asked [...]

One of my earliest “cooking” memories is making popsicles with my mother. Mom had this set of popsicles moulds, nothing special, just empty, oblong shaped moulds, each with a brightly colored, reusable popsicle stick. Intended for children, they even had cut-outs of circus animals emblazoned on the stick. We never made outrageous frozen treats– simply frozen juice, or even lemonade, set to freeze for a few hours until pops were made. I think it was my mother’s attempt to raise a healthy child by avoiding processed, overly sugary snacks, but what I was always fascinated with was the prospect of freezing a liquid into a solid. That something so ordinary could magically transform into a frozen treat amazed me.
Well, those particular moulds are long gone; the child that they once served is now a married adult. But each summer, as the months progress and the temperature rises, I think back [...]