For some folks in Seattle, this weekend marked the (un)official start to summer because school is out and summer break has begun (woohoo!). But for our household, supposed grownups and no longer in the schooling business, it was commemorated by several other enjoyable weekend events. First off, the weather was delightful (often a rarity for June in Seattle) after a week or two of rainy cloudy weather. Out came the shorts, the tank tops, the flip flops. Hooray! Also, precipitating a particular summery event in our household, was the milk delivery on Friday.
Yes, for about a year now we have succumbed to the ultimate classic image of domesticity, and a chipper milkman (who ironically can't eat dairy...ha!) drives up each Friday morn in his cavernous, refrigerated transport and delivers us our usual order of fresh-off-the-cow milk, as well as eggs, orange juice, yogurt and soy milk. Most days I do a quick check of the supplies to see if we actually need all that, and adjust the order accordingly. However, because I was engrossed in relaying the news of our dear dog's death to Jerry the Milkman (and hearing a dreadful story of his dogs demise, as well) I forgot to mention that we did not need the soy. Soon, as I tried to cram all the goods into the fridge, I realized we now had a gallon and a half of soy milk for the two of us. Egads!
I had to think of some way to use it ASAP. It is a tragedy (hard for some of you to imagine, I know) to pour perfectly good soy milk down the drain. So I decided the most efficient use of soy milk would be to make soy ice cream (thus transferring the excess soy from fridge to freezer, while also making it a bit more appetizing in the process). We also have a very fine electric ice cream maker that has not gotten much use in the years following diagnosis of husband's horrendous dairy allergy. I started with a "soy nog" ice cream recipe from one of our favorite dairy-free cookbooks, though I changed it quite a bit. The result, much to my delight, is an extremely close (dare I say better?) version of a childhood favorite that haunts me even today, Baskin and Robin's peanut butter n' chocolate ice cream. Rich, chocolaty, and with ribbons of hard frozen peanut butter throughout. Mmmmm...summertime here I come!
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Soy Ice Cream
3 large egg yolks
1 large egg (whole)
2 ¼ cups vanilla soy milk
1 cup sugar
3 rounded tablespoons of cocoa powder (or more to taste)
½ cup creamy natural peanut butter (or to taste)
(this is all that fits into our machine, if you have a big one, consider doubling the recipe!)
Combine egg & yolks, soy milk and sugar in saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk frequently until sugar dissolves and mixture is slightly thickened (about 8 minutes). Do not boil the custard! Add cocoa powder and whisk to break up lumps. Remove from heat, transfer to metal bowl, and and cool in ice bath (or in freezer) until mixture is very cold.
Next, pour into ice cream maker and process according to directions (for mine about 25 min). When ice cream is almost done (it will still be somewhat soft) drizzle/drop the peanut butter in small globs while machine is still on (or stir in by hand if that is not possible). Do not overmix, you want the PB to swirl but not dissolve completely into the mixture! Eat now, or transfer to a plastic container in the freezer to harden further.
The other happening during our sunny weekend that marked the start of summertime was our attendance at the annual Fremont Fair and Solstice Parade! It has been a few years for us, but the glorious weather got our asses in gear and after a longish search for street parking and then a 20 minute walk, we found ourselves perched on two rocks right at the start of the parade, with a perfect view to watch the mayham ensue. For those not in the know, the solstice parade is known for its eclectic, not quite mainstream pageantry (i.e. plenty of hippies, etc in various states of costume and undress, lots of music/drumming/dancing/antics, and human powered floats often highlighting a rather leftist view of the state of the union/world) and, of course, the naked bike riding.
There were, I must say, quite a few of them this year, and they appeared to be rather organized! One small group of 20 or so opened the parade and then a large group of what could easily have been several hundred stopped it altogether for a few minutes later on. No stragglers this time....safety in numbers, perhaps? In the past there have been signs posted and 20 Jun · Mon 2005
Summertime....and the livin' is easy
For some folks in Seattle, this weekend marked the (un)official start to summer because school is out and summer break has begun (woohoo!). But for our household, supposed grownups and no longer in the schooling business, it was commemorated by several other enjoyable weekend events. First off, the weather was delightful (often a rarity for June in Seattle) after a week or two of rainy cloudy weather. Out came the shorts, the tank tops, the flip flops. Hooray! Also, precipitating a particular summery event in our household, was the milk delivery on Friday.
Yes, for about a year now we have succumbed to the ultimate classic image of domesticity, and a chipper milkman (who ironically can't eat dairy...ha!) drives up each Friday morn in his cavernous, refrigerated transport and delivers us our usual order of fresh-off-the-cow milk, as well as eggs, orange juice, yogurt and soy milk. Most days I do a quick check of the supplies to see if we actually need all that, and adjust the order accordingly. However, because I was engrossed in relaying the news of our dear dog's death to Jerry the Milkman (and hearing a dreadful story of his dogs demise, as well) I forgot to mention that we did not need the soy. Soon, as I tried to cram all the goods into the fridge, I realized we now had a gallon and a half of soy milk for the two of us. Egads!
I had to think of some way to use it ASAP. It is a tragedy (hard for some of you to imagine, I know) to pour perfectly good soy milk down the drain. So I decided the most efficient use of soy milk would be to make soy ice cream (thus transferring the excess soy from fridge to freezer, while also making it a bit more appetizing in the process). We also have a very fine electric ice cream maker that has not gotten much use in the years following diagnosis of husband's horrendous dairy allergy. I started with a "soy nog" ice cream recipe from one of our favorite dairy-free cookbooks, though I changed it quite a bit. The result, much to my delight, is an extremely close (dare I say better?) version of a childhood favorite that haunts me even today, Baskin and Robin's peanut butter n' chocolate ice cream. Rich, chocolaty, and with ribbons of hard frozen peanut butter throughout. Mmmmm...summertime here I come!
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Soy Ice Cream
3 large egg yolks
1 large egg (whole)
2 ¼ cups vanilla soy milk
1 cup sugar
3 rounded tablespoons of cocoa powder (or more to taste)
½ cup creamy natural peanut butter (or to taste)
(this is all that fits into our machine, if you have a big one, consider doubling the recipe!)
Combine egg & yolks, soy milk and sugar in saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk frequently until sugar dissolves and mixture is slightly thickened (about 8 minutes). Do not boil the custard! Add cocoa powder and whisk to break up lumps. Remove from heat, transfer to metal bowl, and and cool in ice bath (or in freezer) until mixture is very cold.
Next, pour into ice cream maker and process according to directions (for mine about 25 min). When ice cream is almost done (it will still be somewhat soft) drizzle/drop the peanut butter in small globs while machine is still on (or stir in by hand if that is not possible). Do not overmix, you want the PB to swirl but not dissolve completely into the mixture! Eat now, or transfer to a plastic container in the freezer to harden further.
The other happening during our sunny weekend that marked the start of summertime was our attendance at the annual Fremont Fair and Solstice Parade! It has been a few years for us, but the glorious weather got our asses in gear and after a longish search for street parking and then a 20 minute walk, we found ourselves perched on two rocks right at the start of the parade, with a perfect view to watch the mayham ensue. For those not in the know, the solstice parade is known for its eclectic, not quite mainstream pageantry (i.e. plenty of hippies, etc in various states of costume and undress, lots of music/drumming/dancing/antics, and human powered floats often highlighting a rather leftist view of the state of the union/world) and, of course, the naked bike riding.
There were, I must say, quite a few of them this year, and they appeared to be rather organized! One small group of 20 or so opened the parade and then a large group of what could easily have been several hundred stopped it altogether for a few minutes later on. No stragglers this time....safety in numbers, perhaps? In the past there have been signs posted and threats reminders made about the possible illegality of naked bike riding, but when I try to imagine an officer in uniform attempting to chase a pack of riders sporting only their birthday suits, I can only chuckle. Not a top priority, I think.
After the parade, we survived a visit to the port-o-john with the masses, and then enjoyed a gander through the vending booths, including a small purchase of summer hippie attire, and a drink at the coffee house, where miraculously a bench on the front porch was free for our comfort and amusement as we sipped our refreshments and watched the party on the street. Ahh...summertime in Seattle. Gotta love it!
For some folks in Seattle, this weekend marked the (un)official start to summer because school is out and summer break has begun (woohoo!). But for our household, supposed grownups and no longer in the schooling business, it was commemorated by several other enjoyable weekend events. First off, the weather was delightful (often a rarity for June in Seattle) after a week or two of rainy cloudy weather. Out came the shorts, the tank tops, the flip flops. Hooray! Also, precipitating a particular summery event in our household, was the milk delivery on Friday.
Yes, for about a year now we have succumbed to the ultimate classic image of domesticity, and a chipper milkman (who ironically can't eat dairy...ha!) drives up each Friday morn in his cavernous, refrigerated transport and delivers us our usual order of fresh-off-the-cow milk, as well as eggs, orange juice, yogurt and soy milk. Most days I do a quick check of the supplies to see if we actually need all that, and adjust the order accordingly. However, because I was engrossed in relaying the news of our dear dog's death to Jerry the Milkman (and hearing a dreadful story of his dogs demise, as well) I forgot to mention that we did not need the soy. Soon, as I tried to cram all the goods into the fridge, I realized we now had a gallon and a half of soy milk for the two of us. Egads!
I had to think of some way to use it ASAP. It is a tragedy (hard for some of you to imagine, I know) to pour perfectly good soy milk down the drain. So I decided the most efficient use of soy milk would be to make soy ice cream (thus transferring the excess soy from fridge to freezer, while also making it a bit more appetizing in the process). We also have a very fine electric ice cream maker that has not gotten much use in the years following diagnosis of husband's horrendous dairy allergy. I started with a "soy nog" ice cream recipe from one of our favorite dairy-free cookbooks, though I changed it quite a bit. The result, much to my delight, is an extremely close (dare I say better?) version of a childhood favorite that haunts me even today, Baskin and Robin's peanut butter n' chocolate ice cream. Rich, chocolaty, and with ribbons of hard frozen peanut butter throughout. Mmmmm...summertime here I come!
Peanut Butter and Chocolate Soy Ice Cream
3 large egg yolks
1 large egg (whole)
2 ¼ cups vanilla soy milk
1 cup sugar
3 rounded tablespoons of cocoa powder (or more to taste)
½ cup creamy natural peanut butter (or to taste)
(this is all that fits into our machine, if you have a big one, consider doubling the recipe!)
Combine egg & yolks, soy milk and sugar in saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk frequently until sugar dissolves and mixture is slightly thickened (about 8 minutes). Do not boil the custard! Add cocoa powder and whisk to break up lumps. Remove from heat, transfer to metal bowl, and and cool in ice bath (or in freezer) until mixture is very cold.
Next, pour into ice cream maker and process according to directions (for mine about 25 min). When ice cream is almost done (it will still be somewhat soft) drizzle/drop the peanut butter in small globs while machine is still on (or stir in by hand if that is not possible). Do not overmix, you want the PB to swirl but not dissolve completely into the mixture! Eat now, or transfer to a plastic container in the freezer to harden further.
The other happening during our sunny weekend that marked the start of summertime was our attendance at the annual Fremont Fair and Solstice Parade! It has been a few years for us, but the glorious weather got our asses in gear and after a longish search for street parking and then a 20 minute walk, we found ourselves perched on two rocks right at the start of the parade, with a perfect view to watch the mayham ensue. For those not in the know, the solstice parade is known for its eclectic, not quite mainstream pageantry (i.e. plenty of hippies, etc in various states of costume and undress, lots of music/drumming/dancing/antics, and human powered floats often highlighting a rather leftist view of the state of the union/world) and, of course, the naked bike riding.
There were, I must say, quite a few of them this year, and they appeared to be rather organized! One small group of 20 or so opened the parade and then a large group of what could easily have been several hundred stopped it altogether for a few minutes later on. No stragglers this time....safety in numbers, perhaps? In the past there have been signs posted and 
