Desserts

I have fond childhood memories of hot summer days, awaiting the neighborhood ice cream truck.  I don’t remember the driver’s name, but I thought he was ancient (but since I was 8, he could have been 25), wore a white jacket and hat, and drove a little red convertible around the neighborhood, blaring out some musical tune that could be heard for blocks, drove our parents crazy, and hypnotized all of us into running toward it at full speed. He arrived with a cooler that was fully loaded with as many ice cream treats a kid could imagine, which made it hard to decide what to choose.  I’m sure many an ice cream bar was melted with all us hanging over the side of his car, staring into the cooler, and mired in indecision.  One year, I was fully entrenched in my Drumstick phase, but when I discovered the Creamsicle the following summer, everything else fell away.  I still can’t resist that combination of creamy vanilla ice cream and orange sherbet, so dreamt up this super easy cremesicle pie. It can stay happy as a clam in your freezer for a couple of weeks or more, waiting for you to get the urge for a treat, and is nice to have for drop-in company.  The crust is crumbled waffle cones, held together with melted butter and a little sugar.  Then all that’s left to do is grab a couple of containers of ice cream and start layering. The crust is not baked in advance, so the whole thing comes together in a few minutes. I swear I can hear that little ice cream truck tune every time I grab a slice.

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They say the best recipes are those passed down from family and friends, and this recipe proves it.  I made a new friend, Sandy, at the gym this year.  We often find ourselves in the locker room or hot tub at the same time (preparing for a grueling workout ha ha), and the conversation often turns to recipes.  Sandy is one of those perpetually happy people, is friendly and kind to everyone, and always has a big smile on her face.  She also has incredible recipe ideas.  One day, she described a Strawberry Rhubarb pie with an oatmeal crust, and I was hooked.  I love pie but am not the biggest pie crust fan, so I was drawn to that idea like a magnet. This recipe originated from one in Family Circle Magazine from 1982.  Sandy added strawberries to the original, and I made a couple of small changes myself, and that’s what cooking is all about.  Love somebody’s idea, then get busy and make it your own by adding your own touches. I intend to make it every chance I get.

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Do you ever have an idea pop into your head that just will not leave you alone?  It happens to me more than I would care to admit, but my latest little visitor was the concept of a dessert with lime.  The coming of warmer weather makes me think about refreshing and cool desserts, and one that would welcome you with open arms after a spicy barbecue supper.  Here is the result of my ponderings: a no-bake (except for the crust, but that’s just ten minutes), smooth, creamy, and refreshing icebox pie, that is brimming with fresh lime juice and lime zest.  The creamy interior is set off by a crisp crust made of graham crackers and toasted coconut.  Here’s a dessert you can whip up with little effort, and it can sit there in the refrigerator, happy as a clam, for a couple of days until you’re ready to serve.  I personally have not been able to wait nearly that long, but it’s good to know if the opportunity presents itself.  PS: this recipe is really not made with key limes, but you can use them if you want to.  It seems like every other recipe out there that makes a pie like this with regular limes calls it a key lime pie, so I decided not to rock the recipe search engine boat.

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Easter will be here before we know it, and itseems to me that one of the best ways to celebrate is with carrot cake – this is because I love to eat them and look for any excuse to do so.  Here you have not just any ordinary carrot cake recipe – it is my mother’s, otherwise known as Neeners.  I think it’s the best carrot cake I’ve ever eaten.  Don’t tell her that – I’ll never hear the end of it.  She has had this recipe since time began, and so I had to attempt to decipher it from her well worn, hand written copy.  This was not easy.  I had to call her…”Neeners, your recipe says ‘one half of a medium sized can of pineapple’.  What is a medium sized can?  Is it the size of, oh, let’s say a can of chili beans you would buy at the store?” …..silence….  And then “Go for it.  I don’t think it’s possible to kill this cake”.  Lucky, it worked.  And if you know me well enough by now, you will also know that it is impossible for me to leave a recipe alone – I have to fiddle with it.  In this case, I left the cake alone, but added some caramelized fresh pineapple to top things off.  This whole business is super easy to make, so how about we get this thing done?

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Have you ever heard the term ‘Necessity is the mother of invention’?  Well, my mother, Neeners, very cleverly created a situation where it was necessary to invent something to take care of the flat of peaches she could not resist buying.  “My God, those things were beautiful…so I had to buy the whole flat and now I want you to take some – NOT ALL – and do something creative”.    So…there I was with a few big, and yes beautiful peaches, but not enough for her favorite peach crisp.  What to do? So being the non-genius that I am, I looked around the kitchen.  There, staring me right in the face, was a bowl of nectarines that I just had to have. (I guess the nut doesn’t fall too far from the tree). The result is this Peach & Nectarine Crisp. Sweet, but not too sweet, with just a hint of tartness from the nectarines, plus just the faintest whisper of cinnamon.

 The perfect crisp is in the eye of the beholder.  Some absolutely must have oatmeal in their crisps, while others insist on nuts.  I prefer neither, but go after that rich, buttery and slightly crispy crust with fruit juices oozing through around the edges. Nirvana.  If you prefer oats in your version, go ahead and replace half of the flour with them.  All of you nut fans out there – add a cup chopped nuts to the topping mixture. What the heck?  Do both if you like.  After all, this is now your recipe….

 I ended up splitting the recipe, so Neeners could have half and we could have the rest.  I awaited her call…” Hello, this is your mother speaking.  I am looking at a big bowl of your Crisp, but I am not eating it yet.  I put a generous scoop of ice cream on top and am waiting until it melts to perfection on the top before I dive in.  I will give you my review tomorrow. Goodbye”.  I await her review, but in the meantime, keep reading to check out the recipe for yourself…

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I love cake.  I love cherries.  And now, in the height of cherry season, I can often be found lurking around the refrigerator and pulling out several handfuls of those dark red gems to stuff in my mouth when nobody is looking.   The dilemma became this – is there a way to enjoy both cake and cherries without losing any of that fresh cherry goodness?  I think this may just do it.  The cake base resembles a pound cake (we need something heavy duty to hold up all those cherries), and for some added personality there is shredded coconut, vanilla, and almond extract.  This I could eat all on its’ own and be quite happy.  However, we can’t forget the cherries!  The little extra work of pitting and slicing beautiful dark red cherries in half is well worth the effort.  No sugar added to this layer – those berries are sweet enough all on their own.  To top it off, the crumb layer has a generous amount of ground almonds that will keep you coming back for one more bite….at least I do. 

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