Salvation Sisters' Best Desserts 2010—2014 and Why We Blog

The Memory Keepers by Linda
Photos by Michelle and Linda

"Ohana means family, and family means that no one gets left behind or forgotten." 
                                                ~ from the movie Lilo and Stitch

From left to right and top to bottom—click on the title to link to the recipe: 
Cowtown Chocolate Cake with Ganache Icing, Banana Cream Pie, Steamed Persimmon Pudding, The World's Best Coffee Cake, Maraschino Party Cake, Rose-Scented Raspberry Tea Cake, Ooiest Gooiest Chocolatiest Fudgiest Brownies, Linda's Favorite Cheesecake, Fruit-Filled Italian Rum Cake

      It's hard to believe that we sisters have been blogging for nearly five years now. Originally we had the goal of publishing one post per week, and we have certainly fallen short of that ambition—but that's what goals are for, right? No one's life or livelihood was at stake here, we simply wanted to compile a collection of our best-loved family dishes and tell the story of our lives and family. We felt that others could relate, because let's face it, everyone is slogging through the same sh*t in their own everyday lives. Additionally, our intention was for our blog to be the family resource for the generations to come when they wanted to know about the food and the history of our family, and we hoped that others would relate to our stories and recipes and be inspired to cook and bake.

From left to right and top to bottom—click on the title to link to the recipe:
Chocolate-Prune Cake with Chocolate Ganache and Salted Caramel Sauce, Overnight Cinnamon Rolls, Plum Tart, Root Beer Marble Ice Cream, Amaretto Mousse with Raspberry Sauce, Pumpkin-Apple Spice Cake with Dulce de Leche Glaze, Apple Crostata, "The Total Woman" Creamy Rice Pudding, GF Angel Food Cake

   Eating is one of the most fundamental things we do as humans other than breathing. We are compelled to nourish ourselves and others whether we want to or not. One must feed oneself—it is a fact that I often wonder about. Personally, I believe in a supreme power or energy, and I wonder why we are designed physically in such a way that we must feed ourselves or die. It seems so very extreme to me.

   When Michelle suggested creating a blog in early 2010 (I really didn't know much about the blogoshere at that time), I was taken aback. It was just a few months after a devastating family tragedy, and I could not conceive of what would happen in the ensuing years. In fact at that time, I could hardly fathom getting out of bed in the morning and living through the following week, much less imagining myself five years down the road. And yet here we are—about to begin our sixth year of blogging.

Banana Cream Pie, Homemade Vanilla Bean Marshmallows, Linda's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Fun making Linda's The Best All American Apple Pie updated with
Michelle's Absolutely Delicious All-Butter Pie Crust which is gluten-free and gum-free.

   This blog started as an experiment at the urging of Michelle—and Juliette and I went along for the ride. I was numb, just trying to figure out one day to the next after the death of my son, Joshua, who died in Afghanistan in January of 2009. A few months later, Michelle and her daughter Maddie came to California to live with me on a mission of mercy. I look back now almost six years later, and know without a doubt that their combined presence pushed me back into the land of the living. Grief is like that—it can take you down for the count. Luckily, the love of my family pulled me through that very dark time with much sacrifice on their part—but that's what true love is all about.

From left to right and top to bottom—click on the title to link to the recipe: 
Homemade Vanilla Bean Marshmallows, Nana's Homemade Fudge, Kahlua Spiked Tofu Chocolate Mousse, Our Family's Sugar Cookies, Triple Chocolate Meringue Cookies, Delectable Lemon Cake, Vanilla and Chocolate Pudding, Pecan Tassies, Chocolate Silk French Pie

   So please enjoy this compendium of our desserts up to now. While I personally am trying my darndest to leave refined sugar behind, I also recognize that desserts are the traditional way we as a culture celebrate special occasions and mark holidays. I had no idea in 2010 that I would choose to go gluten-free and Paleo two years later, but I have discovered that I feel much better following those diets. My journey along the way is recorded for posterity. I also try and recognize that there is room for almost everything in moderation, and I refuse to be the family killjoy. For example, the recipe for our family's Maraschino Party Cake has been baked by our family for at least the past seventy years. In the spirit of these changing times, for our recipes beginning in 2012, there is a gluten-free version for everything. This year I plan to start experimenting with Paleo desserts, so you will be seeing more contributions from me using no refined sugar.
   Whatever your personal dietary choices are, we wish you time spent with your loved ones in the kitchen cooking, and then sharing your creations together to celebrate the mundane as well as special occasions, because we know this for a fact—the memories carry over from one generation to another. Sharing your love with good food lives on.

From left to right and top to bottom—click on the title to link to the recipe:
Fresh Peach Ice Cream with Amaretto Affogato, Wilkins Family Lemon Ice Cream and
Really Excellent Vanilla and Chocolate Ice Cream

Vanilla and Chocolate Pudding with Berries and Whipped Cream

by Michelle

"Stressed spelled backwards is desserts. Coincidence? I think not." Author Unknown

   Once upon a time, a friend confided in me that in her younger years she had made a big bowl of chocolate pudding with the intention of getting crazy in bed with the luscious dessert and her husband. Henceforth, I have not been able to remove the image I conjured in my mind of the intertwined couple, messily covered in smears of chocolate, doing whatever people do, when they decide to do that kind of thing. No judgment here, but I would certainly prefer to consume my serving of pudding with a dish and spoon—thank you very much. Just as I cannot unsee this image in my mind, now you can't unread it. It's the gift that keeps giving. I found out later, my friend who shall remain unnamed (and is assuredly not me), was determinedly trying to fortify her rocky marriage by being The Total Woman protégé, but alas, this marriage could not be saved. Maybe she should have tried Saran wrap and The Total Woman Creamy Rice Pudding.
  Thankfully, my pudding memories don't begin and end with my friend's sexcapades. When I look back upon my childhood to consider my favorite desserts, two immediately jump to mind—silky smooth pudding and our family's Lemon Ice Cream. While Lemon Ice Cream was always made from scratch and churned in an electric mixer with rock salt and ice, the puddings were made from boxes and patiently stirred in an enameled iron pot over medium heat on the stove top until thick and bubbly. I can't recall making just vanilla or chocolate. We always made both flavors and served the two together. So, in my mind, you can't have one without the other. Chocolate and vanilla are "besties". Where you find one, you can often find the other.
   Lately, I've been working on making my life less complicated. It's a noble goal that sounds as if it should be easy, but in reality it is not. It takes concerted effort to stay focused and stay on task because life seemingly wants to pull me in a hundred different directions. My sister has a saying that she repeats often: "Juliette plans and the universe laughs." I can relate.
   One of my pet projects in recent months is to make meals ahead of time. To me it seems like a gargantuan undertaking because it takes more advance preparation than just flying by the seat of my pants, and it is a lot more difficult than just succumbing to going out for a fast-casual restaurant meal. Sometimes I'm planning ahead in support of a busy work week, when I'm calling on accounts across a large swath of Arizona territory and spending hours upon hours behind the windshield of my car. At other times, I am simplifying entertaining which affords me more time to relax with my family and friends. I was able to accomplish my "simple" entertaining goal for Mother's day, when I made Chicken Cacciatore for the main course and chocolate and vanilla puddings for dessert. The core of the meal was prepared on a Saturday and all that was left for me to do on Sunday was to reheat the sauce, boil the pasta, assemble a salad and make whipped cream, which was easy to do with my sister, two nieces and my daughter with me in the kitchen. We had a wonderful time. And so can you.

Hot pudding is transferred from the saucepan to a bowl to cool.

   When I decided upon making vanilla and chocolate puddings for a family dinner, I new I wasn't going to rely on pouring the ingredients out of a box, like we used to do when I was a kid. I wanted to make really superior puddings from scratch. Fortunately for me during my research, I quickly stumbled upon Susan Bradley's blog The Luna Cafe. Susan was adamant in both her posts, for the chocolate pudding and the vanilla pudding, that the recipes presented were hands down "the best". With her enthusiasm for the subject and numerous tips, I felt that I had found the right place to lead me to pudding heaven. My instincts were right. I took her recipe and observations and moved forward with confidence, which yielded excellent results. Everyone at the table oohed and aahed over the exquisite flavor and texture. Following is a composite of Susan's two recipes. I highly recommend you read both her pudding posts to gain additional knowledge from her compilation of tips and tricks.
   We just have one tip to add, our sister Maria thought it would be a-okay to use sour milk in pudding (the milk in our fridge had gone bad). In fact she stubbornly insisted that the pudding would be delicious in spite of our many protestations. The final pudding was, as you might expect, disgusting. Maria ate a bowl of it anyway just to prove us wrong.

Vanilla and Chocolate Pudding with Berries and Whipped Cream

Retro-Style: "The Total Woman" Creamy Rice Pudding (Gluten-Free)

by Linda

"It was an ironic engagement gift. Yes, we both read it. And would both suggest a retitle: The Total Fundamentalist Crapfest." — from a book review of "The Total Woman" by Beth

Honestly, this is the best rice pudding that we sisters have ever eaten in our entire lives.

   It is shocking for me to remember from this present vantage point in 2014, that Marabel Morgan, author of The Total Woman published in 1973 wrote the bestselling nonfiction book of 1974. In that year Marabel sold more than 10 million copies of her anti-feminist and bible thumping manifesto that claimed to reveal the secrets to saving a woman's marriage by learning how to submit to her husband and making his happiness the focus of her existence. Marabel's suggestion that a wife greet her husband at the door encircled only in plastic wrap while proffering a martini became an instant classic and created much derision and eye-rolling from all the women that I know. I always wondered what wife who has worked a long day and has kids waiting for dinner could pull this off, and just why should I bring up this dated and dreary chapter in our history anyway, you might ask? Moreover—what does any of this have to do with rice pudding?

Our maternal grandmother, Maxine, as a glamorous young woman circa 1932.

   Because of the success of her first book, Marabel became a regular guest on The Phil Donahue Show, was featured on the cover of Time Magazine, and was named one of the most influential women in America by People magazine and the 1975 World Almanac. Once she became famous, Marabel went on to write subsequent books—one of which was a cookbook that she published in 1981. For some reason, our grandmother Maxine purchased the hardback copy for herself (I think she saw Marabel on a talk show) and then later gave the paperback copy to me. (It is now out of print, and somehow Michelle—aka The Repository—has ended up with both copies.)

Present day—my niece, Maddie, peruses the pages of my old cookbook.

   I was on the hunt for good recipes in those days because I was catering, cooking at at a bed and breakfast inn, and still later working as a pastry chef in a local hotel. I remember laughing derisively when Nana presented the book to me. In spite of my skepticism that there could be any recipes of value in the book, I went ahead and made a couple of things that I thought looked good. To my amazement, everything I tried was better than good—her recipes were great. Color me surprised! To be sure, there are some real dogs in that book that I never even tried, but more than 30 years later, Marabel's rice pudding recipe and another for carrot cake are still my favorites of all time. I remember some years back the Cook's Illustrated claimed to have perfected carrot cake, so I tried their recipe. I am sorry to inform the recipe creators at that magazine, but Marabel's carrot cake kicks their proverbial cake ass. Their "improved" cake can't hold a candle to The Total Woman Lawn Fête Carrot Cake.

Our Nana Maxine in later years with my son, Jordan, at Laguna Beach at 
about the time she gave me the cookbook.

    This is how Marabel's Creamy Rice Pudding went on to grace the buffet table at every single weekend brunch that I served at The Ballard Inn due to popular demand, and then it was frequently seen on the dessert tray at Remington's restaurant in the Los Olivos Grand Hotel when I was the pastry chef there in the early 90s. Guests at both establishments frequently commented that it was the best rice pudding that they had ever tasted and begged for the recipe—much like my beloved apple pie and chocolate chip cookies. Creamy Rice Pudding was always a favorite at our family gatherings, too. I remember making it for a Christmas morning brunch when our grandparents were still alive (it was one of our last big gatherings before death and divorce took their toll). Michelle's boyfriend at the time, Bob (the same one who loved Michelle's pasta salad) became an instant fan that Christmas Day long ago.

Maddie poses with my old copy of The Total Woman Cookbook—please
tell me times have changed—the creamy rice pudding has not though. It is still the best ever.

   In all honesty, I haven't made this recipe in years because it is high in refined carbs and does have white sugar—things I am avoiding these days. But when I made it this week to feature in our retro-series on our blog, I did wonder if I would think it was as delicious as I remembered it to be. I am here to tell you that it is! When I served the rose and mint garnished dish of heaven to Mark who had never tried it before (no, I most certainly was not draped in Saran in case you might be wondering), he confirmed that without a doubt, it is the best rice pudding he has ever had. Adding citrus peels, coriander and gelatin to the custard—letting it cool and then folding in the whipped cream at the last gives this classic dessert a makeover that just might turn this into one of your favorites of all time, too.

P.S. We invite you to "like" us and to join the conversation on our Salvation Sisters Facebook Page where we post what we find and like from around the wide, wide, world of the internet. As always, we'd love to hear from you, whether you post in comments here on the blog or on Facebook. Ciao!

Creamy Rice Pudding

Sistercation in Bisbee, Arizona and Chocolate-Prune Cake with Chocolate Ganache, Salted Caramel Sauce and Vanilla Ice Cream (all Gluten-Free)

My Traveling Tales by Linda

“Because there is one thing stronger than magic: Sisterhood."
~Robin Benway, The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June    
                                                                         

The Salvation Sisters: Michelle, Juliette and Linda (left to right) in Bisbee, Arizona. 

   We sisters gathered this past September in Arizona for our annual Sistercation. Last fall, Juliette and Michelle traveled to see me in Sonoma county, so this year it was my turn to hop on a plane since not only are my sisters there, but my mother, nephew and nieces as well. Admittedly, September is not the ideal time to visit the desert because it is still pretty hot (especially for this non-acclimated NorCal girl), but it seemed the only suitable time given that we all have work commitments that are just not that flexible. Thus I prepared to brave the heat, and I hoped for the best.

   Michelle who lives in Tucson with her family, picked Mark and I up at the airport with her husband Jay. We went directly (after a long day of hanging around the airport waiting for the mechanical trouble of our airplane to be repaired) to have a "Muy Grande" margarita and Mexican food at Mosaic, a small restaurant that Michelle and her family frequent. I am ashamed to admit that I neglected to get a photo of a woman flipping the largest flour tortillas that I have ever seen on a hot comal. It looked to us like she was tossing blankets in the air they were so big. I was mesmerized and kept insisting that Michelle turn around to look at her, at which point Michelle finally became exasperated and told me to shut up, relax and allow her to drink her margarita. Sistercation had begun.

   Friday was spent with our Mom while Michelle finished up a day of work. Mom treated Mark and I to lunch at Tohono Chul Park, one of our favorite spots to eat and to check out the beautiful gardens. It was great to have a leisurely lunch in the shade. The nearby fountain burbled, and I was able to watch butterflies and birds cavort in all of the lush plantings that surround the courtyard. We chose salads for our lunch entreés, and Mark's prickly pear lemonade inspired me to purchase locally made prickly pear syrup in the gift shop. To see Michelle's stunning photos of Tohono Chul and the once per year night-bloom of the famous Night Queen that grows there click here.

Mark and Mom patiently wait for me to snap a few photos on the patio of 
Tohono Chul's Garden Bistro.

Our lovely mother Dianne... aka Dede.

Our salads were delicious and we all loved the Prickly Pear Lemonade.

   On Sunday morning with the back of Michelle's Toyota 4Runner stuffed with luggage we set out to join up with Juliette in the historic town of Bisbee. Having lived in Bisbee myself in the late 90s, I was excited about visiting again since it had been about eight years since my last visit.

The vista from the High Road overlooking Bisbee at sunset with the moon just beginning to rise.

   Juliette owns the Guadalupe Baking Company in Bisbee where she produces artisan sourdough for her community in which she has lived for over 20 years. Juliette arranged for us to stay at the Gym Club Suites which is an historic landmark and just a few steps from her bread kitchen. Michelle and I started making our own sourdough breads from Juliette's starter a year ago, and we were both looking forward to seeing the pro in action, since we both have had enough bread baking experience on our own at this juncture, that seeing bread made by the master would be of great benefit. Michelle has become an accomplished bread baker in her own right, and won a blue ribbon for her Guava-Coconut-Orange Sourdough baguette at the Pima County Fair this past year. One of our days in Bisbee would be spent joining Juliette in the kitchen at dawn to do a double bake of her bread which is gaining new fans on a daily basis.

Our apartment at the Gym Club Suites had an enormous deck that we put to good use.

   We loved our spacious apartment at the Gym Club Suites. This apartment has the use of an amazing deck that overlooks "B" Mountain, the old Presbyterian church and the Copper Queen Hotel. It also has long views into Brewery Gulch and vistas toward the highway and out into the valley. We spent several warm desert evenings drinking margaritas, talking and laughing out on the enormous deck.

A Traveler's Tip: We prepared Margaritas in advance and used the empty 
tequila bottle to transport them.

I enjoy Margarita time in the warm desert air. Check out our recipe by clicking here.

   We all had a welcome visit with Juliette's son Paul who I had not seen in many years. Paul is now a dad and was accompanied by his girlfriend Ericka and his two sons Devin and Parker that I had yet to meet. It was Parker's birthday weekend, and to celebrate the event Juliette whipped up not one, but two cakes. Juliette's favorite party cake is a rich Chocolate Guinness Cake that she often makes for special occasions. Her catering clients love it. However, with both Michelle and I being gluten-free, she made a truly delicious Chocolate-Prune Cake that she served with vanilla ice cream and then drizzled with a salted caramel sauce. It was heaven! Parker was over the moon with homemade pizza and multiple chocolate cakes made by his grandma "Juju".

Parker's daddy lights the birthday candles.

Older brother Devin gives Parker his big brother coaching and support.

   We will be returning with tales of our Tucson/Bisbee adventure. There is so much good food that we would like to share in the upcoming months. Michelle cooked for weeks in advance making things like her rich demi-glacé with which she made us an updated but classic presentation of Steak Diane and a Beef Bourguignon that would have made Julia Child proud. Pasta Bolognese was also on the Sistercation menu, and I also enjoyed tasting my first Sonoran hot dog which was wrapped and grilled with Hatch chiles and bacon. To complete the deliciousness, the dog was served on a homemade bun and topped with all the Southwestern fixings, including Michelle's Pinto Bean Chili con Carne. While in Bisbee, Juliette made her famous pizza , her rich Sopa de Albondigas, and homemade refried beans served with creamy chicken enchiladas. But for this week's post, we will end by sharing Juliette's delectable Chocolate-Prune Cake that she topped with rich ganache, vanilla ice cream and a buttery salted caramel sauce. Your guests will swoon over the delicious decadence of it all, and will never guess that it is gluten-free unless you choose to tell them.

A popular bumper sticker in Acacia where Juliette sells vintage clothes and collectibles.

Here's where the "Mayberry on Acid" part comes in...

We love the giant fly sculpture over the Sam Poe Gallery 
entrance... well, at least Michelle appears to.

Tombstone Canyon Road in downtown Bisbee as the sun begins to 
rise over the back of "B" Mountain.

A shop window with reflection of the downtown shops behind me.

I was so enamored of the vintage cake plate and cover with the acorn motif, 
that Juliette made me a gift of it. She found it during one of her thrifting excursions for three dollars.

Gluten-Free Chocolate-Prune Cake with Chocolate Ganache, Vanilla Ice Cream and Salted Caramel Sauce

Chocolate-Prune Cake

Linda's Fresh Peach Ice Cream with Amaretto Affogato

by Linda

Dry Creek Peaches from the Healdsburg farm at the height of Summer.

“... When you wash that treasure under a stream of cooling water, your fingertips instinctively  search for the gushy side of the fruit.  Your mouth waters in anticipation.  You lean over the sink to make sure you don’t drip on yourself.  Then you sink your teeth into the flesh and the juices trickle down your cheeks and dangle on your chin.  This is a real bite, a primal act, a magical sensory celebration announcing that summer has arrived."
                                                    ~From Epitaph for a Peach by David Mas Masumoto

 
   Michelle did a post a few weeks ago on the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum which I loved for many reasons... primarily the abundance of gorgeous photos that she shot there on location. However, attached to that post, she also wrote and photographed detailed instructions for two kinds of ice cream using a base that is made with non-fat dry milk powder in addition to the cream and milk that are in the recipe. This was new to me, and being that premium ice creams and gelati can be as much as seven dollars for a pint, I decided to make it on her recommendation, and because it looked so darn good in her photos. Well, turns out the ice cream is truly delicious, and quite different from our family standard which we all love beyond reason, our Wilkins Family Lemon Lemon Ice Cream.

   After I made the initial batch of vanilla, which was indeed delicious, I decided to make the ice cream again and use up some beautiful and ripe fresh peaches that I had on hand. On this second making, I elected to add some peach purée to the recipe. Mark mentioned that he had very fond memories of making a delectable peach ice cream with dark rum in it some years back. I also being a fan of dark rum, thought that sounded like a great substitution for the vodka in Michelle's recipe which keeps the ice cream from getting rock hard during its stay in the freezer. The peach ice cream was scrumptious, but in a flurry of inspiration from the God of Spirits (the alcoholic kind) the following evening, I topped Mark's and my portions with a little pour of Amaretto liqueur. This small but magnificent addition transformed the peach ice cream into something that seemed to Mark and I at that very moment, to transcend mere dessert. Moreover, it seemed to us that we were truly eating a divinely inspired ambrosia. I know that the word affogato usually applies to ice cream with hot espresso poured over the top, but since the translation of affogato is drowned, I chose to use it as the name for my peach ice cream "drowned" in amaretto.

   Want to try this at your house? I am about to tell you how, but should you want to make your own creation by adding other fruits, nuts or candy to the mix that you are inspired by, Michelle's vanilla or chocolate ice cream bases make a great jumping off point.

Linda's Peach Ice Cream with Amaretto Affogato

Maddie's Favorite Lime Curd

by Michelle

   Many years ago, a friend and I hosted a ladies luncheon in the heart of spring. We invited the women in our lives: grandmothers, mothers, sisters, aunts and associated children and we had the most delightful time enjoying a seasonally perfect day before the onslaught of summer in our desert home. For dessert I prepared a "make your own tart" bar. I stacked up homemade tart shells in a large covered glass jar. An abundance of fresh berries were tossed in a bowl. I went crazy preparing curds: lemon, lime and orange. Heavy cream was ready for the dispensing in a Whip-It!. Chocolate curls rested in a bowl ready to be scooped with a spoon. I especially have fond memories of the children, as if in candy land, excitedly preparing his or her own tart. The Whip-It! was practically the biggest hit of all. The surprise that day was the resounding favorite curd was not lemon, but lime. The creamy goodness was the right amount of sweet and tart.
   My daughter was instantly hooked and we've made lime curd exclusively since that day. Maddie's favorite thing is when I pack a small container of lime curd in her lunch to dip fresh strawberries at the height of season. I'm surely the "best mom ever" on those days.
   I'm always finding new ways to use lime curd... as a filling between cake layers, to grace a pavlova, or simply as an aforementioned dip with fresh fruit. Lime curd is particularly delicious with blackberries. And raspberries. And strawberries. And blueberries. And... well, scones, too.
   If you haven't tried your hand making curd, rest assured, it is incredibly easy. The curd keeps well in the refrigerator, for well over a week, if it lasts that long, which it probably will not. Because it lasts for so long, it is a useful recipe for entertaining... no rushing around at the last minute to finish dessert. Please try the curd, you and yours will surely adore it as much as we do.

Maddie's Favorite Lime Curd

Root Beer Marble Ice Cream

by Michelle

   I am not blessed with a great memory like my sister, Linda. She can memorize volumes of text and can recite long passages of poetry. In high school, she took Spanish, German and French in the same semester and earned an A in each class. She can reel off the medicinal properties of plants and the impact on a human body. So in-depth is Linda's knowledge that she sounds as if she is a medical doctor. In fact, we often refer to her as Dr. Townsend when seeking her advice on how to cure whatever might be ailing us.
   My husband is similar in the way that he can remember conversations with great accuracy. Especially the conversations he has with me, much to my chagrin. His keen memory doesn't seem to work in my favor in personal disagreements. As a couple, we are a prime example that opposites attract.
   My best friend from high school, Dan is also known as Dan-The-Man. He also answers to his current rank of Lieutenant. That's right... Lieutenant Dan. Upon his promotion, I immediately trotted down the well-worn path of Forrest Gump jokes that littered the gutters of his reality. Dan told me straight-up, with only the slightest hint of his trademark humor, that my jokes were not in any way original. The news did not come as a surprise to me or lessen my enthusiasm for the obviously stupid. I digress.

   My original point for bringing Dan into the conversation is that Dan remembers things from high school that I do not. He has been downright incredulous with me at times with things I fail to remember. I do remember that he taught me how to drive. And, for that, I will always be grateful.
   I think my lack of a strong memory is why I take so many photographs. I seem to be obsessively documenting my life. Similar to the movie Momento, I take photos to remember. (I am happy to confirm that there are no additional similarities between my life and the aforementioned movie.)
   This is why, when I do have a random memory, something that should have been in one memory bank and out the other, but has nevertheless stuck with me through the years, I take note. This particular memory has to do with, yep, you guessed it—Root Beer Marble Ice Cream.

Dan took this photo of "young happy me" on the beach in Santa Barbara.

 In my formative years, I lived in the small California Central Coast town of Solvang. An acquaintance once asked where I grew up, when I responded Solvang, she threw her head back and laughed. When I inquired what was so humorous, she said, "Oh, I thought only elves lived there." I grimace-smiled like my friend Dan does when hearing, yet again, a lame Forrest Gump joke.
   The small village of Solvang is a mix of paved roads and cobblestone walkways, half-timbered buildings with thatched roofs and picture perfect windmills. Solvang Park resides between downtown Solvang's two traffic lights on Mission Drive. Across the street from the park lived a small, narrow ice cream shop on 1st Street. As I recall all the flavors were made by Dreyers. When I shared with Linda, she seemed to recall that the little shop served up Burnardo'z ice cream, a small company that was based in Los Alamos, California, just up a short stretch  from Solvang on Highway 101. Linda's favorite was Burnardo'z Rocky Road. If we are to trust a source, we'll go with Linda's recollection based upon my glowing assessment of her mental prowess.

Celebrating Danish Days 1977 in Solvang Park posing in front of Danish author 
Hans Christian Andersen's statue. I'm wearing apparel befitting for 
my elementary school's participation in the annual parade.

  The ice cream shop was owned by a sweet, elderly couple who always seemed to manage to remember my favorite flavor. They would send me on my way with a smile and two huge scoops in a waffle cone. More often than not, I would sit at the park under the shade of the trees and happily slurp the ice cream and eat the cone until every last tasty bit was consumed.
   In an attempt to reconstruct this happy experience from my youth, I have searched extensively for a Root Beer Marble Ice Cream recipe without success. No recipes on the internet or in my cookbooks... at least not that I could find.
   The field has been narrowed to the capable team of me, myself and I to create Root Beer Marble Ice Cream. I will rise to the challenge. I should perhaps put my skills to something worthy that could really change the world, but hey, Root Beer Marble Ice Cream to celebrate the 4th of July sounds like a good use of time to me. Lofty goal? I think not. It's all about making a  syrup, which thanks to Cooks Illustrated, might be as easy as boiling a liter of root beer to a cup of syrup*. Next, make a really great vanilla ice cream (easy-peasy). Finally, swirl the syrup into the soft homemade ice cream and then harden in the freezer.
   Instant time machine? I think not, but this time around I get to share a memory in the making with my daughter and husband. At least I hope so. I'll take a picture, just in case I get a little fuzzy on the details.

*It's not. I wish it was easy as reducing soda pop to a syrup. My life would have been considerably easier this past month. I started my experiment with Virgil's Root Beer - a tasty brew. By the time I reduced the excellent root beer to one cup, it tasted like carmelized vanilla with perhaps a faint undertone of root beer. The flavor was considerably better when I added a tablespoon of Blackmaker™ Root Beer Liqueur to the reduced soda pop. Not completely satisfied, I considered my options. A quick Google search uncovered a Root Beer Syrup made by Sonoma Trading Company and stocked at my local Williams-Sonoma store.

   I think I might have visibly winced when I shelled out $16 dollars for the syrup. Similar to when, just a few weeks ago when I purchased the Edmond Fallot Dijon Mustard. A small price to pay, I assured myself, in the name of research. The purchased syrup was better than the reduced root beer concoction. To reduce icyness once frozen, I added one tablespoon of the Blackmaker Root Beer Liqueur to one cup of the purchased Root Beer syrup. The next step was to make the vanilla ice cream.

   My first attempt to add the syrup to the frozen custard would aptly be named Root Beer Float Ice Cream. Not what I was striving for, but delicious all the same. In the final analysis, the "float" occured when the room temperature syrup diffused into the unripened ice cream (see note below). Not content to stop short of my mission of a true marbled ice cream, I resolved to try again.
   For round two, I decided to make my own syrup based upon reading a terrific Sassafras and Homemade Root Beer blog post by Hank Shaw of Hunter Angler Gardener Cook. There are no Sassafras trees in my neck of the woods, err... barren desert that is, but I can purchase just about anything I desire at Amazon.com. A quick search yielded Sassafras Root Bark, Cut and Sifted Burdock Root, and Wintergreen extract. The rest of the ingredients were lounging in my spice cabinet or readily available at my local grocery store. I decided that I would follow Hank's recipe and add-in one crushed whole nutmeg to the "tea" ingredients and then a touch of vanilla paste to make the syrup my own.