The Sprague Lab

Sometimes I wish there were more days in a weekend. I can’t be the only one who wishes that. :)

We had a good one, though - yard and housework, time together, homemade strawberry ice cream.

We made it using my grandpa’s recipe:

Strawberry Ice Cream 

2 pints strawberries, pureed

1 1/2 c. heavy cream

3 tbs. fresh lemon juice

1/2 c. plus 2 tbs. super-fine sugar

Puree strawberries, mix all ingredients together, and freeze in an ice cream maker. 

 That’s it!

It is quite tart, and sooo good. I can remember lots of family parties with my grandpa out on their front porch, tending the ice cream mixer, adding ice and salt. I would hang out with him and we’d talk over the dull roar of the mixer. And of course I remember the incredible flavor of this strawberry ice cream when it was done - everyone had their scoop in a styrofoam bowl with a plastic spoon, and it was pure heaven.

It’s amazing how emotional food can be sometimes, isn’t it?

I’m heading to Nisa’s wedding this weekend. SO excited for that! I get to see almost ALL of my Minnesota ladies, and of course, I get to attend my first-ever non-LDS wedding. Weird, I know! But most of my non-LDS friends were already married (or staunchly single) by the time I met them. I’m looking forward to the weekend. :)

I’ll be over at Artsy Tartsy in Plymouth from 12-2 on Saturday the 26th, if you live locally and want to stop on by! :D 

The weekend after that, I’ll be in Buffalo for CKC. So excited to meet everyone there! I’m teaching 6 classes again, and hanging out at the Friday night crop.

And one more thing. I’ll be launching my web site. Our first class will be Digital 1, with other classes to follow. So, SO excited about this. Sorry for the total teaser there, but more info is coming  SOON, I promise. :)

Funny

Jared has this thing for root beer (which I don’t like), and you already know that I have a thing for popcorn (which he doesn’t like). I also happen to like the popcorn Jelly Bellys. mmmm. He has to be careful dipping into a bag of Jelly Bellys, so he doesn’t accidentally pick a popcorn one (he calls them the bogey-flavored ones after Bertie Botts’ Every Flavor Beans from Harry Potter).

So last week when I was gone, he bought a bag of Jelly Bellys (our Super Target has all the flavors arranged in individual containers, so you can mix your own bag). Of course he excluded popcorn ones, but he added in root beer ones. I didn’t know until I pulled a few out while I was typing, popped them in my mouth, and bleh! The only thing worse than real root beer is a root beer-flavored jelly bean. Yuck.

So I said (Partly, wondering whether she would like them, and partly because I knew I didn’t. :P), “Rowen, do you want a candy?”

I handed her the brown jelly bean.

She bit down on it, wrinkled up her face and said, “Mama, this one doesn’t taste very good.” 

I said, “That’s a root beer one”

She said, “Can I put it in the garbage?”

“Yes.” Ah, a girl after my own heart, there.

At dinner that night, she said, “Daddy, mama gave me a goot beer jelly bean, but it didn’t taste very good, and I threw it in the garbage.” 

He laughed, and said, “Oh, so you don’t like the root beer jelly beans?”

“No.”

Do you like the popcorn ones?

“Yes!”

Heh. Victory. ;)

I don’t know if this is another example of emotional food or not. Do you have recipes that are emotional or sentimental in some way?

-J