Thick and Creamy (Ruby)

Oh God, don’t get me started…

…about the comforting effects of Yogurt & Ice Cream – specifically vanilla flavored - in my life…since you had to bring up that yogurt (would love to know more about the “Humphrey Yo-gart” flavor...) First of all, I still find it mildly entertaining (but probably bores my children to death) to think things like “if you were stranded on a desert island and you could only have ONE kind of [food] with you, what would that be?” and typically, I opt for Yogurt in my stranded-island mind. Vanilla. And not just any vanilla yogurt but whichever is my personal pick at any given time in my abundant life as a consumer. These are the winners over time, according to me:

THE WINNER of all the loves of my yogurt lovin’ days: my Mom would take me to Forty Carrots in the lower level of Bloomingdales in New York City in the ‘70’s. I was 15-ish and frozen yogurt was still a fairly new trend. The yogurt was velvety, THICK, cold, delectable. They didn’t actually have Vanilla but the “Plain” was to OUT OF THIS WORLD, better than and unlike any other plain yogurt on earth, better than any vanilla on earth; a slightly tart flavor that they would drizzle with honey and top with granola and a generous handful of fresh blueberries and this was my express trip to heaven. I remember justifying the consumption of it because it was yogurt, not ice cream, and that these were superior quality calories (hmmm). In the ‘70’s no one was talking about “ANTI-OXIDANTS” to further bolster the goodness of the blueberries, but they were to DIE for, plump, blue-licious…that was enough. It was a sizeable portion…as decadent as a Banana Split and I called it “lunch AND dinner” whenever I had it.

Another early VANILLA seducer in my life - this time ICE CREAM - was a brand that I only saw in the ‘60’s – “Louis Sherry” and it fascinated me because of the tiny black specks of vanilla bean. Authentic, natural. Perfectly delicious!! Oddly enough, though, the one place I remember buying it was from a small freezer case that opened from the top at the neighborhood meat-market. The packaging was a raspberry-purple color and the brand name was in white or black script that appealed to me. The whole experience was memorable. Comforting. Better than medication. Vanilla-therapy. And not surprising that I became a vegetarian later in life; while my Mom was scrutinizing cuts of pork and lamb, I was studying the packaging and fantasizing about the vanilla bean ecstasy of that ice-cream.

My Grandmother from Cleveland often came at Christmas and she loved New York City, just over 10 miles from where we lived at the time; we’d take the train down from Westchester, through Harlem and into downtown Manhattan for the ritual visit to skate or watch others skate at Rockefeller Center and then delight in hot-fudge sundaes at Schrafft’s. The hot-fudge was almost as good as my Mom’s – sticky and warm, an absolute recipe for happiness.

Whether it’s ice cream or yogurt, though, for me it has to be unimaginably thick and creamy…which is why Greek yogurt (everywhere these days) is perfect for me…not ony for the flavor and texture but because it is often fabulously high in protein (I’ve had some that is as high as 18g/serving!) I had an electric yogurt-maker in high school for a while but the result was never creamy or yummy enough so I stopped (I think my Mom sold it at a garage sale before I went to college, which is why you never saw it in the dorm). And from time to time I still make my own Yogurt cheese / Greek Yogurt and mix it with molasses and honey but it’s faster/easier to buy it.

Here is my latest recommendation for an every-day great yogurt though: Target’s store brand – Archer Farms – for a fair price at $2.29 for 24oz., has low fat and fat free versions of Vanilla or Plain that say Thick and Creamy in tiny letters which manage, nevertheless, to SHOUT the message to me simply because I am on the prowl for the CREAMIEST-of-the-crop. I buy the Fat Free Vanilla – which is reasonably high in protein and low in calories - and I refuse to share (don’t worry, there are 500 other yogurt options in our fridge, many disguised as skittles…or cotton candy…or apple-brown-betty…or anything except plain or vanilla for the candy-loving-fake-yogurt-eaters I live with). We call the Target brand “Mommy’s yogurt”. It epitomizes comfort food for me and replaces any residual cravings for Louis Sherry Ice Cream.

Glad the block party went relatively well – except for the short-lived rain and food slipping away from you. I feel the same way about left-over food at parties, especially if I have sprung for it myself. Recently we were at an event where everyone had to bring something and the stuff we brought was shelf-stable and individually wrapped (picture: Twinkies-ish) and there was so much left over that it was a little bit of a hard pill to swallow to just walk away from it…but I managed to be O.K. : )

Happy Memorial Day – we totally FORGOT (? – seriously - ?) to do any traditional meal/cook-out or whatever that we typically pull off on holidays like this. Invariably - when we REMEMBER that it's a holiday that requires "special/celebratory" food - we can count on Scot's kid-friendly specialty: Ruffles Potato Chips with “Daddy’s Dip” – this dip that Scot makes just knocks my kids socks off…unlike me, with “Mommy’s Yogurt”, Scot is kind enough to share this treat with the Hungry Ones…

Ruby