Oh My Gosh, It's Summer in Ohio

Here are a few of my favorite things about Ohio in the summertime:

lightning bugs

warm rain
heat lightning

water skiing

sweet corn

seasonal ice cream stands

coney dogs

watermelon

I came to Ohio last week to visit the family in Canton and got immersed in the soupy air and the Mid-West hospitality; welcome to the land where soda is 'pop,' a visit lasts as long as a pot of coffee and the mall is town square.  It was wonderful to sit around the table with my peeps and hear the same stories I've been hearing since I can remember, fall back into my native accent and be surrounded by the familiar laughs of my aunts, uncles and cousins.  If I had to pick two things that have always defined my family, it would be these:

1. We have legendary stories
2. We are Italian-American

And I was able to re-visit two of my favorite restaurants from my childhood.  The first is my all-time favorite ice cream parlor, Milk n' Honey.  I can remember walking in as a child and being amazed at the long shelves of chocolates and candy and the seemingly endless list of ice cream flavors.  Everything here is hand made, from the daily soups and sandwiches to the sweets and treats.  I ordered the club sandwich and a grasshopper sundae (homemade mint-chocolate-chip ice cream, hot fudge and whipped cream), both nostalgic favorites.  My mom and I sat in the back room, where hung on up on the wall is half of a red MGB; according to family lore, this exact car belonged to my father when he was in college...he sold it to a young man who completely totaled only half of the car, precisely the half not hanging on the wall.  I'm not sure that this story has ever been confirmed, but it's these kind of tales that make me feel connected to my hometown by a vast network of tiny threads.

The second restaurant was Papa Bear's.  Again, I have been coming here for as long as I can remember.  My mother was a waitress here.  Every family celebration that I can remember has taken place at this restaurant.  I can't tell you how many time my cousins and I have posed for photos with the taxidermied bear in the lobby. As far as my taste buds are concerned, this is the ideal when it comes to spaghetti with meat sauce.  I have eaten here for so long, I can't even tell you if it's good; all I can tell you is that I like it.  My mom and I ordered our favorites: crispy pepperoni bread with marinara sauce, wedding soup with meatballs and chicken, a side of angel hair with hot Italian sausage.  This will probably always be my comfort food.  I was a little disappointed to see that they were renovating; since I can remember there has always been the same 1980's floral wallpaper with miniature nude sculptures recessed in little wall-cubbies, the same black lacquered chairs with mauve cushions, the same casino-style carpeting.  I just hope they always keep the bear.

Tasty Tropical Treats

By popular request here are some of my favorite island recipes, many born out of an over-abundance of tropical fruits from the retreat's orchard. They are all pretty easy and quick, plus super tasty...

Avocado Papaya Ice Cream:

• 4 medium avocados
• 1 extra large papaya or two regular papayas
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2 cups half & half
• 2 tablespoons honey

Take all of these and ingredients and swirl them around in a blender for a bit. It will be pretty viscous (don't you love that word?) and then throw it all in an ice cream freezer for a while. It's really that easy.

Mango Coconut Ice Cream:

• 4 large mangoes (I prefer red mangoes)
• 2 cans of coconut milk
• 1 tablespoon honey

Same deal: blend it all together and throw it in the ice cream maker. You also can just put it in the freezer and whip it every couple of hours to keep the ice crystals from forming.

Avocado Chocolate Chip Cookies:
I know this sounds weird, but seriously, you don't even taste the avo. I recently did some avocado harvesting from the orchard and came back with 10 gallons. This of course led to the question, "What the hell do you do with 100 avocados?" I got some really interesting suggestions on Facebook including "edible Playdoh," and "a bathtub body mask." But this is by far the best one. And I totally love the food porn pictures on this awesome food blog, London Foodie in NY. Click here for the recipe.

All You Need is a Freezer

I was in Portland a couple weeks ago visiting my dear friend, spending lots of time in her pretty little garden, walking the dog and cruising around the town. It was SO hot the only thing that sounded good was cool and delicious ice cream. We had a mound of homemade creme fraiche and some serious motivation to make a cold and creamy treat. One problem: no ice cream maker. Turns out you don't need one. You just make the custard, put it in the freezer and blend it every now and again so that it doesn't get all icey. Not that we didn't have to do some experiments to figure this out. You can see one the useless methods above (swirling the custard in a big pot of ice water). Totally unneccesary but amusing.

Just when I thought that there was no way that homemade ice cream could get any better, I came across a recipe that combines my two favorite foods: butter and cream. I'm from the Mid-West and love me some dairy. Oh sweet lord, what a combination....we used that beautiful creme fraiche instead of cream. It was so rich and gorgeous, I could only eat one tiny little scoop! There is an awesome recipe (with pictures!) at this great little food blog.

In Seattle my folks were hit with the craze (it was scorching hot there too) and we made a tangy blueberry variety. Now that I'm in Hawaii, my host family is also completely mad about the good stuff. They've been doing a passionfruit and goat's milk version that is so sour and sweet and reminds me of orangesicles from when I was a kid. Funny how life has these recurring themes. I'm really grateful that my life themes have switched from shattering self-doubt and misery to ice cream and traveling. Things are looking up.