Three Scoops and a Fig - Fig Tree Sundae

"Sofia dumped the little pear-shaped figs into a bowl on the table. She dished out more helpings of gelato, each with three scoops and a fig. " - Three Scoops and a Fig, Sara Laux Akin

I grew up in a town that was once covered in fig orchards (now many of those orchards have become housing developments and shopping malls), but I have to be honest, I don't think I'd actually eaten a fresh fig until sometime last year. I feel embarrassed to even admit this but its true. I wasn't sure what to do with them so I sliced them and put them in yogurt for the kids. That seemed about right.

Sara Laux Akin's Three Scoops and a Fig presents a similar but tastier option for those looking to use up a fig surplus. Sofia, Akins' young protagonist, comes from a family of cooks. Her family owns an Italian restaurant and her older siblings contribute their own specialties to the family dinner table. On the occasion of her grandparents' anniversary, Sofia just wants to help her family as their prepare a special dinner but she keeps getting in the way. Unnoticed by her busy family, Sofia decides to slip away with a bowl of gelato for breakfast. When an errant fig from the fig tree drops into Sofia's bowl she discovers a new treat--and a way to contribute to the family dinner. Illustrator Susan Kathleen Hartung's muted colors and depiction of a close knit, multi-generational family infuse the story with warmth.

Three Scoops and a Fig includes extras--a recipe for an "Italian Flag Sundae" and a glossary of Italian words and phrases used in the story. Although the Italian Flag Sundae sounded delicious, I decided to stick with Sofia's original recipe.

Sofia's Fig Tree Sundae

Ingredients:

• vanilla ice cream
• figs (fresh if you can find them)

1. Scoop ice cream into bowls. In order to stay true to the book I used three (small) scoops in each child's bowl.

2. Slice your figs. I must confess, I used dried figs for this particular recipe. I had been sitting on this review until after Halloween and by the time I was ready to post it I couldn't find fresh figs anywhere. Fig season, apparently, is very short (I feel this is something I should have known, having grown up in Fresno). Dried figs, however, were easy to find at the grocery store.

Serve and eat quickly, before your seven-year old can complain that it's melting!

I know my posting here has been spotty lately. Beginning with this recipe, though, I am looking forward to getting back on track as we head into the holiday season!

*Disclosure: A review copy of Three Scoops and  Fig was provided by Peachtree Publishers for the purpose of this review. 

The Good Humor Man - Fun Valley Smash Frozen Pops

"'There are lemonade licks
And syrupy sticks,
Raspberry rockets
And pineapple pockets.
And my special flavor for today
Is Fun Valley Smash:
Raspberry-strawberry-marshmallow mash.'
Oh, my they did taste good." - The Good Humor Man, Kathleen N. Daly

When I was pregnant with my oldest son a co-worker gave me a set of reissued classic Little Golden Books as part of a shower gift. One of the books in the set was The Good Humor Man, a book I had overlooked (or perhaps it had been out of print) during my own childhood of reading and collecting Little Golden Books (perhaps someday I will write a post about the profound influence these books had on my life as a reader). I have very vivid memories of sitting on the floor in the nursery reading aloud to my infant son while he did tummy time on a blanket beside me. Later, this ended up being the book we would throw in a backpack or carryon to take on airplanes or day trips into the city. Simply put,  this book with its sweet story and 60s era charm is a family favorite.

Kathleen N. Daly's story about a neighborhood ice cream man who brings treats to families in a typical 60s suburban neighborhood seems almost outdated. When is the last time you saw an ice cream man? I am pretty sure that my kids know about ice cream men only from this book, although the ice cream truck was a fixture in the California neighborhood I grew up in. In the book we see the Good Humor man make his rounds in his white truck, selling "raspberry rockets" and "pineapple pockets" to the families on his route. One of his customers is a lonely boy named Johnny. Another customer, who lives way up on a hill outside of town, is an older woman who has a visiting grandson, Dick: he's also lonely. The next day, when the Good Humor man notices Johnny is without his puppy, he learns the dog is lost. But hooray! Dick and Granny have found the puppy! This inspires the Good Humor man to play matchmaker--Johnny gets his puppy back and, in the process, he and Dick become friends.

Tibor Gergeley's original illustrations are perfectly paired with Daly's text, perhaps more now than when the book was published in 1964. The retro look (which is, of course, "retro" only by present day 2010's standards) perfectly complements this story of a bygone era--when the highlight of a family's summer day might well have been the ice cream man's visit.

Drawing inspiration from the Good Humor man's flavors, we made some ice pops on this first weekend in June.

Fun Valley Smash


"Fun Valley Smash" is the Good Humor man's special flavor of the day. He describes it as being "raspberry-strawberry-marshmallow mash."

Ingredients:

• raspberries
• strawberries
• marshmallow creme
• vanilla yogurt

Additional equipment: Stick blender, ice pop mold (mine was $2.00 at Target)

1. Wash fruit. Chop stems off strawberries and cut into smaller pieces. Place in blender cup.

2. Use stick blender to puree fruit. Children should be supervised during this process.

3. Pour fruit puree into larger mixing bowl. Add a couple of dollops of marshmallow creme.

4. Add a spoonful or two of the vanilla yogurt. I chose to add vanilla yogurt for a creamier consistency; you could certainly stay true to the book and just use the fruit and marshmallow.

5. Stir the fruit, marshmallow and yogurt together. The yogurt will blend easily. The marshmallow will not. At best, I got it to separate into smaller chunks (by mashing it with the back of the spoon) which worked fine.

6. Carefully pour the mixture into your molds. Leave room for the sticks.

7. Place molds in freezer and let freeze for several hours.

The finished product:

These frozen treats were a huge hit, easy to make and reasonably healthy. The boys enjoyed them after a run through the sprinklers (hence the crazy hair).

The Good Humor Company has quite an interesting history. Check out their web page for information on the treats, trucks and ice cream men that inspired Daly's fictional story. The company still exists and their ice cream confections are available nationwide.

And since we are on the topic of ice cream men and this book and my six (almost seven!) year old's infancy, I will always associate the song in this Kohl's commercial with that time. More than any other song (except maybe John Lennon's "Beautiful Boy (Darling Boy)"), this song takes me back to the summer of 2003. The commercial played constantly for a couple of weeks (I was nursing a newborn. I spent a lot of time in front of the TV.), to the point that I will never think of ice cream men without thinking of this commercial and that time in my life.

Kohls - Ice Cream Man (2003) - 0:30 (USA)

When I am Quiet on Maui - Lava Flow Smoothies and Roasted Pineapple with Ice Cream

"When you are quiet, what do you hear?" - When I am Quiet on Maui, Judi Riley

It's been an unseasonably cool spring in the Bay Area. I am a warm weather kind of girl. I long for the warm sun. We can't control the weather but we can escape to a warmer place via our books.

A few years ago, when my boys were very young (not-quite-three and seven months), we spent a week in Maui. Although I don't necessarily recommend taking kids that young to Maui if you're expecting a restful and relaxing vacation, it is a favorite family memory of that time in our lives. When we want to remind the boys of our trip we watch videos and look at pictures or we read When I am Quiet on Maui, a book my husband and I brought back from a solo Maui trip a couple of years later.

Judi Riley's When I am Quiet on Maui is a peaceful book, a perfect reflection of the laid back island lifestyle. The first two pages, in fact, are just two questions (one per page) on a white background: "When you are quiet, what do you hear? When you are still, what do you feel?" With this we are brought into the book, which takes us through a child's day on the island of Maui. We learn about the island through sights and sounds. Each spread shows an illustration on the left with a single statement on the opposite page--a painting of koi and plumeria flowers in a pond is accompanied by, "When I am quiet in Wailea long before lunch, I hear the plumeria cascade into the koi pond." This is not a book to turn to if you're looking for excitement or a story where something happens. It is more like poetry: calm meditations just right for settling into a calm state of mind (perhaps right before naptime). It reminds us of the beauty of nature (found in a specific place) and the importance of slowing down and taking note of the world around us. It also introduces Hawaiian vocabulary, with proper pronunciations and definitions in footnotes at the bottom of the pages. (Crucial for parents who stumble over the word humuhumunukunukuapua'a.)

We made two different treats to get us into the Hawaiian spirit (they also went well with our Lost series finale viewing after the boys were in bed).

Lava Flow Smoothies

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. coconut cream
• 2 oz. unsweetened pineapple juice
• 4 large strawberries (or handful of frozen strawberries)
• 1 small, ripe banana
• ice

Additional equipment: Blender, paper umbrella (optional)

1. Puree the strawberries in blender.

2. Pour strawberry puree in glass.

3. Puree pineapple juice, coconut cream and banana in blender with crushed ice. Blend until smooth.

4. Pour pineapple/coconut/banana mixture into glass. The strawberry puree should rise to the top, like a lava flow.

Roasted Pineapple with Ice Cream (recipe courtesy of Runner's World magazine, April 2010)

Ingredients:

• 1 pineapple, cut and sliced
• dark brown sugar
• butter
• vanilla ice cream

1. Brush melted butter on both sides of the pineapple slices (the original recipe recommends cutting the pineapple into rings).

2. Sprinkle brown sugar over both sides of the pineapple.

3. Roast pineapple in oven at 400* for 18 minutes. Flip halfway through.

5. Serve in bowls. Top with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

These refreshing treats did bring a little bit of that Hawaiian feeling into our home, which is nice since it's far more practical than jumping on a plane every time we want to escape to Hawaii.

Still in a Hawaiian state of mind? Check out Riley's other book, When I am Quiet on Oahu.

My kids also love Disney's animated film Lilo and Stitch, which has a Hawaiian setting.

Finally, if you do happen to have a trip to Hawaii planned, I highly recommend Andrew Doughty's "Ultimate" guidebook series. We have used The Ultimate Kauai Guidebook: Kauai Revealed and Maui Revealed: The Ultimate Guidebook on our trips and found them to be, hands down, the best resources for sightseeing, snorkeling and dining information.