Things to Make - Homemade Peach Ice Cream

This summer I purchased an ice cream maker and I'm a little obsessed with it. I went with this cheap, easy model, which is pretty fun to use. You just add the ice cream mixture to a frozen canister and then surround the canister with ice and rock salt (which you can buy through Amazon). Turn on the motor and half an hour later, voila - ice cream. For some reason I find this oddly fascinating.

Anyways, I keep experimenting with different recipes and types (sorbets, ice cream with eggs, no cook, etc.). But my favorite so far is this recipe for peach ice cream (adopted from various sources), it's just so good:

HOMEMADE PEACH ICE CREAM:

INGREDIENTS: 6 large peaches (ripe), 1.5 tablespoons lemon juice, sugar, 1.5 cups whole milk, 1.5 cups heavy cream, 4 egg yolks, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.

1. Cut up 3 peaches (I like to leave the skins on), remove the pit. Place in a blender with 1.5 tablespoons of lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Blend. Refrigerate.

2. Combine milk, 1 cup cream, and 3 peaches cut up peaches (no pits) in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, until slightly thickened. Don't boil.

3. Combine egg yolks, 1/2 cup of sugar, and 1/2 cup of cream in a bowl. Whisk.

4. Whisk 1/2 cup of the milk mixture into the egg mixture above. Whisk. Combine both mixtures. Pour into saucepan. Cook and stir for 4-6 minutes. DON'T BOIL. Add vanilla. Refrigerate for 3-24 hours (until cold).

5. Pour custard into ice cream canister. Mix. Add the reserved peach mixture (step 1) after about 15-20 minutes (when nearly frozen).

6. Transfer mix to freezer until firm.

Does anyone else make homemade ice cream? Any tips or suggestions?

Places to Go (Vacation) - Hiking Italy's Amalfi Coast, Part 2 - Atrani and Ravello

I finally have more Italy pics to share . . .

On the second day of our vacation we hiked from Amafli to Atrani (which is right next door). The main reason we decided to use a travel agency (rather than plan it ourselves) was that On Foot Holidays provides detailed direction on how to hike to each destination while avoiding major roads (the secondary reason was they provided baggage transfer, thus allowing me to massively overpack). The directions proved invaluable as cities are often linked by series of alleys and stairways, giving everything a maze-like quality. Our days felt like scavenger hunts as we climbed through narrow walkways. And as I labored on, out of breath after going up for hours, we'd eventually come across some 60+ year old Italian woman practically bouncing from stair to stair.



After checking out Atrani, with its beautiful church and piazza, we started the hike uphill to the mountaintop town of Ravello, which contained a gorgeous sculpture garden, a wonderful church (I learned that basically every town houses a breathtaking church) and hoards of tourists (beauty comes with a price).



After battling Ravello's crowds, we lunched in the (super) small village of Pontone and then hiked to the ruins of a fifteenth century castle, Tore dello Ziro, where, rumor has it, the Duchess of Amalfi, was murdered along with her two young sons. Sadness. On the upside, the views are fantastic.



Odd to see all the towns gradually become smaller and smaller and then grow large again during the long, long downhill climbs (oh, my poor toes).



Eventually, we made our way back down to Atrani, where mojitos and cold beers refreshed us as we people-watched in the piazza and contemplated a day well spent.

Places to Go - Madame Tussauds (Washington DC)

The problem with Groupon is that though I'm always SO EXCITED when one comes up for something I've wanted to try, after I purchase it weeks pass and what seemed like a fantastic adventure becomes just another obligation. Two weeks ago we realized that our half-price deal for Madame Tussauds was about to expire, so, despite having tired children and feeling somewhat exhausted ourselves from hosting a neighborhood solstice party the night before, we rallied.

On the upside, Madame Tussauds was a pretty cool place for learning about US History. Each and every one of the US Presidents has been recreated in wax, and next to each statue a wall plaque lists highlights from each administration (several touch screen computers also help you learn more about them). Odd to see how tall/short some of these famous men were, also somewhat overwhelming to realize HOW MANY presidents have come and gone. Interspersed with our nation's leaders are certain key historical figures and a few interactive displays (T, in particular, loved wearing a helmet and practicing trench warfare). I found the whole thing somewhat impressive, but the children mostly ran from room to room (in order to get your money's worth, I'd suggest going with children 8 or older).

While I found the life-like-ness of the statues both creepy and amazing (seriously, I kept touching them to see if they'd move), P complained that she "thought we were going to a wax museum." So I replied, "but this is a wax museum, honey, that's what is so impressive, all these people are actually made of wax." To which P replied, "I know but that's SO BORING, I thought they'd be all white and ghost-like, like candles. These statues look like real people. And real people are boring." Um, apparently my children are hard to impress.

The museum is pretty small, so it didn't take long to reach the celebrity section. I thought my kids would find this awesome, but, unfortunately they didn't recognize a single celebrity (how is this possible? I subscribe to US Weekly). Brad Pitt, Britney Spears, Tom Cruise, THE BEATLES, Rihanna - Nada. Massive failure. But fortunately, just when I realized that my kids have no pop culture knowledge (where was Katie Perry? I NEEDED Katie Perry), T found Stephen Colbert. All of a sudden they started yelling, "daddy, daddy, he's here!! That guy you love! He's HERE!!". As you can tell, Stephen is sort of a BIG DEAL in our house.

The museum ends in a candy store, which made me cranky. Admission was pricey enough (even at 50% off), I didn't feel up to a battle over sugary souvenirs. And when I say candy store, I don't just mean a few chocolate bars, I mean a decently-sized bulk-candy store. Ugh.

All in all, a fun (though small) place to learn about history (though probably best for older kids), so if you're looking for a unique way to celebrate the 4th, this might be it. Admission costs vary, click here for the info (apparently, if you're local to the DC area, online admission is always 50% off, WTF Groupon??).

Whatever your plans are for the 4th, I hope you have a wonderful holiday!!



T became a soldier, P became president, and F bonded with the founder of the girl scouts (despite not being a girl scout herself).



T and I landed on the moon for awhile. We're cool like that.



T had no interest in Lincoln, but Stephen Colbert was quite a big deal.

Things to Make - Firework Painting

The 4th of July seemed to sneak up on us this year. Last week we were still celebrating days without school, when I suddenly realized our nation's birthday was right around the corner. So, in order to generate some holiday spirit, we painted fireworks (idea via my pinterest summer files).

Here's the scoop: (materials - pipe cleaners, paint, dark colored construction paper, glitter (optional), and oil pastels or crayons)

1. Ask the kids to draw a night skyline onto a piece of dark construction paper (we used oil pastels, but crayons would also work).

2. Take four pipe cleaners, fold them in half, twist the bottom portion to create a handle, and then fan the ends to make a star shape (click this awesome blog for more detailed instructions).

3. Add paint (and/or glitter).

4. Create.

(Note - If you don't have any pipe cleaners, you can also use cut toilet paper rolls for a similar effect).

T absolutely LOVED this project, he painted and painted and painted. The girls created a few fireworks and then decided they'd rather avoid the mess and just draw their explosions, which was fine too. I just wanted some seasonal art to decorate the kitchen.

Places to Go - Smithsonian Folklife Festival (Washington DC)

This weekend, we made our first trip ever to the FREE!! Smithosonian Folklife Festival on the National Mall. And I have to say, I was REALLY IMPRESSED. Immediately upon arriving (after a super hot walk in the glaring sun), we stumbled into the family activities tent, on one side of which a man taught people how to speak Celtic ("cool!" I exclaimed, "not cool!" exclaimed my children), on the other side, multiple stamps allowed children to create words in lost languages. Coloring sheets of endangered alphabets and blank postcards for decorating were also available. My kids quickly got to work, while I explored the tent's banners and signs. A huge map on the wall asked people to contribute (through post it notes) stories of words and phrases from other languages that do not translate well into English. I loved reading all the quirky/sad/funny stories. After A LOT of coloring, I finally convinced my children to leave the tent and explore further.

So we: checked out yurts, listened to some live music (the festival has 8 DIFFERENT TENTS set up for music, dancing, and discussions, all of which host back to back events from 11am - 5pm, so at any given time, it's practically impossible to not find something interesting to watch), watched a man and women carve from wood and stone, and played various different instruments in the Garifuna tent.

Eventually, we made our way into the Hungarian section of the festival, where several sets of stilts and lawn games awaited us. P spent about thirty minutes attempting to master the stilts (she could have stayed there all day), while F painted a wall and learned about weaving. Then we checked out two different sets of Hungarian dancers (one in the barn and one in the Heritage House). We could have stayed all day, but, unfortunately, a storm was moving in (does anyone else feel as if it's ALWAYS raining in DC this summer?). So we headed back to the car, without having time to check out the Will to Adorn Section. Though hopefully we'll be back soon, because there's still SO MUCH to see and do.

The Folklife Festival runs from 10 am to 6 pm, Wednesday July 3rd - Sunday, July 7th. Admission is FREE!! Click here for a schedule of events and more information (there's also an app).



The yurts fascinated my kids.



Hungarians know how to throw a party.



No trip to the National Mall would be complete without a carousel ride and some-sort of bright-colored (probably awful for you) frozen treat from a street vendor.