Back From the Abyss

Well that was certainly a longer break than I'd expected to take!  Getting married, going abroad and then a series of small trips out town completely upset every routine I had (possibly the reason the whole thing has been so fun, everyone needs a break from themselves now and again, no?), blogging included, and it's taken me this long to get back into the grove.

You are perhaps interested in a few wedding photos?  As am I my friend, as am I.  But alas, our photographer is still working away on them, so you will have to wait just a bit (I hope) longer to see me and Paul in all our glory (and we were indeed glorious) in front of the altar of Old Saint Patrick's Cathedral.

But to tide you over, tomorrow I'll start to fill you in on our Indian honeymoon, which, for those in possession of a Y chromosome, is probably the more interesting part anyway.

In the meantime, a few things I'm borderline obsessed with these days:

1)  My new ice cream maker.

A birthday gift from my parents, it has become my new favorite toy.  Small and compact, easy to use, it gives me fabulous frozen treats in less time than it takes to run to the good supermarket in my neighborhood.  I'm particularly partial to Darina Allen's recipe for yogurt ice cream, which is a dead ringer (but better and far cheaper...how is this stuff $5 for a small serving!) for the tart frozen yogurts that seem to be taking over Manhattan.  2 cups of yogurt, 3/4 cups of sugar (or to taste) and a teaspoon of vanilla whisked together and thrown in the ice cream maker for 30 minutes is just about the best thing you can hope for on a hot day.

2)  TOMS shoes

I have to admit I always looked at these shoes with a bit of a smirk.  I mean it's admirable that for each pair sold a shoeless person somewhere else gets shod, but it was all a little too hippie for me, plus who wants to wear canvas slippers around all day?  But in a flurry of buying activity in the few hours between our wedding and our flight to India, I grabbed a couple of pairs in Whole Foods.  I needed some comfy shoes for the trip that wouldn't make me too hot but also wouldn't expose my delicate feet to the mean Indian streets, and these were the best thing I could come up with.  Turns out there's a reason these things are so popular.  Super comfortable!  Surprisingly supportive!  And not as ugly on the foot as you might think!

3)  Popsicles

OK, not a newfangled thing I realize, I mean my mom was making these for me and my sister twenty years ago.  But they seem to be having a resurgence and I predict they will follow cupcakes and french macarons as the next old/new hip thing.  After tasting Fany Gerson's pineapple lime popsicle from a stand on the Highline recently, I cannot wait to get my hands on her book.

Anyone know of a good popsicle mold I could buy?  Or maybe the recipes would work as sorbet if I dumped them in my trusty Cuisinart?