By Lynn Fredericks author of Cooking Time Is Family Time

Kids Meal Home

Lynn Fredericks gives new meaning to the ABC’s: Each installment will focus on a new ingredient beginning with the next letter of the alphabet. I is for ice cream features recipes, fun and family activities with ice cream.

is for ice cream

Big and small kids alike can hardly resist the appeal of cool, sweet and slurpy ices and ice creams any time of year. These days, the flavor varieties are staggering. So many cultures have adopted this American treat, you can find exotic flavors that stretch the lexicon of edible ingredients: litchi, coconut and tamarind, plus red bean and green tea. If you live in a city or town with ethnic markets, check them out for new and unfamiliar flavors.

Of course, if you have an ice cream maker, nothing's more exciting than making your own ice cream. Homemade ice creams can benefit from the wealth of farm fresh produce: cherries, nectarines, plums, peaches, blueberries, raspberries, apples and pears, depending on the season. But if you don't have a maker, you're still in luck. You can make a slushy Italian granité, with nothing more than a freezer, metal spoon and a pan filled with a delectable homemade flavored syrup.

Your family can also make fruit smoothies with a kick of ice cream or sorbet to make them more silken, rich and refreshing. Following are recipes for a wealth of ice cream-based treats as well as some of my kids' favorites.


Let’s Cook!

Recipe Menu List

• Watermelon Granité
• Basic Fruit Smoothie and Variations
• Fruit Cobbler with Vanilla Ice Cream

Check out other recipes that bring the whole family together:

Cooking Time is Family Time: Cooking Together,
Eating Together, and Spending Time Together
by Lynn Fredericks, William Morrow & Co., August, 1999

In COOKING TIME IS FAMILY TIME, Lynn Fredericks shows people how they can improve the time they spend with kids by inviting them into the kitchen to help prepare meals.

Included are 125 recipes emphasizing a variety of fresh, healthful ingredients and strategies to get kids to gobble them down. Each recipe offers directions that specify which steps are right for younger kids and which are more challenging for their older siblings.

Lynn Fredericks’ thoughts on feeding her children

--Buy This Book