Blushing Pink Soda

The Betty Crocker Recipe Card Library is divided into several sections. Seasonal Favorites, American Classics, Entertaining on a Shoestring, International Favorites and so many more. One such category is called Recipes Children Can Make, and I had initially thought to start with that section. If it was a recipe meant for a child to make, surely I could have success, too. I had, after all, taken a home-ec class, albeit some thirty years ago. I had, after all, cooked and prepared foods to some extent. I had, after all, watched a lot of cooking shows. That's knowledge and experience gained, friends.

Card number one isn't a recipe, but rather some useful general kitchen tips about measuring, safety, and good manners in the kitchen. It provides excellent tips such as wear an apron, wash your hands, and read the recipe all the way through (good call, lesson learned the hard way here). It also says to ask you mother when you can try these recipes and to be sure your mother is in the kitchen when you cook. We can leave this gender stereotype in the past, but generally speaking, having an adult around is probably a pretty good idea.

When I first lived on my own and had culinary questions, I'd call my own mother or my aunt or my cousin asking random things like, "How exactly do you make mashed potatoes?" or "Do you use milk or water in tomato soup and which is best?" or "Can you please just make me some cookies?" They were all very kind and obliging. I had a few cookbooks, sure, but no computer or internet access at home. One of my cookbooks contained recipes all based on pre-packaged ramen noodles, one was a tome of vegetarian recipes often requiring kitchen tools I didn't have such as an expensive food processor (I didn't even have a cheap blender), and another vegetarian one with ingredient lists a mile long with specialty items I couldn't find in the local grocery store.

So, yes, whether a mother, father, aunt, grandpa, your bestie, or Tyrion Lannister, having someone around who knows things is very helpful.

I learned a few things through trial and error, though. For example, I learned a few things about choosing cookbooks:
1. Look for ones (as a single lady) with recipes not geared for a family of six.
2. Look at the ingredients for several different recipes from several sections. Could I get those at the grocery store I frequented or would I have to go across town to the specialty market every time I wanted to make something from the book?
3. Are there twelve million ingredients in each recipe? And of those twelve million, how many would I use for other things going forward? I'm all for trying new things and buying some items outside my wheelhouse, but I was collecting a lot of things I had no idea how to use in anything else. It was a lot of money and material wasted.

(PS one of the first cookbooks I had multiple successes with was
Claire Robinson's Five Ingredient Fix: https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/8266754-5-ingredient-fix
You can find this online or at your local bookstore. I got mine at Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Rookwood. https://www.josephbeth.com/
I measure success not only in how a finished product tastes, but also in if the mental and physical energy required was proportionate to those results. With Claire's recipes, I didn't ever feel exhausted or confused and any amount of work put in was absolutely worth it in the end. Usually, these recipes are approachable with limited, generally accessible ingredients and clear instructions. Would recommend.)

I learned a few other things, too.

I learned that a sharp knife is critical to easy preparation.

I learned about keeping a few pantry staples on hand.

I learned that opening a window is useful for letting the smoke out of the apartment.

I learned that my friend Amy is a really good cook. Like, she doesn't even need recipes. She has a genuine culinary gift. She can imagine something and bring it to fruition. And it's tasty. Back when we lived closer and worked together, she was so nice to give me food. She once made me a breakfast sandwich using veggie sausage, and for the life of me, I had never even considered that I could make a breakfast sandwich until she gave me that one. Thanks, Amy! I still make these sometimes!

I also learned that I mostly liked to eat out.

And so I find myself here, in my forties, debating on if I can make recipes geared for children to prepare.
Card number 2: Chicken drumsticks, oven fried. What kind of kid makes chicken drumsticks oven fried!
Card number 3: Cranberry pancake supper. Pancakes, in my experience, also not easy. Also, not a big fan of pancakes.
Card number 4: Cube Steak Haystacks. Steak! I once tried to boil some beef for my ailing dog and failed. Meat is hard to cut, and apparently thick pieces will cook on the outside pretty quickly and remain raw on the inside. Boiled beef will stink up the house for days, too, apparently. Friends, I really love my dog.

I did not start with Recipes for Children. If you've been following from the beginning, you may recall I started with a salad. I needed to have some success right out of the gate to bolster my self-esteem and motivation.

Finally, I have returned to Recipes for Children with Card #27, Sparkling Sodas. It had three recipes listed and I chose the Blushing Pink Soda.

To kid me, this would be absolutely magical. Strawberry soda with fresh strawberries and pineapple and ice cream and more soda and more ice cream. Sign little Suz up right now!
Adult Suz says this was a fun little treat tasting of nostalgia in the form of fruit flavored soda, which actually tastes nothing like the fruit it claims to represent but is somehow still delightful.
From a visual perspective, I liked the different textural elements which could be seen through the glass goblet. It's fun to drink out of goblets on any occasion, and I highly recommend it.
I followed the recipe as shown, but where it says crushed pineapple and crushed strawberries, I really didn't know what that meant so I wazzed them up in my NutriNinja blender. I think my biggest issue with this wasn't a taste issue, but rather a textural issue. You know how when you get a strawberry milkshake, there are chunks of semi-frozen strawberry jamming up the straw? And then the bits that go through interfere with the smooth creaminess you have become accustomed to? It's like that. The strawberries were fresh, but I took a fair amount of time taking the picture, so I think they froze up a little being on the ice cream. Maybe a little better if I had consumed it right away.

Little Suz would give this 5 Red Spoons because Little Suz really liked junk food and sweets a whole lot.
Adult Suz says 3 Red Spoons for her personal taste, but 4 Red Spoons overall. It was fun and tasty, and I can see where others, especially children, might really enjoy it. Little Suz is evidently a lot more generous with the Red Spoons!