cereal milk

when we were kids, we "invented" an ice cream dessert called kashi.
i am not certain but think that my oldest sister created it and my father somehow named it (no connection to the 1980's cereal and snack manufacturer).
whatever the inspiration and meaning, the name stuck.

the "recipe" consisted of a bowl of ice cream and a spoon and lots of muscle power.
after letting a few scoops of ice cream soften a bit in a dish, each of us (4 kids in total) would stir and stir and stir until the ice cream consistency changed to that of a creamy custard.

stir some more and you could achieve "soup" but true kashi was the perfect compromise and delicious.
sometimes we added sprinkles or a touch of chocolate syrup and stirred some more before slurping up the whole concoction.

i have not thought about kashi for years but when i went to visit Christina Tosi's newest Milk Bar in Chelsea early last Saturday, i ventured to try her "cereal milk" soft serve and had a vivid memory of kashi the instant the ice cream touched my tongue.

"it tastes exactly like it should," i told the smiling server on the opposite side of the shiny aluminum counter and he nodded in recognition.

cereal milk soft serve.  what a concept!

even better, Chef Christina was in the house!
she happily personalized my Milk Bar Life cookbook while we chatted about Master Chef Junior, me boldly commending her style of judging and she carefully noting the fine balance it takes to have fun but also to be firm with the kids, keeping them serious and focused on the cooking tasks at hand.
"We are filming again now!" she shared.

as we spoke, a pint size groupie entered the store and grinned from ear to ear upon spying Christina.
a selfie session ensued and i slipped into the sunshine outside with my soft serve creation.

"Deborah, great meeting you," the inscription in my book read. "Never underestimate the power of a salt and pepper cookie."

i spent my rainy Sunday reading said recipe and others from the book and more importantly, nibbling on compost cookies also snagged on my sweet Saturday spree.

Christina Tosi, founder Milk Bar....
cookbook photos copyright Gabriele Stabile
www.milkbarstore.com