I have casually rolled my eyes and silently scoffed at the woes of fellow Seattle dwellers who have complained about the heat. I may not have joined in this pitty party before because I have been sitting comfortably in a cool-climate controlled basement while we are still in house-hunting/buying transition.
But lately my compliance with this uncommon weather has changed. I’m freaking hot. Not to mention sticky, sweaty and ready for a cool breeze so that the thought of turning on my oven doesn’t cause an instant sweat.
On a recent trip to Goodwill I struck gold. I walked out of that store with my head held high and a shave ice maker that cost me a whopping buck fifty. I knew I had found something special but little did I know how much joy and refreshment this little hand-crank machine could produce.
Now I know you might not be as lucky as I to have such a device – so really this post becomes quite useless. But for the small percentage of you who do own such a machine – first of all we should start a club (we can work on a name later). Secondly, you’re welcome.
And for the rest of you – run to Goodwill now and maybe you too will mine such a treasure or you could check here or here and if those options don’t sound appealing simply gaze, drool and I won’t tell if you get caught licking your screen.
On this particular day I made a Strawberry Balsamic snow cone. Resisting the standard cloyingly sweet processed syrups I opted for the homemade variety. Using one of my many jars of homemade strawberry jam I added the contents of the jar plus a touch of water to a medium sauce pan. That simmered for a few moments until nice and saucy. The jam/syrup was then strained and cooled. The balsamic vinegar was reduced to the consistency of syrup that coated the back of a spoon like a thin Spring jacket – the kind that are more for ‘look’ than actual practicality.
So there you have it, a delicious but useless – unless you have the machine – recipe that gets two little but eager thumbs up from my official taster of all things sweet.
PDF 
9 Comments
Dear God,
Thank you for the gift of culinary mad skills you have blessed Ashley with and the inspiration behind this crazy shaved iced concoction.
Amen.
PS: Please also inspire her to one day make a batch of this and bring it to me.. because sharing with friends spreads her gift to the masses.
What a good buy! I want one now…
I can’t stop drooling over the last photo! Too delicious.
…And you’ve got to have that strawberry jam! That and raspberry!
That sounds delicious! I kinda wish I had an ice shaver now. It’s so hot these days I know exactly what you mean. I’ve been getting by on raw veggies and fruit and ice cream these past few days.
…Holy Moly does that ever look good! An ice shaver machine – I would’ve never gave that a second thought, now I want one! lol…
…Blessings…
)
Thrift stores here suck- or maybe I just have coincidentally gone to all the bad ones. I can’t wait to come and dig through some of the old haunts. That looks really delicious!
adore these photos, and now really want to try out this shaved ice.
What a unique and delicious looking dessert! I can’t wait to try this.
This … this is downright cruel. I don’t have one of these machines, and knowing what a fickle mistress the Goodwill is, I doubt I ever will.
However, since we both enjoy thrift shops and dessert, and my secret to baking is “add salt”, I think WE should form a club.
Enjoy your site. Thank you.