When Life Gives You Yellow #5

Note: Fans of Barefoot Contessa cookbooks, stay tuned. I have a tip.

But first, as some of you may know, my family made the switch to whole foods several years ago, and we do our best to avoid processed foods, especially those containing corn syrup, dyes and preservatives, as my son is sensitive to those ingredients.

Last week we experienced some balmy spring days, and one evening after supper, my daughter mentioned Popsicles, and for the rest of the evening, I could not get Popsicles out of my head, they sounded so good. So off to the grocery store we went, in search of Popsicles, sans yellow #5, per my sons request.

Now it is difficult to find Popsicles with no corn syrup and no dyes in them. Edy's Lemon Fruit Bars are one choice, but of course, the first store we visited was out of them. The second store, Walmart, had popsicles in the literal sense: they were colorful and frozen, but all had corn syrup, artificial flavorings, and Yellow #5 in them. Finally, in exasperation and desperation for something lemony and icy to eat, I grabbed a bag of organic lemons, breezed through the self checkout, and came home and told my son, When life gives you Yellow #5, you make lemonade.

While my son went to work on the lemons, we encountered our second dilemma, finding a recipe. Most people can go buy any ol' Popsicle and be on with their lives, but us, nooooo, it's never that easy. I had decided to make fresh, slushy homemade lemonade in place of the ersatz store bought popsicles - and I knew somewhere in my vast Barefoot collection there was a recipe - but which cookbook? Last count, I had six Barefoot Contessa cookbooks. Finally, after searching through five books, all with the word Barefoot in the title (my husband keeps asking, when is there going to be a Barefoot and Pregnant? He thinks he's funny) I found the recipe on page 32, ironically, of The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. I whipped it up in the blender in no time and it was the perfect treat. I made sure to mark it with a Post-It note this time, as I am certain to come back to this one.

Finally to the good part, the tip.

Did you know there's a complete printable index of all Ina's recipes, including page numbers and names of cookbooks, on the Barefoot Contessa website? I just discovered this, and all I can say is, Thank you, Ina! I will be using her cookbooks even more now. It will make the process of finding a particular recipe much, much easier. It's the best thing since sliced Pissaladiere, Barefoot in Paris, page 57.

Well, as you can see, I'm an Ina fan. Try as I might, I cannot resist her cookbooks or her show. I wonder what her next cookbook will be about. She seems to have such cool friends that play an important part in her show, perhaps she should do a book titled Barefoot With Friends. Ina, are you listening?

What's your idea for an Ina cookbook?