Tidying up sounds terribly dull. But "Tidying Up" is totally hot. It's a best-seller, written by a rock star of a tidier, who spent her school days sneaking out of recess to organize the mop cupboard. This girl turns tidy to tonic. (Its full title: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing.)
I flipped the pages gingerly, one brow hoisted. Did I seriously need to toss my clothes, my books, my papers? Did I need to clear out komono -- or detritus? I kinda like detritus. The bold print insisted: Keep only things that spark joy. Soon I was bagging up underused dresses and unread books. Soon I was feeling the tonic effects of tidy.
Then I turned to "Sentimental items: Your parents' home is not a haven for mementos." The adult who has yet to clear out her girlhood room, chides author Marie Kondo, is no adult. My hands turned icy. Maybe I needed to go to Iowa to sort some serious komono. Maybe I'd stop at the State Fair for an icy lemon shake-up. Maybe together the clean room and cold drink would shake up some serious joy.
Iowa State Fair Shake-Up
About 4 cups ice cubes
1 lemon, scrubbed
1 pint lemon sorbet
1 pint vanilla ice cream
6 ounces (1/2 can) frozen lemonade concentrate
3/4 cup vodka, optional (see note)
Using the blender or food processor, grind cubes down to 3 cups finely crushed ice.
Slice lemon into eighths. Discard obvious seeds, but don't fret if you miss some as they'll give the shake-up gritty authenticity. Toss the lemon chunks -- skin, pith, fruit and all -- into the blender along with the crushed ice.
Scoop in sorbet, ice cream, lemonade concentrate and vodka, if applicable. Blend good and slushy.
Heap shake-up into 4 (8-ounce) plastic cups. Sip. Slurp. Smile.
Makes 4 servings.
Note: If you're working ahead and dose the drink with vodka, you can cover the filled cups with plastic and store them in the freezer -- shake-ups will stay slushy. If you've omitted the vodka, best to enjoy the shake-ups right away.
Food on 08/26/2015