Yoo-Hoo Shake-Its!

Last weekend, we traveled back to my childhood home to visit. I don't get back often, so when I do, it's like being bathed in memories. There is a story for every person I meet and landmark I see. So many stories to tell Elli some day, about 4H, and big yards for playing baseball and cruising Main Street on Friday night, and riding in the Sierra with Papa drinking Yoo-Hoo. Mmmm, Yoo-Hoo. Seems like my childhood hometown sells it in every convenience store. My mom used to ask me, "Why do you drink chocolate water?" I never had an answer besides, "It's 99% fat free." I drank two Yoo-Hoos in 24 hours during our visit, savoring every taste. I began to think what a shame it is that Yoo-Hoo is not used more often in recipes (at least, in recipes outside of bars). So, I decided to do something about that. Elli agreed to help. If you are a fellow Yoo-Hoo-ligan, join us in raising a glass of... Yoo-Hoo Shake-Its 1 cup plain vanilla frozen yogurt 1 15 oz bottle Yoo-Hoo, chilled Place both ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth and frothy. Drink. Enjoy. As soon as the carton of frozen yogurt hit the counter, Elli was clammoring for a bite. "Ice ceem, wit spoon," she said. "We're going to scoop the ice cream out and put it in the blender." "Wit spoon." "Yes, with a spoon." We scooped out the frozen yogurt, dropped it in a Pyrex measuring cup, then dumped it into the blender. Elli promptly reached in after it. "Wait a second," I said. "We need to add the Yoo-Hoo." Elli stopped in her tracks as if I were speaking a foreign language. 'Yoo-wha?' her little face said. I held up the bottle with the unmistakable bright yellow label. "This is Yoo-Hoo. It's chocolate. We're going to pour it on top of the ice cream." She nodded, reaching for the bottle. "Open?" "Well, we need to do one thing first." I pointed to the red lettering on the top of the bottle. "Do you know what that says?" She examined it closely. "It says 'Shake it.' And that's what we need to do. We need to shake it up." I handed her the bottle. "Go for it, big girl. Shake, shake, shake." She giggled, clasped the bottle and shook with all her might. "Excellent. Couldn't have done it better myself." I popped off the lid and together we poured the contents of the bottle into the blender. "Time to push the button. Would you like to do the honors?" She did. The blender whirled, and I anticipated our first taste of this yummy treat. "Let's have a taste, yes?" "Yes." I poured a littel into a small mug for her and a regular mug for myself. Elli immediately gathered up her mug and sucked in a taste. I waited with bated breath. Would the treat really be as good as I had built it up in my mind? Would the ice cream drown out the flavor of the Yoo-Hoo? Her assessment (watch video): My little sous chef was exactly right; it did need more frozen yogurt. I needed not worry about the ice cream overpowering a chocolate drink that has 52 grams of sugar per 15 ounces. A little bit more frozen yogurt did the trick. We clinked cups and toasted with a hardy "Yoo-Hoo!" Overall Yoo-Hoo Shake-Its Ratings (5 being the best): Elli-friendly cooking: 5 Elli-friendly eating: 5 Simple: 5 Fast: 5 Frugal: 5

Question of the Week: Let's take a vote. Who likes Yoo-Hoo?