Something like Orange Julius

One of my earliest memories is of being in the Vancouver airport with my grandmother. I must have been about three years old. I don't remember who we were there to meet (or send off) but I do remember that she bought me an Orange Julius when we were there. It sure must have made an impact at the time, because it is the iconic drink of awesomeness in my addled brain. I remember trying it again about 20 years later (some wait, eh?) at a mall somewhere, but it just didn't measure up somehow. Maybe they changed the recipe or something. But you can imagine the upwelling of anticipation when I stumbeld across an "orange slush" recipe in the back of a Fine Cooking magazine (issue 51) whose ingredients looked like they would churn out a reasonable approximation of what I remembered from that airport so long ago. And churn they did -- this may not scream out "Vintage Orange Julius!" to you, but it sure does to me. It's quick and easy and utterly awesome. Give it a try and see what I mean!

You'll need a can (they aren't exactly cans anymore, but you know what I mean) of orange juice concentrate, 1 cup of milk, 3 tablespoons of sugar, 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla, and some ice cubes (the recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups, but just try to measure that).

Put the milk, sugar, vanilla, and orange juice concentrate in a blender and combine it all on medium-low speed for a few seconds.

Then crank the blender up to high, open the drop tube, and drop your ice cubes in there one by one while the juice is whirring around. After the last ice cube, let it blend for a sec until the mixture is nice and smooth.

Serve up to your expectant crowd (this recipe makes about 4 glasses worth, and straws are a must) and see if you can make a memory too. Cheers!