The Izzy Scoop, topped with an Itty Bitty. Photo courtesy Izzy’s Ice Cream.

Move over, sprinkles: There’s a better ice cream topping in town—at least, if your town is Minneapolis or St. Paul.

There, Izzy’s Ice Cream, an artisan scoop shop, has a repertoire of 150 flavors. And the good news is, you can try two at a time without filling up.

That’s because Izzy’s pioneered The Izzy Scoop with the Itty Bitty, a mini, 3/4-ounce scoop on top of the regular scoop. It was conceived 12 years ago as a way to enable customers to enjoy a second flavor, perhaps exploring a new flavor, while providing a little something extra.

While the concept is trademarked, you can use it at home without licensing the idea. The company explains, “Izzy’s Ice Cream would love to see the Izzy Scoop take off and become an option for ice cream lovers all over, as long as credit is given to Izzy’s.”

You can also create a multiple of Itty Bittys with this tiny scoop, which creates even ittier Itty Bittys, just half a tablespoon’s worth.
  

Round and tart, it is erroneously thought of as a green tomato; and is called a husk tomato, a Mexican tomato and other names.

Tomatillos were a staple of Maya and Aztec cuisines. They are still enjoyed today in chili, enchiladas, gazpacho, guacamole, salsa verde and tostadas, among other specialties.
 
 
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TOMATOES & TOMATILLOS

While both tomatoes and tomatillos originated in Latin America (the tomato in Peru and the tomatillo in Central America), they are second cousins. They share a botanical family, Solanaceae (the Nightshade family), but belong to different genuses.

 
 
COOKING WITH TOMATILLOS

It’s very easy to cook with tomatillos: They don’t need to be peeled or seeded. Their texture is firm when raw, but soften when cooked.

You can incorporate tomatillos in different ways:

[2] It’s easy to see why people confuse tomatillos with cherry tomatoes (photo © ).

[3] One of the easiest ways to enjoy tomatillos: Make salsa verde. Here’s a recipe from Domenica Cooks. She serves it with seared sea scallops (photo © Domenica Cooks).

[4] Chef Missy Robbins combines salsa verde with anchovies, bread and butter. Here’s the recipe from her cookbook, Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner…Life (photo © Rizzoli Publishing).

WHERE TO START?

RECIPE: SALSA VERDE

For an easy salsa verde, remove the papery tomatillo husks and roast the tomatillos for a few minutes.

Then, blend with lime, cilantro and green chiles to taste.

You can use salsa verde on just about any savory dish, and of as a snack with chips raw vegetables.

Turn it into a creamy dip with a bit of sour cream or plain yogurt.
 
 
MORE TOMATILLO RECIPES

 
 
> THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SALSA

We drink it at the trade show where we first discovered it; and we do buy it online. A 4-bottle package that’s $12.00 has a shipping cost of $4.95.

And we think it’s worth it. But we want to drink so much Blossom Water, that the shipping charges quickly add up. (Blossom Water folks: Can you put the product on Amazon so we can at least use Amazon Prime?)

Perhaps by publishing a rave review, some retailers will take notice. So here it is:

WHY DO WE LOVE BLOSSOM WATER?

The flavors are perfectly blended:

Lemon Rose Blossom Water. Photo courtesy Blossom Water.

The flavors taste exactly as they sound: like a delicious sip of nature. We love each flavor as is, so we haven’t considered adding gin, which itself is made with botanicals that would complement those in Blossom Water.

We’ll get around to it; but for 45 calories for an entire bottle of heaven, we’re not in a rush to add more calories.

The beautifully-designed bottles are also ready to serve as party favors.

OK, men: You think it’s a chick product. But it’s a beverage for anyone whose palate seeks exciting new flavors.

The only solution: Taste it for yourself.

Discover more at DrinkBlossomWater.com, and ask your specialty store manager or supermarket beverage manager to bring some in. They, too, will never know until they try.

But chilled fruit soups are great summer desserts, and they couldn’t be easier to make. Just toss the ingredients into a blender or food processor, whirl, and it’s ready to serve.

RECIPE: CHILLED BLUEBERRY BANANA SOUP

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
Preparation

Blueberry soup: pretty in purple. Photo courtesy BlueberryCouncil.org.

1. COMBINE 2 cups of the blueberries, the banana, ice, milk, frozen yogurt, sugar and lemon juice in blender.

2. PROCESS until smooth. Divide equally into four bowls.

3. GARNISH with the remaining blueberries and frozen yogurt or ice cream.
 
Find more delicious blueberry recipes at BlueberryCouncil.org.

A fruit soup can be made from fresh or dried fruits and served hot or cold. It can be served as a first course or for dessert. It also can be an intermezzo or palate cleanser between fish and meat courses.

Cold soups tend to be made with seasonal fruit and are thus served in warmer weather. Soups made of dried fruits, such as Norwegian fruktsuppe, made of raisins and prunes, can be served hot or cold in any season.

 
Check out the history of soup and the different types of soup in our Soup Glossary.

Lettuce wraps are a fun, interactive course for lunch or dinner. You can wrap up any boneless protein in a lettuce leaf; or make it a vegetarian dish, using anything from tofu or seitan to stir-fried vegetables.

While the recipe below is so easy it can be made on weekdays, it’s also festive for Labor Day weekend. The secret is pre-cooked Tony Roma’s Boneless Ribs (other brands sell a similar product).

The meaty ribs ready to heat and eat. You can heat them on the grill, in the oven or in the microwave. The ribs are sold at Sam’s Club and other retailers nationwide.

The other tasks are simply to wash the lettuce, make a quick Asian slaw and set out the sauces. If you want to cut back on the number of sauces, just pick the one everyone will like (we recommend hoisin*). Whatever you choose should be thick, so it doesn’t dribble out of the wrap.

WHAT ARE BONELESS RIBS?

Boneless ribs, also called country-style pork ribs or or pork shoulder country-style ribs, are thick strips of meat cut from the pig’s shoulder. They come from a cut called the pork shoulder steak; so they are not actually from the rib cage, but look like the meat removed from a rib. They are marinated and seasoned before cooking.

Boneless ribs, also called pork loin country-style ribs, can be cut from the shoulder blade as well. They can be sold bone-in, but the bone is usually to make them boneless.
 

RECIPE: BONELESS RIB LETTUCE WRAPS

Since the ribs are pre-cooked, prep time is just 15 minutes; cook time is 15 minutes.

Ingredients For 4 Servings

 
For The Slaw