Previous Stories From What's New

With temperatures soaring into the high nineties and the heat index feeling as though the temperature is higher, people are looking for ways to stay cool. At Cherokee Branch Library, customers learned how to make a favorite treat with plastic bags, rock salt, vanilla extract, and some ice cubes.

Ms. Queen Edwards with the Cooperative Extension Program taught participants how to make ice cream with a choice of vanilla or chocolate. In making the ice cream, she demonstrated how the process really can take about five minutes. The children, teens, and adults who participated were posed with questions such as “where does vanilla come from?”

So, how do you make this ice cream? Not sure whether to give away the secret, but it involves two separate plastic zip lock bags, some sugar, some half and half, some vanilla extract, some rock salt, and some ice cubes. Exact measurements weren’t exactly used because Ms. Edwards was all too familiar with the making of the ice cream and free handedly used her ingredients. She did tell all of the willing ice cream making participants that the sugar can be substituted for honey or an artificial sweetener.

Once the ingredients were combined, they were not placed in a freezer to await the mixture to solidify. No – the eager ice cream eaters shook the mixture on top of ice cubes inside of a plastic bag wrapped in newspaper for about five minutes and voila – ice cream was made! It was suggested that while making the ice cream music can be played to which ice cream chefs could do a little jig to help the time pass.

As spoons were passed out, the smiles appeared as the children (and adults) prepared to eat their treat.

The beauty of making what Ms. Edwards introduced as “Ice Cream in a Bag” is the ease of clean up. Once the ice cream is gone, just discard the newspaper and put your ingredients away.

Adult Career and Information Fair is an event for ages 18+. Central Library Meeting Rooms A-C and Gallery, Tuesday, July 17, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Hero2Hired kiosk will be on hand to assist returning military.

This event may be recorded or photographed for use by the Memphis Public Library & Information Center for media, social media, broadcast, and/or print purposes.

For more information, call (901)415-2700.

Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division has announced a Weather-Related Reconnection Program for Residential Customers. For full details visit MLGW's web page.

See Also...

For more ways to take precautions against extreme heat visit the Extreme Heat Emergency page prepared by LINC.

MLGW, Tennessee Valley Authority, and the Memphis Public Library & Information Center are hosting Get EnergySmart @ Your Library workshops.

For more ways to beat the heat in Memphis visit the City of Memphis Beat the Heat web page.