Since the covid-19 crisis seemed to turn crazy-real on Friday the 13th, a lot of people pointed out that it basically ruined Jason Voorhees’ special day. As someone with a mid-March birthday, it wreaked a little havoc on mine too.
I’m all about following the rules of social distancing, so parties and dining out aren’t options right now. And the world has shifted enough that that doesn’t seem like a very big deal? Anyway, Barbie had the perfect recipe to lift my spirits even if it didn’t come with its own little frame story. (The frame stories are my favorite part of the book.) If her party was half as good as her birthday punch, I bet it was really fun.
Barbie’s Birthday Punch
Ingredients:
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- 2 parts grape juice
- 2 parts pineapple juice
- 3 parts ginger ale
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Chill the grape and pineapple juices. Mix all three and pour over ice. Serve immediately. (That’s it. That’s the whole recipe.)
-Adapted from Barbie’s Easy-As-Pie Cookbook
Extra Tips:
- I used much smaller amounts than Barbie called for, naturally as I was having a party of two
- I used 100% juices rather than blends and a really gingery ginger ale. The end result had a really nice sweetness that wasn’t cloying or fakey
- John thinks the recipe calls for Vodka. We have plenty of the ingredients left, so we’ll be trying that experiment soon.
Final Thoughts:
Barbie’s Birthday punch just tastes good. It’s purple, it’s fizzy, and it feels like a kid’s drink, which seems like the right vibe for a birthday meal.
I still feel cheated out of a Barbie story though. Maybe I can write my own…
“Oh mother, it’s just awful. That nice teacher, stuck at home on her birthday.” Barbie sighed and let her chin sink into her hands.
“Sit up straight, Barbie dear,” chided her mother, “And don’t touch your face.”
Barbie gasped and reached for the hand sanitizer before resuming her gloomy aspect. Suddenly, a light appeared in her eyes, “I know!” She cried leaping from her chair, “Mother, do we still have the things we used to make my special birthday punch? It’s so festive; it would even make an ordinary dinner at home feel like a party!”
“Why, I believe there are some cans left.” Barbie’s mother mused, “But we certainly can’t go visiting…”
“No, but I can put the cans into a nice bag with a handle and leave it at her doorstep. Surely that’s allowed!”
“I suppose…” Her mother mused, thoughtfully. “Yes, I suppose that would be ok.”
Barbie chattered happily as she placed cans of ginger ale and juice into a shopping tote. “And I can still wave hello and call happy birthday from the sidewalk, can’t I?”
Full disclosure, I’ve been binge reading Cynthia Lawrence’s other Barbie books (Yes, she wrote more! Way more than just the cookbook!) so this style of narrative is pretty well lodged in my head right now.
Also, one of my friends did deliver some birthday sweets, leaving them at the doorstep and waving from the sidewalk. So while it was a low key birthday, it didn’t feel ruined at all. I even got some more cooking adventures in. It’s not Barbie inspired, but would anyone be interested in hearing about a Swedish sandwich cake? Because that also happened!
Friendship Club! 