Seriously? A recipe for ice cubes? This made me laugh when my friend Len sent this to me last week, but the point is well taken. How many of us don’t have an ice maker in the fridge, either at home or at work? I do use ice cube trays on a regular basis to create fruit cubes for smoothies, to use up the almond milk I love so much so it doesn’t go to waste, and for just about anything from leftover broths and sauces that can be used for extra flavor at another time. It’s a great idea for leftover coffee or tea, when you want a chilled drink instead of hot, and you don’t lose flavor with diluted water from the cubes.

   I can remember the old metal trays with that oh-so-easy to use handle to flip them out. Enough freezer burns and fingers stuck to the tray for a long time. I just buy the ones from the dollar stores and they work just fine. We like our drinks cold with ice, cubed or crush, but that’s not the case in other countries according to Smithsonian.com.  One of their food bloggers commented that Russian friends of hers never use ice in a drink. They think it’s either a) dirty water or b) taking up valuable real estate in that glass that could best be used for more vodka.

   For whatever reason, I think there are probably ice aficionado’s out there that will always prefer distilled water in a tray versus what might come through the water line, filtered or not. Or know that there's a fine art to creating just the right cube to compliment your drink. I like my ice maker. I like my trays and my creative cubes. How about you?!

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM KELLY’S KITCHEN

I used to jog but the ice cubes kept falling out of my glass – David Lee Roth