Filed under: Random Foodie Thoughts | Tags: food, food thoughts, ice cream, life, Starbucks
New find.
Makes Mommy happy.
Two spoons a day is my limit.
Love it.
Filed under: Food I Make, Random Foodie Thoughts | Tags: chocolate, chocolate sauce, desserts, family, food, ice cream, life
My sister’s birthday party is at my mother’s house. I asked what I could contribute to the festivities like I usually do. Usually, mother replies, “Nothing. Just bring yourself and the rest of your family.”
This time, she replies, “How about dessert?”
Oh, boy.
Now, those of you who read this random blog know that I choke under pressure. If people are coming over or the recipe may make money for a charity, I will almost always burn it.
We’re talking crispy here.
The dessert for the party isn’t for house guests. Nor is it for charity.
Nope. Worse than that. Family.
Oh, the pressure.
I decide to keep it simple. Simple is good, right? I asked the birthday girl what she wanted, and she told me anything was fine. I asked my family what they were in the mood for, and they replied brownies and banana pudding.
Easy, right?
Sure.
I decided to make brownies out of a box. Check. I bought ice cream, the good kind. A can of the good whipped cream. Fine.
Then, I decide to make a homemade hot fudge sauce to go with the brownies. I’ve had better ideas.
The recipe I was using said to mix water, sugar, and corn syrup. I had no corn syrup, so I just made do. I added the water and sugar together in a small pot, and heated the mixture over high heat as the recipe said. I was supposed to heat it until it turned a light brown color.
Ok. I wasn’t sure how brown the light brown should be.
I learned pretty fast how much too much was.
What I ended up with was a thick, hot, gooey, smokey mess. The smoke detector might have gone off. Maybe. It wasn’t a happy event.
I needed a redo, and I needed the pan, so I poured the sugar-water fiasco in a bowl where it hardened to a dark, dark brown solid.
It took two days to get the hard as a rock stuff out.
I tried the sauce again, and it worked out better.
I added a cup of chopped chocolate chips.
I also got a little fancy and added a real vanilla bean. I sliced it in half and scrapped out the beans just like on tv. So exciting.
The brownies with ice cream, homemade sauce, and whipped cream turned out fine. The banana pudding was also a hit.
And my sister had a nice birthday.
Next year, I’ll volunteer to bring the chips and paper plates.
Filed under: Food I Make, Random Foodie Thoughts | Tags: Cantaloupe ice cream, food, homemade ice cream, ice cream, recipes
Much to my husband’s dismay, the first ice cream of the season is cantaloupe!
I adore ice cream in a hollowed out half of a cantaloupe, so it makes sense to me to put the two together. Plus, we have many, many ice creams to go. This is just the first of many flavors over the course of the spring and summer. Plus, ice cream is pretty cheap to make. If it is terrible, we just toss it out and try again.
His opinion is that all ice cream should be vanilla. Any flavor after that should be up to the ice cream eater later, and any flavor in the ice cream itself is a waste of good ice cream.
Welp. We are eating cantaloupe to start the 2012 ice cream season.
I sliced and diced one whole cantaloupe to start. I thought about smashing up several pieces so that each bite would have a bit of cantaloupe and the ice cream would have chunks as well as bits of cantaloupe. I decided, though, that leaving it chunky makes it easier for husbands who don’t think cantaloupe ice cream is a good idea to pick out the unwanted chunks.
You’re welcome, Mr. Opinionated.
I then added the normal ingredients that I use: a cup of sugar, a tablespoon of vanilla, a can of condensed milk, a cup of whipping cream, and milk to the top.
I poured it in the freezer and let it go to town.
I loved it. The ice cream had a subtle hint of cantaloupe that I liked a lot. The big chunks of cantaloupe were a little too hard to eat since they were frozen solid, so next time I will puree some and/or chop it into smaller pieces. Most of the fruit was at the bottom which worked out well.
This one’s a keeper. Even if I was the only one who really liked it.
My husband was a good sport, though. He tried it. Wonder if he will try the next flavor I have up my sleeve?
Filed under: Random Thoughts | Tags: Ben and Jerry's, Ben and Jerry's new ice cream flavor, food, ice cream, random thoughts, Schweddy Balls
My goal for the weekend? I must find and enjoy a container of the new Ben and Jerry’s flavor Schweddy Balls.
I remember watching the skit that inspired the name on SNL. It was roll on the floor funny. Sure, it is so crude and suggestive.
It also was and still is hilarious.
I just read an article about the uprising against Ben and Jerry’s. The fact that people are so upset about the name and believe it will harm their children only makes me more determined to find it and buy at least one container of the ice cream.
Maybe more.
Really, people. Do you hide the chicken breasts from your kids? What about the Ding Dongs? Cheese Balls? I could go on, but you get the point.
Oh, but don’t worry. I won’t share my ice cream with my kids. Oh no, I wouldn’t want them to scarred for life due to the crude name of this new ice cream flavor.
I’ll insist on eating all the ice cream all by myself to “protect” them.
Let the hunt for the Schweddy Balls begin!
UPDATE-I have checked at three places-no ice cream. I even asked at Kroger, and the guy knew what I was talking about but looked at me like I was crazy or something. Imagine.
I shall not give up, however. I will find this ice cream!
Filed under: Food I Make | Tags: food, food blogs, ice cream, life, recipes, The Opinionated Foodie
It has been my goal this summer to make as much homemade ice cream as possible. So far, I have stuck to my goal. I mean, who wouldn’t? Making homemade ice cream is easy and so, so good.
We have had a wonderful strawberry, Oreo that was good but the Oreos didn’t distribute throughout the ice cream well, a safe banana, and peach my sister made. All were delicious but common.
Recently, I decided to try something new. Really new. Uncommon, even.
Mango.
Mango Ice Cream
What do I know about mango ice cream? Nothing. As usual.
I mixed everything and froze it in my kitchen. It was a lovely concoction made from our family’s basic ice cream recipe.
However, it was a little tart. The mango chunks were, well, chunky. I don’t think my mango was quite ripe enough for this recipe. I didn’t know how ripe it was supposed to be. I claim ignorance here.
No one in our house finished a whole bowl. That says it all right there.
At least it looked good....
It was worth a shot. I think I’ll try it again next year-after several takes of the common kind.
***Basic Ice Cream Recipe
All ingredients should be chilled in advance:
One can of sweetened condensed milk
1 ½ cups of sugar
One small carton of whipping cream
Milk
Optional- one teaspoon of good vanilla
Mix the condensed milk, sugar, and whipping cream together. You might whip the cream before adding, but I don’t see the benefit. Pour the mixture in your freezer and top with the milk. I usually use a half gallon, but I use more or less depending on how many people I will be serving.
Add ins:
Add one or more of these before adding the milk.
Two sliced peaches
Two sliced bananas
One package of Oreos, crushed and frozen
One jar of cherries and one bag of mini chocolate chips for chocolate covered cherry ice cream
One half cup of chocolate syrup or more depending on how chocolaty you like it. I like to use whole fat chocolate milk instead of plain milk.
From the ice cream topping aisle-strawberry topping, pineapple topping, and bananas for a banana split ice cream. You can find so many good things to mix in from the ice cream topping section of the store.
And, of course, one really ripe mango
The Opinionated Foodie: The Love (or Not) of Food and Everything That Goes with It 