Blueberry Crumble

Remember how I was in upstate NY playing in a conductors’ orchestra?  Since then I’ve moved onto Cleveland to work at my old job and am done with that, but my old ‘hood just can’t seem to get rid of me.  The blogging got behind with all of the work that job required, so it’s time to do some back tracking.

When I picked blueberries for the first time ever, I was determined to make a crumble/crisp/etc. with them.  I bought everything needed to make it…except brown sugar.  Doh!  On the second to last (and hottest) day in NY, I went blueberry picking again at the hottest time of day.  Texas girl don’t care.

Related side note: I was so very amused by the warnings they had up ALL over the gym about the heat.  Sure, it was supposed to be 100F that day, but to me, that’s a typical summer day.  The same thing happens in Texas, though – when the temperature looks like it might hit the freezing point, people flip OUT.  It becomes The Big Chill 2011 with newscasters warning people to bring in their pets, cover their plants, and let the faucets drip so the pipes won’t freeze.  It’s cute. 

Moose Tracks Ice Cream

It’s been a dream of my dad’s to renovate* an old Airstream and drive across the US to see the national parks.  (*This would be one sweet ride…he is a master craftsman!)  Since this hasn’t happened yet, my parents flew up to Wyoming a few years ago to explore Yellowstone for a couple weeks.

I like to tease my dad about that hat.  (photo by my mom, I’m assuming!)

While there, he found a beer that he really liked: Moose Drool Brown Ale by Big Sky Brewing Co. in Montana.  My sister and I were a bit shocked I think because he’s always been a Miller Light (eww) drinker.  I’m pretty sure he tried the Drool purely because of its name…

Bourbon Peach Ice Cream

Peaches and bourbon.  They’re both so southerny summery, right?  So many things they have in common with each other…

When you buy them, you take them away in paper bags.

They can both be a deep golden shade and are, uhh, juicy.

One is fuzzy while the other will make your brain fuzzy from consuming it.

Twins!  Of course they go well together.

However, I didn’t put the two together until I saw a post that Mary wrote about a month ago.  She’s making the cake for her friends’ wedding (!) and had a cake tasting so they could sample a couple flavor choices.  As you’ve probably guessed, one of them was peach (and cream) and bourbon.  I love, love, love peaches and have a lot of recently acquired booze.  Naturally I had to make this in ice cream form. 

Pimp My Easter Basket: Malted Milk Ice Cream with Robin Eggs

Being a part of Pimp My Easter Basket, I’ve come to a realization: I am not really a fan of most Easter candy.  The majority (like Cadbury Eggs and Peeps) are overly sweet, yet somehow I manage to eat them anyway if they’re around.

Robin Eggs are no exception, though they’re definitely higher up than Peeps (everything is higher than Peeps…).

Last summer, I purchased The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz and have made a couple recipes from it, but oddly enough, neither were for actual ice cream.  Never did I imagine that the first ice cream I’d make would be Malted Milk Ice Cream.  It’s not that I have anything against malt, it was just an unknown flavor to me outside of Whoppers. 

Balsamic Strawberry Stracciatella Ice Cream

I know it’s still snowing in some places.  It would even snow into mid-May where I last lived.  I always say I’d rather be hot than cold…but right now, I wish it would cool down a bit.  90 degree weather shouldn’t be allowed in April.  And actually, we had some in March.  That’s just indecent.

Now I can’t control the weather, but what I can do is make ice cream.  It’s really easy and doesn’t require the use of an oven, which is a huge bonus when the A/C is already going full blast.  And satisfying, in the obvious delicious way and the “I’m totally a badass because I just made ice cream” way.

Aside from being a (sweaty) fan of ice cream, I had 8 egg yolks and a pound of strawberries (ha, whoops!) left over from making strawberry cake.  Ice cream was a no brainer, as was making something that wasn’t just plain ol’ strawberry.  I can’t even remember how Google led me to this recipe of Balsamic Strawberry Ice Cream, but it clearly had to be made. 

Ice Cream SADwiches

My dad’s birthday was a few days ago.  If you recall, I made a black forest cake for him last year.  Even though it’s his favorite kind of cake, I didn’t want to make the same thing two years in a row because that thing was a ton of work that’s boooring!

Since ice cream is another Dad Favorite, I came up with the brilliant (if I do say so myself) idea of black forest ice cream sandwiches!  The plan was to make cherry ice cream and sandwich it between chocolate cookies brushed with a cherry/kirsch syrup.  Simple enough, right?

Vegan Avocado Ice Cream with Mango Sauce

I can be a complete and utter nutter in the kitchen, but it usually turns out well, right?  *crickets*

This is my third sweet (and vegan) avocado experiment, but if it grosses you out, let me remind you about a couple of things.

1. Avocados are fruit.  I mean, look at those big honkin’ pits!

2. They don’t have a very strong flavor.  Most people are probably accustomed to avocados being mashed up with tomatoes, garlic, onion, etc. and dipping chips into said mixture.  However, in some parts of the world, they are used to make creamy, refreshing desserts.  Smart people.

Here I am presenting you with something that is not only creamy and refreshing, but vegan and raw!  The avocados make up the smooth base with their healthy fats.  Lime juice gives it a citrus zing, but the sweetness of the sugar prevents it from tasting sour.  Finally, what keeps the mixture from freezing rock hard is tequila!  Sí, señor!! 

“Banana Balls!”

Hello.  My name is Jessica and I am a Conchordoholic.

That’s my confession for those of you who don’t know me.  For most of you who do, you’re probably surprised that I haven’t mentioned Flight of the Conchords until now.  They’re two guys from New Zealand (I have become embarrassingly predictable) who sing funny things while playing guitars and such.  Of course there is much more to them than that, but that’s the Cliff’s Notes version.

On Sunday night, they were special guests on the 22nd premiere of The Simpsons, which is a pretty big deal.  In honor of that, I’m writing about an idea that crept into my mind a few weeks ago.