one per day.

roadtripping in texas means you are in the car forever. once, i believe we drove to san antonio, which is only 3 hours from houston. but really, everything is much, much further (except austin, but for some reason, we never went there as kids). also, we pretty much only drove around texas and to florida. road trips to the rest of the country came with adulthood.

but we were allowed one dairy queen blizzard per day. my mama says this was the rule on just one trip, and that we went every day for almost a week, but i remember eating blizzards on every trip.

the drive back from new york meant a stop. i started mapping them out at like 8am, but i held off until a more appropriate hour. i cannot remember where we are but i am definitely eating the choco cherry blizzard. amazing, as always.

the baby, for now.

my goddaughter olivia is turning two today.

if she lived near me, i'd make her this cake. or this one. or maybe these. or maybe alex would make her a baked alaska.

i hope it is the greatest.

cook out.

so, for many many months, i begged casey to take me to cook out every time we were driving for more than 30 minutes and never did he oblige (for the record, we don't usually pass one because they are in raleigh or outside of town). yes, yes, it's a burger joint but also there are milkshakes. like a billion kinds of milkshakes. and, apparently, if you bring them something, they will PUT IT IN YOUR MILKSHAKE. i've got nothing to bring but i bet a piece of cake would be delicious.

yes, it's not really needed because cook out has so many flavors. i got one on my way back from new bern a couple of weeks ago. it was peach pie. as in, there was peach pie in my shake. it was a little too sweet, but they are only $2. next time, i'll probably just get peach. or strawberry. i like a a fruit dessert.

we won't be your babies anymore.

spring break staycation means pie in the morning and ice cream sandwiches with sprinkles in the afternoon. (homemade oatmeal raisin cookies and homemade vanilla ice cream) with alex, of course.

and a sprinklely sink, for good measure.

(title song lyric courtesy of LCD soundsystem)

yes, i know it's cold outside.

and yes, i made ice cream this week. i saw this post about cinnamon dolce ice cream made with fresh ricotta and, seriously, i was in the cooperative handing over my credit card immediately.

it seems silly to post the recipe here, because, well, you've got the link. but i made a half recipe and it filled 3/4 of my ice cream maker. it's not as creamy as regular ice cream because of the ricotta (i think), so i can't say i am in love with its texture. but, the flavor is delicious and it was so simple to make.

now, to make something with the rest of that cream, maybe homemde sour cream?

the best ice cream on earth.

yeah, we got some blue bell up in here.

it's all happening.

1. the pepper plants are growing! i am hoping to put them all in the boxes this weekend. (blue bonnet buds are showing up, too.)
2. blue bell ice cream arrives in the triangle. oh, YES. it is "the country's best ice cream" and it is from texas, obviously.
3. i am going to write a law paper on why it's ok to positively discriminate against small farmers. oh my.
4. ben meier brought me black mission fig bitters from brooklyn. with a medicine dropper for dispensing!
5. we're getting bon appetit again. and got 2 issues at once. one with cinnamon buns on the front, which i have been craving for weeks, oddly.
6. the garden project is back in action.

queened.

preceded by a night of rollerskating: dairy queen blizzards with amy, shira, and alex. yes, 4 different ones on the table! i had banana split, a spillover from roadtrips to port aransas in the minivan. but the other girls had various chocolately who-knows-what. and of course, the server flipped over each one to prove they were thick enough.

***and let's just say july might lack huge descriptions, but can be full of photographs.

boozy ice cream.

 

bourbon-mint ice cream. recipe courtesy of GQ. like a mint julep.

i felt like this recipe had too many steps for ice cream.

picked tons of mint from casey's front yard, but i forgot to buy eggs. so, i only made a half recipe. in the end, that's probably best because we'll just eat it up really fast anyhow.

shira is going to be pleased. this is a good one.

austin. austin. austin.

do you feel like i might never go back to houston? that i just keep heading to austin instead? it seems that way, right? it's really awesome to have courtney there. plus her super family. seriously.

in addition to the copious amounts of tacos throughout the week, i had frito pie at shady grove. served just how i wanted it: vegetarian chili poured onto the fritos bag with a pile of jalapenos. and a beer. the ultimate texas treat, and made for vegetarians. rock.

the same day, i got a text from courtney informing me that there was a six-pack of lonestar tallboys in her fridge. yes. yes. i graphed their superiority for casey right before i left. i understand economics so much better when there are beer-based examples. 

amy's ice cream. always and forever.

happy as a clam.

going out of style.

we went to maple view. the ice cream they make is so good and creamy and delicious and we wanted to do a little drive into the country (which became a big drive) so we went to sit on the porch and eat copious amounts of ice cream.
i ate maple. yelena REALLY wanted a waffle cone and ordered it with both chocolate and blueberry ice creams. there was probably an entire pint of ice cream in there. seriously.
she ate almost all of it! she looks so skinny yet she was so very impressive.

i scream, you scream.

so, on last week's mad men, betty's dad SALTED his ice cream. yes.

dominic had much interest as to why he would do such a thing. so, he looked it up. (oh, internet, you are so helpful.) he found that it makes the ice cream CREAMIER. yum.

so, i am going to make some ice cream for this week's viewing. and we are going to eat it with salt.

will report back.

an addendum: i am apparently lacking in creativity, as this is the second time i have used this entry title. i promise to be more imaginative in the future.

michelle michelle michelle

i almost forgot. michelle (not the pregnant one, who is close to no longer being pregnant) made ice cream sandwiches. she let the ice cream get a little soft first. and then, she scooped some onto a cookie and put another cookie on top. we then put them back into the freezer for a bit.

oh my. so good. perfect.
1. chocolate cookies with chocolate ice cream
2. chocolate cookies with vanilla ice cream
3. oatmeal cookies with vanilla ice cream
4. oatmeal cookies with chocolate ice cream

yes. messy.

michelle's pretty super.

with jelly.

so, i am moving. to brooklyn, which is a big move as far as i'm concerned. i want to eat as many of my perishable goods as i can, so that i don't waste them, or have to move them.

totally, i made vanilla ice cream more exciting by adding a dollop of bonne maman apricot jelly, a shake of fancy cinnamon, and a bit of cool whip. yes, cool whip. i said it. we have some in our freezer from a dinner party earlier this summer. and it's made of nothing a person should eat, but just as tasty as i remember.

it was delicious.

i scream, you scream

i love ice cream, especially in the summer.  i've spent the last 2 summers using my hand-crank ice cream machine to make some pretty tasty treats: organic mint, lemon-ginger, double chocolate, peach. it's quite easy, and few ingredients are needed: milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla... but i've been a bit lazier this year. 

our dessert the other night was a kid's dream: sweet vanilla with m&ms. simple, yet perfect.