Another Good Reason To Have a Job And Why Recessions Suck

I've found another site that makes it absolutely necessary to have a job. And now I just need an excuse to have some event that makes use of all the amazing things I must have now. Layer Cake Shop is stocked full of things that makes baking an event. They also carry wonderful eco-friendly items to make your party politically correct to the earth.

I've never made a fuss out of any of our wee-ones first birthdays, but I think this is a good time to start. This is what I'm thinking for a fall birthday.





(all images are from Layer Cake Shop)

Such fun stuff. I just want to create party cookies with sprinkles for the whole world.

The Part Where I Need To Really Work Out

It is now the end of my frozen treat week. I've loved every single bite, but my rear has taken on more than it should. P90X has never sounded like such a good deal until today. I want to have those rock hard abs. I don't think eating this is really getting me any closer.



This is a wonderful frozen cheesecake. Oh yeah, you heard me right. Vanilla cheesecake ice cream sitting on top of a cookie crust. This has proved to be the most popular creation during frozen week. I've made it a couple of times to make sure I had the method tried and true (thus making my P90X even more of a necessity). It doesn't last for long in the freezer and there is already requests for this instead of birthday cakes. I'll gladly whip this up any day over a cake. I used gluten free pecan short breads as the base just because I haven't found a very good gluten free graham. You could use anything you like. Even a pre-made graham cracker crust from the store would be great.



Freezer Box Cheesecake

2 1/2 cups whole milk
1 vanilla bean split and seeded
4 oz cream cheese softened
1 egg
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
6 Gluten free shortbread cookies crumbled (or any cookie/graham that floats your boat)
1 Tablespoon melted butter
2 cups mixed berries fresh or frozen
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon corn starch

In a medium sauce pan heat up milk and vanilla bean seeds. I actually throw in the whole bean to get more flavor out of it.Use medium high heat until it's just about to boil. Meanwhile whisk together the cream cheese, egg and 3/4 cup sugar over medium high heat. Remove vanilla bean from the hot milk and pour the milk slowly over the cheese mixture while the machine is running on low. Whisk until it is thoroughly mixed together. Pour cheese custard back into the sauce pan and heat until it reaches 160º. Remove from heat and cool. An ice bath is best, but not absolutely necessary. Refrigerate for at least 3-4 hours. Add the lemon juice just before pouring the mixture into the ice cream maker. Follow ice cream makers manufacturer directions to freeze the cheesecake custard base. While you are freezing your ice cream place crumbled cookies into a bowl and mix in the melted butter. Press the cookie crumbs into the bottom of a 8 inch cake pan. When the ice cream is ready, pour it on top of the cookie crumbs and smooth out the top. Place back in the freezer to set. Place berries, sugar and corn starch into a small sauce pan and heat over low heat until saucy and thick. Spoon berries over each slice of frozen cheesecake.



I hope you enjoyed frozen week as much as we did. Maybe not enough to need hours of work outs in one complete muscle confusion system? Just enough to cool down your summer or what is left of it.


Other good endings to a frosty week of goodness:
Blueberry Cardamom Cake - a raw dessert that looks heavenly! (more on my raw comments later)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sandwiches - No bake cookies + ice cream = summer cookie love

Gorgeous and intense - Myer Lemon Sorbet Baked Alaska

Hide and Seek

A few months ago in my first meme I admitted to the fact that I will on occasion hide wee little treats for myself. It's almost guaranteed to be of the sweet variety, and most of the time it's a little morsel of really good chocolate that I can stretch out over days. Some days it's a candy bar that I chip off bits for a week if I'm feeling reserved.

My perfect alone snacks are at there peak when I have time to enjoy them with a cup of coffee. A nice slowly sipped cup of coffee. Just like this wonderful Cortadito From the Liberty Market in Gilbert.



I wanted a frozen treat that was just like my hidden stash. A nice reprieve while the kids are asleep. What better way than a coffee with a candy bar on a stick.



I've even thought about hiding these in the back of the freezer for my secret nap time treats, however if it's frozen with a stick in it, it will be found.



Hide Away Coffee Candy Bar Pops

1/2 cup cold brewed iced coffee**
2 Tablespoons simple syrup (more or less depending on how you like your coffee)
1/2 cup vanilla ice cream slightly softened
1 Tablespoon Kahlua (optional, but it tastes so good!)
1 chocolate toffee bar chopped into thin pieces

Place iced coffee, simple syrup and ice cream into a bowl and stir together. Pour mixture into popsicle molds filling molds only half full. Place 1/2 teaspoon of chopped candy bar into each mold. Place in freezer and chill for 20 minutes. Fill molds with remaining liquid mixture and top with remaining candy bar. Insert popsicle sticks and freeze for another 2 hours until completely frozen through.


**Cold brewed iced coffee is my favorite way to make iced coffee. Not only is it very easy, but it produces the smoothest iced coffee you will ever have. You can find how to make cold brewed iced coffee at the Smitten Kitchen .



Enjoy these wonderful frozen coffee's while taking some nice quiet time for yourself. Here are some other cold treats to peek at while slurping on your coffee:

Heath Bar and Oatmeal Stout Ice Cream - another alone time treat.
Cherry Ice Cream with no machine and no eggs
Cool Popsicle Molds over at The Kitchn

Marketing Makeover

There sat in my fridge a nice bulk container of organic plums. I do believe they were of the Satsuma variety. Nice and dark, juicy and red. They just sat in there being constantly passed over. I'm sure they saw them. They were right in the front as everyone reached behind them for the apples or peaches. I'd already used a good amount for baby food and my own snack, but couldn't get anyone else to try them.

I decided to try a different route. It's all in the packaging. Throw some fancy jazzy packaging around anything and you could get any sucker to buy it for twice as much. I am most definitely one of these suckers. I even like to sit and gawk at cool packaging. Go here for some of the best.

How do you repackage a plum? You throw in a bit of ginger, some simple syrup and send it for a ride in the ice cream maker.



This sorbet would be so perfect on top of a grilled peach or nectarine. In fact I might just brave the heat to go buy more propane JUST to grill some peaches.

Plum and Ginger Sorbet

4 large plums seed removed and chopped into large pieces
1 cup water
3/4 cups sugar
2 Tablespoons candied ginger chopped
2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Place plums in a food processor and process until smooth. Spoon contents through a fine mesh sieve to remove the skin (this step is purely for aesthetics). Place puree in the refrigerator to chill. Heat sugar and water over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. Add the ginger to the simple syrup and let sit until cooled. Refrigerate syrup for at least 4 hours with the ginger. Place syrup and plum puree in food processor and blend until the small ginger pieces are chopped up and mixed in. Pour mixture into your ice cream maker and follow manufacturer directions. Place in freezer safe container and freeze until firmer, about 1 hour. Serve and enjoy!



Other repackaged fruit ideas
Grapes. If my wee-ones don't devour and entire bowl of grapes in 1 day all I have to do is freeze them. They become like candy and they can't get enough.

Frozen chocolate dipped bananas

More delicious frozen-ness in internet land:
Sticky, Gooey, Creamy, Chewy Flavor of the Month - Strawberry Creme Fraiche

Giddy Gastronome makes the most beautiful Popsicles

On the other side of the fruit spectrum - Bacon. Candied Bacon Ice Cream

Just Trying to Chill

It is just wicked bloody hot around these parts. I mean really hot. Do not go outside type of hot. The type of hot where you don't do anything, especially turn your stove on.

So to show my appreciation for my freezer and all things frozen, I will be posting a week devoted to frozen treats. I've tried to not use my stove at all for most of these, but alas there are some that require a bit of heat.

Let's start off with one of my favorites. This recipe reminds me of the beach. I think it's just the color because I'm not sure what else would remind so much of the beach. Also I'm definitely not an aficionado of the beach seeing as I've only been to the beach a few times. (You can feel sorry for me really, it's sad).

This frozen yogurt was inspired by my current yogurt obsession that I acquired here. I love this yogurt cream recipe and seem to have an ongoing supply of it in my fridge. It's perfect on top of just about anything. I decided since it's so perfect why not try to make it a frozen treat.

The peaches were sort of an after thought as I had some that were seriously heading south. But after I added them and tasted the final result, it was all meant to be.



I like the addition of both regular and Greek yogurt in this recipe. It really adds a better texture to the final product. I also really wrestled with myself on the corn syrup. I do like to use regular sugar or a more natural sweetener, but again the corn syrup changes the texture of this frozen yogurt and I like it much better with the syrup. All things in moderation is my motto and I rarely use it so - that's my rationale.



Brown Sugar and Peach Frozen Yogurt

2 cups plain whole fat yogurt
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
2/3 cups brown sugar
1/3 cup corn syrup
1 whole peach peeled and roughly chopped
2 Tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder

Place each yogurt in 2 separate containers. Sprinkle 1/3 cup brown sugar over each yogurt, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours. Place peeled and chopped peach in small saucepan with sugar. Heat over low heat and simmer slowly until it is partially broken down about 6-10 minutes. Smash up large pieces and add in cinnamon. Place in container and cool in refrigerator. Uncover yogurts and stir to mix in the brown sugar. It will have curdled and somewhat liquefied this is ok. Place both yogurts into one bowl and add the corn syrup. Add to ice cream maker and follow manufacturers directions. Mine mixes for about 20 minutes. At the end of your freezing process pour in peaches and let mix for about 30 seconds. Remove yogurt from maker into freezer safe container and freeze for another 1 hour.



So come back soon to find some more chilly ideas to make it through this summer. Enjoy a tasty freezy treat any way you can.

More frozen treats that I've rounded up for you:
Sweet Corn Ice Cream (I've had this on my to do list and it needs to be done)
The Kitchn's Boozy Granita Roundup has something for everyone
Homesick Texan's Banana Pudding ice cream makes the old favorite new again.

It's Not That Weird Is It?

Due to my most recent posts I'm beginning to think I have a strange affinity to breakfasts breads and their alternate uses. I assure you it's nothing serious, and I'll just get this next misuse out of the way, and we can all move on.

It's been duly noted that I do enjoy a good burger, on a very good bun. In fact I deemed this roll as my bun of choice.


Sheesh. Nothing like a good burger.

I'm thinking that's just what my husband was thinking when he did something desperate. He just wanted a burger. It was already made (since every now and then I can be very efficient and freeze a few extra patties). All he needed was a bun. I was too tired to make rolls. Getting in the car late in the day in 110º weather is not an option. What is a poor soul to do?



That's right, a pancake or two. My husband has been known to throw some odd ingredients into other carbs. Flour tortillas have never seen the likes of Cheetos and beans before they meet my love. Of course I've never tried this horrible violation of a perfectly good tortilla, but when I saw that pancake burger I thought he might be on to something. They're soft and fluffy, not to thick, and relatively quick.

The next day I made some pancakes specifically for bun use. Threw some burgers together and coleslaw (oh how I need to share my coleslaw with you, I'll get to that soon). Oven fries and even some home made mayo. It was pretty good. My only problem is that the pancake is so flat everywhere that there is some structural difficulties upon eating. Other than that it was a nice burger holder.



It's not that odd right? The ice cream cone was created out of desperation and look how that worked out. Do you repurpose your foods?