Be Careful What You Wish For!

How many times have you had ice cream drip on your shirt, or all over your hand on a hot day? Napkins, anyone?
Well it looks like that problem has been solved, thanks to Japanese scientists in Kanakaza.
On Monday, researchers announced that they had accidentally discovered a way to keep ice cream from melting before you finish eating it.  The ice cream keeps its shape in temperatures up to 82 degrees.
How did they do it? A pastry chef was attempting to find another use for odd shaped strawberries, so he created a strawberry extract.  Turns out that it keeps the oil and water from separating so quickly.  It works so well that you can even aim a hair dryer at the treats!

As of now, you can only get this new ice cream, dubbed "Kanazawa Ice",  in parts of Japan.

Kanazawa Ice! Ice cream that doesn't melt

New England...Vermont

Burlington, VT. Where it all began.

I recently went on a fabulous biking tour of the Lake Champlain area of Vermont.  The company is Vermont Biking Tours and they put on an unforgettable tour.  The guides make sure that every detail is taken care of.  I highly recommend them...how else can you see beautiful scenery, enjoy the great outdoors, and burn off enough calories to eat ice cream without feeling guilty?  Here are several of the ice cream highlights:


Ben and Jerry's.  First started up by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in Burlington, VT, you can now tour their factory in Waterbury. See how the ice cream is made, grab a scoop, and learn everything you ever wanted to know about the business. What's your favorite flavor?

 

 

 

 

Ben and Jerry's may have originated in Vermont, but Creemees are the ice cream of choice in the Green Mountain State.  Here in CA, we call 'em soft serve cones.  Little shops are everywhere and the flavors are endless.  This snack shop in Vergennes was serving chocolate and strawberry the day I was there, but Vermonters love the maple syrup version. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creemees at the Basin Harbor Club, Vergennes.

chocolate torte and black pepper ice cream.

Ok, this was my one disappointment. Dinner in the formal dining room at the Basin Harbor Club is quite an experience.Picture the Kellerman's Resort from Dirty Dancing and you'll get some idea of the place.  I was trying to be adventurous and tried the black pepper ice cream.  It was so wrong in so many ways! Sob.  Imagine taking a spoonful of what looks like innocent vanilla ice cream. It was akin to eating a mouthful of cold, creamy black pepper.  One bite was enough to convince me to stick to the basics.

By the way, if you're interested, here are some of the places I visited.

The Basin Harbor Club

Ben and Jerry's

Vermont Biking Tours

Retirement Party June 2012

 

Retirement Party  June 2012Retirement Party June 2012

My husband Tim retired from teaching after 33 years and we wanted to celebrate in style, so we traveled to Las Vegas for a few days.  We invited a  number of our friends join to us for dinner and drinks at Sugar Factory in Paris Las Vegas. Sugar Factory is a wonderful place to get a meal at pretty much any hour of the day or night.  There is a restaurant, a  bar, and a candy store all under the same roof.  As far as I'm concerned it takes care of most of my needs, except for gambling, while I am in Sin City.

And being a typical Las Vegas restaurant, The Sugar Factory is over the top with its concoctions.  Take a look at this alcoholic version of a root beer float....

  

Sugar Factory says that it is just like the root beer float you and I remember from childhood, except that they add 3 Olives root beer vodka and vanilla flavored Licor 43.  Nice.

Anyhoo, I had been looking for a special way to commemorate Tim's retirement and Sugar Factory did not disappoint.  They are known for their delicious desserts, and this is one of their finest.  It's called the King Kong sundae, and what a sundae it is!!  I've copied the menu description for you to read:

World Famous Sugar Factory King Kong Sundae $9924 Scoops of Ice Cream, Two Mini Cup Cakes, Sprinkles, Caramel Sauce, Fudge Sauce Strawberry Sauce, Marshmallows, Reese’s Pieces, Chocolate Chip Cookies Crushed Waffle Cones, Gummy Bears, White Chocolate Strawberry Shavings, Sliced Bananas Toasted Walnuts, Whipped Cream, Topped with Giant Lollipops

Serves 12

Now just so you know, Sugar Factory claims that the King Kong will serve 12 people.  I am here to tell you that 14 of us weren't able to finish this, although we did come close.  All I can say is that it was fantastic! The presentation was dramatic, with lit sparklers and plenty of sizzle. Our party got a huge round of applause as the monster platter made its way to our table.  Once it was set down in front of Tim and he made his choice the rest of us squabbled like children over the cupcakes, cookies, cones and edible decorations. Check out the look on his face when it was set in front of him!
Thanks Sugar Factory for making the evening a memorable one! Thanks too, dear friends for being there to celebrate with us.

The Sugar Factory Las Vegas

Turkish Delight

Hi there! I was going through some travel photos and found this picture from Capadoccia, Turkey. We were touring some of the troglodyte dwellings.The people who lived here were practicing early Christianity and hid in the soft stone formations from the Romans. Fascinating visit! 

The stone buildings are described as "fairy castles".  I'll let you come up with your own description of them.  I can tell  you that "fairy castles wasn't the first thing I thought of when I saw them.

Anyways, after climbing down from the ruins, we wandered into yet another makeshift Turkish bazaar, each stall hawking t-shirts, purses, and souvenirs. In between the tents a  gentleman was twirling something that looked like salt water taffy from a stick. He would swing it around a few times, then plop it back down into a container. He noticed my fascination and invited me over for a spoonful. Surprise! It was vanilla ice cream!

I have to admit I was leery of the hygiene and sanitation issues, but tried it anyways. Strange texture, but very good. I didn't get sick either. All in all, a great day.

Konichi wa Japan!

Welcome to Tokyo! Japan has definitely got some of the oddest, most wonderful inventions in the world. Here’s just one of them: window displays. Rather than post a boring, printed menu in the window of a restaurant, owners put delectable looking plates of their popular dishes. You can’t help but be drawn into the establishment after ogling these items. Only problem? They’re all made of plastic.
Check out the ice cream in the top shelf. I tried several flavors when I was there in 2008, from tame green tea to sesame. We had the good fortune of stumbling upon a type of Baskin Robbins one night and I couldn’t resist ordering a double scoop of Popping Showers and Temptation Island. Popping Showers tasted of vanilla with red and green pop rocks swirled throughout. Temptation Island was reminiscent of our rainbow sherbet. Both were delicious!
These flavors too tame for you? How about Wasabi, or horsemeat? These flavors and more can be found at
101 Japan’s Amazing Inventions of Ice Cream Flavors
http://www.asianoffbeat.com/default.asp?Display=1897

summer treats

Wow! It's been a very long time since I last posted about ice cream. Since San Francisco, I've taken several trips and sampled the ice cream. Today, however, I wanted to talk about my summer project: homemade popsicles. I bought a popsicle mold from Amazon and started looking up popsicle recipes online. I've found a lot of great links. One of my favorite is from Laura's Best Recipes..
http://laurasbestrecipes.com/2010/07/100-homemade-popsicle-recipes.html
This is the granddaddy of all sites. It lists a number of sites devoted to making your own homemade treats; simple classics such as strawberry pops all the way up to gourmet popsicles, veggie pops, and alcoholic pops.
I've tried a few different recipes and my family's favorite so far is the strawberry/peach pop. It's very simple to make, requires few ingredients, and my husband swears they taste like strawberry daquiris!
Here's the recipe:
Frozen Strawberry-Peach Pops

From Country Living
A frozen treat to keep you cool in the heat. When selecting fruit, the most important features to look for are color, texture, and fragrance. For example, a peach should have no traces of green.
Serves: 5

Yields: Five 4-ounce servings

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup(s) sugar
* 6 ounce(s) strawberries, hulled
* 6 ounce(s) peaches, peeled and pitted
* 1 tablespoon(s) lemon juice

Directions

1. Bring 1/2 cup of water and the sugar to a boil and let cool. Puree the strawberries, peaches, cooled syrup, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup water in a food processor. Fill five 4-ounce paper cups or popsicle molds with the strawberry-peach mixture.
2. For paper cups, place on a tray, cover securely with plastic wrap, and pierce a popsicle stick through the plastic into each cup. For popsicle molds, follow manufacturer's instructions. Freeze until solid.

Enjoy!

San Francisco, Ca

I just got back from a weekend in San Francisco with some good friends. As usual, I was on the lookout for some really great ice cream. We ended up at Ghiradelli Square for an ice cream sundae.
First of all, if you go there, be aware that there are two! ice cream parlors. The one downstairs, however is limited. It's called Ghiradelli On The Go and they offer a limited menu. I believe they only had vanilla, chocolate, coffee and strawberry ice cream. The seating is limited too. This shop is best if you are in a hurry.
Upstairs is the main shop, called the Ghiradelli Ice Cream and Chocolate Caffe. There you can get a wide variety of flavors and ice cream treats. I had a hot fudge sundae with chocolate chip ice cream. You can choose your toppings and serving dish. As a bonus, you can watch workers making dipped waffle cones. Nice atmosphere, good ice cream, and delicious Ghiradelli chocolate.

http://www.ghirardelli.com/shops/ghirardellisq.aspx