Tag Archives: milk

Basil Chip Ice Cream

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Danguole| 17 Comments

I had a very serious conversation with the family at Easter dinner…  About our favorite ice cream flavors.  It seems every human being is obligated to have one, but if you asked me about my mom’s go-to, I really wouldn’t know.  Turns out, she doesn’t know either, and none of us has a definitive one, really–what might have been a simple Q&A in other families became us just naming flavors.  Yeah…  I’m related to these people.

I should also add that we were eating ice cream.  Before eating cake.  Again–these people are definitely my people.

However, I think my maybe-favorite, the one I would pick if you held a gun to my head (which you wouldn’t do, because that’s dumb) is mint chip.  There is so much to like: the freshness, the balance of sweet with bitter dark chocolate, the crunch…  I am a fan.

But why don’t we branch out today?  You may not think of basil as dessert-appropriate, but why not?  Mint is only used in desserts because we’re used to it.  There are so many other green, fragrant, delightful things that grow in the dirt on our planet.  Let’s play with them.

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Posted in Dessert, Spring, Summer, Vegetarian

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Lemon and Vanilla Bean Rice Pudding with Blueberry Compote

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Danguole| 12 Comments

I swear, sometimes I can’t handle the excellence that is this time of year (I’ll be saying the same thing again in six months–mark my words).  The daylight, the jacketless afternoon walks to the coffee shop, the daffodils and tulips everywhere, and the impulse buys of mint-green shorts at Target (I REGRET NOTHING).  So good.

Now, the downside to this time of year (well, this time of every odd-numbered year) for me is that I’m working a lot.  By “a lot,” I mean 80 hours a week, sometimes.  I try not to talk about it too much, just as I try not to talk about the weather, for the same reason: it’s boring.  ”You’re busy?  Oh really?   FASCINATING.”

But, I wanted to give you a heads up.  In case you wondered why I’m not posting as much–because if you like this thing enough to wonder, I owe you an explanation, and probably dessert.

Such as…  Comforting dessert.  Creamy and somewhat rich, but zingy and fruity at the same time–because I like you THAT much.  True facts.

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Posted in Dessert, fruit, Spring, Vegetarian, Winter

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Cinnamon-Swirl Maple Ice Cream

Posted on September 27, 2012 by Danguole| 9 Comments

You know what I love?

I love it when you share things with me.  Links, articles, recipes, etc., that you think I would enjoy.  And I do!  Every time.  You people get me, and it’s just the best.  I can’t wear lots of black and talk about how misunderstood I am anymore–nope.  No excuses.

Jura, a lovely (Lithuanian!) reader shared this with me a while back, and it took me a couple months to get to it.  It’s not summer anymore, however–imagine this sitting atop a bowl of hot, cinnamon-scented apple crisp.  With a blanket, on the couch, in your cinnamon-scented home.  Good stuff, right?

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Posted in Dessert, Fall, Lithuanian, Summer, Vegetarian

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Cherry Limeade Ice Cream

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Danguole| 8 Comments

What can I say about summer that hasn’t already been said?

Do I even need to?  I’m not sure.  I do know that every blogger who’s ever posted a chocolate chip recipe has probably wondered–what else is there to say?  All we really do, subtly, is tell you: “Make x because it’s in season.”  ”Make y because it’s healthy.”  ”Make z because it’ll impress your friends.”

Sometimes there’s no need for any of that.  No one needs to be told that chocolate chip cookies are delicious, or that summer is a special time.  It’s not even my favorite season, but I appreciate it, and I love it.  Maybe it’s so commonly understood to be special because the joy of getting out of school for three months when we were kids?  Mind.  Blowing.  We felt like we won the lottery, thank you very much–every 12 months.

I don’t think that feeling leaves as we age.  We don’t get to sleep in M-F anymore and spend entire days lazing about in a backyard, reading Jack Kerouac and listening to Sonic Youth on our Walkman (yes, I was as insufferable a teenager as I sound).

But, the pleasure associated with those memories always stays, and every time we glance out the window at 8:30 and see it’s still light outside, consciously or not, we remember the last of the truly carefree times we had.

All this rambling, only to tell you about the time I wanted to make ice cream that tastes like cherry limeade (and did).

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Posted in Dessert, Summer

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Strawberry, Balsamic and Basil Gelato

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Danguole| 6 Comments

I would say an ice cream maker was one of my best purchases, except it wasn’t a purchase.  It was an appropriation/rescue/total thievery, depending on your perspective…  I obviously prefer to think of it as a rescue.  Mom never used that thing–that makes it okay, right?  I mean, she kept it in the GARAGE.  That is no way to treat something as awesome as a thing that makes ice cream.

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Posted in Dessert, Spring, Summer, Vegetarian

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Spiced Chai with Bourbon

Posted on March 14, 2012 by Danguole| 3 Comments

Let’s figure out what we can put WHISKEY in.  Woo!

There are some things I’ve never understood.  Including: Why do coffee shops close so early?  Kicking back with a friend, a hot beverage and maybe a baked good should not be an exclusively “daytime” activity.  Do baristas just get tired early?  Are they THAT committed to watching American Idol or whatever?  I don’t know.

Not to mention that I personally love a hot caffeinated beverage combined with some sort of spirited liquid.  I don’t want to have to engage in Day Drinking (a sport I have much respect but rarely the fortitude for) to do this.  Seriously, coffeehouses: all you have to do is stay open later and procure a small bar of delicious boozy additives.

Caffeine and alcohol seems like the perfect balance, but perhaps speedballing ruined the whole concept.  Thanks a lot, DRUGS.  This is why we can’t have nice things, like the fun kind of NyQuil.

Aaanyway.

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Posted in Drinks, Entertaining, Fall, Holidays, Vegetarian, Winter

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