10 Things I did last weekend:
- Arranged my pots & pans cupboard. Subsequently, now I want to buy a new cookware set.
- Floated on a river in 104 degree sun and drank beer. And lost my sunglasses in said river.
- Ate a dipped cone from DQ. Not only is a small dipped cone quite large, it’s also quite difficult to eat. You can ask Amanda. Or you can look at the chocolate smudges all over her car. Sorry!
- Bought exactly what I needed at the farmers market, nothing more, nothing less. Napa cabbage, a lovely little bunch of carrots, and a handful of peas.
- Tried to remember every camping trip and beach trip Amanda and I went on as kids. There was frog lake, that-place-with-the-creek, the time housekeeping took our leftover pizza, the hotel where we watched Alf, the time Amanda and I talked only in bad English accents.
- Made Biscuit a new cat bed in the cubby shelf the tv sits on. She's avoiding it like the plague.
- Sang Huey Lewis and the News songs, which brought back childhood memories of riding in the way-back of the Subaru with our old friends Jessica and Jared.
- Took some photos for a side project I’m working on (see item #4).
- Cleaned my room.
- Made homemade vanilla ice cream, and baked homemade chocolate chip cookies (guess what? Substituting baking powder for baking soda totally works!), then sandwiched it all together (with a little Nutella).
Old Fashioned Ice Cream Sandwiches
Makes 8 (plus some extra ice cream)
Nothing is better than the classic chocolate chip cookie + vanilla ice cream combo. Unless you add Nutella.
These are actually a breeze to make. While the cookie dough is firming up in the freezer, whip up your ice cream, then just swap places (throwing the cookies in the oven, and ice cream in the freezer). Once the Nutella is frozen onto the cookies, put two scoops of ice cream on 8 of the cookies (on the Nutella side), and top with other cookie, use both hands to press together. Wrap in wax paper and freeze another 10-15 minutes before serving.
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from the original Fannie Farmer cookbook (i.e. my favorite cookies)
¼ lb butter (1 stick), room temp
½ cup dark brown sugar
½ cup granulated sugar
1 egg
¾ teaspoon vanilla
1 1/8 cups flour
1/4 t salt
1½ t baking powder
1 cup dark chocolate chunks, chopped
Nutella
Preheat oven to 375, and layer 2 cookies sheets with parchment paper. Cream butter, then gradually add the two sugars, beating until light and smooth. Beat in egg and vanilla. Mix flour, salt, baking soda together and add to butter mixture, blending well. Stir in chocolate chips (you want them to be fairly small pieces, so that you don't get a big hard-to-chomp bite of frozen chocolate once these become one with the ice cream). Drop by teaspoonfuls onto the cookie sheets about 1 inch apart, making 16 cookies. Freeze for about 10 minutes, until cookie balls are firm. Roll slightly just to make them even shaped, and lightly smash down (just barely). and bake 8-10 minutes. Once completely cooled, spread the inside of each cookie with Nutella, and freeze for about 20 minutes before adding ice cream.
Vanilla Ice Cream
1 pint whole milk
1 pint whipping cream
3/4 cup sugar
2 vanilla beans, halved lengthwise, seeds scraped (beans discarded)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Whisk together all ingredients, and freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturers instructions (makes 1 1/2 quarts). Freeze for about 24 hrs until its hard enough to scoop in solid scoops.
