Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Splash into Summer Giveaway Blog Hop /The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz & Ice Cream Scoop




Thank you to I'm A Reader, Not A Writer, and Page Turners Blog for hosting this great Blog hop!!  I  am giving away a brand new cook book and a new Wilton Ice Cream Scoop.  The winner will be drawn randomly and announced June 1st.  I will email the winner and list nthe first name or alias here.  Thank you for participating and Good Luck!!  Please fill out the form below.

The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments


WILTON ICE CREAM SCOOP ASSORTED COLORS 2104-1133 The one you can win is Green!




***It appears that Google Friend CONNECT IS HAVING PROBLEMS.  Please look at the top of the blog and the follow button there will work.  I have noticed this problem on many blogs the last few days.


Wednesday, May 18, 2011

The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

The Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments

This is the perfect cookbook for all of those hot summer days to come!  Come back on May 25th and register to win this book and an ice cream scoop!  Seriously, this book is great.  It has beautiful photographs of almost every recipe.  Not only is it full of ice cream recipes, but it also has gelato and frozen yogurt recipes along with sauce recipes to top off the perfect summer treat.  I am having a difficult time choosing a recipe to share because they all look good!

Ok, I am going with lemon ice cream since I love all things lemon!

Super Lemon Ice Cream
Makes about 1 quart
2 lemons, preferably unsprayed
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice, about 3 lemons
2 cups half and half
pinch of salt
Zest the lemons directly into a food processor or blender.  Add the sugar and blend until the lemon zest is very fine.  Add the lemon juice and blend until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Blend in the half and half and salt until smooth.  Chill fo a hour, then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Other recipes in this book that look great are:  Fresh Fig Ice Cream, Pear Caramel Ice Cream, Peach Ice Cream, Blueberry Frozen Yogurt, Cheesecake Ice Cream, Rum Raisin Ice Cream.  That is just a small sampling of the recipes in this book! 

Monday, May 9, 2011

Spring Carnival Blog Hop Winner!

Congratulations to Stella @ exlibris! She won her choice of cookbook!  Thank you everyone for participating and thank you for all the lovely comments.  I hope you will come back for the Splash into Summer Hop at the end of the month!  I will be giving away another great cook book that will be perfect for Summer!  The random number generated was 40, but I couldn't figure out how to make the number stay so that I could post it(I'm still new at this).

Thanks to everyone!

Saturday, May 7, 2011

BabyCakes Covers the Classics by Erin Mckenna and Snoballs Recipe

happy Birthday Maegan and Joe!!!!

BabyCakes Covers the Classics: Gluten-Free Vegan Recipes from Donuts to Snickerdoodles


Before I give my review, I want to tell My Baby girl Happy Birthday!  Also Happy Birthday to her  husband, Joe.  Maegan was born on May 6 and Joe was born on May 7th.  We will be going out to lunch tomorrow but,



Review:
 I bought this book for Maegan and thought I would go ahead and review it today.  She has been told to try eating gluten free and that is what this book is all about.  Every recipe in it is gluten free.  The recipes look great.  I was going to bake her a cake from the book, but after going to Target and Walmart and not finding the ingredients, I decided not to.  But for anyone that has a serious gluten allergy, I would recommend this book because, everyone needs cake.  Then it would justify spending the money on the different kinds of flours that are necessary to cook gluten free.  Let's take a look at the goodies inside this book.  There are :



Wonder Buns


Smores


Rice Krispie Blocks


German Chocolate Cake

And


The recipe that I am going to share is Sno Balls
Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened coconut
1 1/2 tbs india tree natural red food coloring
3/4 cup white or brown rice flour
1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup potato starch
1/4 cup arrowroot
1 TBS baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup melted refined coconut oil or canola oil
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup vanilla extract
1tsp lemon extract
1/2 cup hot water
1 1/2 cups Ricemellow cream ( found at Suzanne's Specialities Ricemellow Cream)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a muffin tin with cupcake liners and set aside.  In a small bowl, combine the coconut  and red food coloring and toss with your hands until the flakes are uniformly pink.  Add a touch more food coloring if you want the flakes brighter pink.  Set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, potato starch, arrowroot, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan gum, and salt.  Add the agave nectar, coconut oil, applesauce, vanilla, and lemon extract and mix. with a rubber spatula until the batter is smooth.  Add the hot water and mix until fully incorporated.

Using a 1/2 cup measure, divide the batter among the baking cups.  Bake for 14 minutes, rotate and bake until the cupcakes are lightly golden on the outside and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 14 minutes more.  Let stand in tin for 30 minutes.

Remove the liner from each cupcake.  Cut the bottom third of the cupcake away and set aside for another use.  Using a spoon, hollow out the inside of the remaining section of the cupcake and fill each with 1 Tbs ricemellow creme.  Spread an additional 2 Tbs creme on the top of each snowball and roll in pink coconut.


Happy Birthday to my Favorite people in all the world!








Wednesday, May 4, 2011

101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 minutes by Wendy Paul

101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 Minutes101 Gourmet Cupcakes in 10 Minutes by Wendy Paul
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"It's what's Inside that counts!"

Yummy! That describes this cute little book in one word!The recipes are all quick and the cupcakes are all filled.  Just to tempt you a little, I will list a little of the deliciousness to be found inside.  Banana Cream Pie, Best Ever Apple, Key Lime Pie, Lemon Blueberry, Lemon Cream, Orange Cramsicle, Peach Cobbler, Chocolate Cream, Strawberry Shortcake, Root Beer Float, and Little earthquake.  There are lot more and Wendy Paul even offers frosting suggestions, and easy easy ways to top your cupcakes beautifully!

Here is a lovely recipe from the book:




Lemon Cream with Whipped Cream
1 box lemon cake mix
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened
2 Tbs grated lemon zest
1 recipe whipped cream
1tsp lemon extract
1/2 cup crushed lemon drop candy

Mix together cake mix, eggs, sour cream, and cream cheese until smooth and creamy.  Add grated lemon zest and combine .  Fill paper liners 3/4 full.

Bake at 350 degrees gor 15-18 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched.  Remove and cool cupcakes on a wire rack.

Add lemon extract to whipped cream and combine well.  Top cooled cupcakes with lemon whipped cream and sprinkle with crushed lemon candy for garnish.
Enjoy!!!
Charla