Amy's Ice Cream Olympics

I know, I know.  I've been so lame lately.  I've got a lot to put on the blog, and I'm going to do it, dammit.  I'm starting off by posting about the Ice Cream Olympics, which we attended tonight.

We went downtown, found parking pretty easily, and didn't have to pay because it was after 6 on a Wednesday.  So free parking made me happy.  We walked a few blocks to 6th and Lamar to witness the 9th annual Amy's Ice Cream Trick Olympics.  There were several categories of competition...the decathalon, the individual trick, and the team events.  I had my favorites--Max--who makes my ice creams at the airport, Tommy--who came up from 210 (San Antonio), and the Mustachioed man whose name annoyingly escapes me at the moment.  All three of my favorites won prizes. It was a good time.  We had a coke float and donated money to CASA of Travis County.  Sadly, they only raised about 300 dollars.

I've actually been considering applying to work at Amy's.  I'm afraid I'll either get really fat or start to hate ice cream.  Back in the day all the scoops did tricks.  It doesn't seem to be that way now, so it was nice to see all the fancy tricks at the Olympics.

Here is a photo of one of the decathalon heats.  I'm pretty sure Max (far left in grey shirt) won that round.

****The wonderfully mustachioed man's name is Charles Cotton.  He won the individual trick event.

G & G Float

Inspired by Wife of a Dairyman I decided to have a Guinness float for dessert the other night.  I threw a Guinness in the fridge and put ice cream on the shopping list.  H-E-B is replacing their freezer cases, so they didn't have ice cream.  Well, what else could we do besides go to Amy's?  Lucky me they had a pint of Guinness ice cream in the case. I brought it home and made myself a G & G float.  No chocolate sauce, no whipped cream, just straight G & G.  It was bitter at first, but as soon as the ice cream started to melt it was yummy.

Amy's: Another Taste of Heaven

Amy's Ice Creams is another Austin must have.  I slipped into the Amy's on 6th and Lamar with the aim to sneak an ice cream without Ross, but didn't find a flavor I had to have. One of the awesome guys behind the counter gave me the phone number to call and request a flavor and also told me about how I could check the flavors at each location online. I didn't get bourbon, but I did get a stout, molasses, and butter beer. Ross chose sweet cream with strawberries, saturday morning cartoons, and the cookie monster combo. Oh, and Tejal had just vanilla with chocolate sauce. Delightful.

Busy Weekend

On Saturday I went shopping in Pennsylvania with Elizabeth. We went to some outlet malls and the King of Prussia Mall, which is the second largest mall in the country. It was a busy day and although I got some good deals, I don't feel the need to ever go back. I was specifically going shopping for some boots, and I was disappointed to come home without any.

After all the shopping I met Valerie and the girls for dinner at Chick Fil-A. We then headed over to Ulta to buy makeup for Evelyn. Yes, Evelyn. She will be dancing in the Nutcracker and needs her own make up set.  Thank goodness the ballet company gave Valerie a list of approved products. It took us a while to find everything and make our choices. With no guidance we would have been there forever.

Saturday night Bailey had claimed the inflatable bed and didn't run away when the girls got into bed! She even stayed for part of their bedtime story. The girls were great with Bailey and she was really comfortable around them, even laying on her back!

After the girls fell asleep Valerie and I ran to Wal Mart for a makeup case and some other things. I finally got to bed around midnight--the second night in a row of late nights.

Sunday morning we labelled all of Evelyn's make up and Julia gave Valerie and me makeovers with all the new make up. We went to the Dairy for lunch. Even though I told them I only wanted a little bit of ice cream they double packed the first flavor and I had to tell them to stop scooping on the second flavor--and I still couldn't finish it all. I got pumpkin and gingersnap. I really like the gingersnap.

Julia really didn't want to leave. I tried to explain that she had to go back so that she could go to preschool and stuff, but she wasn't having it. When it was time to say goodbye she refused to hug us and said she didn't want to go to preschool.

After lunch I went to a couple of stores and ran out of steam pretty quickly. I took a nap as soon as we got back home. I'm still a little worn out. I'm not used to being so busy.

Pumpkin Carving 2011

Last night we had our annual pumpkin carving gathering. I made some butternut squash soup and Texas garlic toast. We (mainly me) also munched on jalapeno poppers. Monica and Ainsmar joined us. We missed  having Richard. Everyone's pumpkins turned out nicely. Ainsmar carved the Mummy. Monica carved the Great Pumpkin. I carved the Bats, and Ross carved Mike. After pumpkin carving and photos Ainsmar, Ross and I went to the Dairy for ice cream. They had pumpkin ice cream. Perfect! Ross and Ainsmar had the pumpkin sundaes (with a snickerdoodle, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin butter, caramel, and cinammon crunchies) and I had plain pumpkin ice cream. I think a good time was had by all.

Billy Would Be Happy

Tonight the last flavor on the board at the dairy was "bacon--yes, really. bacon vanilla."

Autumn

It seems that right on cue the tips of the trees are turning colors and the weather is changing. We just got back from the dairy. I got pumpkin ice cream. Perfect for Fall. It is super super scrumptious--like pumpkin mousse or pumpkin brownies. Mmmmmm, pumpkin mouse.

Chaice Cream

A few years ago Ross attempted to make chai ice cream. It didn't turn out so well. It was more like granita. He's been talking about chai ice cream since he saw a pint of it at the dairy (he didn't buy it, and we haven't seen it since).

I made Indian food last night and thought it would be good to finish it off with chai ice cream. It turned out great! It has the best texture of any ice cream I've ever made, and it tastes just like chai.

Chai Ice Cream

2 c. heavy cream

1 c. milk (I used 2 percent)

1/4 c. loose chai

3/4 c. sugar

6 egg yolks

1. Pour 1 c. cream and 1 c. milk into a heavy pot over medium heat.

2. Stir cream constantly until mixture is hot and steaming.

3. Remove pot from heat and pour in chai. Stir.

4. Cover pot and allow chai to steep for up to an hour--stirring it every twenty minutes and checking it for color and taste.

I only had about 3 tablespoons of Tea Embassy Masala Chai left, so that is what I used. It took almost an hour to get it the right color and taste.

5. Return pot to medium heat, pour in sugar and stir until dissolved (do not boil).

6. Strain out chai. Return mixture to pot.

7. Place remaining 1 c. cream in a bowl over an ice bath.

8. Whisk egg yolks and temper with cream mixture.

9. Pour egg yolks into pot with cream.

10. Whisk egg-cream mixture constantly over medium heat until it coats the back of a spoon.

11. Strain custard into remaining cold cream.

12. Stir cream and custard together.

13. Chill mixture in refrigerator until cold.

14. Freeze mixture in ice cream maker.

15. Ripen ice cream in air tight container in freezer at least 4 hours before serving.

Raspberry Ice Cream

Monday I made raspberry Ice cream with the raspberries that we all picked on Thursday. I used cream, milk, yoghurt, raspberries, sugar, vanilla and lime juice. When the mixture was all smooth I didn't like all the seeds so I strained most of them out. I didn't add a lot of lime juice, but I thought in the end it had a bit of a cherry limeaid flavor. Everyone got two scoops--and it was gone.

Speaking of ice cream we went to the dairy quite a few times last week. I've had trouble with vanilla ice cream. Sometimes I think it tastes mediciney. It happened at the dairy recently. Well, they had a new flavor this week and it was really good--Cinnamon Honey Vanilla. No medicine flavor there. Right now I think my favorite flavor is peanut butter. I can't get enough of it. Still, I really miss Amy's. It is better than the dairy, and the dairy doesn't have any alcoholic flavors, so I won't be getting Guinness or Bourbon ice cream any time soon.

Blueberry Pie Ice Cream

Blueberries were a really good price so I bought two pints. I thought I'd make gelato or ice cream. I finally got off my butt and made some ice cream today. I added the spices that I usually add to blueberry pie, so it tastes like blueberry pie. The texture isn't quite right--it reminds me of canned pears. I used my gelato recipe as a base, but changed it up a bit.

Blueberry Pie Ice Cream

1 c sugar

1 c heavy cream

vanilla

nutmeg

cardamom

1 pound blueberries (about 2 2/3 dry pints)

1. Stir together sugar and cream in a heavy pot over medium heat.

2. Add spices to taste.

3. Continue to stir cream until sugar is completely dissolved.

4. Dump blueberries into blender and pour cream mixture over them.

5. Puree berries until smooth.

6. Put mixture in refrigerator until completely chilled.

7. Pour puree into ice cream maker and churn for 25-10 minutes

8. Scrape ice cream into container and put into the freezer--ice cream will be firm and ready in 3-4 hours.

Oh Yeah, Baby!

This morning I weighed in at 140. How did I celebrate? With Chick Fil-A and a trip to the dairy. Ross got a black cherry milk shake and I got chocolate cake batter and peanut butter ice cream. I really wanted to try that combo. There wasn't really anyone there when we got there, but all of a sudden the place was swarmed with lots of people and small children so we picked up our quart of cake batter ice cream and left.

Fun With Tejal

Tejal came to visit for the weekend and we had lots of fun.  On Friday we had yummy Greek food and went to the dairy for dessert. 
On Saturday we went hiking. The big tree looks totally different now that it has leaves. Tejal and I climbed up and Ross took photos. He kept teasing us because we were scooting along the lowest branch instead of standing up and walking. Ross jumped up onto the tree, stood up, took two steps, and ended up on the ground on his back. See kids, don't be a Ross.  
After our hike we took a break along the river's edge.  I even put my feet in for a while.  The water was cold, yet soothing.
Saturday night we went to Longwood Gardens and walked even more.

On Sunday we drove all the way to College Park for Boba.  It wasn't as good as it is at Bethany Boba back home. I was able to buy some of my favorite kind of oolong tea, so I'll be getting hyped up on Chinese Power Juice nearly every day. After dinner (I made enchiladas!) we ended up at the dairy for dessert.
On Monday before we took Tejal to the airport we went to the dairy one last time.  We really didn't want to let her go.

Another Great Day

We have had two days of great, hot weather. That meant two days of driving around with the top down.

Today we headed to Baltimore for lunch with the Lusters. We got to spend a little time with them before they went to see Thomas the Train. After lunch Ross and I went did a little shopping. I'm looking for some wedges to replace my flip flops. I had to throw out my black platform flip flops before we left Texas and my brown ones are getting a little ragged. Ross is the one who ended up buying a pair of shoes! We also made a trip to Whole Foods to stock up on some cereal and yoghurt.

After snap (snack and a nap) we ran a couple of errands. I'm thrilled that I found Dundee Ginger at TJ Maxx. I've been out of ginger preserves since we got here and hadn't been able to find it anywhere. I bought another brand, but I don't think it is as potent. At the end of the day we ended up at Broom Bloom Dairy. The line was super long, but I'm glad we stuck it out. They had cake batter on the board, so we bought a quart. I had some caramel cashew ice cream and Ross had vanilla with Reese's pieces. It was a great end to a great day.

Fun Fun Fun!

My day didn't start out fun because I sat in traffic for an hour (and still had to drive half an hour), but it sure turned out to be a great day. After lunch, Valerie and I shopped the Columbia Mall until we were totally worn out. I ended up spending money (oops) on a pair of linen blend capris. I got to drive the car with the top down today! Yeah, sun! To top off such a fun day Ross and I went to the dairy for ice cream. They didn't have cake batter, but they did have free samples of avocado--and I like it!

Up for tomorrow: cherry blossoms in DC.

Our First Excursion

When I lived in Maryland before I didn't get out much. This time I'm going to see and do as much as I can because I'm not sure how long we will be here. One thing that we have here that we didn't have in Fort Worth is nearby hiking. Yesterday we headed to Susquehanna State Park (only 15 minutes away) for a hike. It was more of a nature walk than a hike this time, but I really enjoyed it, and it was great to get some exercise and fresh air in my lungs. Next time we will try out some more challenging trails.
The first part of the walk was along train tracks. It is hard to tell, but the ground is about five feet under the tracks at this one spot. Ross thought it was too easy for me and started stomping on the tracks when I was almost across. I still made it without falling (can't say the same for Ross, and I wasn't anywhere near the tracks when he was crossing).

We walked out along the Susquehanna River's edge, and walked back along the train tracks.
I didn't try to walk across this section. Here you can see one track still pretty straight, and the other has sagged down to the ground below.
This is the water that runs along the inside of the island we explored.

After our hike we headed to the dairy where we met up with Valerie and Evelyn. I think Evelyn really liked her ice cream (we all did). Ross had a good time playing with Evelyn--reading her a book, playing with her outside, and trying to get her to pet a lamb. Ice cream was the perfect ending to our excursion.

Uh, It Just Kinda Happened

I cheated on Amy.  Well, at least I feel like I did.  We kept passing this place called Broom Bloom Dairy.  We kept laughing at the signs.  Small signs in the grass said ICE CREAM, BEEF LAMB, and PORK CHEESE.  After lunch today we stopped off to get a scoop of ice cream.  Ross got black cherry and I got cake batter.  That's right.  Cake batter flavored ice cream!  The very small sized cup wasn't small at all and it was served with a metal spoon!  One spoonful and I fell in love.  It tasted just like cake batter.  The black cherry was also superb.  I have a feeling we'll be going there more than we should.

Austin Indulgences

We went to Austin on Thursday and drove back late last night. On Thursday night I made yellow cake cupcakes and (dark) chocolate frosting. The cupcakes turned out all right, but I was a little disappointed in the frosting. I used 70% cacao chocolate instead of semisweet chocolate and didn't even think about adding extra sugar. Anyway, the frosting wasn't great, but it didn't keep any of us from eating the cupcakes.

On Friday morning Ross went mountain biking with Joey and I went to the gym for a weights class and some cardio. My abs were (still are) very sore from the medicine ball work out I did on Thursday before yoga.

Of course we had Amy's ice cream yesterday. I'm not sure how we managed to eat it after stuffing ourselves full of Indian food. I had Frangelico, Ross had sweet cream with cookie dough on top, and Joey had dark chocolate. We ate so much for lunch that we only had boba and popcorn chicken for dinner. Well, actually, we only had milk tea, no boba.

Joey was nice enough to drive me back to Atomic after we had our milk tea. Justin said the piercing looks good and took a few photos. He said that he will post them on the website soon. I'll check periodically and post a link if I see them. He showed me some bling that I can buy. I was tempted to buy it right away, but I just need to concentrate more on taking care of what I have. I haven't soaked the piercing in a couple of days.

Weekend Warrior

What a weekend! I am still in Austin because I did not have the energy to drive home last night.
I feel as though I have spent two days and nights being tortured physically and mentally. I am completely drained.

Saturday night after my training class I taught yoga at Lisa Diane's house. Cali (pictured above) was eager to join in, practicing frog on Lee's yoga mat before we got started.

Sunday was an emotional roller coaster. The highlight of my day was drunken cherry ice cream from Amy's at lunch. Don't you just love the great chalk art of Wall-E? Some peppered turkey (and garlic mashed potatoes) at County Line made me feel so much better at the end of a long, draining day. I learned some great things this weekend, but I still have no idea what I'm going to do with my life ...