Running Errands

I had to run a couple errands over the weekend. Since I wanted to let Esther have some time to herself, I took the kids with me. Of course, nothing is free. The cost of dragging the kids along with me to three different stores: ice cream.

On the way back from the shopping misadventure, we stopped at Carvel in DeWitt. I remember going to Carvel as a kid. It’s changed through the years, but still remains a good place to have great tasting ice cream. In fact, recently Carvel increased their portions. The “kiddie size” is now closer to a small.

Since we were on a schedule (after all, I broke a cardinal rule and had ice cream BEFORE dinner), I asked the kids to share a flavor. Here’s what they thought:

S6: I went to Carvel with G8 and Dad. [G8 and I] got Chocolate Crunch. I LOVED it. It was great. It was chocolaty!

G8: We went to Carvel! S6 and I had Chocolate Crunch. It is made of chocolate ice cream and crushed Oreo! I really liked it because there were sometimes chunks of Oreo in it! I liked to eat the chunks of Oreo with ice cream! I liked the store because it is [a] very yummy store! I also like it because it is very, very close.

I tried Chocolate Volcano. It was primarily a vanilla ice cream with chocolate mixed in. It also had those small chocolate crunchy morsels of goodness that they sometimes put on ice cream cakes. You end up with vanilla and chocolate mixed together with a light crunch in every bite. The combination may sound simple, possibly even boring. But when it hits your mouth, you realize the elegance that is conveyed through its simplicity. Genius. Sheer Genius.

Next time, maybe something with peanut butter cups…

Frozen Bananas

One can only eat so much ice cream.  Well, sort of.  Our family can eat an unlimited amount of ice cream, but then we’d all have serious health issues. 

I had been brainstorming some healthier frozen options when I was inspired at Disneyland.  The ice cream guy only had one Mickey-ice-cream-on-a-stick left.  So I  did the mature thing and let the kids have the Mickey ice cream and ordered a frozen chocolate covered banana.  I have to say, I really enjoyed it!  And I didn’t have to feel guilty after eating it. After all, its really fruit!

I enjoyed it so much I decided we needed to re-create it at home… (This recipe is so easy the kids had a great time doing much of it themselves.)

Here’s the recipe:

1.  Peel 4 ripe, but still firm, bananas.   Cut them in half width-wise and insert a craft stick into each banana.  Lay them out in a dish to freeze. Cover and freeze for about at least 4 hours. 

 

You want your bananas nice and frozen.  (We did overnight.)

(It would be helpful to line your dish with wax or parchment paper.  We didn’t do that and had a little trouble lifting the bananas out after they were frozen.)

2.   Melt your choice of dark chocolate over a double boiler with hot (not boiling) water.  We used 2 bars of Hershey’s Dark Chocolate.)

3.  Dip your frozen bananas into the chocolate, then roll it in whatever topping you’d like.  We used rainbow sprinkles and walnuts, just because we had them in the house. 

One website suggested that you transfer the chocolate into a glass and then dunk your banana into the chocolate.  We tried that, but in the end, I found it easier to just spoon the chocolate onto the banana. I was able to use all the chocolate, as well as cover the banana better that way. 

I had the toppings in pie pans to make it easier to roll the bananas. But again, I discovered it was easier to just spoon the toppings right onto the chocolate. 

4.  Set your covered bananas onto wax or parchment paper and freeze for an hour. 

Actually, our bananas were so frozen that the chocolate hardened almost immediately.  But, putting the chocolate covered bananas back into the freezer ensures a nice hard chocolate shell.  Also, I realized I didn’t have wax paper, so used aluminum foil instead.  It worked out fine. 

5. Store frozen bananas in the freezer.  (I just put ours in a big Ziploc bag.)

 

 

Who knew fruit could be so yummy ? 

Frozen Faves…

Like our new look?  We added a banner behind the title of the blog, depicting our favorite ice cream flavors.  G8 colored the center 2 cones, and S6 colored the end cones. 

And now, presenting our frozen fave’s…(The kids wrote their own descriptions.  Anything in brackets is part of the “editing”)

Mike: Who doesn’t like Chocolate ice cream? It’s true there are many flavors to choose from – almost too many! Sometimes ice cream flavor listings resemble a laundry list…literally. Muddy Sneakers? Dirt?

There are precious few ice cream flavors ice cream I wouldn’t try at least once. Chocolate is the old standby. It’s the flavor you feel bad ordering because there are so many other exotic combinations to try. But, you know that if you can’t chose from the 39 flavors scribbled on the chalkboard quickly enough,  you won’t be disappointed by chocolate.

Esther: When we go out, I often order something I love, but no one else in the family enjoys.  That way, I get to enjoy the flavors I like and don’t have to hear all the complaining. 

One of those flavors is pistachio.  I love nuts, particularly pistachios.  The nutty flavor and the little crunch goes great with the creaminess of the base.

But the real reason I included it in the banner? I thought a little green would zest up the picture a little! (My true favorite is coconut ice cream.)

G8:  Hi! My ice cream cone is the blue[one].  It’s on the right and is the third one.  It is blue because [the flavor] is called Smurf or Cotton Candy.  [I first tried it] at Chuck Hafner’s Garden Center  in North Syracuse. [Hafner’s has an ice cream stand right inside the garden center.]

[By the way, G8 doesn’t even really know what a Smurf is.  They’re not on TV anymore!]

S6:  Hi! I did the orange one [at the end].  [I chose this] because it is mango sorbet.  It is good!  You have to try it!

[Check out our Mango-Ginger Sorbet]

Your Turn…What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?