Ice Cream Sundays - {malted vanilla with peanut brittle}

Malted vanilla ice cream with peanut brittle and milk chocolate pieces was such a yummy ice cream and we had so much fun photoshooting it in our backyard, that I just couldn't wait to share.  The recipe is from the awesome Sweet Cream and Sugar Cones by Kris Hoogerhyde and Anne Walker (excellent photography by Paige Green) - I just love everything about this book, including this recipe, the first one I made from it.

I was a little skeptical to put peanut brittle in my ice cream.  Peanut brittle, which is so delicious, but can sometimes break a tooth, seemed too hard for ice cream.  But, I wanted to give it a try, so I made a double batch (of course) and put peanut brittle in half of it.  I didn't use the book's recipe for the peanut brittle, however, because my store doesn't sell raw peanuts and the authors really emphasized using raw peanuts.  So I used the peanut brittle from the Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream Book, also an excellent book.  I hope to have both of these up on Book Nook soon!  Anyway, I omitted the bacon (!) from that recipe, and it made a very tasty, if not tooth-shattering, batch of peanut brittle.  I was good to go!

For the milk chocolate pieces, I used the stracciatella technique from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz, which is also excellent (are you getting tired of that weekly link to this book?).  The milk chocolate didn't want to cooperate as stracciatella, but I tried to make it work.  So, we ended up with globs rather than a nice thin stream of milk chocolate, but no one complained.

Side by side, the peanut brittle version won, hands down.  It added a wonderful sweetness to the ice cream, and softened quite a bit.  Next time, it'll be a double batch with the peanut brittle in it all.

As for the photo shoot, we headed out to the backyard on a beautiful afternoon earlier this month.  Looking at these shots makes me want to photoshoot and eat malted vanilla ice cream with peanut brittle (definitely) and milk chocolate pieces over and over again!

-Cheryl

Book Nook - Where Women Create

Where Women Create: Book of Inspiration by Jo Packham and Jenny Doh:



I just finished three of the Where Women Create books, and this one was my favorite of the bunch.  23 artists are featured - each artist tells about her art, what inspires her, what are "her colors" and gives a tip or two on how to be organized.  There are tons of pictures of the artist's workspace, her art and a shot of the artist too.  I really enjoyed taking a peek at the various artists and learning about what they do.  Each artist's chapter is a nice length - I felt like I got just the right amount of insight into that person's artistic life, and there are website and blog links for each artist in case you want to learn more about that person.  This book was an inspiring look at some talented women leading creative lives.

I also enjoyed Where Women Cook: Celebrate! by Jo Packham & The Publishers of Somerset Studio:

 

This one is set up similar to the Inspiration book in that each chapter features an "artist" (in this case, it's a foodie), a little about what that person does, and then sets the scene for some kind of celebration that they had and what food they served.  Then, there's a recipe or two, and of course, tons of pictures.  There are a lot of really interesting ladies featured here, many I've heard of (Ashley English, Helene Dujardin & Molly Wizenberg), and some that were totally new to me.  Website & blog addresses are included in this book too, but this time they're all in the back.  It's a fun little book that might put you in the mood to throw your own get-together.

Last, we have Where Women Create: Book of Organization by Jo Packham and The Publishers of Somerset Studio:





This one is an honorable mention.  If you like to look at cool vintage storage shelves/bins/containers, then check out this book (from the library - I'm afraid I can't recommend you buy this one).  That's basically what this book is: vintage eye candy.  There's not really much information other than what you see, and I felt a little frustrated by the way the book was set up (which is funny, considering it's a book on organization).  Artists are featured, but never really discussed except to show their stuff & how they store it.  It would be helpful to know that that particular artist does so that we can learn why this storage might work for them.  In one part of the book, an artist mentioned a couple of times how this vintage blue storage shelf (or something like that - I'm too lazy to find the exact quote!) is her go-to organization salvation.  But we never see this blue shelf.  So, if you love the other Where Women Create books, I'd suggest checking this one out just for fun.  But again, borrow it from a friend or the library, because this one is not as inspiring as the Inspiration book or as useful (with all those recipes) as the Celebrate book.

-Cheryl

Ice Cream Sundays - {cookie dough}

I made chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream earlier this summer for Little Dude's birthday, per his special request.  In fact, I also made chocolate and strawberry for his birthday, too.  Not only do birthdays last for more than one day in our family, but now we seem to be adding additional cakes (DD had 2, Little Dude had 3) and a variety of Mama's homeade ice cream to the mix (DD had 3 kinds and so did Little Dude).  Our oldest DD's birthday is later this week, and so far it looks like it will be a reasonable 2 cakes, 2 different ice creams.  It's the Bach way!

So for the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, I used David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop (of course!).  The chocolate chip cookie dough recipe is very easy to make and it actually tastes like regular ol' cookie dough, minus the raw eggs.  I omitted the nuts because I wanted mine to taste as close to the Ben & Jerry's version (which was essential to my life through the 1990s) as possible.  I paired this "mix in" with the vanilla ice cream, Philadelphia style, which has no egg yolks in it, therefore it's a nice white color.  I chose this vanilla over the custard style vanilla in the book not only for the color, but also because the custard style is so rich it almost demands you eat it and enjoy it just as it is.  The Philadelphia style is a bit more laid back and just goes with the flow.

It was a great pairing and made a very yummy ice cream.  I would recommend eating it sooner rather than later (definitely not a problem around here) because a couple of days after Little Dude's party, it seemed like the cookie dough just wasn't its usual happy self.  It wasn't bad, but just not as fresh as the first serving.  So gobble it up right away (and in celebration of cookie dough and the 90s, eat it while you enjoy Friends and Seinfeld reruns.  Preferably on a Thursday night).

A note about the picture: I couldn't resist taking this shot, as I enjoyed this ice cream around the same time I was reading the book.  I'm sorry to say, but ice cream makes us fat (it's the carbs), but that doesn't stop me from making it (probably more than I should).  But I think you've got to give yourself little treats now & then and believe me, chocolate chip cookie dough is a very yummy treat.  Everything in moderation, right?! 

-Cheryl

Lithopolis Honeyfest

I mentioned a couple of posts back that the Bach family went to the Lithopolis HoneyFest earlier this month, and I wanted to share a few pictures from our day there.  It was a great festival, and the little town of Lithopolis (Ohio) is adorable!

A trio of beekeepers:

A very aggressive pipe-cleaner bee:

We definitely want to come back and check out all the cute antique shops and coffee house we saw in Lithopolis:

Such a cute little town....such a fun little festival!

-Cheryl

Book Nook - I Brake For Yard Sales

I Brake for Yard Sales (and Flea Markets, Thrift Shops, Auctions and the Occasional Dumpster) by Lara Spencer:



Occasionally this summer, I would come home and announce to DH, "well, it's official: I've turned into my mother."  This was always stated after I got home from a garage sale (which is what we call them here in Ohio).  My mother loves garage sales.  If I bought a purse at our local Goodwill, which I also did earlier this summer, I came home and announced to DH that I officially turned in to his mother - my MIL absolutely loves buying purses at Goodwill.

Perhaps our Moms are onto something here: you can get quality items, dirt cheap.  And that's what I Brake for Yard Sales is all about - how to work yard sales, thrift stores and flea markets to get some amazing deals on items for your home.

The author, Lara Spencer, is not interested in yard sale toys or clothing or household items like dishes.  Her focus, and the focus of the book, is furniture and maybe some lamps for your side tables.  This book is all about decor.  So, if you love to scour antique shops for vintage jewelry, or shop garage sales for kids clothes, or hit the thrift shop on sale day to score a new purse......well, this book might not be as useful.  Spencer even gives you tips on how to spot sales to avoid (in her opinion) - if there's a minivan parked in the driveway, it's probably not the sale for you (or, rather, her). 

However, if you love to buy furniture and/or redecorate, this is your book.  Page after page, you will find photos of beautiful furniture that she purchased and made fabulous.  Tables, chairs, lamps, art....and dog statues.  On each "find" she discloses the price she paid for it, and often, how she scored the find.  There are many before & after photos as well, which are sure to inspire you to check out your local paper's garage sale section.  I love the $5 coffee table she bought and the $79 buffet table that she painted a cheery red.

There are also lots of tidbits of information here.  She shares some of her favorite design websites (I checked out one of her recommendations - The Paris Apartment - and fell in love with several French-style goodies - too bad I can't afford any of them).  There's also estate sale etiquette, how to negotiate, basic info on painting furniture, names of popular fabrics and a list of her favorite places to shop in the "little black filofax."  There are also tons of interior shots of her two houses (yes, she has two houses.  I think the subtitle of the book, the part about the dumpster, is a bit of a gimmick.  She never once shows us any dumpster finds).  Anyway, there's also pictures of homes of her friends and Kathy Griffin's home, which Spencer redecorated in her thrift-store-chic style.  The book is a lot of fun to look through, and if you're shopping for furniture, there are some great tips on how to get some great finds at great deals.  Tips that can help you save bundles of cash over what you would pay retail. 

My mother, and MIL, would surely approve.

-Cheryl

Ice Cream Sundays - {peanut butter}

Our oldest DD doesn't like peanut butter.  She always has her PB&J sandwiches without the "PB" - we call them "just jelly" sandwiches.  But the peanut butter ice cream in David Lebovitz's book The Perfect Scoop is so sweet and yummy, that even she couldn't resist its charms.  She says it's one of her favorite ice creams, which is saying a lot for a kid who doesn't like peanut butter.

The recipe is a cinch to make - combine 5 ingredients in a blender, swirl them up, let the mixture sit in the fridge until really cold and then churn in your ice cream maker.  It's so easy!  Of course, you should plan on making hot fudge to go with it......peanut butter ice cream just begs for hot fudge.  Oh, and do a double batch - that's also a must.

DD's birthday is at the end of this month, and she's already requested peanut butter ice cream to go with her cake.  I can't wait to bust out the blender again & make another double-batch of this great ice cream!

-Cheryl

Photography news to share - focus on photography week

I have some great photography-related news: I won 1st place in the Lithopolis HoneyFest photo contest!  I am so excited about it!  I worked hard to get this shot of a honeybee - we went to our favorite Metro Park, Inniswood, twice because I just wasn't happy with my first round of shots.  I'm glad we went back because it gave me a chance to capture this very busy bee.  Here's DD and a little bee friend of hers checking out my photo and ribbon at last weekend's festival:

I'm also happy to tell you that I have a picture in the Fall edition of ParkScope, which is Columbus Metro Parks' quarterly magazine with great articles and program info.  This shot was taken at Chestnut Ridge last fall.  I actually don't know these people, but I hope they saw their pictures in the magazine & like the shot:

I also now have a Zenfolio website....want to see some of my favorite photos?  Here's the link: http://cherylbachphotography.zenfolio.com/.  Some of them have been featured here on the blog, others might be in a future post.  Let me know what you think!

-Cheryl