How To Make Creamy Ice Cream with Just One Ingredient! | Apartment Therapy... Yes, that's right; you heard us. Creamy, soft-serve style ice cream with just one ingredient — and no ice cream maker needed! What is this one magic ingredient that can be whipped into perfectly rich and silky ice cream, with no additional dairy, sweeteners, or ingredients needed whatsoever? If you guessed BANANA, congratulations! You're right! What? "That's the sort of thing you discover," she sighed, "when all your friends are vegan, gluten-free, dairy-allergic, and you're on a sugar-free diet." It turns out that frozen bananas are good for more than just dipping in chocolate. Some bananas, depending on their ripeness, have a bit of that green aftertaste. Have you ever tried frozen-banana ice cream? Want more detailed instructions and step-by-step photos? → Step-by-Step Instructions for One-Ingredient Ice Cream Now try more flavors... → Magic One-Ingredient Ice Cream 5 Ways: Peanut Butter, Nutella, and More (Images: Faith Durand)
Quick Chicken and Gravy — Our Life In The Kitchen It’s been a busy week, one where quick and easy is the only hope of cooking dinner instead of doing takeout. A bag of frozen chicken tenderloins pulled from the freezer, steamed rice and whatever veggie might be on hand and dinner’s ready in about 30 minutes. Chicken tenderloinsButterFlourSalt/PepperMarjoram and Thyme tonight, because I’m out of Sage.Chicken Broth Melt enough butter to generously cover the bottom of a large saute pan. Heat until it’s just barely turning brown. Add the chicken and season with salt, pepper and herbs. Once the chicken is starting to brown, turn it over. Cook just another minute or two, stirring a bit. Sprinkle with enough flour to coat the chicken well. Stir until chicken is well coated, butter is absorbed and flour just starts to cook. Add 3 cups of chicken broth. And then stirring in Better Than Bouilion paste. Simmer over low heat until the chicken is completely done and the gravy is thickened. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.
homemade peanut butter cups Everybody likes getting candy, even if they are (ahem) maybe a bit too old to be Trick or Treating. (If that's even possible.) Here's a cute idea to dress up a sweet candy gift for a friend or coworker, preset your candy in decorative jars! Needed: mini cupcake pan plus mini sized cupcake liners (we used brown ones), 1 bag (about 2 cups) dark or semi-sweet chocolate, 2 tablespoons oil, 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, 2 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 3/4 cup powder sugar. First, line your mini cupcake pan with liners. While that is cooling, make the peanut butter filling. Now melt the remaining chocolate with 1 tablespoon oil. Have fun making your own peanut butter cups!
Choc. Syrup I love it when I can easily make something at home and it turns out to be just as good or better than the more expensive store-bought kind. I’ve been wanting to try some homemade chocolate syrup. The basic recipe is very simple, but there are a few variations of it, so the other day I decided to experiment with them and have a chocolate syrup taste test. Not a shabby way to spend the afternoon! The one I liked the best was from Amy Dacyczyn’s The Complete Tightwad Gazette. ½ cup cocoa powder 1 cup water 2 cups sugar ⅛ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon vanilla Mix the cocoa powder and the water in a saucepan. The result is very rich, so I only use a teaspoon for a glass of chocolate milk. I poured the chocolate into a flip-top glass bottle and added a label. I’ve been gradually learning how to replace some of the foods we used to buy. Small Notebook is full of practical ideas to simplify your life and home.
Choc. Mint Brownies On my rugby team, we used to have a captain who was like the team mom. She would make delicious baked goods all the time and bring them for us to eat after our games (needless to say, we were very sad when she retired to have a baby... lucky kid!). One of the most awesome things she made were brownies with a layer of mint frosting, so when I stumbled across this recipe, I knew I had to give it a try. The end result was SO GOOD -- rich brownie complemented by cool mint. --recipe--Chocolate Mint Brownies, with my notesoriginal from Joy of Baking website Brownie Layer: 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, cut into pieces4 ounces (114 grams) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used Scharffen Berger 80%)1 1/4 cups (250 grams) granulated white sugar1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract2 large eggs1/2 cup (70 grams) all purpose flour1/4 teaspoon salt Mint Layer: Chocolate Glaze: 3 ounces (90 grams) semisweet chocolate, chopped (Here, I used Scharffen Berger 70%)1 tablespoon (14 grams) unsalted butter
DIY Vest | My Everyday Couture September 10th, 2010 VanessaF Our twitter fans have asked “How do you wear a scarf as a vest?” What you will need: A scarf Safety pin Turning a scarf into a vest is easy and a great way to offer a different look to your outfit as well as your accessory serving a completely different purpose. Step 1. Align your scarf so that its centered around your neck and even on both sides. Step 2. Place the two ends together and twist. Step 3. Place a safety pin inside the twisted area to secure the scarf. You can also close the front of the scarf about half way down in the center and pin it there as well for a closed look, however, getting away with a pin in the back is easier than in the front so if it doesn’t work out try using a matching brooch to make it a bit more chic. -Vanessa F. Back by popular demand is the DIY on how to turn your scarf into a vest! share You can leave a response , or trackback from your own site.
Travel Rant: On the Importance of Gratitude I’m currently settled into the lovely city of Vientiane, Laos for the Christmas holidays. I love it here – everything from the colonial architecture, the garishly colored temples, the wonderful food and the lovely, friendly Laos people. It has been a bit of an adjustment coming from Japan where you rarely see a foreigner and people move very quickly to this place that is absolutely brimming with Western tourists and where everyone takes their time. Many of the tuk tuk drivers have hammocks installed in the back of their vehicles and in the hot afternoon sun, can be seen napping away the afternoon. After the 25th we’ll be heading out to more rural areas of the country, in an attempt to get away from the huge number of tourists. It’s not that I don’t like running into other travelers or hearing a familiar language, but because it’s so cheap, Vientiane is also packed with the kind of people who are here only because it allows them to live on less that $20 a day, and it’s warm.
Loquat and Strawberry Pate de Fruits Recipe (French Fruit Jelly Candies These ancient sweets are called pâte de fruits "maison". "Maison" means house in French. The candies are very easy and require only a few ingredients: fruit pulp, pectin and sugar. I made strawberry fruit purée and added fresh loquats as well. I usually make these candies when I have very ripe fruits in the garden. These "mignardises" (pretty, delicate sweets in French) are delicious to take to a picnic or as homemade gifts. Ingredients Yields: 50 candies 3 pints fresh strawberries, you might need more to reach 18 oz of fruit purée½ cup fresh loquats2 tablespoons light corn syrup5-½ teaspoons powdered pectin½ teaspoon citric acid powder, +1/8 teaspoon for coating3 cups granulated sugar1 teaspoon pure vanilla powder (optional) 1 candy thermometer Directions The day before... In one bowl, combine 1-¼ cups sugar with pectin. In another bowl, combine 1-¼ cups sugar and citric powder. Wash, peel and seed the loquats. Stem the strawberries and add them to the blender as well. The next day... Tips
Frosting I’ve been intrigued with this frosting recipe for months, not just because of its alluring title, but also because if its ingredients. Five tablespoons of flour? In frosting? Let’s just say my interest was piqued. I finally got around to making it yesterday evening; Marlboro Man’s grandmother has some old friends staying at The Lodge and I wanted to take them a treat. So I whipped up this frosting, slapped it on some chocolate cupcakes…and wound up considering not sharing them with the guests because it was so delicious. You owe it to yourself to make this frosting sometime in your life. You’ll just have to trust me on this. Here’s how you make it: First things first: I made chocolate sheet cake cupcakes. Here’s the recipe: The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake (or Cupcakes!) Let your cupcakes (or cake) cool completely. Begin by pouring 5 tablespoons of flour into 1 cup of milk. After adding the flour, whisk it together until combined, then place the saucepan over medium heat. I’m bossy.
Marshmellows Intro Today I found myself pursuing the cold. I didn’t bundle up on our walk to the park after dinner. For moments like these I not only welcome the cold, I invite it in like a long lost friend because nothing is more satisfying to remove a chill then with a steaming mug of rich hot cocoa and sweet vanilla scented homemade marshmallows. Ingredients adapted from Alton Brown 3 packages unflavored gelatin 1 cups cold water, divided 12 ounces granulated sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups 1 cup light corn syrup (or glucose) 1 teaspoon kosher salt 1 vanilla bean, seeds removed 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar 1/4 cup cornstarch Nonstick spray Method Place the gelatin into the bowl of a stand mixer along with 1/2 cup of the water. Turn the mixer on low speed and, while running, slowly pour the sugar syrup down the side of the bowl into the gelatin mixture. Combine the confectioners’ sugar and cornstarch in a small bowl.