Tag Archives: Ice Cream

May 8, 2012 · 7:29 am

I scream, you scream

I wasted no time in testing out my new ice cream maker, as if there was any doubt. After browsing a few recipe ideas online, it all seemed pretty simple. I whisked 1 can of full fat coconut milk, 1/4 cup of honey, 1 tsp of vanilla, about 2-3 tbsp of Ghirardelli dark cocoa powder, and a pinch of salt in a bowl.

I let that hang out in the fridge for a couple of hours to chill. Then is was magic time. I turned on the machine (I had frozen the bowl for a good day and a half) and watched, giddy with anticipation.

Fifteen minutes later, I was rewarded with a luscious batch of creamy chocolate coconut ice cream.

So good, and so healthy you could eat it for breakfast. Not that I would ever do that, no sir. I already have a ton of flavor options spinning around in my head. Good thing the bowl is back in the freezer already.

And for the completely indulgent side of things (let’s face it, ice cream can’t always be healthy), I wish for this book in my near future:

Important question: What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

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May 6, 2012 · 1:44 pm

Happy day

First things first. Coconut syrup is back at Starbucks. Oh, happy day!

I stopped for my usual post-run coaching soy mocha and was beyond excited when I could make it a coconut mocha.

On my way home I decided to stop at Bed Bath & Beyond because I had a gift certificate that has been burning a hole in my wallet since we moved last November. I wandered around aimlessly, not really finding anything that I just had to have. That is, until I turned a corner and spotted this baby.

Oh yes, come to mama. I have been lusting after an ice cream maker for so long. I used a coupon and my gift certificate which made for a great deal on this beautiful machine. The freezer bowl is already in the freezer, where it must remain for 16-24 hours before I can make ice cream. I cannot wait.

Six days until the Ice Age 50 Mile Trail Race. I am excited and ready and only slightly nervous. This past week was a little rough on the running front. I didn’t feel the best after returning from vacation, which I can only attribute to the lack of sleep and inordinate consumption of food, sugar, and alcohol. My focus this week will be on getting plenty of sleep and eating nutritious foods all week long. Ice cream is very nutritious, in case you were wondering. I ran 8 trail miles yesterday and 8 easy road miles today. My plan is to take Monday off (or maybe run a few super-easy miles), run 6 on Tuesday, and 6ish on Wednesday. Wednesday afternoon I will get a massage to flush out my legs, and I will rest on Thursday and Friday while loading up on good food. That should make everything good to go for Saturday.

Do you have an ice cream maker? Any recipes to share?

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April 26, 2012 · 7:38 am

Scenes from vacation

This is the best way to wake up while on vacation.

Coffee, ocean, sunshine, book.

We did another 4 mile beach run on Tuesday after I ran 6.5 miles on the roads.

I also had fun playing with the fish eye setting on my camera.

We have been eating dinner every night at the house. Tuesday night everyone had tenderloin and I had seared tuna steak. Perfection.

Steve and I bought beer bottle koozies to use on the boat this summer.

Many games of pool have been played.

On Tuesday night I may or may not have done one too many shots that resulted in a dance party on top of the pool table.

Ok, I guess that did happen, pool cue and all.

On Wednesday Steve and I went biking. We rode 18 miles south of Avon to Hatteras in search of ice cream. It was so windy on the way down that I swore off biking forever. At one point we were going 12.5 mph. On a pancake flat road. We finally got into town and couldn’t find the ice cream shop that I wanted to go to. Luckily for everyone involved, I did find an ice cream cone. It could have gotten ugly.

On the bright side, we absolutely flew on the way back. There was one stretch of brand new blacktop road, and I looked down to see we were cruising along at 27 mph. We ended up with 37.2 miles in 2:08, or around a 17.5 mph average. Not bad for my second ride of the year. You better believe my sit bones are feeling it today.

On the agenda for today is climbing the tallest lighthouse in North America.

source

Sigh, why does vacation always go by so quickly?

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April 12, 2012 · 2:27 pm

Costco Ice Cream Bar

Back in February my mom and Joe embarked on a three week trip to Hawaii. I talked to her several times while she was off aloha-ing and luau-ing around the islands. Perhaps the most exciting discovery of their trip was the Costco Hand-Dipped Ice Cream Bar. Yes, they frequented Costco while on vacation, as some of the places they stayed had a kitchen where they could eat some of their meals. As she described the bar in luscious detail over the phone, I excitedly wondered if said ice cream bar existed at our very own Costco here in Wisconsin. As excited as I was, I was also baffled that I was not aware of the existence of this mother of all ice cream bars. I drooled as she mentioned the vanilla ice cream, the thick layer of hand-dipped chocolate, and…wait for it…the thick coating of chopped almonds. Add the fact that the treat rings up for $1.50 and it seemed too good to be true.

Fast forward to after their trip. I got a call from my mom that she went to Costco and they did indeed have the ice cream bar. Oh joyous day! We made plans to meet there on a Friday after work, but our plans were foiled by a rogue snow storm. Before we had a chance to reschedule our outing, my mom went and did something very silly. She Googled the ice cream bar and found out that it clocks in at a whopping 870 calories. Eighthundredandseventycalories. Oh my. Could an ice cream treat possibly be worth half of a day’s worth of calories? I tried to put it out of my mind.

Fast forward to yesterday. After completing some yard work at our house, my mom and I headed out to do some shopping at Costco. We consumed a fair amount of samples, as we had not eaten a proper lunch. After we checked out, I suggested possibly ordering a frozen yogurt. As we debated the Very Berry Sundae or the simple Twist cup, my mom didn’t seem to thrilled. She finally declared that we should get the ice cream bar to share. Who am I to argue with my mom? I watched from afar as our bar was dipped in rich luscious chocolate and generously rolled in chopped almonds. My mouth watered as my mom placed the bar on the table and handed me a spoon.

We gobbled up the entire bar, that as evidenced in the above photo, was as big as my mom’s head. It was spectacular. Once the bar was gone, the stray almonds picked off of the foil, and the stick licked clean, my mom looked at me and said,

“It was worth it.”

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March 25, 2012 · 2:01 pm

Ice cream ride

My weekend started bright and early on Saturday morning when my alarm so rudely woke me up at 5am. Why? I had a 50k training run on the agenda. It was a trail run to benefit MS Run the US, and it ended up being an awesome day. I ran with a few different people throughout the day and finished with 31.6 miles in around 5:30. The run must have taken a lot out of me, because for the rest of Saturday, all I did was nap and eat, on and off. The only reason I got up off the couch was to get food. Seriously, bottomless pit.

I woke up this morning feeling much more rested, but my legs still felt tired so I knew I didn’t want to run today. I contemplated what my workout would be over some blackberry pancakes topped with sunflower seed butter, bananas, and maple syrup.

It was pretty nice outside, so I asked Steve if he wanted to go on a really slow bike ride around the lake with me. It was my first outdoor ride this year, and that combined with my tired legs and a super-hilly route made for slow travels. We both overdressed a little bit and were feeling quite warm in the sun, so we were forced to stop for ice cream to cool off.

Trust me, it was totally necessary. And delicious.

Weekly totals:

52 miles running

14.25 miles biking

I cut back on the running miles a little bit this week because of the 50k, and will likely do the same this coming week with a marathon on the agenda for next Saturday.

What is the best thing you ate this weekend?

Me – Wisconsin cherry walnut cranberry fudge ice cream, even though I didn’t find a single walnut in there.

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September 10, 2011 · 7:56 am

Ironman check-in

Steve, James and I made it to Madison yesterday without incident, and went directly to athlete check-in. The whole Ironman check-in process is long, and took about an hour. There are waivers, USAT licensing, weigh-in, and then a line to get your bags/swim caps/wrist bands/etc. After that we headed into the official Ironman store, where I wanted to buy some water bottles and a new race number belt. I got in a crazy long line to check out, and when it hadn’t moved after about 10 minutes, I gave up. Hopefully it is a little less crazy today and I can get what I need for the race.

I love how you can literally feel the excitement in the air. The whole city becomes electric with Ironman. The wristbands make it official.

I may or may not have squealed a little when I found out my swim cap is hot pink. Maybe the swim won’t be so bad after all.

After checking into the hotel and relaxing for a little bit, it was time to walk back to Monona Terrace for the athlete dinner and mandatory rules meeting.

The food was average, but the whole point of the dinner is to get everyone pumped up for the race. Mike Reilly spoke, giving a bunch of statistics about the race, like which states have the most participants racing. All 50 states are represented, as well as a bunch of different countries. The field is 26% women, and I am in the largest female age group, with around 180 women. He also honored the 200 first responders that will be racing on the 10th anniversary of 9/11, and the 10th anniversary of Ironman Wisconsin. Pretty cool stuff, and I’m sure it will be an exciting and emotional day out there.

After the dinner, we just had to stop at the Chocolate Shoppe on State Street for ice cream. It wasn’t even my idea, I swear.

Fat Elvis = banana ice cream, peanut butter chunks, and liquid chocolate chip swirl. Oh yes.

Today we will be checking in our bikes and gear bags, and getting in the lake for a little warm up swim. Then it will be an early dinner and hopefully an early bed time!

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