Oh man, so much baking going on this week. I have three cakes for the end of the week, so I’m trying to be responsible and plan ahead and get a jump on all the work. It’s exciting to have cakes, including this monster of chocolaty goodness.
I think I pulled a muscle lifting the bowl of batter for this puppy. (But the cake’s not going to be a puppy…not even close.)
I was eleven years old the first time I had ice cream. I was lactose intolerant when I was younger which precluded me from enjoying the creamy goodness that is ice cream. However, once I had that first taste, I never looked back. My first real job was at an ice cream stand where I worked on making the perfect ice cream scoop and became a truly skilled soft-serve ice cream cone maker.
Not too long ago I stumbled upon an ice cream maker on super sale. I snatched it up and have made a few batches of ice cream here and there with mixed results. But yesterday when I was at the store and saw that strawberries were on sale, I picked up a bunch. And by a bunch I mean four pounds.
With four pounds of strawberries in hand and since yesterday was a Thursday, I figured it was as good a time as any to whip up some delicious strawberry ice cream. I use skim milk mostly because I think using whole milk and heavy cream is too rich and not refreshing enough for me.
This ice cream is a cinch to make. No cooking, no eggs, just mix and go!
Strawberry Ice Cream
Wash and hull the strawberries. Mash them in a bowl with the back of a fork. Mix all of the ingredients together in a large bowl. Refrigerate for a half hour. The colder the mixture before you freeze it, the better.
Pour the mixture into your ice cream maker and freeze according to the directions.
You’re probably wondering who Hadi is. And why he says “Yes!”
Hadi is one of my coworkers. And the other day was his birthday. And I don’t know why he says “Yes!”, but most of the time “Yes!” is a pretty good answer. Unless the question is, “May I please leave you in the middle of the ocean holding onto a small piece of drift wood with your feet dangling in the water, just waiting to be eaten by a giant fish?”
Or maybe that’s just me.
Anyways…as you may (hopefully!) have figured out from the picture, Hadi likes soccer. Hadi also used to do taekwondo. I currently do taekwondo. This led to some bonding over taekwondo. And a small sorta Hadi-like figure in a taekwondo outfit. Also, this might be the most times the word “taekwondo” has been used in a non-taekwondo related website.
Also, my computer’s suggested spelling correction for “taekwondo” is “Wonderbra”. I think we can leave it at that.
Wow, this post diverged. Sorry about that Hadi! Happy Birthday!
After 8 loooonnnggg days, Passover is finally over tonight. I love Passover…for the first two nights. Then, well then I start craving foods that I don’t even normally want to eat (and some that I do). Texas toast? 7 layer bean dip? Entire bottles of corn syrup? I am a girl who once ate an entire loaf of French bread while in line to get into a movie. I had an entire birthday party devoted to corn products. I loves me some leavened food products.
Almost every year I break Passover with pizza. Soft crust, garlicky sauce, salty cheese…yum. And this year? Well this year I’m breaking Passover with a hamburger. But if I was going to break Passover with pizza, I would make this pizza. Because you don’t have to wait for the dough to rise. It’s a vision. And it’s delicious.
No Rise Pizza Dough
Adapted from Goodfruit
In a large bowl, combine 1 1/4 cups flour, the yeast, and the salt. Add the warm water and the olive oil.
Beat on low speed with an electric mixer for 30 seconds.
Switch to high speed and beat for 3 minutes. Timing is pretty important here, so keep your eye on the clock.
Stir in as much of the remaining flour is needed until you get a nice ball of dough.
Turn out the ball of dough on a floured surface and knead until it is smooth and elastic.
Then, roll it out onto a pan and add desired toppings.
Bake for 10-15 minutes in a 450º oven.
