TOMORROW 3.23 ...Ben & Jerrys FREE cone day

The true sign of Spring..Ben & Jerrys FREE cone day! Tomorrow, March 23rd, Ben & Jerry's will celebrate their 32nd Annual Free Cone Day just to say thanks. Stop by participating shops on the 23rd from noon til 5pm and grab a free cone. Hopefully the weather is as good as the ice cream to enjoy!

Stone Ridge Creamery Frozen Yogurt (Part 1)

Lucky you, readers! I am catching up on a bunch of posts that have been queued on my agenda for a while -- posts to which I haven't had the time to commit the full focus they deserve.

Mid last summer, I got an email from a PR firm that represented Supervalu. They asked us if we wanted samples of Stone Ridge Creamery Tart Frozen Yogurt and Culinary Circle Chocolate Truffle Gooey Fudge Brownie Ice Cream Dessert. Um, yeah!

Like many readers, she was taken with the guest post by my husband, Kevin, who had written about his astronaut ice cream.

I told Kev we would be getting samples in the mail, but since he was such a hit as a writer and analyst, he would have to co-write this blog with me. However, since we can't seem to coordinate our schedules, he'll be following up with Part 2 in the near future).

Coincidentally, the samples arrived on a Thursday that kicked off a long weekend in Vermont with my parents, my older sister and her husband. I packed up the frozen treats and the dry ice in a cooler and we drove up to Vermont. When we got to Vermont, we opened the door and flipped the light switch. Nothing. My first concern was in fact, my cooler of ice cream and no power. We decided to put the frozen goodies in the freezer along with the dry ice and hope for the best. When my sister and brother-in-law arrived, we thought that it would be safer to break out the Culinary Circle Chocolate Truffle Gooey Fudge Brownie Ice Cream Dessert. Yum. The power came on as we took our first bites. Ah, the magic of ice cream.

We saved the frozen yogurt for the next day -- a treat we would enjoy with my parents when they arrived the next day. With four quarts of frozen yogurt, we were quite sure there would be enough for all six of us to enjoy. With spoons in hand, larger spoons in the carton, and large dishes, we proceeded to taste and discuss.

We ranked our favorites (from favorite to least favorite)

• Brother-in-law, Liam: vanilla, strawberry, pomegranate blueberry, peach
• Dad: vanilla, peach, strawberry, pomegranate blueberry
• Kevin: peach, strawberry, vanilla, pomegranate blueberry
• Mom: vanilla, pomegranate blueberry, peach, strawberry
• Sarah: vanilla, peach, strawberry, pomegranate blueberry
• Me: vanilla, peach, strawberry, pomegranate blueberry

I have to say, the biggest surprise was the number two ranking of the peach fro yo by my father. Below is a scenario that used to take place when I was younger:

There's been a middle school concert and on the way home, the family stops at Friendly's. I don't remember what anyone orders, except my older sister, Sarah. Peach. As is tradition, we pass our cones around, tasting each others' flavors, just to confirm we chose the right flavor...the chunk of conversation I recall ensues.
Dad: "Lemme try peach, Sarah..."
Sarah: "Ok. Here."
Dad: "It tastes like dirty socks." (Clearly, this is not a reflection of Friendly's but of my dad's own taste buds, because people ordered it enough to put it on the menu, and Sarah certainly enjoyed it.)
From the peanut gallery of the three of us sisters: "Ewww!" "Dad!" "How do you KNOW what dirty socks taste like? Gross, Dad!"

To this day I can't see peach ice cream without automatically thinking of a pair of dirty socks. Thanks, Dad.

Here are some thoughts from the night:

• It has a cultured taste
• Kevin: "I'm eating strawberry, but it tastes like lemon."
  Dad: "No, strawberry tastes like strawberry...I like the strawberry."
• Dad: "I like the tartness of it, Bethany." (As if I were the one who whipped it up.)
• Kevin tastes tart. He comments that he can't really taste the difference in the flavors, he can only taste the tartness. (I'm wondering if we should count his ranking above...?)
• Dad: "I like the vanilla."
• Dad: "Peach is the most distinct."

Overall, there was a feeling of liking it, though no commitment to buying it in the future (with one exception, to be discussed below), but this is perhaps because I do come from a family of ice cream purists, who would choose ice cream over frozen yogurt any day. Besides, the dirty sock review from years before kind of ruins my dad's taste bud creds.

Sarah and I (who have never once compared any frozen treat to dirty socks) polished off the vanilla over the weekend, with a promise of buying Stone Ridge Creamery Vanilla Frozen Yogurt again in the future. We had made a fruit salad earlier in the day, and fell in love with the vanilla topped with a mix of peaches, strawberries, cherries, blueberries, and cherries. Summertime perfection.

Additionally, all agreed that any of the above flavors tasted good topped with the family tradition of sugared summer berries.

Looking out the window at the rain that has been falling heavily for the past three days, it's hard to imagine spring is days away, but since it's not snow, the future looks warmer. This being the case, I see cartons of Stone Ridge Creamery Vanilla Frozen Yogurt piled high with fruit just around the corner.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this review by Kevin, the newest member of our blogging team!

We bring you...Flavor of the Month

New monthly post...Scoopalicious will find one of our favorite brands or local shops and highlight a favorite flavor of ours, a special offering of theirs, or just something plain good.

This month its the shop with the famous 31 flavors, Baskin Robbins. In honor of the looming tax deadline, B&R has named a Flavor of the Month, Tax Crunch. Its their Kona Coffee ice cream blended with swirls of cracklin chocolate and rice crispy pieces. Being a Rhode Islander, home of the famous Autocrat coffee syrup and where coffee ice cream is a must, this flavor is right up my alley. The mix of the coffee with chocolate crunch and crispies is fabulous and one that will definitely take my mind off tax season.

Stayed tuned for April's Flavor of the Month.

Ice Cream for Breakfast Day Tomorrow!

Get out your ice cream makers and churn up some ice cream or go out and get a carton so you will be ready for tomorrow morning, because I'm betting a lot of your favorite ice cream shops will not be open in time for breakfast!*

However, they should be...Tomorrow is "Ice Cream For Breakfast Day." Thank you to Marsha for the heads up about this one!

Man, am I excited. When my sisters and were younger, we usually had ice cream cake for our birthdays and as a special treat, the day after, we got to have the cake for breakfast.

Not only that, sometimes sleepovers at Grandma and Grandpa's resulted in ice cream for breakfast and a game of Po-ke-no, complete with puppytoes. It's almost as if this holiday was made for grandparents and grandchildren everywhere! (Turns out it was a grandma who named this day, Florence Rappaport...)

Anywho, I am not 100% I get the concept as the website is (sorry, but...) a complete mess, but the story (from the website) goes like this:

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Ruth and a little boy named Joe. Ruth and Joe grew up in the back of beyond in New York state where it was very very cold. Every winter between New Year's Eve and Passover, life in up-state New York got extremely boring, so their parents invented a holiday to brighten up the dreary days of winter. It was called Ice Cream For Breakfast Day. This was a wonderful holiday for children and parents alike because to celebrate you had to eat ice cream for breakfast on the first Saturday in February.

Well, Ruth and Joe grew up and went away to a university. They made many friends and taught them all about Ice Cream For Breakfast Day. After college Ruth had a roomate named Barry to whom she also told about this tradition. Many years later, Barry met Itzah C. Kret in Washington, D.C. and converted him into an Ice Cream For Breakfast Day observer.

Nobody has kept precise track but through word of mouth ICFBD has been celebrated in many homes, states and countries all over the world. Some people give parties with musical instruments, others simply celebrate with family members. There is no right or wrong so long as you follow the 3 plus 1 simple Ice Cream for Breakfast Day Rules

(1) Eat ice cream
(2) for breakfast
(3) on the first Saturday in February
(4) spread the word

The rest is up to you!

One who is interested in reading more can also check out the Ice Cream for Breakfast Blog but don't be expecting a better explanation.

Though I am not quite sure I understand all of it, I think I get the gist and will be happy to be celebrating tomorrow morning.

I'm thinking David Lebovitz's Candied Bacon Ice Cream sounds like a perfect breakfast ice cream...really, it's wonderful.

*However, you Seattle-dwellers are in luck -- Molly Moon's will be serving what seems to be a scrumptious "Ice Cream for Breakfast" of oatmeal and ice cream from 9am-1pm...

Spice Dish Saturday {January}: Chocolate-Almond Sorbet

We are so spoiled to have Spice Dish and her wonderful recipes, since I haven't made ice cream in quite a while. Thanks, Spice Dish! What a treat your recipes are!

This is a post-holiday gorge-fest recipe. It not only uses leftover chocolate from your Christmas stocking but is on the lighter for all those resolution makers.

Chocolate-Almond Sorbet
2 cups of cold water
1 1/8 cups sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
8 oz semisweet chocolate (chopped or chips)
Small pinch of kosher salt
1/2 tsp Amaretto
1/2 cup toasted almonds

Whisk together 1 cup of the water, the sugar, the cocoa powder and salt together in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil and whisk it for about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and whisk in the chocolate until it is melted completely. Add the Amaretto and remaining cup of water. Use an immersion blender (a standing one will work fine too) and blend the mixture completely. Chill completely. Once chilled freeze in your ice cream maker. Just before serving, top with the almonds for a great crunch!

Thanks again, Spice Dish! We ♥ you!