Shake It Up Saturday

Hood Oreo Cookie Ice Cream & TruMoo Chocolate Milk

What a Bust!

Tonight I am going totally off topic. EB of SpiceDish asked for a photo of the bust of myself from high school that I mentioned in my last post. Since EB is so good to us, I thought I would honor her request. Please keep in mind I was only a freshman in high school when I made this!

I could lie and say it's made of ice cream. (It's not. It's clay.)

Thanks to Dad for being so great and sending a photo so promptly!

Ben and Jerry's (Part II)

I've decided I am going to spread out my experience at Ben & Jerry's over a couple of weeks so that I don't overwhelm you all with one single post.

As a little background is the history of my 20 or so year love affair with B&J:

Sometime probably between 1988 and 1991: I visit my aunt, uncle and cousin at their house in Marshfield, Vermont and for the first time I am introduced to Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream. I am too young to appreciate the goodness and focus only on the math: 2 pints/8 people = seemingly not that much ice cream. (Stay tuned: How are those pints manufactured and quality checked?!)

Spring 1994: I take a portrait scuplture class (I make a bust of head) with two friends. We stop before class at Your Village Store and I always buy a Peace Pop. (Stay tuned: B&J's Social Mission!)

Winter 1995: My sister uses her dining points (due to expire if not used) and brings us home cartons of Ben & Jerry's. This is only the second time I remember having Ben & Jerry's. She brings us the now Flavor Graveyarded Cool Britannia.

Summer 1996: I spend the summer in Providence at RISD's Pre-College Program and am thrilled there is a Scoop Shop on Thayer Street. My new partner-in-crime and I will visit often. I will also find it to be totally cool to be able to buy a pint of B&J (with my own "college" dining points) of Low-Fat Fudge Brownie Frozen Yogurt -- and so begins the eating right out of the pint. (Stay tuned: I try my hand at working the Scoop Shop!)

Fall 1997: I start college at Tufts University. I arrive a week early for an orientation for my Tufts/SMFA program. The day most freshmen arrive, my new friend who knows Boston better than I do takes me to Newbury Street for the first time and we enjoy B&J at the Scoop Shop. My suitemates and I get goldfish and one of my suitemates suggests we name them after our favorite B&J flavor. My fish is named Low-Fat Fudge Brownie Frozen Yogurt. He has the longest name of the bunch. (Stay tuned: Let's visit with Marketing!)

Fall 1999: I live in a house off campus with friends, including my best friend I have known since elementary school. Late nights are spent talking over a pint of B&J. A tradition is born between friends that will follow us back to our parents' houses in Connecticut, to our apartments in Boston's North End, and to her apartment in New York City.

Winter 2003: My roommates buy me a Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker for Christmas. One of my first purchases following is Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book. I am hooked. (Stay tuned: We play in the B&J test kitchen!)

Fall 2006(?): I am asked to be part of a consumer panel testing a new B&J product. It never makes it to the shelves.

Winter 2008: Tina starts Scoopalicious. I join days later. Yet another excuse to both make and eat lots of ice cream, a favorite being B&J.

Winter 2011: I am invited to a B&J event at 30 Rock. Little do I know it is the release of Jimmy Fallon's Late Night Snack. I try my hardest to coordinate getting down there with my sister, but it is very last minute and the trip doesn't happen. When I find out later it was Jimmy Fallon (♥♥♥) and B&J (two favorites) I am pretty bummed I wasn't able to go.

Winter 2012: I am invited to a VIP blogging event and I spend a wonderful two days in Burlington with four other bloggers, the PR Gurus from B&J and Cone Communications meeting numerous smiling employees of B&J as well as B&J themselves. Stay tuned for the event in more detail!

Ben and Jerry's VIP Experience (Part I)

A few months ago I got an email from Liz in PR at Ben & Jerry's asking if I wanted to come up for VIP treatment at the Burlington Office. I told her no, I really don't like ice cream and she should find someone else. Just kidding. I said yes. I didn't write much (ok, or anything) about it because I didn't even know what it was.

I didn't know what an amazing experience it would be for an ice cream lover like me. This is just a teaser post though. I can't write too much because we are off to dinner in a few.

It's just five of us bloggers total (a perfectly sized group) and our day included a tour of the Waterbury factory, a meeting with Quality Control and Manufacturing, a meeting with Jostein Solheim (CEO of B&J), ScoopU (I am getting to be a pro at the 3oz scoop!), playtime in Research and Development, and a chance encounter with Ben and Jerry themselves. Photos to follow!

Here's a little video of Diana (of cookerati.com) and Kirsten (R&D at B&J) swirling together honey greek  frozen yogurt with pistachios with a fig swirl (one of our creations). John (R&D at B&J) and Lindsay of The Stir at Cafe Mom talk in the background.

Lots more soon!

Ice Cream for Breakfast Day 2012

I'm having ice cream for breakfast this morning...I just found out it was Ice Cream for Breakfast Day 2012. I must have known in the back of my head because I bought more ice cream at the store the other day than I have in a long time. Good planning. Lots of choices this morning!

You can read more about this super fun day here. The best part about the post is the first comment on the post, which came from the grandchild of the founder of this awesome day:

Thanks, Bethany, for posting about Ice Cream for Breakfast Day! My grandmother, Florence Rappaport, came up with this idea about 45 years ago and somehow it has taken on a life of its own! It originated as a way to break up the winter blahs on the 1st Saturday in February. My aunt and uncle (Ruth and Joe) are fun people and they had a network of fun friends, and who can resist ice cream anyway? So, people kept up the tradition and now it is an international holiday! My grandmother was always a bit baffled at how this happened! But she would be pleased to know that it is being enjoyed by so many people!

How cool is that?! I love that Mrs. Rappaport came up with this idea and that it just took off (with a little help from Uncle Joe and Aunt Ruth!)

If you need inspiration, you can also be inspired by the waffle sundae (photo above) that I posted about the other day.

Book Review: Scoop: 125 Specialty Ice Creams from the Nation's Best Creameries

My parents got me a copy of Ellen Brown's Scoop: 125 Specialty Ice Creams from the Nation's Best Creameries for Christmas. The other day I was able to crack it open and made Vietnamese Cinnamon Gelato (adapted from Cold Fusion Gelato in Newport, Rhode Island).

Since the picture speaks a thousand words, here are some brief thoughts:

1. This flavor is among one of my husband's favorites. I love it too. This is great since I have a Costco sized purchase of Vietnamese (Saigon) Cinnamon.
2. This book is among one my new favorites. I highly recommend it!
3. I must go to Newport for some Cold Fusion!
4. It's good news that I can get Cold Fusion at Whole Foods in the meantime.

Waffle Sundae

Tina and I are often get emails from companies asking if we want to try their products. Since we both love getting mail and packages, if we can find a way to work the product in with ice cream, we are quick to agree!

A few months back we got an email asking if we wanted to try Smucker's Snack'n Waffles. Well, sure! I wasn't quite sure how we'd work it in, but we'd figure out a way.

We got coupons in the mail, but took me a while to pick up my box of waffles since my regular store didn't carry them. I finally picked them up today. My husband is at the gym and I am eating a waffle sundae. A chocolate chip Snack'n Waffle, a scoop of vanilla and some hot fudge sauce I had lying around (yes, it happened to be Smucker's Hot Fudge as well!). Not the most beautiful creation, but it sure was good...A waffle-y cone type thing going on, some vanilla, and some syrup flavor (it's baked right into the waffle) and lots of chocolate!