On the Goooood Ship Ice Cream...er, um, Lol-li-pop (Shirley Temple Ice Cream)

A couple of weeks ago I found a recipe for Shirley Temple Cupcakes (this was a great recipe, but you have to dig a little further to the Rootbeer Float Recipe to get cooking times/temps...) As a HUGE fan of Shirley Temples (probably the most common of the mocktails) I went and made them right away. What a treat!

When I told Stef at Cupcake Project just how much I loved her drink-made-cupcake recipe, she suggested I try Shirley Temple Ice Cream. Hmmm, I thought, I just might do that. Here is the altered recipe I used to make it:

Shirley Temple Ice Cream, Take 1

2 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 cup homemade grenadine (to taste)
1 teaspoon lemon extract
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cup whole milk

Combine the first five ingredients plus 1/4 cup of grenadine in the top half of your double boiler. Place over simmering water and heat, while beating contantly, until the mixture thickens. This took me about 17 minutes. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, and add the lemon extract, the milk, the cream, and the other 1/4 cup of grenadine. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Place the chilled mixture in your ice cream maker and freeze according to the ice cream maker manufacturer's directions. Enjoy!

Thoughts? This ice cream was good and creamy, and had a tart taste that was quite refreshing. It reminded me of lemonade pie that my former roommate and I used to make. However, the overwhelming taste was lemon, and no matter how much grenadine I tried to add, it just didn't seem to balance the lemon.

The other thing I noticed is that even after freezing the ice cream overnight, this didn't harden as much as other recipes I made.

My plan for the next batch is to try balancing the flavor a bit more and adding maraschino cherries. It might add some nice texture and a bit more of that Shirley Temple feel.

Big thanks to Stef over at Cupcake Project for her inspiration and homemade grenadine recipe!

Local shop gets 15 minutes of fame

A small ice cream shop, Lizzy & the Enchanted Creamery, is tucked away in the corner of a small strip mall in Cumberland RI.  A rather hidden and local gem. Two young woman, one with a passion for ice cream(thatta girl) and the other children's books, put their minds together and opened this unique shop... half homemade ice cream and half books & toys. The fun part is there is a stage and play area in the back where they offer story time or kids can go to dress up and just use their imagination.  I still wonder how they survive with what I would consider not the greatest location, but they do and after having the peppermint ice cream I can see why.

So every Friday I plan to bring my little one to storytime but never make it. It's this last Friday that I plan to have girl's night out with her and realize its not a normal night at Lizzy's as camera crews hover and people overflow out the door. Come to find out ABC's hit show, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, is in town and are holding a fundraiser for the family and the best part is that it will be part of the episode(so look for us in the back, it airs in May!). So we crowd into the tiny stage area where the show's designers read a special book about the selfless act of fostering children. The family whose house they were rebuilding foster children and were going to be taken away due to high levels of lead in their home so the book was very appropriate. It truly is a show with a heart so if you haven't gotten sucked into reality TV like me this one isn't so bad. So with a book read, cameras rolling, and kids screaming it was time for ice cream. 

With utter chaos surrounding me, it was hard to pick from their many unique flavors so I stuck with my tried and true peppermint. It was deliciously creamy and refreshing. I let me little one choose her own and she of course went straight for the blue ice cream. Interestingly enough the flavor of it was creamsicle. Not what I expected and with each bite it just seemed odd(yes, I think I ate more than her!). Although very good, the color was throwing me off. Amazing how the looks of something can change how it tastes.

So what turned out to be a simple night for storytime was rather exciting and best of all we got some yummy ice cream. I'll be sure to revisit and come back with more reviews of the flavors. There were too many to choose from and all homemade. Check 'em out if you're ever in northern RI.

Counterfeit Ice Cream

So I have been drawing lot of sweets lately and I really wanted to draw ice cream. My couple of attempts at drawing ice cream bars were frustrating and quite frankly the images were pretty boring. (There is very little texture to ice cream bars and pudding pops.) What I wanted was the fantastic airy texture of a scoop of ice cream.

I have been looking online for models (kind of pricey) and am hoping Jenni B of Jenni B Originals will take me up on her suggestion for soft serve fake food, but in the meantime, it finally hit me! I remember being a kid and watching a special on photo secrets. The two that stuck with me? Duct taping and saran wrapping female models (you gotta love modeling) and making fake ice cream. Since I had no models to duct tape, I realized my future was in fake ice cream. I searched online and finally found some good recipes for fake ice cream...the one I used is basically a very very dense frosting, but the results are pretty good. Here's the thing that kind of makes me wonder though -- the recipes for fake ice cream came from the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture (not the first place I would look for something like this)...

Below is the recipe (from the Nova Scotia Department of Agriculture site) that I found made some great looking (and not horrible tasting -- I had to test!) fake ice cream:

Artificial Hard-pack Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt
May be doubled. (I actually ended up halving it so I wouldn't have to use all of our powdered sugar. I got about 2 cups, but it was harder to scoop from such a small amount.)

1/3 to 1/2 cup light (Karo) corn syrup
1/3 to 1/2 cup white solid shortening (Crisco)
1 lb. (453 g) powdered sugar

In standing mixer (Kitchen Aid) or food processor, blend corn syrup and shortening until smooth. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until stiff dough forms (this is basically a stiff frosting). Knead in remaining sugar (as needed to reach desired consistency) on a cleansurface. Store in heavy resealable plastic bag; keeps well in refrigerator. Freeze for longer storage.

You can go here for my drawing of the fake ice cream. As it was my first time making fake ice cream, it was also my first time drawing fake ice cream, so I am not too practiced...

Ice Cream Party Spectacular

I can't believe its been two weeks since the madness of frantically making ice cream for a bunch of three year olds. Funny thing is I am not sure if the adults were more excited than the kids. Man, you should have seen the size of some of the sundaes created. In the end I made eight flavors, had 10 toppings, and way too many leftovers. I think this may become an annual tradition but only if people promise to bring some home. The Cake Batter ice cream has been calling my name every night since last Saturday which is not a good thing around here.

In retrospect I wished I had little score cards so everyone could rate each flavor but I didn't so here is what I think are the results. Seeing as the container with the least amount of ice cream left was Oreo Cookie I think that takes first place. I did get a comment that it had more cookies than ice cream so I'll lay off the Oreos next time, but it still seemed to go. And it was actually the one flavor I was able to send out the door with them. The next popular was the Peanut Butter Cup, although hard as a rock, and third place prize would probably go to the Cake Batter, which is my personal favorite out of the bunch.

Also, because a three year old can't comprehend that we are not having a cake on her birthday, just ice cream, I had to honor her wishes and get her a princess cake to blowout her big three candles. I made the mistake of showing her a cake book with this crazy Barbie cake and she instantly became obsessed and had to have it. So here I am 8am the morning of her birthday jamming her Barbie in the cake and piping ribbon. Oh what moms will do for their kids. But I had to share because I think the thing is hysterical. If you could have seen me and my husband fighting about how Barbie should be properly jammed in the cake you would have laughed. So we not only enjoyed plenty of ice cream but had the joy of Barbie to go with it.

So this posting isn't all together so informative but what I learned from having an ice cream party is...start churning a few weeks prior or have two freezer canisters to speed up the process. Second, take all ice cream out of the fridge at least 10 minutes before as some of mine was a hard as a rock and difficult to serve. Third, watch the amount of mixins put into the base of your ice cream. I found my peanut butter cup and oreo had more candy and cookies than ice cream. And lastly, send leftovers home with guests!

An Interview with Motormouthpress, LLC -- Ice Cream Greeting Card Designer Extraodinaire!

In my search for note cards with ice cream for the Sweet Notes and A Contest With Sweet Rewards entry, I hit jackpot. I had really been craving some letterpress ice cream notes and came across Motormouthpress, LLC. Such a variety of ice cream (and other food related cards)...I was in heaven!

Curiosity got the better of me, and I decided to separate this from the original post, and emailed Laurie of Motormouthpress to see if she would do an interview with me. Lucky for us all, she agreed! Without further ado, I bring you Laurie!

And when I am done with this post, I am off to shop at Motormouthpress! Can't wait!

Scoopalicious: Is there anything you want to tell your lovely fans to start off?
Motormouthpress: Well, if you didn't guess it already, Motormouthpress, LLC specializes in food-themed stationery and cards that double as mementos. We call these cards our Specialty Line. Our Postercard is an example of one of these cards (see below). For those of you who already figured this out already, here's a tidbit that we haven't mentioned yet. Our website is currently undergoing a redesign. Expect a sweet new appearance with easier navigation and new cards to boot! If you want to join out email list, please submit your email on our contacts page at www.motormouthpress.com.

Scoopalicious: Are you the founder/sole creator of these cards? How do you choose the subject matter?
Motormouthpress: I am the founder and sole creator of these cards, except for the Let's get Gnawty card. This one was designed by my friend, Brittany Powell. All of my illustrations are original designs. I am influenced by sweet treats of all kinds. I love how they are displayed and how they make your taste buds dance when you eat them.

Scoopalicious: Are all your cards letterpress? If not, how do you decide which are going to be letterpress and which will be offset?
Motormouthpress: I carry both letterpress and offset lithography printed cards. As far as deciding which gets what, I usually let the design tell me as I create it. This may sound ethereal but, it is part of my creative process.

Scoopalicious: Any plans to expand to more retail stores in the future? (I can see your stuff at the Paper Source in an instant!)
Motormouthpress: Yes, my goal is to reach as many food and stationery lovers that I can through out the world. So ifyou all have any retail store suggestions, I would love to hear about them at info@motormouthpress.com

Scoopalicious: What is your favorite dessert?
Motormouthpress: I don't have one in particular, but my Grandma's blueberry cobbler with a scoop of Breyers Vanilla Bean at the top.

Scoopalicious: Do you print the cards yourself?
Motormouthpress: I am trained in all the print processes that I use, which makes working with local printers a easy and exciting.

Scoopalicious: How did you get started in the card business?
Motormouthpress: Serendipitously. A colleague invited me to design some greeting cards. I really enjoyed it, and wondered if it was possible to do it professionally.

Scoopalicious: Did you go to school for art/design?
Motormouthpress: Yes, I earned a BFA in Graphic Design and a MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking.

Scoopalicious: I notice you sell note cards, notebooks and teeshirts in your store (I am not missing anything, am I?)
Motormouthpress: Nope.

Scoopalicious: One of the coolest things you make are your poster cards. This is a totally creative and unique idea that has so many layers and aspects to it, and practically guarantees that the recipient will not throw away your cards (though in my book any of your cards would find a place on my wall!). Anyhow, can you tell us a little about these cards and how you came up with the idea for these? Any plans to make ice cream poster cards?
Motormouthpress: The Postercards are what actually inspired me to become a Stationery and Greeting Card Designer. It encompassed everything that I hold dearly about graphic design folded into one greeting card. It is a memorable and engaging design that not only sends you a greeting but leaves you with a memento.

You have a cute image on the front that leads into a greeting or place for you to write. Unfold the a second time, and it shows a recipe to share. Unfold it all the way, and it reveals a poster of the visual instructions of the recipe and you and your friend making the recipe together. It is a double layer story. One is the greeting and sharing of the card itself, and the second is the card acting as a memento and the memories it may evoke.

The idea of the Postercard came from the desire to create a card that someone would cherish and save rather than recycle. Sometimes, it is hard to find a card that says exactly you want, and sometimes you don't know really what to say. This card resolves both these issues.

Scoopalicious: Any plans to make ice cream poster cards?
Motormouthpress: I would love to do an ice cream Postercard; but any new Postercards most likely won't appear until 2009.

Scoopalicious: Do you have a best seller?
Motormouthpress: No, I actually have several. The most popular are the Letterpress Birdies and Ice Cream Sandwiches and Bars followed by the Sweet Treats Line of Cupcakes, and Ice cream Sandwiches.

Scoopalicious: What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
Motormouthpress: I don't really have a favorite; it is too hard to choose, but right now I like coconut or coconut praline.

Scoopalicious: What is your favorite ice cream treat?
Motormouthpress: I don't really have just one. I have favorites. I like hot fudge brownie sundaes, push-ups, dreamsicles, ice cream sandwiches, ice cream cone sundaes, malts, and ice cream cookie sandwiches the most.

Scoopalicious: Your company is located in San Francisco, yes?...do you have a favorite ice cream spot to go when you want that perfect scoop?
Motormouthpress: I usually go to Maggie Mudd's because they offer Vegan Ice Cream. I am lactose intolerant. But if I pop a few lactose pills, Bi-Rite Creamery makes a killer peach pie sundae in the Summer.

Special thanks to Laurie for answering all of our questions!

All images © Motormouthpress, LLC.

And I'll leave you with a mouthwatering image of raspberry fudge swirl and the detail of the little girl...(and, I suppose, some poetry.)