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Ice cream is amazing at anytime, and pretty much from anywhere. But when you make it yourself there is an extra “deliciousness” that goes into it, and that is exactly what I spent afternoon doing. My newest appliance purchase was a Cusinart ice cream/sorbet/gelato maker from William Sonoma. The first batch was a chocolate ice cream base, with dehydrated banana chips, and mini peanut butter cups, and yes it is as amazing as it sounds. Since this was the first batch I used a pre-made ice cream started from William Sonoma, I know how important it is to use the highest quality ingredients when making ice cream so I knew a started from WS would fit the bill. The next batch will be from scratch, and I am thinking dark cherries, in a vanilla bean base with salted chocolate chunks…yum.

Whisk started, and half and half in, then once smooth and the heavy whipping cream

Chop bite sized pieces of banana chips and peanut butter cups

Add one cup of mix-ins

Starting to thicken

Delicious!

Lovely and inspiring video, treasure your elders, and the place you live.

It’s no surprise for anyone that knows me that I love food photography. Lately I have been inspired to take more shots of my own during my day to day cooking. Here are a few of the latest from this evening’s dinner making.

What can make potato salad better? By making it purple! This purple potato salad is simply delicious and mayonnaise free. This recipe has interesting ingredients and a great balance of acid, and creaminess. The recipe is super simple, and does not require a lot of effort, and you get amazing results. You can buy everything you need at Trader Joe’s which makes it not only very easy, but very affordable!

Pretty assortment of TJ’s purple, red and gold potatoes.

Just cover the potatoes and bring to a boil, then simmer for 8 minutes

TJ’s cornichons, rinsed and sliced

A couple small shallots, minced or diced

TJ’s Capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped

Mix with a mustard vinaigrette and chopped parsley then EAT.

Ingredients
* 2 pounds small red and Yukon gold potatoes, halved (quartered if large)
* 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
* 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
* 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
* 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/3 cup of diced or minced shallot, (whatever size you want to eat)
* 5 cornichons, rinsed and sliced into thin rounds (about 1/4 cup)
* 2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and coarsely chopped
* 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Directions
Cover potatoes with water in a medium saucepan. Add 2 tablespoons salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer until tender, 7 to 9 minutes. Drain potatoes, reserving 1 tablespoon cooking water. Let potatoes cool slightly.

Make the vinaigrette: Whisk together vinegar, mustard, and reserved cooking water in a small bowl. Gradually add oil, whisking until emulsified. Transfer potatoes to a medium bowl, and drizzle with vinaigrette. Add onion, cornichons, capers, parsley, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper. Using a large spatula, gently stir to combine. Adapted from Martha Stewart

Even when sick, there are beautiful images everywhere.

Spring rolls are as much fun to eat as they are to make. They are very healthy, low calories, and you can stuff whatever you want in them. We made these last weekend with goodies from our Farm Fresh to You box, which is a produce box from local farms that is delivered to your front door. Some good friends gave a gift subscription to us for Christmas, and this was a great way to use up some of the ingredients.

Soak the rice paper wraps in luke warm water until pliable, just a couple minutes. You lay the wrap on a plate with a paper towel on it, so it soaks up the extra water. Then you simply put in whatever you want and wrap it up like a burrito. We chose, tofu, white radish, turnips, carrots, mint, chives, and rice noodles. Of course load it up with Sriracha and peanut dipping sauce.

These are awesome, I love antlers. Maybe it’s form growing up in Colorado and having dozens of these under the porch, and adorning several rooms inside the house. But I just love the spin by artist Cassandra Smith does with these beauties, taking something so natural and making it modern and interesting by turning them into sculpture. Definitely the ultimate use of recycling.

My cat, Baxter.

I love monochromatic color schemes, I think they are striking and can be provoking if done right. Here are a few monochromatic schemes that I love, these showcase cool vintage toys. These are from a flickr feed here.