who-weeee!I feel like I've been spinning on a carnival ride for the last couple of weeks! It's been capital B-usy. Last week my mom arrived for a visit from Newfoundland, and it was also our eldest daughter's birthday. So, in addition to getting Nanny's room ready for a visit, mommy was also preparing for a birthday and at-home party. Prizes and loot bags and games and ice cream cake and cupcakes to bring to class and the list goes on!
Here's the ice cream cake I made for the bday party. I prepped it on Wednesday and kept in the deep freeze until the party. Since Thursday was devoted to making cupcakes for the class to share on Friday (and I made them
much like these ones using my
Triple Layer frosting and cake recipe), I decided not to bake again on Friday with needing to get the house ready for the party on Saturday. I eased my workload the teensiest bit by making an ice cream cake for the party.
Okay, you know me too well... there
was an ulterior motive to making the ice cream cake. Heck, yeah, if mommy is prepping for a birthday party all week, she is certainly going to make
her favorite kind of cake - hah! But when time came for the cake, the
kiddos loved this, with two layers of different ice creams, chocolate sauce, and two flavors of sandwich cookies! Wanna' know how to make it? It's really simple. Truly, it is! Goes like this:
1) Get a
springform pan (ie, the kind used for cheescakes). Line the bottom and sides with the sandwich cookies. You will have to cut a few in half to help them fit. I used the vanilla ones on the bottom and the chocolate along the sides.
2) Have two quarts of ice cream ready, your choice of brand and flavor. Soften one quart (in the fridge or on your countertop), and scoop it into the pan to cover the cookies on the bottom and just cover that layer around the sides.
Spread to smooth out as much as possible. Drizzle with chocolate (or other sauce), then pop in the freezer to harden that 1st layer of ice cream again.
3) Once it's hardened, soften the 2nd quart of ice cream. Pull out your pan from the freezer and layer in the second flavor of ice cream. Again, smooth out somewhat, but it's fine if it's a bit uneven... mine was and I liked how it looked!
4) Garnish with extra crumbles of cookie sandwiches and sauce, or other toppings like sprinkles or nuts.
5) Cover well and place back in the freezer until ready to eat.
Before eating, remove for 5-10 minutes, then remove the springform ring and place cake on a platter or plate to cut.
Aren't birthdays the BEST?! (
nudge nudge, wink wink... hubby, you out there?... you can manage this one for my bday right? wait now, Mother's Day is coming up and oh yeah, I deserve it!)
wait a minute, we all deserve a lil' ice cream cake... go make your own and celebrate whatever you like! Now, go eat, drink & be vegan. :)
So, I'm still nursing babe during the night (she's approaching 9 months). The last week or so, it's usually just once, but the odd night it's two times. I'm okay with it, most nights I get back to sleep lickety-split, so it's good. But, some nights I wake starving. Ok, not starving by actual definition. But, ridiculously hungry. No doubt the pace I keep every day (go, go, go) plus nursing through the day and in the night (and yesterday I felt entirely 'mommied out' after the weekend). Catches up. Last night I was nursing her around 2 am, and all I could think about was getting to the kitchen for a snack. Didn't know what I wanted exactly, but I knew the cool rice milk sitting in the fridge would be part of the equation. I thought about a larabar
, but wasn't in the mood for that. Wanted something carb-y or just something different. I pulled out some Oaty Bites
cereal, and tossed that into the rice milk. I'm not much of a cereal person. The kids and hubby love it, but I never eat it in the morning. Never sits well in my stomach, and I just feel sort of blah after eating it. This wasn't too much of a concern since I was going back to bed, and figured I didn't need to be 'energized'! I ate it, it was okay. But just confirmed that yeah, I'm not much of a cereal person. I used to be, but not anymore. 
Back in bed I thought about this Pumpkin Pie Custard. Now, that would have hit the spot last night. I came up with the recipe just before Christmas. They are easy to make, and don't include any soy products or tofu, just fyi. Blend all the ingredients in (you guessed it, the Blendtec
), and then bake in ramekins in a hot water bath. These custards are magical. Creamy, luscious, and perfect for a dinner party. Or a nursing mom at 2 am. )
