The Fruits of Summer Lovin'
Has everyone created their summer playlist yet? Mine has been on repeat for the past month. I love making playlist... when a new song comes on I always think, "I LOVE that song!" And then I remember that's why I put it on the playlist. Here's the track list for this years Summer Funtime 2012:
- Nobody- Eliza Doolittle
- Radio Song- Esperanza Spalding f/ Algebra
- My Thing- Estelle f/ Janelle Monae
- Stuff- Nikka Costa
- Gonna Get Over You- Sara Barreilles
- Comeback Kid- Sleigh Bells
- Darling- Kids These Days
- Summer Scent- Kids These Days
- Play the Guitar- B.o.B f/ Andre 3000
- Breaking Down- Florence & the Machine
- Children- V.V. Brown
- No Make-Up- Kendrick Lamar
- You Called Me- Mayer Hawthorne
It was my very dear friend Mosaic Geek's birthday this past weekend and she joined me in the 3 decades old club. I wanted to do something nice for her so I got into the kitchen and went to work. This small gesture was a win/win situation all around because it allowed me to knock off 2 things on my 2012 Summer Bucket list!
2012 Summer Bucket List Check: Make some ice cream!!!!
I know I've said before there's always room for ice cream but summer time holds a special ice cream enjoyment quality that's unique in its own right. It's also a time I like to visit the Washtenaw Dairy in Ann Arbor, MI. I love this place. I especially love their lemon custard ice cream. It reminds me of when I was a wee griot and my grandma would take me to this other ice cream stand for lemon soft serve. I know ice cream & soft serve are two separate things but it's the creamy lemon flavor that becomes a mufti-sensory memory. So I decided to make myself some lemon ice cream at home. I came across a nice egg-less recipe for lemon ginger ice cream online at We All Scream. This lovely lady has tons of ILLUSTRATED ice cream recipes. So I know I'll be going back to test out some more. She's also got a great basic recipe for experimenting in making your own flavors.
Flavor inspirations..... getting to the root of it!
Milk, cream, lemon zest, ginger for an ice cream base.
Strain and discard that pith!
Add the eggs-less base to a lil' cream cheese... just a hint of flavor.
I chilled the mixture in the fridge over night and churned the the next morning.
Of course where's there's ice cream there must be cake! I wanted to practice shaping/cutting cake to I made what I called 'Ode to Strawberry Cheesecake Cake.' I took my favorite yellow cake recipe as a base and instead of putting it into 8 inch rounds I poured it into a 11x13 rectangular pan. The plan was to cut it into a 3 layer mini-cake.
Layer cake baked in a pan....
Lazy ladies strawberry cream cheese frosting: strawberry jam (homemade by the youts), cream cheese, splash of vanilla and powdered sugar.
When cutting cake step 1 is always: Freeze cake! Then get out a serrated knife and get down to bizness.
Two halfs became four quarters.
Spread the love between those 3 layers.
Crumb coat & set it in the freezer to firm up for smooth icing later on.
I did a top coat and "dusted" it with graham cracker crumbs on the bottom and top.
2012 Summer Bucket List Check: Have a picnic!!!!
The final product was taken to Ann Arbor for an impromptu (i.e. under 24 hrs notice) picnic....I love my friends and I love that they love to indulge my whims. I sent out a group email and the whole thing turned into a day long marathon of fun! I brought a pasta salad and some chilled corn soup to add to the savory side of things. My friends brought lemonade, cherries, cheese, crackers, homemade salas, chips... We had lots of food and it was great low stress fun.
The birthday girl was a little shy... but she couldn't resist taking a peak at that cake!
Afterwards a group of walked around downtown Ann Arbor... stopped for coffee... walked some more... had coke slushies @ 7-11... walked to my friend's house drank some beers on his porch... ordered pizza... went for a night cap at a new to me bar called The Last Word. It was whiskey appreciation night and they had 1oz pours for like $2 each. Can anyone say whiskey flights are fun?! I can! Isn't it great when a little effort and a few friends can turn into a lot of fun! What kind of fun and mischief will you get up to this summer?
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