Cinnamon Ice Cream on a Sunny Day

On Friday morning, I woke up to a text from a good friend begging me to open a “Pie Hole” in town.  If you have the same love for food (especially sweets) and quirky crime-solving television shows as I do, you have got to get your fanny in front of a TV and watch Pushing Daisies. Not only are Ned and Chuck too cute for words, Kristen Chenowith is a star among stars…

And did I mention there’s pie?

So of course, I was set on having pie, and getting some to my good friend.

And we all know what you eat with pie, right?

I C E C R E A M !

I wasn’t kidding when I told y’all it was gorgeous this weekend.  Down here in the hills and hollers of Georgia, we’ve been getting brutally abused by the ugly mood swings of the weather.  One week it’s snow (of all things! in the south!), the next it’s freezing rain, and then we find ourselves being kindly rewarded for our constant complaining patience with a weekend in the high 50s and low 60! It’s like the forces of nature were begging me to make ice cream.

I started out with this recipe and got down to business.  I did with a little less cinnamon so as not to sting the tongue, and yes, okay, that’s fake vanilla.  We’re on a budget here, folks.

Warm up the half and half and sugar in a sauce pan, temper in the two eggs, and then add the whole jalopy of cream.  I don’t really know what jalopy means, but my grandmother always used it as a measurement term. “The whole jalopy!” I inherited none of her silliness…

When the mixture starts thickening, it will be a tiny bit thinner than sweetened condensed milk.  Yum, I know. When it reaches this consistency, go ahead and take it off the heat and whisk in the cinnamon (about a teaspoon and a half, for me) and vanilla.

Move ‘er aside for a little bit and let her cool down.

I don’t know why most food is feminine to me.  It just is.  Ice creamy deliciousness? Feminine.  Broccoli might be masculine, though.

I’m not kidding, though, let it cool.  Or you’ll be stuck watching the ice cream machine for forever.

I always leave the bowl to my ice cream maker in the freezer in case I spontaneously decide to make ice cream. Good thing, right!?

This is like a money shot. Creamy, cinnamony, lusty — all the right things.

Into the ice cream maker she goes! Just turn on and wait…

It’s worth it, I promise.

Just go watch an episode of Pushing Daisies or warm up that pie that you shamefully bought in the frozen section instead of making your own.

Told you it was worth it. Even though it looks like butt-cheeks.

Sure didn’t taste like it!

In fact, last night, the wee Rader household had a hankerin’ for something sweet, so we built cinnamon ice cream sandwiches with plain ole’ cinnamon graham crackers.

I promise, eating this will make you forget all about how cold it is outside.  Just make sure you’re wearing fuzzy PJs and slippers and you’re close to a heater!

Crunchy Chewy Sunflower Bread

This weekend in my little corner of Georgia, the weather was GORGEOUS! So of course… I spent my time in the kitchen.

After having glimpsed this loaf of joy (pun intended!) I was desperate to make it.  Nutty, crunchy, doughy bread is my weakness in every sense of the word.  Isn’t it yours?

On my weekly journey to the grocery store, I picked up a pack of sunflower seeds and a jug of buttermilk for this impending adventure… That’s right, buttermilk.

Here’s the thing about these ingredients:

No, they’re not the most fat-free, but they’re healthful.  And they’re real, fresh ingredients.  On a celestial level compared to all the extensive list of preservatives and sugars in store-bought bread.

Measure yourself out a little flour… whole wheat flour! Which is gorgeous, by the way.  Those rich brown specks just scream FIBER!

Take your whole wheat flour, your all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, baking soda and powder and whisk ’em all up so that they’re well incorporated.

In a separate bowl, combine all of your wet (and gooey) ingredients.  I used pure honey — cheap and simple, right from the bees.

And then you fold her gently, adding 3/4 of the sunflower seeds once you have an actualized piece of dough.  Gently! Don’t want to over work her. She is a lady, after all.

Use the remainder of the sunflower seeds to garnish — warning, they will be a pain in the bum later when trying to cut it, unless you put a little yolk on top to make ’em stick!

In the end, if you’re lucky (or just followed the directions), you’ll end up with two loaves of crunchy deliciousness to schmear salty butter or chunky marmalade all over.  Be careful not to puncture your loaf getting it out of the pan, like I did.

Still tasty.  Promise.