Homemade Ice Cream

Matt and I got this fancy new Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker as a wedding gift...and so far we have used it for everything BUT ice cream! Matt has become obsessed with this gadget and pretty much pours anything in it he can find, just to watch it freeze. But the other night we finally tried out our ice cream making skills! We figured since it was our first go at it, we would keep it simple----> so Chocolate it is!

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 1/4 cups whole milk
3 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 tbs pure vanilla extract

Place the cocoa and sugars in a medium bowl; stir to combine. Add the whole milk and use a hand mixer on low speed or whisk to combine until the cocoa and sugars are dissolved, about 1 or 2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. If not freezing immediately, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

  

Turn machine on; pour mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 25-35 minutes. The ice cream will have a soft, creamy texture. (I like it this way!). If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream from freezer about 15 minutes before serving.

 

oh-my-gosh! It was sooooooo freakin good!!! It was so rich and creamy and chocolaty deliciousness! Better than any store bought ice cream I've ever had-by far! I can't wait to try some fancy ice creams now. I'll keep you guys posted!

What I Ate Wednesday

It's Wednesday again, yay!! haha It's like I think it's Friday or something ;) But it's almost just as good because I love WIAW... even though I should never be left responsible for photographing an entire day. ohhh welllll. I tried, and this is what I came up with:

So not a bad try, I at least got more than one meal!! Sort of...

Breakfast: pine nut humus & triscuits (today I had some with pita chips, much better!)
Snack: grapes

Lunch: Thai chicken salad on asiago bread & watermelon (obviously I was starving and forgot a picture)
Snack: raw carrots

Dinner: I'm not telling you what I had for dinner because I was a bad...but Matt made this yummy gyro! The lamb meat & tzatziki sauce (and Thai chicken salad) came from a local international deli. Matt usually makes the sauce himself, but we were being lazy.


We also had homemade Ice cream after dinner! But I'll post about that later ;)

Condom Etiquette

I'm sitting in my office trying to each lunch...and from the hallway I just heard a client say this,

"I have no idea how I got pregnant this time, it was an accident. Yeah, we used a condom, except for the first 20 or 30 minutes."

Do I have to say it? That's not how that works...





What I Ate (Thai) Wednesday

It's What I Ate Wednesday again, YUM! Somehow I can never manage to photograph my food for the entire day. But I do always manage to get dinner ;) I'll get it eventually, but for now here is What I Ate Wednesday Thia Edition.

Matt and I have been looking for a good Thai place in town for a while and haven't really come across anything spectacular...until now! After reading some awesome reviews about Siam on UrbanSpoon we decided to drive on over and check it out. Now, I will say this, when we pulled in the parking lot we kinda got cold feet... There were no other customers and it was in an old fast food building and they had a drive thru. After debating in the car for 10 minutes, we decided to give it a shot. (The dive thru ended up being what they use for call-in to-go orders.)

OMG were we glad we went in!!! The food was absolutely to die for! We had two appetizers, Cream Cheese Rangoon which were by far the best I have ever had (They were so good I forgot to take a picture before we inhaled them). The pastry was made in house, it was just perfect. We also had the Summer Rolls, which again, were heaven.

 

Summer Rolls (2) $3.95

Cool Vietnamese rice paper rolls packed with rice noodles, shrimp, fresh lettuce, cucumber, carrot, cilantro, avocado served with curry peanut sauce

 Matt ordered the Siamese Noodles which I didn't try, but he said it was delicious. If you know anything about Matt and food, you  know he is very critical, so you know it had to be amazing!



Siamese Noodles $8.50
The classic flat rice noodles sautéed with a choice of meat, black sweet vinaigrette sauce, bean soy sauce, egg, broccoli, green onion and cilantro


 
Now I ordered the Stir Fried Mixed Vegetables with Tofu, sounds kinda boring I know, BUT I spiced it up a little bit by ordering it with an extra spicy sauce. Let me tell you, I could eat this dish everyday! Seriously! It was so fresh, the veggies were cooked perfect, and the tofu was crispy on the outside just the way I like it. And of course the spicy Thai sauce was just what it needed.


Stir fried Mix Vegetables $8.75
Light and delicious stir fried mix vegetables - broccoli, carrot, Napa cabbage, cabbage, cauliflower, mushroom, bean sprouts with Siam signature light sauce


Overall this place was incredible and I can't wait to go again! Check out peasandcrayons to see more WIAW bloggers!

Spiced Peach Pork Chops

Since my husband is the chef in our home, if he doesn't feel like cooking, we go out! But wait! He was exhausted the other night, and on a rare occasion... I decided to cook! Now Matt is one of those cooks who just throws things in, tastes it, then throws in some more. I, on the other hand, use recipes and am deathly afraid to deviate. So I picked a recipe I've tried a couple times (porkbeinspired) that I absolutely LOVE! I had it for the first time when my friend Alex made it for dinner and loved it so much I tried it myself. The ingredients sound a little crazy, but trust me, it's delicious!

INGREDIENTS
4 boneless pork chops, 1/2-inch thick
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon mustard
1 16 oz-can sliced peaches, drained (make sure their packed in their own juice, Not syrup! OR use fresh peaches!)

In small bowl stir together paprika, flour, salt, cinnamon, allspice and cloves. Sprinkle on both sides of chops. In large nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat; cook chops on both sides, turning once, for a total of about 7-8 minutes.

In small bowl stir mustard and peach slices together; add to skillet; cook and stir until heated through. Serve with chops.

I cooked the chops on both sides then threw the peaches in with them, turned the heat down, and covered with he lid. This made the flavors marinade a little better, plus it created a sauce!

Matt did help me plate the food ;) He always makes it look so pretty!

The side dish is zucchini cous cous made from a Mediterranean recipe that I altered to go with this dish. It's just whole grain garlic cous cous with shredded zucchini.

I'm linking this up with Jenn @Peas & Crayons for her virtual monthly cookbook. I know, She rocks!

You've Seen Wall-e! Lets Just Drink All Our Food!

A fellow nutritionist of mine in another county told me today about a client she had.

"Just had a client inform me that water is bad for your body and Gatorade is much healthier!"

What do you even say to that??? I feel like I am constantly trying to explain to parents that sports drinks, like Gatorade, are made for extreme athletes; and while you may think your boy is extremely active...he is not in the NFL... he is FIVE.  


                         Step Away From the Sports Drinks

That being said, I had a client the other day tell me she was giving her child, who mind you was at the 98% on the growth chart for BMI/age, Pediasure 3 times a day! WHAT??? When I asked why, she said she saw it on tv (I'm sure you've seen their commercials...) and she "thought it would be good because it has vitamins." Oh man. 


You may not believe it....but FOOD has vitamins too! I know, crazy concept ;) Try it!

Graduation!

After a LOOOOONG 10 month Dietetic Internship, I am officially done! We had a beautiful graduation ceremony this past weekend. The most moving part for me was when the Surgeon General spoke. His history is incredible and he was very inspiring. But it was a very bittersweet moment. Thrilled to be finished, but sad to leave all my new friends. It's amazing the change I have seen in myself over this past year and I am so grateful to all those who helped me along the way. We have some great Dietitians! I can't believe the only thing left to do now is take the RD exam!!! Study time!

Here are a couple pictures from our graduation:

the other intern from our county, our coordinator, and myself

DI Class of 2011

My husband and I before the ceremony

What I Ate Wednesday!

My wonderful hubby spent all day making this YUMMY pot roast while I was at work. :) It was slow cooked in our new dutch oven!! (wedding present from my cousin Heather)

Roast, carrots, mushrooms, new potatoes, probably some red wine, and fresh herbs from our garden! (had some whole grain cous cous on the side ;)

It was so good I had it for lunch today too! After we finish it all off, I think Matt is going to use all that broth to make a yummy soup. Can't wait to try it!

Twilight Zone...

I just got back to WIC today after being gone for 2 1/2 weeks for my wedding and honeymoon. I feel like I was gone for a YEAR! I came back and 6 people no longer work here, I am being moved to a different clinic, we may be closing another clinic, and apparently USDA changed the food pyramid...AGAIN!

I'm including the links to the new Healthy Plate, but honestly, the pyramid was dumb...and this isn't much better. And WHY does dairy get it's own spot?? blah.

Healthy Plate Article

Official USDA ChooseMyPlate.gov


Our funding has been cut drastically, partly due to new govenor Rick Scott (thanks a lot)! and partly due to federal funding cuts.

I'm not sure, but I think I must have jumped in the hot tub time machine on the cruise ship! Maybe I should just go back and things will be normal when I return! ;) Probably...right?