Yes, I Scream

Few months ago I found a Cuisinart ice cream maker in a Goodwill store.  It looked very new and it was the same one I bought Jennifer few years ago for her birthday except hers was white and this one red.

Guess how much??  $5.99!!!  I scratched my head and checked it inside out.  Everything worked.  Nothing was missing.  Not even a scratch on the body.  I don't understand why people would spend lots of money getting a gadget then get rid of it just like that.  Hey, no complaint on my end though.  I happily took it home and my homemade ice cream was born!!

I googled ice cream recipes and found that there are easy simple ways and hard laborious ways.  I decided to stick with the simple ones.  If I have to make ice cream the hard way, then I mind as well buy them.

The simple vanilla ice cream recipe I found (courtesy of Cuisinart) is actually very good.  I think the secret is to use good whole milk and cream.  Here's the recipe:

1 1/2 cups whole milk

1 1/8 cups granulated sugar (I cut back to 1 cup)

3 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 TBL pure vanilla extract

Whisk milk and sugar until sugar dissolves, then add cream and vanilla extract.  Pour into the ice cream maker and let it mix for 25-30 minutes.  Put in freezer, and voila, you made ice cream!

Many thanks to whoever donated the ice cream maker.

It's one fine toy!!

Freezer Food Challenge 2014

Time for my annual freezer food challenge.   I was going to start February 1st, but I just took a look at my freezers and I think I better start now because there are not enough days in February to exhaust what I have in the freezers.

So, from now to February 28th, we will be eating out of the freezers until we deplete what's in there.   Same rules apply.  No buying of anything other than fruits, veggies and dairy.  Oh, wine and beer are excluded from the game.

Let the game begin!

PHILADELPHIA© Cheesecake

Hands down to the Kraft peeps!  The cheesecake recipe that's on every stick of Philadelphia cream cheese is a keeper.  It's true that it's easy and simple to make, and it tastes great!

The recipe is easy to adjust too.  The original recipe calls for 4 sticks of cream cheese.   I only had two sticks so I winged it and hoped for the best.  Of course, it will be a smaller cake.

I cut back to 2 eggs and used 3/4 cup sugar.  I also cut back to 2 tablespoon of sugar for the crust.  I think it came out great without the additional sweetness.

1-1/2 cups   graham cracker crumbs
2 Tbl           sugar
1/3 cup       butter or margarine, melted
2 pkgs         (8oz) cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup       sugar
1 tsp           vanilla
2                eggs

Bake in 325F oven for 45- 55minutes.

Note to self: don't over bake it.  You don't want the crust to become too hard.

Here's the original recipe:

PHILADELPHIA Classic Cheesecake

Simple Pleasure

It doesn't take a lot to brighten up my day.  A beautiful English plate that I got from Goodwill; a little cheese dome from another thrift shop.  They go very well with the day-old donut somehow and that makes me happy.

Hello 2014!

Time flew by too quickly.  I didn't even say good-bye to 2013 and here we are, 10 days into the brand new year.

My last post was more than two months ago.  The past two months went by like a blur.  I wasn't even ready for Christmas.  What Christmas??  I was intensively involved with the office move that I lived, breathed and dreamed about it 24/7.

Ahhh, the move...It was quite an experience.  I was volunteered the role of Project Manager.  I was a bit scared at first since I had never handled such a large scale move before, and I certainly had no idea what I was supposed to do.  But, someone had to do it... and I was that someone.

I took a deep breath and jumped into a sea of unknowns.  From overseeing the construction, finding movers, furniture vendors and other service providers, to organizing everything for 20 people to move from a 10,000 square feet office to a smaller 6,000 square feet space... and dealing with the hiccups, insurance requirement, restrictions, scheduling and the aftermath,.... man, now looking back, I had to ask myself, how the heck you did you do it, Suts?

Yes, pat me on the back please.

Everyone was impressed with the efficiency of the move.  The partners were totally blown away that they walked into a brand new office that was fully ready for operation.  All boxes put away; all systems ready to go.

That goes to show, never say you can't.  Just bite the bullet and do it.  Somehow, you will find a way to do it right.

I will face 2014 with my new found fearlessness.  I think 2014 will be an interesting year.  I can't wait to see what it will bring.

Here I come 2014, ready or not!!