So, not sure if it was a request from one of my friends for coffee ice cream or if I decided to do it on my own but I pulled the following recipe from a website titled Simply Recipes (and want to try some of the other recipes – the pictures are amazingly appetizing!) a couple months back in the height of my ice cream making frenzy and never got around to making it (Minnesota has been unseasonably cold this summer – I actually turned on my HEAT today, IN AUGUST, IN MINNESOTA – what the heck is going on here!). Well…tomorrow night is “Girls Night In” and this is going to be my contribution.. I have added my comments preceded by ***
Coffee Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients ***I doubled this recipe for my 4 quart maker and I could have tripled it
- 1 1/2 cups whole milk
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 cups whole coffee beans (decaf unless you want the caffeine in your ice cream)***I wanted the caffeine)
- Pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
- 5 large egg yolks
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract ***Shit! just realized I forgot to add this – still chillin’ in the fridge so it’s not too late.
- 1/4 teaspoon finely ground coffee (press grinds through a fine mesh sieve) ***I omitted this, I am going to sprinkle crushed chocolate covered espresso beans on the top after dishing up
Method ***these are NOT my pictures, my camera was full
1 Heat the milk, sugar, whole coffee beans, salt, and 1/2 cup of the cream in a medium saucepan until it is quite warm (***this is a bit objective but I got the gist) and steamy, but not boiling. Once the mixture is warm, cover, remove from the heat, and let steep at room temperature for 1 hour.
2 Pour the remaining 1 cup of cream into a medium size metal bowl, set on ice over a larger bowl. Set a mesh strainer on top of the bowls. Set aside. ***be aware that if you double (or more) this recipe that your strainer may not be big enough, unfortunately I did not foresee this problem
3 Reheat the milk and coffee mixture, on medium heat, until again hot and steamy (not boiling!). (***at this point my milk/cream mixture was kind of curdled-I started to panic thinking I had just wasted over an hour of my evening and would have to start over but I forged on – all was OK.) In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks together. Slowly pour the heated milk and coffee mixture into the egg yolks, whisking constantly so that the egg yolks are tempered by the warm milk, but not cooked by it. Scrape the warmed egg yolks back into the saucepan.
4 Stir the mixture constantly over medium heat with a heatproof, flat-bottomed spatula, scraping the bottom as you stir, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula so that you can run your finger across the coating (***be aware when your “run” your finger across this spatula that this mixture is H-O-T – I have a small blister to prove it) and have the coating not run. This can take about 10 minutes. ***All right…10 minutes is a long freaking time when you are stirring constantly. Now I love to bake and make desserts but I usually am not one for the tedious type of crap (except Christmas time when I go a bit overboard). I even adjusted my grandmothers 7 hour long strudel recipe to be able to utilize my bread machine to cut the work in more than half. So… I am stirring and my arm is going to fall off and NOW my dogs is whining at such a decibel that makes it hard to keep my eyes open because she needs to go outside and my repeated “just a minute!” exclamations are not getting through to her. I take a 15 second break to let the dog out and the cat promptly takes advantage of the open door and bolts. I am looking from the door to the stove, door to stove – UGH! I have too much invested in this freakin’ ice cream – I hope the cat comes back.
 
5 Pour the custard through the strainer and stir it into the cream (***again, make sure you have a strainer big enough, I had a MESS, my picture definitely would not have been this pretty). Press on the coffee beans in the strainer to extract as much of the coffee flavor as possible. Then discard the beans. Mix in the vanilla (***Ummm, yeah – apparently was too focused on the beans and ice cream base dripping and spilling all over the place that I missed this part, good thing this had to chill) and finely ground coffee, and stir until cool.
6 Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator (***I plan on doing this overnight), then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
Makes one quart. (***If you don’t double it)
Now I obviously haven’t tasted this yet so I will post an update tomorrow.
PS – for those of you wondering, the cat came back (after I called him, anyone else have a cat that comes when called? Certainly surprises the neighbors or a random passerby when I am standing at the front door calling here kitty, kitty kitty and a cat actually comes running from out from under the neighbors bushes) when I was done with this post.
Update…the coffee ice cream was D-A-M-N G-O-O-D, even made better with a drizzle of Kahlua (or Amaretto as others had). DEFINITELY a keeper.
- August 21, 2009 – 11:20 pm
- Posted in Just Me
So, I have been “off the grid” for awhile tryin’ to get back on track after the office remodel (pictures soon – promise). It took some doing. Not to mention that I went on this new diet program with a girlfriend and it literally made me stupid. After feeling constantly like I was LOSING my mind I decided this program was too carb restrictive for everything I am going through right now. Do you realize that your brain NEEDS carbs? My brain NEEDS carbs. I will try it again in September to see if it works out better after the kids are back in school and I have less stress. I also decided that rather than trying to keep up with two blogs (Personal and Professional) that I am merging them into one (not actually merging as I am just letting the personal one go – bye). My follower (just one) may find the work stuff boring and my colleagues/clients may find some of the personal stuff shocking but it is what it is – pure Sonia Rae. Take it or leave it but no excuses will be made.
I still make the ridiculous assumption that if I have updated to Office 2007 then EVERYONE must have updated, right? Wrong (right dad?). So, if you are tired of calling or email the folks who forget to save their documents in a 2003 (or earlier) compatible format before sending them to you (sorry dad), or sending your documents to a friend to convert, this this tip is for you.
By installing the Compatibility Pack along side of Microsoft Office XP, or Office 2003, you will be able open, edit, save, and create files using the Open XML Formats new to the 2007 Microsoft Office system. Office 2000 users, as well as users of Windows 2000 SP4 and later, can convert Open XML Formats to binary file formats from within Windows Explorer.
Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats
The above link will bring you to the Microsoft download center where you can find out more information and instructions for download.
After this installation you will never have to make that phone call again!
So I have been out of touch the last couple of days because I officially began my “Office Makeover” on Thursday evening. I pulled everything out and every surface in the main and lower level of my home has stuff from my office trying to take root. The resounding words are “All of this was in your office?” With a Holy $h!t buried somewhere in there. I am amazed as well. My office is slightly smaller than 10 feet by 8 feet when it is empty but like I said the stuff that was in it is taking up the better part of three rooms during the transition. My friend Simone (at least I hope she is still my friend after we are done) and I worked until 2am Thursday (I was up until 4am) and she left here at 4am this morning (I was up until 6am) and we have completed the “construction” phase of the project. New paint, cabinets, molding and trim. I am really believing the old adage of double your cost and triple your time for renovations. Also, next time you see one of those people in the hardware store that is ripping open a box and checking the piece count of an item they need to assemble, don’t laugh – it may be me. (finding out you are missing a “cam shaft” at 8pm with 40 plus little pieces spread all over your floor is nothing less that a wet cat experience)
Today we will begin the process of moving back in the furniture and over the next week gradually sort and sift through all of the crap I have accumulate in the last six years (jeez, I can not believe it has been that long since I opened my doors, so to speak, of my new business – almost to the day!) and toss what is no longer needed and craig’s list the rest. (When did “craig’s list” become a verb?).
It has been a long two days and the coffee is finally ready. About that, I know I am beyond tired when this is my morning recap…
9am:I got out of bed at and pulled out the coffee pot
9:45: I remembered I was going to make coffee and put the grounds and water in and pressed start.
10:30am: I went to get a cup and realized the machine was not plugged in (plugged in)
11am when I went to get a cup I realized I had not pressed start.
It is now 11:30am and I am going to have the first cup. Now to mention it the house doesn’t smell like coffee? – there had better be coffee!
Ironic – I just received an email from the Improvements Catalog to check out their new items.
Do you ever create documents on your computer that you don’t want anyone else to be able to open? Most of use do. Or maybe you want to send a document by email but want to make sure only the intended recipient can open it. Follow these simple instructions to restrict access to certain documents on your computer to only those with the password.
This process needs to be completed for each document you wish to place a password on.
- Open the Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Publisher, etc) document you wish to protect.
- On the menu, select FILE > SAVE AS
- Select TOOLS > GENERAL OPTIONS
- A new window will pop up. Somewhere in that window you will see a place to enter a “Password to open”.
 Each window will be slightly different based on the document you are saving and the version you are using due to a variety of options. Type in your desired password, click OK, Reenter password, click OK, click Save (if you are prompted to replace an existing file, choose yes) Close the original document. Next time the document is opened there will be a prompt to enter a password.
- If you would like to restrict modification to the document you can also enter a “Password to modify”.
 This will add a second prompt for a password to allow only the users who know this additional password to make modifications to a document.  If this password is unknown (but the password to open is known) the user can choose to open as a read only document but will be unable to make changes or save to the original document. (They will be able to save the document by giving it a new name however)
- Additionally, you can also choose to let anyone have access to view the document without a password but restrict modifications to the document to those with a password by leaving the password to open blank and only entering a password to modify.
That’s it. Don’t forget your password or you won’t be able to get back into your document without extra effort and cost.
If you do forget your password, you have two options. The first is to buy password recovery software ($20-$100) or hire somebody (like me  ) to recover it for you.
- July 20, 2009 – 9:35 pm
- Posted in Just Me
So I am still! waiting on the Dept of Revenue website and I have one return left to file. I decide to take a break and find something to eat. I say “find” because I have yet to go to the grocery store (remember my post a few days back about the grocery store?). So I am at the point that I have a few lemons, coffee and condiments in my fridge – no joke. (oh and a gallon of milk I sent my son to the store for, there are limits to being a HORRIBLE mom. (breaking news…my husband just made contact with his birth mother for the first time in 36 years – exciting!). So like I was saying, finding something to eat was a search. I open the freezer and lo’ and behold WAAAAAY in the back is a box of taquitos – SCORE! I pull out the toaster oven and set ‘er for 12 minutes. I pull out the salsa and grab a beer (PS – ALWAYS beer in the fridge) and I am set to sit for a spell and eat for the first time today. I start a program from the DVR (93% full) and decide I am just going to take 30 minutes to myself. The teen is locked in his room doing the current version of socializing which is simultaneously texting and chatting via an internet war game and the hubby and youngest are out loading a buddies ATV onto our trailer for the “dud’s”, I mean “dude’s” trip – yuck – won’t even go there. So I am enjoying my breakfast/lunch/dinner (should I be using separate paragraphs here? I get confused) and my DH (Darling Husband) pulls in. I have one taquito left. Dilemma, scarf it down or go out and say “hi” and come back in and enjoy – I go for the latter. I go out and exchange pleasantries without a lot of enthusiasm (as I mentioned I haven’t consumed much in the way of solids today, I did have a hard bolied egg for lunch though ). As I head back to my well worn place on the couch with the faint taste of taquito in my mouth and a smile on my face I glance at the end table and see my plate is EMPTY! ARE YOU FRICKIN’ KIDDING ME – I look over at the dog and just stare – hard! Like she is going to give me an explanation? At that precise moment she licks her chops loudly to which I exclaim – REALLY! and then I grab the camera and snap this picture. Does she look guilty?
To add icing, I turn around and my youngest is in the hall brushing the cat with my hairbrush “DO NOT use my brush for the cat” “Why? I always do” – I need a vacation.
So I have been up to my eyeballs in sales tax today. The MN Department of Revenue has been off and on all day so it has been a frustrating day. That’s what I get for waiting until the last minute  . I have a post coming up tomorrow that I am putting the finishing touches on about creating password protection for Microsoft Office documents – stay tuned!
- July 19, 2009 – 5:41 pm
- Posted in Just Me
Puuurrrrrfect example of a cat nap!
So I just made a pot of hard boiled eggs and when I was talking to my girlfriend she mentioned how her hard boiled eggs always are a pain in the rear to peel and have a green ring around the yolk. I rarely have that issue (and I say rarely since I do not always follow my own instructions) so I thought I would share my “recipe” for hard boiled egg success. Here are the two keys; the age of the egg is the most important factor in ease of peeling, and overcooking is the main reason for a discolored yolk.
So…age of the egg?
Yep – the older the egg the better. If you know you are going to be making hard boiled eggs in the future get eggs that will expire as close to the day you are making them as you can. If not, just buy the eggs that are closest to the expiration date. I usually find that the local “mini-mart” type stores sell eggs closer to expiration than supermarkets. Eggs don’t necessarily expire on the expiration date of the container (and that date is usually a sell by date anyway) . A simple test in water will answer the freshness question for you. Place the egg in a bowl of water; if it lays on its side, it is very fresh. As it ages, the air pocket inside the egg grows, which buoys the egg up so it stands on one end. If the egg floats to the top, it is ready for the trash. Sidetracked: This brings me back to a story about my mom from when I first ventured out on my own. I was making hard boiled eggs and reading the instructions from a cook book (yep). Something was not working out correctly so I called my mom at work and the conversation went something like this…”Hey Mom, I am trying to make hard boiled eggs and the instructions say to cover the eggs with at least an inch of water?” Mom: “yeah, sounds right” Me: “What if they float?” Mom: “I have no idea, hold on…” Now yelling over her cubicle at work to whomever is in ear range and can answer her “What do you do if your eggs float when you’re making hard boiled eggs? What? Eggs EXPIRE?” Now back on the phone “Throw them away, apparently eggs expire” Apparently? Well, I am still around so I must not have eaten too many bad eggs as a kid!
Now for the cooking part.
- Place eggs in a pot with enough COLD water to have an inch of water above the eggs.
- Place the pot with the eggs and water over high heat until the water comes to a full boil. IMMEDIATELY take the pot off the heat and cover with a tightly-fitting lid. The eggs will continue to cook from the heat of the water. The eggs do not need to be (and should not be) boiled. Overcooking eggs is what causes the iron in the yolk and the sulfur in the white to combine, and this makes that ugly greenish color around the yolk.
- Let the eggs sit in the pan in the hot water for 12-18 minutes depending on the size of your pan and the size of your eggs (the larger the pan the less time you need since it takes longer to boil the water and obviously smaller eggs need less time).
- Drain the eggs and fill the pot with cold water. I like to empty and re-fill the pot several times to make sure the heat of the eggs doesn’t heat the water back up again. You can also put ice cubes in the water. The water should be very cold. Letting the eggs sit in the cold water until the eggs are completely cooled helps the membrane stick to the shell, instead the egg, and makes the egg easier to peel.
- Hard boiled eggs in the shell can be refrigerated up to one week. Hard boiled eggs out of the shell should be used right away.
Worth a mention, never tried: I have heard the following… If you are making deviled eggs, place carton of eggs on its side for a day or so. The yolk will then center itself so you have it directly in the middle of the white. No more off centered deviled eggs.
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