Chocolate + Beer = breakfast

I’m not a big beer drinker.  I haven’t gotten over the bitter taste and strange after-taste that lingers in my mouth.  I’m still curious to try sips here and there, but my reaction is always the same: “blah! how can you drink this?” while I grab for the closest non-alcoholic beverage near by.  Only one brand has made me realize why people all over drink it and that’s Innis & Gunn.  Mind you I can only drink a 1/4 of the bottle before I pawn it off to Bob.  Since I can’t drink beer, stouts are even worse for me.  Am I ever going to enjoy Guinness??

Guinness-Milk Chocolate Ice cream
from David Lebovitz’s “Perfect Scoop”

• 7 ounces milk chocolate finely chopped
• 1 cup whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 4 large egg yolks
• 1 cup heavy cream, divided
• 3/4 cup Guinness Stout
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Once you’ve finished chopping your chocolate, put it in a large bowl with a mesh strainer over top.

Next, in a medium sauce pan on low-medium heat, combine the milk, sugar, and 1/2 cup of the cream.  Stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar has dissolved and wait for the mixture to heat up.

In a separate bowl, mix the egg yolks with the remaining cream.  Check on your milk/cream/sugar mixture.  I test it by poking my finger and  if it’s hot I know it’s ready.  (What professional advice, eh?  I know I should use a thermometer, but I’m so used to doing it this way and it’s worked – no sense in fixing something that ain’t broke…)  Slowly pour about 3/4 of the warmed mixture into the egg yolks/cream, whisking constantly.  [If you get "scrambled eggs", you've poured your mixture too quickly and the only remedy is to start again :( ].

Afterwards, pour your warmed egg yolks back into the sauce pan and cook until it’s “thickened”.  This term is kind of deceiving because your custard won’t get thick like a normal custard; it’ll still be rather runny.  Your custard is deemed “thickened” when after coating the back of your wooden spoon, your run your finger down the centre and make a trail.  If that trail remains for several seconds, your mixture is done.  If the trail “closes up” right afterwards, you still have to cook your mixture a little while longer.  Since I’ve made more ice cream than I can shake a stick at, I find once you’ve returned the eggs back into the sauce pan, more often than not, your custard’s done.

At this point, you’ll pour the custard through the strainer on top of the chocolate pieces.  Stir the chocolate until melted.  Then add your vanilla and Guinness.  Cool in an ice bath and then chill thoroughly for about 4 hours or overnight; freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.

Guinness-Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

My verdict is this:  David Lebovitz is a Genius.  Possibly one of the best ice creams I’ve made since my caramel macchiato.  When you first put a spoonful in your mouth, you get a lovely taste of milk chocolate.  And then it evolves into the heady, rich taste of the Guinness.  Guinness on its own doesn’t entice me.  But combined with the chocolate and in a frozen custard form, I can finally understand why people appreciate this stout.  While I won’t be able to enjoy a nice pint at the pub, I can enjoy it with crepes and a dollop of whipped cream.  Isn’t beer for breakfast lovely??  -  If you’re interested, check out this album of ice creams I’ve made this past month.

Deck update:

Bob working hard while I laze around and take pictures.

The hard work has paid off and now the deck is ready for use. (Special thanks to Brian who's helped us out so much with our yard and deck. Thanks dude!)

Happy (belated) Canada Day!  And of course, Happy 4th of July!  How are you celebrating this weekend?  Do you enjoy a nice pint of stout or are you more of a lager kind of person?

Visiting Eat It/Denise’s Carrotphobia muffins

My lovely girlfriend, Leah, has been extolling the virtues of organic and healthy eating to me for as long as I can remember.  I am not entirely against eating healthy or organic, but my pocket book just isn’t exactly equipped for such a lifestyle change.  Heck, I don’t even remember the last time I went to an actual shopping mall to buy my clothes.  Lately I’ve been grocery shopping at Superstore and heading to the Joe section to check out what they have.  You just can’t go wrong with buying super cute tops for $3,99.  Buying/eating organic vs. buying clothes made in Bangladesh/Thailand/Peru… Hmmm… Kind of a disconnect, non?

The brand goodies we decided to check out were from Yummy Earth, Navitas, and Nature's Path.

One of Leah’s places to purchase organic is Eat It – “Winnipeg’s 1st & Only Online Organic Store!”  It’s one of the places in the city that I’ve been meaning to visit and finally took some time to go check it out with my sister.  Admittedly, it’s not as big as Whole Foods (we don’t have one here in Winnipeg) but it isn’t as small as Organza and Vita Health.  Maybe it’s just the dim lighting that gives off a less lacklustre appeal.  Besides the dim lighting, and somewhat narrow aisles, the store is jam packed with lots of great produce and products.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

[I know I'm a day early but I won't really be home tomorrow...]

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY 2010!!!
to all the lovely ladies and their mothers.

In my younger years, I used to work at Broadway Florists at Polo Park mall.  Yup, I was once a mall brat.  Not cool enough for fashion retail, but spunky enough to sell you a nice bouquet.  {Believe you me, I’ve heard it all:  ”I need a bouquet of flowers for my girlfriend whom I was going to propose to this weekend and when I came home from my business trip, she moved out of our house” is a good example.}  Mother’s Day was THE BUSIEST day of the year with Valentine’s Day coming a close second.  Not everyone has a honey, but EVERYONE has a Mother.

Me and my "son", Horace. It was cold this past week and I asked him to get my mitts. He didn't listen and actually ignored me. I'm not holding my breath for Mother's Day...

This year, my sister and I decided to make a photobook of “the kids” [my sister, her husband, Bob, Horace, and myself] for mum via Photobook Canada.  Unfortunately, I submitted our book a little too late (on April 30th and it takes about 10-12 business days until delivery :( ).  So, it hasn’t arrived.  Hopefully it will do so this week.  Bob also bought her a nice Nielsen-Massey Tahitian Vanilla.  And my Chef Sister is making us all brunch tomorrow.  If that’s not love, then I don’t know what is.  {I can also freely advertise this because my mum does not use the internet.}  Ideally, if I was a self-made millionaire or a lottery winner, I’d fly my mum to Paris or someplace equally nice.  Hopefully one day this will happen.

Have you ever taken your Mum out for lunch or dinner on Mother’s Day only to find it to be a bust?  We’ve gone out before and it sucks.  It’s nice that my little sis has been so kind to be our chef for the day.

So, what do you plan on doing for your Mum this year?  Will you go the “traditional” route of flowers, possibly chocolates, a nice day at the spa?  Or is your plan something entirely different?

Whatever you choose to do, I’m sure you and your mothers will have a lovely time.  Happy Mother’s Day to one and all.

Love lots/Friends Always, Jenn + Kisses from Horace.

All-Bran Muffins

Self-portrait with All-Bran box.

I don’t know about you, but I log into Foodbuzz only every once in a while these days.  Sometimes to submit a blog post, sometimes to check out what other people are doing.  The latter has been less and less.  Even though so many people are submitting great stuff I simply do not have the time to read everything I’d like to.  Sadly, this means my inbox is as beautiful as an unruly English garden.  Is there even such a thing???  Yesterday, I had about…. let’s just say 300-something posts, comments, requests, that I had to weed through.  YIKES!!  Quite the chore.

I cursed my lazyness and whilst archiving stuff I wanted to read in future, I stumbled upon Brown Eyed Baker’s “Raisin Bran Muffins”.  Hey, I like Raisin Bran!  What’s this business all about?  Well, it’s a recipe that features putting your favourite cereal in muffin form.  ”Great zombie Jesus!”  [Professor Farnsworth, Futurama] ~  I need to make this.

Zibi’s Real Whole Grain Cereal

Morning paper and real whole grain cereal. Definitely NOT Froot Loops with marshmallows.

Last Tuesday, I had to meet up with some friends for a dinner tasting at my mum’s place.  I was looking through Zibi’s website and was totally wanting to try her Real Whole Grain Cereal.  So before picking up Diana and So, I went to Bulk Barn thinking it would be a quick trip with my ingredients list and out on my way.  I was a little on the wrong and late side.

Whenever I go to Bulk Barn, I usually go down the candy aisle.  I know, I know.  I’m a kid at heart.  The gummies, hard candies, chocolates are so hypnotizingly colourful, it’s hard not to stare at their beauty.  Looking at grains, on the other hand, are a little harder to decipher.  First of all, I had never seen steel cut oats before.  So I’m by the cereals area and I see these strange creatures that look nothing like the oats I’m accustomed too.  I think I said “Wtf?”  when I saw their bin.  I actually wanted to ask if this was a joke.  Definitely a quick education.  Took me  a couple of walks to find wheat berries (I had never seen these before) and barley (I just couldn’t spot them quick enough).  Eventually I did, and I was on my way to the gas station and then picking up my friends.

I got home a little after 10 PM and I was just buzzing with the anticipation of making something healthy and warm for breakfast.  I realized, obviously after 10 PM that I didn’t have any apple juice so I substituted with Cranberry-Raspberry juice, which made my cereal a little on the darker side.  I also couldn’t find any dried blueberries, so I substituted with dried currants.

Dried fruits & Grains with water.

Dried Fruits & Grain & Water & Fruit Juice.

A picture ode to Zibi's post. Her end result also features some pumpkin seeds.

The fruits of the slow cooker’s labour.  This is better than simply eating oats in the morning.  My stomach is a strange creature.  Everyone says that after they’ve had a big heaping bowl of oats, they’re satisfied.  I have oats and, no joke, I’m hungry after about an hour.  This cereal actually kept me hunger-free close to the lunch hour.  And that’s a good thing.  Because office work tends to get repetitive after a point and sometimes eating is a way of passing time (which isn’t good for low activity during the day).

Give this a try.  I’ve had it with both honey and applebutter.  Divine.