Vintage Goodness: Easy Banana Ice Cream Recipe

Flickr/Halai Mama
Who loves banana ice cream? That's the recipe my husband picked from the Searchlight Recipe Book. You won't find this flavor in most grocery stores, but homemade ice cream is so easy. Have no fear if you don't have an ice cream maker. You can still make it using this no ice cream maker necessary method.

This is a great recipe for using your over-ripe bananas too, and don't

Wordless Wednesday Linky: flowering or blooming teas

I have a Wordless Wednesday linky each week. Be sure to link your post below and to follow me if you want to easily find this weekly linky.

This post is shared with Trish's Tea Party Tuesday, Donna's Tuesday Tea Chat, Martha's Tea Cup Tuesday,  Terry's Tea Cup Tuesday, Wordless Wednesday, What I Love Wednesday, Vintage Share the Love Wednesday, Woo Us To Your Blog, and Thursday-13.

I love to

Caramel Ice Cream Recipe

Flickr/daveleb
Here's a recipe to help you (and me) beat the heat. I love to make homemade ice cream, and if you haven't tried it, you haven't realized how easy it is. It is much better tasting than most store-bought ice cream and much cheaper too. I love that I get to control the quality of my ingredients and try out all sorts of wonderful flavors I would not be able to buy from a brand.

Monday, Mmm ... Dessert: Recipe Linky Party Time

Marelie's Food for the Gods
Happy Monday!  It's time to link up your favorite dessert recipes.

All of last week's recipes were great.  I hope you all take the time to not only link up, but hop over to the recipes too.

Did you notice Marelie's Food for the Gods?  I sure did, and so did a couple other hostesses.

Take a look at all the orange and cranberry flavor bursting from Julie's cookies.

Have you joined The Foodie Blogroll yet?

When I first started this blog several years ago, there weren't very many food blogs, and there were even fewer dessert blogs.  My blog was less than a month old when I ran across a great blog called The Leftover Queen written by Jenn.  I realized that she had just started a blogroll for us few foodies, so we could find each other, and I joined as soon as I met the requirements.  Jenn had lots of

May flowers: pretty and edible

Happy Wordless Wednesday and Thursday 13. I've also just discovered What I Love Wednesday, and I'm linking there.  You can too.  :-)  If you have your own WW post, be sure to sign in with the linkie below.  I have beautiful and edible May flowers to share with you today.  I hope these photographs give you inspiration for your own culinary delights.  I find it impossible to choose a favorite.  Can

Strawberry glaze recipe for ice cream, cheesecake, yogurt, etc.

I hope you all had a good Passover or a happy Easter.  If you are participating in Monday, Mmm ... Dessert, then be sure to leave your post's link below.

Strawberry season is just starting and will be at its peak all through the month of May and into June depending on your climate and the strawberry varieties.  It's time to enjoy them, every which way we can.  This is a great recipe to use over

Royal wedding cake to be decorated in Joseph Lambeth style

Click for more information on the Royal Weddings Cakes -- Cairns and McVitie's to create 2 royal wedding cakes.
Happy Wordless Wednesday to all.  Be sure to link your own Wordless Wednesday post below.
Don't miss out on my latest giveaway either -- The Fearless Baker by Emily Luchetti.




Flickr/amy.newcomer
Joseph Lambeth method uses the simplest of decorating tubes to create
ornate

Get free recipe booklets from major food companies

You can get free recipe booklets through the mail from major food companies like Sun-Maid, Jiffy Mix and Smucker's, and there are no strings attached.  Just click on the links below to visit their offer pages and fill out your information, and in usually 4-8 weeks, you'll get your recipes in your mailbox.  It's that easy, and yes, it is absolutely free -- a good thing anytime and especially when

Poison? FDA reviews artificial food dyes

Flickr/VioletInk
Artificial food dyes -- pick your poison.
The Food and Drug Administration convened a panel of experts this week to examine evidence of ill effects of artificial food dyes and decide whether a change in policy is needed, including the addition of warning labels on packaged foods that contain certain dyes.

The FDA is finally paying attention to what some mothers have known

Dessert Tip: Cold vs. hot cookie sheets

Flickr/PetitPlat Food Art by Stephanie Kilgast
Use cold cookie sheets for each batch.
Use a cold cookie sheet for each batch of cookies.  Run cookie sheet under cold water and regrease it if necessary.  Using a hot cookie sheet would result in flattened out cookies because the dough would start baking even before entering the oven.

Brie En Croute with a Michigan Cherry Jam Filling

Sometimes the best desserts are some of the easiest and least complicated ones.  Simplicity is heavenly.

I just made some Brie En Croute with a Michigan Cherry Jam Filling at a friend's house, and of course, it reminded me of the Brie En Croute with Apple Compote Filling Recipe I had posted for you.



Flickr/Like_the_Grand_Canyon
Brie En Croute can be served as
a dessert or as an appetizer too

Easy how-to tip for frosting a cake

One way to keep a cake plate clean while frosting, is to place strips of aluminum foil or waxed paper under the cake around the edge.  When all done, just pull out the strips.  The plate rim will be all clean.



Flickr/abbsmcnabbs
Use strips around edges of cake to keep board or plate clean

How to pair desserts and wines

Flickr/Taigatrommelchen
Business class airline lunch dessert:
Selection of cheese with grapes
(Greyerzer, Appenzeller and Camembert)
Roll with butter
Yogurt creme with fruits of the forest
compote and fresh berries
Wine: Cuvee of Pinot Noir, Gamaret,
De Chaunac - Kloster Einsiedeln,
Schwyz, Switzerland 2008
The sweetness of a dessert should not be overpowering or cloying, detracting from the

Easy How-To: Understand flour's proteint content

Flickr/Dan Goldring
Rural Ontario flour mill
The more protein contained in flour, the more elastic and chewy the results which is perfect when making bread dough.

The opposite is needed when baking cakes, so choose a low protein flour to produce a light, fine crumb.

Cake flour generally has 5-8 percent protein content.

Whole wheat flour contains 12-14 percent.

When the bran and germ are

America's signature recipe contest plus two festive recipes: Festive Orange Pineapple Punch, Orange Creamsicle Slush

The search is on for America's signature recipes.  Now through January 10, 2011 the Eagle Brand Signature Recipe Contest asks home bakers to showcase their signature recipes and creative spins on classic holiday recipes for a chance to win a grand prize of $10,000.

The company says "signature recipes can be modern favorites or recipes passed down through generations, but they always please a

Dessert ingredient: cloves

Clove oil by amandaslater/Flickr


Cloves are an important ingredient in the sweet kitchen's spice cabinet.  Clove nails, powder or oil can be used in baking, cooking, in perfumes or potpourris, scented crafts, mouthwash, toothpaste, and even some cigarettes.

The health benefits of clove oil can be attributed to its antimicrobial, antifungal, antiseptic, antiviral, and stress relieving

Easy How To: Storing spices

This post is featured at
Molly Green's Econobusters.com









To keep spices at their peak of flavor, store away from light, air, heat, and humidity.  Place your airtight spice jars in a dark kitchen cabinet.  If you live in a particularly hot climate, you may want to carefully store them in the refrigerator or freezer, being sure to keep away moisture and refrigerator/freezer smells from

Easy Dessert Tip: Glass bakeware conducts more heat

Beware not to over bake.  Glass bakeware conducts heat better than regular metal pans, so make sure you reduce the oven temperature by about 25 degrees.
 


1945 Pyrex oven ware advertisement (autumnsensation/Flickr)

Easy pumpkin recipe and history of pumpkin pie

Pumpkin pies originate from the days when early American cooks would merely fill a small pumpkin with milk and spices, and placed it in ashes in their fireplace. In this short video, P. Allen Smith shows us a super easy modern version to bake fresh pumpkins for our desserts without having to resort to cans.