Cinnamon Toffee Ice Cream on Grilled South Carolina Peaches

It is officially SUMMER!! And what is better this time of year than ice cream and fresh grown local peaches??

These past few weeks, here in South Carolina, we have been "treated" to true summer weather in the south. Everyday, it has been well over 90 degrees. Ugggg.... There is nothing more horrible than getting into your car at the end of the day and your car saying that it is 105 degrees. Some days, you can barely touch the steering wheel.  At first, when I moved south in 1999 (from the frozen tundra of Pennsylvania), I thought that the heat was going to be the death of me.  I remember several times gasping as I walked outside and telling friends that I could not breath. I was feeling as though the humidity was going to suffocate me. Since then, I have learned to look at the hot summer months more as a compromise for the temperate fall, winter and spring. Thinking now.... If given the option of shoveling 3 feet of snow in freezing cold conditions or sweating a little downtown while watching a band and having a cold beer on a Friday night- I choose that cold beer!

One of the jewels of this area is the great produce that we have in abundance. Whether you are a local Carolinian or a transplant like me, the one season that everyone looks forward to here is peach season. We follow the peaches from the first buds on the trees in very early spring, through every frost that might damage the crops, until the time we bring home our first basket of pure South Carolina goodness.  Most people here await that first peach of the season because it is one of the true signs of summer. Lucky for us, this years peach crop has turned out to be prolific and we are loving every single bite!!

Mini Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream Cakes

So even food bloggers make mistakes..... and this recipe turned out to be one of mine. Every year when we go to the beach, I make my sister something for her birthday dessert. I typically make cupcakes and freeze them, then ice and decorate them when I get there. This year, I spoke to my 6 year old nephew on the phone and he told me he wanted ice cream cakes for his Mom's birthday. He had seen my Whoppers Malted Milk Ball Ice Cream Cake and he was having ice cream dreams. So "Aunt Becky" quickly agreed. How hard could it be?  I already took a huge cooler full of all the dinners for the week. I would make them 2 days before, freeze them and take them in the  cooler. So I set about my task.

OK..... I think you see where this story is going..... After my 8 hour drive to OBX (in typical July heat), I opened the cooler to find totally frozen steaks, chicken and even sweet potato French fries, and there was my perfect plastic container of ice cream slime?!?!?!?!!!! How could this happen? Everything else is frozen... Blah!  As I am dumping peanut butter milk down the drain and picking cupcake papers out before they go into the disposal, my Dad comes into the room and suggests refreezing them. We were way past that point.  "Aunt Becky" had let everyone down. I was not a happy girl, but I was at the beach and no one's feeling seemed too hurt. So, the next day we made strawberry shortcake and celebrated just the same.

Strawberry Nutella Milkshake

It is hot here in South Carolina today. So what better recipe to celebrate our last day of Strawberry week then with an ice cold Strawberry Nutella Milkshake. Yes, I said Nutella. I am currently sitting on my porch right now sharing this recipe with you while I sip, sip away.

It has been a great week of local produce and favorite recipes. If you just need more strawberries make sure you check out our older strawberry posts: Strawberry Riesling Slushies and
Strawberry Cupcakes with Strawberry Meringue Buttercream.

Mini Frozen Citrus Pies

Summer is fast approaching! And for me it can not come fast enough! One thing I love about summer is the fact that my back porch becomes my second living room. Most nights you can find me outside reading with my golden retriever Charlie at my feet, blogging on Bonbons and Biscotti or laughing with friends while sipping some red wine. Everyone knows when they come to my house that if you knock on the front door and no one answers, walk around to the backyard and you will find me- on my porch. Every year, I decorate my porch with pots of fresh herbs and flowers and last year my Mom and I went shopping for some great new bright cushions and accessories that make this area the cheeriest place in my house. It really is THE place to be from April till October.

So why am I sharing this recipe? This recipe is the perfect little individual dessert to have in the freezer whenever those surprise guests show up for some porch sittin'. Make these mini cream pies ahead of time in whatever citrus flavor that you like and keep them on the ready. These are refreshing and tart.  They are perfect for an after dinner treat, a talk with a friend or a decadent snack when you have had a bad day. Go ahead eat two! You deserve it!

Whoppers Malted Milk Ball Ice Cream Cake

 

Happy Birthday to Bonbons and Biscotti....

And what better why to celebrate a birthday than with CAKE!!! Not just any cake but ice cream cake- just in time for spring!! There is nothing better than sitting on the back porch in the sun eating ice cream cake- YUM!

OK, there is a reason that I chose this recipe; actually a few. First I love malted milk balls and we have already established my love for dessert, but the need to make this recipe is more about having something that I never got to have for my personal birthdays. Yes, as I mentioned in my previous post, I always had a great birthday with a awesome cake made by my Mom, Toni "the master baker." However,  every year when my little sister's birthday rolled around in sunny June she had a cook out and a Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake!  I wanted an ice cream cake sooooo bad but as in most small towns in rural Pennsylvania, the Dairy Queen was only open in the summer months. This made a lot of sense for my region. Really, who wants to sit outside on a picnic table and eat ice cream in 2 feet of snow? Since I was born on a blustery day in late January, an ice cream cake (or a cookout!!!) was never a possibility for me.  My birthdays were always rushed events that people came to, ate and left before the roads got to snowy to travel.  In their own way, my birthdays were festive and memorable but to this day... still no ice cream cake. Well, by making this cake I have solved that dilemma. Now I can have decadent chocolate cake on my birthday in January and mile high ice cream cake for my blog's birthday.  I am a happy girl!

I want to personally say thank you to all of you that followed my blog and watched me grow in this past year. As I have noted, I have had some hard days these past 2 years and every time I get a note of encouragement or hear that someone else has read my blog or tried one of my recipes, it warms my heart. I hope that I have inspired some of you as well. Remember Love Begins In The Kitchen... show someone that you love them.

XOXO

Rebecca



Salted Chocolate- Caramel Turtle Ice Cream Sandwiches

Salted Chocolate- Caramel Turtle Ice Cream Sandwiches

This past fall, I was looking for a recipe to make some cookies for a friend.  I wanted something with that salty /sweet combo that is so popular right now and it definitely had to include chocolate. After looking, I stumbled upon this recipe on one of my favorite blogs: How Sweet It Is. I made the cookies and they were amazing. The night that I made them, was before a long trip.  After I had packed and prepared, I sat down with a bowl of vanilla ice cream and two of these cookies. They had a little chewiness due to the caramel, crunch from the pecan and every once in a while you would bite into a salt crystal. Delish! It dawned on me at that time that these cookies would make great ice creams sandwiches with a caramel ice cream that I had made before. The cookies needed to be a little bigger for sandwiches and why not add more caramel to balance the strong chocolate cookie. My wheels were turning......... this little gem is what I came up with!