IT'S ICE CREAM SEASON: THE EASIEST RAW VEGAN ICE CREAM

National Ice Cream Day is this Sunday and if you want to celebrate the greatest holiday ever, without a sugar hangover, we've got the perfect (and simplest) recipe for you! I make this healthy dessert for my family a lot and it's always a surefire hit. 

Ingredients (per serving):

1 Large FROZEN Banana (I freeze several ripe bananas ahead of time so I have them ready. They must be frozen, minimally, overnight to work)

8-10 Frozen Strawberries 

2 Soft Dates

Approx. 1/8 Cup of Water

You will need either a VitaMix or blender. 

Put all of the fruit and 1/2 of the water in a VitaMix. Turn on low and use the tamper to push the ingredients down and blend. If it is very dry, slowly add more water. Be careful not to add too much water, or your ice cream will become a smoothie. A blender will work too but will take more effort. The tamper in the VitaMix makes this extremely easy. If you use a regular blender, you will have to start and stop and use a rubber spatula with the blender turned off to mix it. I have done it, but it takes more time!

Scoop out and serve immediately. You can top with fresh fruit, nuts or coconut shreds if you like a little added texture! Happy (and Healthy) National Ice Cream Day! xx

NAUTICAL AND NATURAL BABY SPRINKLE

Yesterday afternoon I hosted an intimate "baby sprinkle" for my sister-in-law -- expecting baby no. 2 next month. My goal was to make a simple and lovely, country-side-esque afternoon for our 10 guests.  

The guest of honor requested a tea-like light lunch but with ice-cold lemonade, instead of hot tea. Because she is expecting a boy, I wanted to make sure I didn't go too far down the frilly and girly high-tea route. Instead, I opted for my own clean white dishes, classic silverware, french linen napkins and touches of boyish anchors. My palette was navy, brown and white.

It was an interesting challenge with Jason out of town on tour - I had a 2-year-old helper who liked taking the straws out of the glasses - as you can see above. ;) But I'm really happy with the way it turned out. It was a nice mix of modern and classic. And I even did some crafting! Sis would be proud.

I gave myself a challenge: Don't rent anything. Because it was a small shower, I was able to use all of my own dishes, glassware, linens and silverware. As for the flower vessels -- I love the dark amber glass bottles my Kombucha comes in, so for several weeks leading up to the shower, I saved every bottle, took the labels off (had to scrub and soak and scrub again until all of the stickiness came off!). I purchased a few bunches of flowers and wild greens from Whole Foods. The bottles did double duty -- I also gave them away as favors at the end of the party. They make such a cool little vase for around the house. I'm a big fan.  

For a special touch I made a few anchor decorations. These are little anchors I cut and stuck to wooden skewers, to create a more festive place setting. 

I also made this anchor banner for the food table. Could be super cute on the nursery wall too!

I kept the drinks simple, with strawberry water and homemade organic lemonade.

We have been making most of our parties gluten-free lately. People normally can't even tell the difference and it suits the needs of the people who don't eat gluten. These scones from Buttercelli Bakeshop were out of control. The biggest hit of the day and gluten-free! I purchased organic apricot and strawberry jams and lemon curd. I made the Devonshire cream from this recipe I found on Joy of Baking. 

You can never go wrong with a platter of organic berries. Never.

Butter lettuce salad with homemade candied walnuts, dried cranberries and goat cheese. 

What do you do when you have a major cake-fail two hours before the party?! Get brownies, blondies and bars from the gluten-free bakeshop, cut them into square and forget you were up until 2AM baking!

Baby Shower Scattergories!! Yes!!! 

Ending the afternoon with these lovely scones. Can't wait for another baby in the family! xx

SOURCES:

Food: Whole Foods + Trader Joe's

Flowers + Greens: Whole Foods

Gluten-Free Scones + Baked Goods: Buttercelli Bakeshop

Plates and Cake Stands: Sur La Table

Linen Napkins: One Kings Lane

Glassware: Crate + Barrel

Drink Dispensers + Stands: Pottery Barn

Card Stock for Anchors and Scattergories: Paper Source 

Amber Glass Bottles: Health-Ade Kombucha

Mini Pencils: Amazon

Straws: Shop Sweet Lulu

Table + Benches: HD Buttercup

Wire Chairs: Rejuvenation 

LOVERS' SUNDAE

Since ice cream is my favorite food (Sis and I are lobbying to make it an official Food Group), I figured I should come up with a special Valentine's dessert, using it in all its glory. The dark chocolate ice cream and raspberry sauce combination was inspired by an Italian dessert, called a Tartufo, that our dad loved when we were growing up. There's a little bit of wait time between steps but there are only a few ingredients. You can (and should) make all of the components ahead of time and throw it together when you and your Valentine are ready for a sweet treat!

Ingredients:

1 Pint Good Quality Chocolate Ice Cream

1 & 1/2 Bars Dark Chocolate, Medium-Finely Chopped

One 10 oz. Bag Frozen Raspberries (plus extra fresh raspberries, optional) 

1/4 Cup Sugar

1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice

1/4 Cup Water

1 Teaspoon Arrowroot Powder, Tapioca Starch or Corn Starch

Pinch of Salt

Let ice cream sit out so that it softens JUST A LITTLE BIT. Scoop ice cream into approximately 2 & 1/2 inch-sized balls. You should have four evenly sized scoops from one pint. Place each scoop on a plate covered in parchment paper. Return to the freezer immediately and let them re-freeze until hard (this could be 2 hours or more; overnight is fine too).

Now make the raspberry sauce. Place frozen raspberries, lemon juice, water, starch or your choosing and salt in a sauce pan. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Once it starts to simmer, lower heat. Cook and smash with a wooden spoon until fruit is completely broken down. Remove from heat and push through a mesh sieve or strainer. Once the sauce has cooled, store in an airtight jar or container and refrigerate until serving. Can be made up to three days ahead.

Hand chop chocolate into small pieces.

Remove Ice cream balls from the freezer. If you refroze them overnight, let them soften ever so slightly, for 1-2 minutes. Roll each ball in the chocolate pieces, pressing the pieces into the ice cream as you roll, until the entire ball is covered in chocolate. Once all of the balls are covered, place them back on the parchment paper plate and return to the freezer until it's time to serve.

When you are ready to serve, place the ice cream in a dish (you and your valentine can share a sweetheart bowl... or if you are like me, you might not want to share at all!) and pour the raspberry sauce on top. I like to add fresh raspberries to finish it off!