Topping of the Week: Smuckers Hot Fudge Topping

This is truly the review that just can't get written. We've dabbled with this sauce three times and still I haven't posted anything. I didn't even actually have any today (I finished off the Haagen-Dazs), but let's see what happens.

The first time we tried it, we went with the topping at room temperature (about 70 degrees if you want to get technical). It squirts out like some bizarre half melted tootsie roll. It won't spread at this temp, there's also no aroma, it's just kind of there.

The second time we tried it, I squirted a bunch in a mug and heated it up. I had forgotten how great hot fudge smells, so good in fact, there is that twisted thought in the back of my mind "hmmm, I wonder if I could drink this". Luckily (logically), I resisted. The hot fudge poured nicely over the whip cream covered sundaes. They tasted really good and smelled great.

We went back for a third try and already I'm having trouble getting the topping out of the container. They say you can just microwave the topping and squirt out what you need, but this strikes me as a bad idea for two reasons. One, we're those cautious kind of people who don't microwave anything in plastic (though using the mug means I do wind up heating too much). Two, I can't imagine reheating the sauce every time is good for it, I would think it would ruin the flavor. Anyway, I wound up shoving a butter knife into the container to get the topping out. I'd say we only have 2 more servings to go, but that's it (that's 5x2 total).

Nutrition: 130 / 35-1 / (1) / 2 [serving is 2 Tbsp]

Ben & Jerry's Willie Nelson's Country Peach Cobbler

Peach Ice Cream 

with Cinnamon-Sugar Shortbread Pieces & a Peach Swirl

[Retired end of 2013] Wow, another flavor from Ben & Jerry's that doesn't mess around. It only took one bite of this ice cream to know it meant business. It's not content with just being a "snack", no no, it wants to be the main dessert on your table and take orders from no one. While the Breyers Peach goes the smooth and mellow route, the fresh peach taste is front and center here, and I hope you like cinnamon, because it's hard to miss.

Dr. Jekyll: Breyers Peach Ice Cream
Mr. Hyde: Ben & Jerry's WN's Country Peach Cobbler
Mr. Poole: Turkey Hill's Peaches N' Cream (to be reviewed)

On Second Scoop: I was thinking about my review and realized I needed to sneak a few more bites. I was really shocked when I barely even noticed the cinnamon this time around, but I think it's because I was aiming for the shortbread pieces rather than the peach swirl. I still think it's much bolder than the Breyers, but I guess that's why you should judge a flavor on more than a couple bites.

Nutrition: 220 / 100-7 / (0) / 3

Edy's Outshine Grape Fruit Bar Review

the best way to review something is when it's in your

hand and you can type as you savor every bite.

older packaging circa 2009

the worst time to review something is when it's
in your hand and melting all over the keyboard.

Oh how I do love to tempt fate. In my hand is the very simple Edy's Grape Fruit bar, and when you keep things simple, it's hard to mess it up. I don't need preservatives in my popsicles, nor do I need high fructose corn syrup and 7 different dyes. I just want a plain old popsicle and this grape one is hitting the spot.

...and now it's gone, that was quick! at least the keyboard is still clean, think I'll just give myself a little pat on the back for that.

Oh geez, I almost forgot. In a unique marketing strategy, Edy's use to send you a coupon for a free box of Fruit Bars if you have had (or will have) a tonsillectomy if you are under 18 years of age.

2009 Nutrition: 80 / 0 / 0 / 0
2013 Nutrition: 60 / 0 / 0 / 0

Happy Mardi Gras!

no, i don't mean I'm at Mardi Gras, I just mean that today is Mardi Gras and tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, which means we've started the approach towards Easter! Now what better way to start thinking about Easter then by digging into a nice fresh bag of Jelly Beans. Oh man I'm a sucker for fresh jelly beans, or in today's case, Brach's Jelly Bird Eggs. At 2 grams of sugar per tasty egg, how can you possibly go wrong with these tasty rainbow delights made of sugar and corn syrup.

It's only 900 calories if I eat the whole bag....
Stop tempting me! Go back in the drawer!

Ok, if you prefer those fancy smancy Jelly Belly eggs, the kind with real flavors, then I have something for you. Jelly Belly teamed up with Cold Stone creamery to produce ice cream flavored jelly beans! That's right, if you like Jelly Belly, then you'll probably love these! (And if you're like me, you'll choke them down in the name of a review even if you don't like them)

As you can see from the picture, the flavors aren't exactly equal. I can honestly say that the birthday cake ones are my least favorite. The only one I don't mind is the strawberry blonde ones, not great, but not too bad. The other flavors are ok.

The problem is that I'm old school, I eat white flavored jelly beans and yellow jelly beans and all the other colors, though there was one flavor I refused to eat as a child, can't remember which though. To me, the world of jelly beans is separate from the world of real flavors, I just don't want them to be mixed. So while I appreciate the unique gift, I have to be honest and say I wouldn't buy them again.

What madness is this??

What madness is this? a sherbet shake? a sherbet smoothie maybe? but why? why would you do that to the poor sherbet? it just seems wrong ...so wrong!

ok, not really, I'm sure I'm not the first person to torture the poor sherbet, but what else am I going to do with all this Lime Hola Fruta? I wasn't really sure what to mix it with, but my gut said my best shot would be to mix it with grape drink.

I don't like drinkable yogurt,
I don't like smoothies,
and I don't like this.

It did do what I wanted it to, and it could have been worse ...and it's not the most awful thing on the planet, it's kinda like a slushie, but it's just not my cup of tea. I can't imagine wanting to drink this, I'd rather go grab a coolatta ...or an icee ...or a slurpee.

Häagen-Dazs Reserve: Fleur de Sel caramel ice cream

Discontinued: The H-D Reserve line was retired and instead we now have the Limited Edition line. In 2012 we see the debut of L.E. Salted Caramel Truffle. It's "smooth, sweet-cream ice cream, ribbons of rich salted caramel, and decadent chocolaty truffles". Sounds the same to me!

I've had my eye on the Reserve line for awhile now, but I just couldn't bring myself to spend five bucks for a pint of something that was so very unhealthy (11g of saturated fat). Well, the temptation was too much when I walked by and the reserve line was half off! Oh the excitement! The joy! ...the calories!

Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

[2015 Update] Strawberry cheesecake has made the transition to Non-GMO awhile back and I'm not sure you'll notice the difference. Original review stands below.

Ben & Jerry's Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream

Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream with Strawberries & a Thick Graham Cracker Swirl

Valentine's Day Topping

I actually bought these as a Valentine's sundae surprise for my daughter, but then we got the cupcakes so they kind of got put to the side in all the excitement. In retrospect, I guess I should have made this post before V-Day so that everyone could pick them up ahead of time. Oh well, there's always next year right? These we're actually in the bakery section of Shaws, and not in the cake supply aisle. Basically they sold off some of the excess sprinkles that they had bought for their own baked goods. I tried walking past them, but I just couldn't do it, I knew my daughter would be way too excited.

Well, I did manage to sneak them into our long holiday weekend after all. We polished off the cupcakes today, so to spice up the final one, I dumped a whole bunch of sprinkles on top of my daughter's cupcake. I tried a few by themselves: They have a decent crunch. They are not annoyingly hard, but a bit tougher than your typical soft cake sprinkle.

Valentine's Day Treat: Part 3: Cold Stone Creamery Sweet Treat Cupcakes

Just one more Cold Stone Creamery Cupcake to try: Cake Batter Delux.

"A Rich Belgian Chocolate Cup filled with a layer of moist Red Velvet cake, Fudge & Cake Batter Ice Cream & topped with fluffy pink frosting & rainbow sprinkles"

To be honest, I saved this one for last because I was afraid of the Cake Batter ice cream. Cake batter always seems to be way too potent and out of place ...but not here. Call me a convert because it's not to strong and the combination works great here. I've been saying how there just doesn't seem to be enough cake in these things, but the cake batter flavor totally makes up for it. Great call by Cold Stone Creamery on this one. I'm actually debating if I prefer this one to the chocolate one.

one last note: Yesterday I mentioned taking this last cupcake nice and slow, well, I changed my mind. I ate it like a regular cupcake, and though I made a mess of myself, it was definitely the right call. I'd be hesitant to eat it this way around strangers, but my daughter got a kick out of me making her kind of mess (of myself).

Valentine's Day Treat: Part 2: Cold Stone Creamery Sweet Treat Cupcakes

Had to go with the "Sweet Cream" ones today, and like yesterday, it didn't disappoint. I took a trick from my daughter and ate part of the shell separately. It's a nice dark chocolate and prepared my tastes buds for what lay ahead (I may even take turns on my last cupcake, bite of chocolate, bite of ice cream, repeat)

It had a nice overall flavor made of quality ice cream. Again, the cake bit seems a bit small, and the whip cream is still a smidge heavy, but these really are nice treats. The only real problem is that they are so quick to eat.

Sorry, had a little trouble cutting this one open.

Valentine's Day Treat: Cold Stone Creamery Sweet Treat Cupcakes

Every year I get just a little more bitter about Valentine's day. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy having someone to spend it with (Our 15th Valentine's actually), but it just all seems rigged by candy makers, card makers, and florists. Today is suppose to be about your loved one, not waiting in line 2 hours for a nice sit down meal. Maybe I'm just bitter because I'm bad at holidays (for proof, dinner just bubbled all over the stove top).

Well, in an attempt to brighten things up, my wife picked up the very tasty looking Sweet Treat Cupcakes from Cold Stone Creamery. She even made sure to get the variety pack so I would get to try all 3 of the cupcakes ...one a day of course because there's no way these puppies aren't loaded with fat. It should be no surprise that I went with the "Double Chocolate Devotion" first.

I like it, how can you not, but I can see the argument that there should be a bit more cake in the bottom. I would also think they would have gone with a slightly lighter whip cream, if felt a bit out of place with the chocolate and cake. Chocolate ice cream was excellent of course, and the cake bit was fresh. Hard to argue with a chocolate shell as well, though technically it could have been a little thinner considering the amount you have to mix it with. I can't wait to try the other two (it was hard not to try them this afternoon because while they may be tasty, they aren't exactly filling).

Hola Fruta Margarita Sherbet Review

The unthinkable has happened!! I hate to say it, I really do, but I've discovered a flavor of Hola Fruta I don't like. Sure it's still top notch quality, but the flavor is OHHHH so potent. I guess the problem is that I've only had cheap green lime flavor before, I've never had quality stuff.

Don't be fooled by the Margarita name, there's nothing in here for flavor except lime puree. The first bite was the most shocking, but the following bites we're still quite potent. I don't know what flavor they could mix it with (like they did with blueberry and pomegranite), but I can only recommend this to people who love lime.

Nutrition: 140 / 10-0.5 / 0 / 1

Treat of the Week: Hood Chocolate Eclair

At this point the question is no longer:

"Is it any good?"

the question has become:

"Why do I keep buying this junk?"

The box was half off, so $1.50 for 12 treats, and I'm still not sure if I feel ripped off or not. Let's see, that makes it 12.5 cents a treat, but now that I think about it, it's a better deal than the 50 cents a piece I paid for those pathetic low-fat Hood ice cream sandwiches. Ok, maybe not the kindest of words, but hey, it was a choice between "pathetic" and "awful".

Stone Ridge Creamery Ice Cream Chocolate Fudge Brownie

That's right, the other brownie flavor that got my attention Monday night was Stone Ridge Creamery Chocolate Fudge Brownie "Real Ice Cream". Something tell me that's a shot across the bow of all the "Frozen Dairy Desserts" out there ...ya got that Edy's? It was kind of funny because only two of the flavors were sporting the new look. It actually took me a minute to decide between this and the other one. They both were a chocolate base with a fudge swirl, but the other had almonds. Took a minute, but I went with the brownie.

Brigham's Light Caramel Brownie Ice Cream

[discontinued, Brigham's doesn't make any light ice creams currently] I was so ready to jump into the freezer tonight after having a little too much fun at the grocery store last night. I know the freezer looked a little bare the other day, but don't worry, it's full again! I couldn't get brownies out of my head yesterday, and Shaws just happened to have to particularly tasty looking candidates on sales (well, Hola Fruta was on sale, woo hoo!). For whatever reason, 2 of Brigham's light flavors were on sale. I've already forgotten what the other flavor was because the Caramel Brownie had 100% of my attention. I've never tried one of their light flavors, actually, I'm not even sure I knew they had light flavors.

Brigham's Caramel Brownie premium churned light ice cream

State of the Freezer Address

Has it only been 9 months? It feels like I've been blogging about ice cream forever. Well, I've been eating it forever, so now the two are kind of blurring together.

As you can tell, the state of the freezer is kinda pathetic, it looks so empty. You can spy 6 containers of ice cream (there's a wrapped container of Edy's next to the homemade container with the green lid there). The box of treats is pretty empty too. I'm just not real excited by what's in the freezer right now. I really want a nice B&J fudge brownie, or maybe some Breyers Rocky Road. I should have taken the picture last Saturday when there was -11- containers of ice cream in the fridge.

Actually, the freezer looks empty because usually there are a lot more breakfast foods in the fridge. The ice cream containers are also always wrapped in plastic bags, but I unwrapped them so you can see what's up.

Ok, so that's the state of the freezer, what's the state of my blogging? It's been an interesting three months, that's for sure. I finally got myself a new job, but the workload has increased so I've been kind of burnt out by the time I get home, and so I don't blog as much as I should. Plus there is the ebb and flow of what's in the freezer. I may have a week where I'm dieing to blog, but the freezer will be packed tight with things I've already reviewed. I feel bad because there are times where I'm tempted to throw out half a container of ice cream just so I can get something new in the freezer. The point of the blog is to enjoy ice cream though, not take a bowl and move on, but hey, it's a learning experience. oh fantastic...now I want to go to the store and fill that empty space in the freezer. As I'm typing this, I'm trying to think of what I wish was in the freezer...I gotta go with Turkey Hill's Box of Chocolates. By far one of the best new flavors I've tried in the last 3 months.

So goals before I hit my year anniversary? Well, I should definitely be able to hit post #250 before May 8th. I've been going back through the blog a piece at a time and updating any images I may have posted a little too quickly, plus I'm trying to post more pics as I move forward. my ultimate goal? Well, if you type in ice cream reviews in a search engine. You either get twodips.com or adailyscoop.com, both of which are no longer updated. So, my goal is to be up there, bringing quality reviews to everybody. Hey, we all gotta dream right?

May the scoop be with you, always ...sorry, couldn't resist.


Below are the results of our last poll - time to come up with another.

How many flavors are in your fridge?

1 (or less)	11 (37%)
2	1 (3%)
3	7 (24%)
4	5 (17%)
5+	5 (17%)

Votes so far: 29

Cherry Cherry Coke Float

 


So, when's the last time you made a coke float? Forever? Ya, me too, years and years really. Let's see if we can't get the soda flowing with a little visual blogging. Oh, I do love cherry coke.

3 scoops of Breyers Cherry Vanilla ice cream from a brandy new container.

Starting to pour in the nice cold Cherry Coke.

We have liftoff!

For anyone who prefers it all mixed up

And that concludes our lesson for the day. I gave a bit to my daughter since she's never had one before. She liked it at first, but then quickly changed her mind and had some sherbet instead. It wasn't bad, I probably should have used more ice cream since it totally got lost in the cherry coke (both before and after the mixing)

Breyers Peach Ice Cream Review

2012 Update: Peach has been demoted to a Frozen Dairy Dessert.

Ok, I'm about to muddle through a review, hopefully it will be apparent that I like the ice cream: So in the freezer is a container of Breyers Peach Ice Cream. I do enjoy peaches, but I can't say I really ever have the urge to eat Peach ice cream. I just don't put the two together, but I knew I should try it. I had a small serving the day we brought it home and I was pleasantly surprised. Not too strong and not too weak, basically the classic Breyers touch to fruit based ice creams (well, except their take on Black Raspberry). I finished the peach ice cream with nothing but positive thoughts.

So, I decided to second scoop about an hour ago, and I realized something (and this is where it might get confusing). The ice cream is triggering two responses in my brain. The first is the peach flavor, it's just where I want it to be. It reminds me of a nice chilled Dole Peach fruit cup. Ok, I'm lazy, I don't cut up fresh peaches, instead I use to keep a stash of the peach cups in the bottom of the fridge, ready for duty at a moments notice. The other thing that's getting me is the ice cream itself. It's triggering that comforting feeling you get with a nice fresh container of Breyers vanilla. It's not that it tastes like vanilla, it's just making me think of the vanilla in a good way. It's exactly what I would imagine if I blended some fresh Vanilla ice cream with my favorite peach cups.

Hope that makes sense, the point is that I like the peach. It makes me realize how substandard something like Edy's Apple Pie is. The quality is fantastic on the Breyers, even after a week of going in and out of the freezer. On the other hand, the Edy's (Dreyer's) turned into a lovely rubber bouncy ball. I won't be buying peach every week, I'm just not that big of a peach fan, but if you like peach, you have to check it out.

Nutrition: 120 / 45-3 / 0 / 2