Don't forget to have fun!

Wow, I haven't said that in forever. I really have forgotten to have fun with my food recently, but then I stumbled upon "Ice Cream Paradise" on the Travel Channel this afternoon. We only got to see half the episode, but that was more than enough to stir the craving for a fresh sundae.

Behold! This is Black Cherry ice cream on top of a single layer Oreo cake (which is on it's side). It's topped with all natural Cabot whip cream and then drizzled with Nesquik in an attempt to make it look fancy. The black cherry and chocolate cake combo was quite good actually, though at the end I ran out of ice cream before I ran out of cake (I was in the mood for creamy, not cakey).

Your turn: show everyone what you can do!

Location Poll

I posed the question: Best place to enjoy a summer ice cream?

Anywhere is good!
93 (48%)

In the shade, maybe with a breeze
41 (21%)

In direct contact with the sun light
23 (11%)

In the Ice Cream Parlor's A/C
12 (6%)

Bring back Winter!!
13 (6%)

Cruisin' down the road
11 (5%)

Total Votes: 193

I'll admit that I voted for "in the shade, with a nice breeze". My favorite ice cream shoppes are those in big open spaces with lots of places to just sit under the trees, enjoy the cool breeze, the fresh air, blue skies, barfy burgers, oh wait, sorry. You get the idea.

Edwards Singles: Hot Fudge Brownie with Creamy Ice Cream

Ahhh, Edwards, you've created yourself quite the little treat, and somewhat affordable to boot (I think a little over a buck a piece isn't bad at all, but many have argued that a pan of brownies and a container of ice cream is a better deal).

First I tried the pleasant Hot Turtle Brownie single. Next up was the respectable Hot Apple Crisp. Well, finally, we have the one you see in the commercials: Edwards Hot Fudge Brownie. Mmmmm, can't wait!

Ok, it's opened up and ready for the microwave.

New to Me! Pierre's Yovation Vanilla Pomegranate Blueberry

The last tasty Probiotic Yovation I got to try was the Vanilla Pomegranate Blueberry flavor, and it's got a special surprise for us.
The surprise is that the pomegranate blueberry flavor comes from Hola Fruta! Nice way to work in the cross branding (or whatever you call it). Basically one half the container is vanilla yogurt, the other half is Hola Fruta. Sounds like a killer combo.....

...until I actually went to eat it. I love Hola Fruta, and I'm digging Yovation, but I just don't want them together. It's not that it's bad, I just don't want to mix my potent P-B Hola Fruta with the mild Vanilla Yogurt. I guess it seems contradictory since I like fruit flavored yogurt. Maybe I should have blended the two rather than scooping them... Maybe I'm getting too picky!

Oh, just ignore me on this one and make up your own mind.

AICC-4: Door County Lim-e-licious

Disclaimer: This review didn't get lost, the ice cream did (in the back of the freezer). I apologize to Door County Ice Cream Factory and the Ice Cream of the Month club in advance.

The freezer got a little disheveled and unfortunately my little homemade ice cream friend here got stuck way in the back. Sure, I could have reached back there and saved him on multiple occasions, but I just kept saying "I'll try it tomorrow".
Well, in an effort to catch back up with my blogging, I grabbed this little guy, scraped off the freezer burned top and tried to dig in. Ugg, still freezer burned. I dug in further. Still freezer burned. I dug even further, but to no avail.

Had this been a nasty flavor, I wouldn't really care ...but from the few bites I did take, I regret not cracking this open when it first arrived several weeks ago. I expected some bright green limey thing, instead I got something that looks like vanilla with just a faint whiff of lime. It's actually quite mellow. In fact, it reminds me of the lime jell-o mold my mom use to make. I've never been a big fan of lime, but I always had a few slices of that cold treat on my holiday dinner plate. Mmmmm, lim-e-licious takes me right back there.

Edy's Orange & Cream Fruitbar

[Discontinued] A couple weeks ago I picked up the Edy's ( Dreyer's ) Orange & Cream fruit bar since it's one of the last flavors I haven't tried yet. It's not bad, but I don't think I'll be picking them up again. We are definitely dealing with a more mellow orange flavor here, and not the tangerine tang that was reminding me of their lemonade pops.

The orange / cream mixture is alright, but don't bite into this thinking your gonna taste an orange creamsicle (or an Orange Coolatta for that matter). I'd say it's more orange than creamy. Overall, it's not bad and the cream does a fairly good job of mellowing the whole thing out.

My biggest complaint on these it going to be the mistake of exposing the cream down at the bottom of the popsicle. Guess what? Cream melts faster than an icy popsicle. Even though I eat pretty quick, this pop was trying real hard to repeatedly drip on my hands.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 bar (66g) Servings Per Container 6
Amount Per Serving
Calories 80	from Fat 10
	% Daily Value*
Total Fat 1g	2%
- Sat Fat 0.5g	3%
- Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 5mg	1%
Sodium 20mg	1%
Total Carbohydrate 16g	5%
- Dietary Fiber 0g	0%
- Sugars 14g
Protein 1g
Vitamin A 0%	Vit. C 20%
Calcium 4%	Iron 0%

Blue Bunny Neopolitan Ice Cream Sandwich

Disclaimer: Let's just say this review has gotten lost in the freezer.

Having finished up the Blue Bunny Birthday Party Ice Cream sandwiches, it seemed safe to try one of Blue Bunny's other offerings: The Neopolitan Ice Cream Sandwich. As you know, I tend to prefer traditional treats, but I figured it was something I had to try once.

QB Treats aka a trip to Whole Foods

I feel bad. I'm a big proponent of all natural food, but I don't really bring it up enough. I think the problem is that food has become unnatural without us knowing it. I just don't think Oreos we're filled with saturated fat that comes from partially-hydrogenated junk when I was a kid. It was just a snack with a few ingredients, now it's got like 18% sat fat for 2 cookies, what's up with that? As I get older and start thinking about my health more, and as I worry more about my kids (still weird saying kids and not daughter), I read labels more and more. I've always avoided Splenda, but now I'm becoming distrustful of that little punk named High Fructose Corn Syrup. No I won't stop eating it completely, and you can call me paranoid, but I'm a firm believer that a shorter ingredient list made with normal things (like sugar) is best for all of us.

That's not to say we're hard core organic people by any means (as is obvious by the list of treats on this site). We do love our organic 2% milk straight from Vermont. Mmm, so tasty. And there our other things occasionally, but overall we buy what we buy, but if there is an all natural alternative, we usually give it a try.

Well, we needed something from Whole Foods (since our local organic grocer was out), so we packed up the family and made the 45 minute trek to the closest store. I was looking forward to wandering around, not just in general, but for a little treat called QB's. I've read mixed reviews. Some are obviously posted as an advertisement or from people who have never eaten them, but other reviews are from legitimate sources. While I enjoy seeing frozen treats on other blogs, it's just not the same as picking up a box yourself - Other blogs encourage me to try new things, and I hope this blog encourages you to try new things.

So we started our journey through the store and just picked up a few things. Some organic applesauce (too gritty), organic animal cookies (nice and simple), all natural faux oreos (very good), a loaf of the heaviest bread ever, some awesome looking jam ....and the QBs. I was a bit shocked at the size of the box, you only get four, and they aren't cheap. Even on sale at 2 boxes for 7 bucks, that's still about 88 cents a piece (it's $4.99 regularly!).

Vanilla QB's

All natural crispy treat filled with vanilla ice cream

Culinary Circle Midnight Mint Ice Cream Dessert

It's been a fun ride, and now we're down to the last two flavors!

Behold Culinary Circle Midnight Mint Ice Cream Dessert - layered mint flavored ice cream and vanilla flavored mousse; topped with fudge sauce and sprinkled with dark chocolate flavored mints. Sounds tasty if you are in the mood for mint...

Central Market Classics Black Cherry Ice Cream

Central Market Classics is the in house brand of Price Chopper, a family owned grocery store chain with stores in New York, Vermont, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. I'm sure this is made by somebody else, but I don't know who (yet).

I picked this particular flavor for my wife since we tend to have at least one fruit based flavor in the freezer. Black Cherry naturally flavored premium ice cream is Black Cherry ice cream loaded with black cherries. Sounds straight forward enough. Also note the absence of any kind of chocolate chips or anything else, it's all about the cherries.

New to me! Pierre's Probiotic Yovation Toasted Almond

2012 Update: this flavor below has been discontinued

With the tasty Cookie Fudge Crunch and even more amusing Vanilla Honey Granola having been tested, it's time to move on to the curious case of Mr. Toasted Almond. I only say curious because almonds just don't get a lot of love in the ice cream community. Sure, they get added in now and then, and occasionally someone like Breyers or H-D makes an almond flavored ice cream, but peanuts sees 10x the action that almonds do. Sure, technically it could be a cost issue, but I'm guessing it's a flavor issue and when you only have 6 flavors to offer, why risk one of them on almonds?

Pierre's Toasted Almond Yovation

Extras: Joy Waffle Cones

It's summer time and we were out of ice cream cones when I saw Joy Cone Waffles Cones! Oh, I haven't had a waffle cone in a long time, too long really. I took a few sample bites before scooping and to me, it tasted very reminiscent of Angel Food. Our freshly opened packaged was filled with unbroken and crunchy (fresh) cones. I scooped in some Rocky Road and all was right with the world.

Stone Ridge Creamery Rocky Road Ice Cream Review

It's been too long since there's been some economical yet tasty stone ridge ice cream in the fridge. After my recent disappoint with Breyers "new & improved" Rocky Road (i.e. why did they mess with an old favorite?), I decided my next Stone Ridge treat needed to be their take on Rocky Road.
May I present Stone Ridge Creamery's Real Ice Cream : Rocky Road - Chocolate Ice Cream with Almonds and Mini Marshmallows. Wait, mini marshmallows? Oh, I hate those things in my ice cream. (You might notice a bit of freezer burn on the far right side there, not real sure how that happened, but I simply scooped that part into the sink and moved on)

Pierre's Probiotic Yovation Vanilla Honey Granola

2012 Update: this flavor has been discontinued

This is the other flavor that caught my eye Thursday night: Vanilla Honey Granola. I just hope the honey flavor isn't as potent as the Haagen-Daz version.

So we have another tasty looking probiotic Yovation with live and active yogurt cultures. I don't know any specifics about how the cultures in a serving of frozen yogurt hold up against a serving of regular yogurt, but what ever it is, it should be good for you.

Culinary Circle Caramel Pecan Praline Ice Cream Dessert

My apologies. I've spent the last several days trying to get this posted and I just can't seem to make enough time ...so, it's gonna be quick and to the point on this one.

Behold, Culinary Circle's Caramel Pecan Praline ice cream dessert. The picture looks somewhat tasty, but I will admit the topping is kinda of hard to decipher from the picture. It makes me think of a coffee cake. However, we have the description to help us out: "layered caramel flavored ice cram and vanilla flavored mousse; topped with caramel sauce and praline pecan pieces". I'll admit I always forget what praline means, but that's what the internet is for: praline pecans would be pecans in a sugary syrupy coating. Mmmm, in that case, count me in.

New to Me! Pierre's Probiotic Yovation Cookie Fudge Crunch

2012 Update: 3 of the 4 flavors below have been discontinued

Geez, I can't decide how to start this post. Ok, try this: During the State of the Freezer address, I talked about wanting to expand the blog (via frozen treat samples). It's not easy trying to have national appeal when you are stuck in just one state. Unfortunately I'm not a big fan of traveling, and the ice cream of the month club has done a good job of bringing us treats from places like the upper midwest, but I think it's time to start reaching out to try and bring the great treats of other states to the blog for all to enjoy. I should have know that Pierre's, the fine folks who brought us Hola Fruta!, would be cool enough to hook me up with their latest creation.

Behold Yovation! Pierre's released Yovation in 2008, but since I just found out about it last week, and since distribution isn't quite national yet, I'm going to call it new to me! They have six tasty looking flavors, and of the four before you, can you guess which one I tried first? Oh wait, I already said which one I opened in the post title.

Talenti Sorbetto Roman Raspberry #4

A few weeks back, I stumbled upon an online ice cream store and noticed the very peculiar looking Talenti Sorbetto. Now I know gelato, sorbet, and sherbet ....but sorbetto? I was thinking it was just the Italian way of saying sorbet, but I guess I should check: ahh, ok, apparently it IS how you say sorbet in Italian.

Well, what do I see in Shaws but the Talenti Roman Raspberry Sorbetto. I know I haven't shown any love for the Whole Foods or Haagen-Dazs sorbets, but I couldn't help myself, it just looks so cool in that little see-through plastic container! (and the brown lid makes it look fancy, don't ask me why). Sure it's $5.99 for a pint, but I gotta try it.

Dubba's Breakfast Ice Cream

Well, I don't really talk about making ice cream very often anymore, in fact, I made some a few weeks ago and never posted it. I meant to, it just kinda got lost on the to-do list. Anyway, here's the story:

I was making dinner ...ok, heating dinner when I decided to throw together a quick batch of ice cream, but I did something different, I took that bold move and actually -heated- my mix before churning it. I think the idea came while I was enjoying a nice oatmeal cookie when I wondered if I could make oatmeal flavored ice cream. I may not be that handy in the kitchen, but I know the flavor of oatmeal won't go into the mix without some help. So I put all of my ingredients together and then heated for quite a while. I think the recipe list went:

1.5 cups of light cream
1 (or 1.5) cups of 2% milk
1 cup of oatmeal
1 cup of light brown sugar
1 tbsp of vanilla
a splash of cinnamon
a dash of nutmeg
a pinch of salt

Now, "thinking ahead" like I always do ...I had absolutely no way to get the oatmeal out of the mix since I don't have one of those cool thin holed strainers (see, I don't even know what it's called)...so I left the oatmeal in! I figured it would settle to the bottom during the overnight chill and then I wouldn't have to worry about it.

Well, I went to mix it up the next day and the oatmeal didn't want to leave, so I said "eh, whatever, it'll add nutritional value or something". So I threw it in the Ice-20 and it came out surprisingly well. I had some fresh, and then I had a bit for breakfast a day or two later. It has a surprisingly nice oatmeal flavor. It came out better than I expected actually, and the oatmeal bits don't bother me at all. It got me wondering what add in would go nice with this flavor, but I still haven't figured it out.

Culinary Circle Tiramisu Ice Cream Dessert

You know what I love about Tiramisu? It's awesome, plain and simple. I can still remember the first time I had it actually. We were at a really nice restaurant and someone said I had to try the Tiramisu. The waitress brought out a giant square piece of Tiramisu and I enjoyed every bite. I've had it a few times since then and it's always a pleasant experience (though never quite as good). I'm guessing (hoping) you've had the same kind of experience.

Culinary Circle is looking to cash in on those tasty memories with their tasty looking treat simply called "Tiramisu". All the other ice cream desserts have long names, but not this one. Actually, once you see the word "Tiramisu" on the box, you may not even bother to read the exact description: "layered mascarpone flavored ice cream and chocolate mousse; topped with cocoa ladyfingers and espresso sauce". Hmmm, espresso sauce sounds....well, I'm a little scared.

State of the Freezer address

Every three months, I try to reflect back on where we've been, where we are, and where I'd like to go. It's been a hectic 3 months with the arrival of a very special package, the kind that needs burping, diaper changes, and lots of hugs. That's right, I am the proud papa of a baby boy, and while he has greatly changed our sleeping schedule, I've been doing my best to keep the blog going strong (though I apologize for typos and any strange sounding posts, sometimes I try to squeeze in a post when I should be going to bed....kinda like right now).

As you can see the freezer is kinda full, though technically it has been worse. Actually, we have decided to give in and buy ourselves a freezer for the basement. It will only have manual defrost, so there will be no more cycling of our poor ice cream stash. Plus, every now and then I will buy something and it gets lost in the freezer ...like a container of Sherbetter and a pint of Starbucks Hot Chocolate Ice cream ...and a pint of Limeilicious from the ice cream club. It will also be nice to put some dinner items in the freezer again (without having to shove them in). I love this blog, but it does take more time (and space) then you might think.

The blog has grown a bit more, but to be honest, it seems like every day that I ask myself what I need to do to keep it growing. There are literally hundreds of hits between people leaving comments and sharing their opinion with us. So the question is: How do I make my postings compelling enough that you want to chime in and share your opinion. Yes, this blog is all about my opinion I hope we grow to the point we're people see a great new flavor, go out, try it, then come back and comment. That is and will continue to be my primary goal, the way I benchmark the success of the site. My secondary goal is ofcourse: free ice cream. I want to be in the loop, I want to know when new stuff is coming out, and best of all, I want to try it so I can tell you about it. Hopefully it will be a great new product (and so far, they usually are). I've been having a blast reviewing the new ice cream dessert from Culinary Circle. I hope you've enjoyed reading about them, seeing the pictures, and then being inspired to go try them.

What else? well, I got excited when a couple of people signed up for the forum shortly after I released it. I thought "wow, just a couple people a day signing up and in no time we'll get a community started". well, i knew it wouldn't be that easy, but I still think everyone should sign up. I was hoping it would make it easier to have a back and forth discussion about various frozen treats.

Ok, I should go to bed, it's been a long day (that included bending the blade on the lawnmower). Besides lost flavors in the freezer, I have lost posts in my head (including ice cream sandwiches, ice cream cupcakes, and an interesting ice cream flavor I made several weeks ago). As always, I welcome your thoughts and suggestions at onsecondscoop at gmail dot com. I could greatly use everyone's feedback on which way the blog should go: do I need more or better pictures? more in depth reviews? more comparisons? more data? Let me know and I'll do my best to take things up a notch.

thanks everybody, have a great night!

Culinary Circle Cherry Chocolate Amore Ice Cream Dessert

So we have the awesome Peanut Butter Passion, the Pretzel Brulee, the respectable Strawberries N' Cream Cheesecake, and now we're going to try the one that has the coolest name: Cherry Chocolate Amoré!
I'm not sure exactly what it is, but this one looks awesome. Cherry Chocolate Amore is "layered amaretto flavored ice cream, vanilla flavored mousse topped cherry sauce and dark chocolate flavored confectionery pieces". Ok, I don't know what amaretto is suppose to taste like, but still, it sounds awesome.

Culinary Circle Strawberries 'N Cream Cheesecake Ice Cream Dessert

So we have the awesome Peanut Butter Passion, the Pretzel Brulee, and now we're going to try one that I'm pretty sure my wife should enjoy: It's cheesecake time!

Behold Strawberries 'N Cream Cheesecake Ice Cream Dessert. Our little pink friend is billed as "layered strawberry cheesecake flavored ice cream and vanilla flavored mousse; topped with strawberry sauce, cheesecake pieces and sprinkled with graham cracker crumbs".

Breyers Extra Creamy Vanilla Review

Disclaimer: I bought this about a month ago and just opened it now. We had some signs of freezer burn near the top, so that portion was removed before digging in.
A simple scoop: This isn't really an in depth review since I wanted a late night vanilla milkshake and not a big bowl of vanilla ice cream. So, I had a few bites as a scooped the ice cream into the mixing bowl. To be honest, I can't really tell the difference between this and regular vanilla. Maybe if I had them side by side I could, but right now, I can't ...it could also be the freezer burn talking (this recent humidity has been rough on the freezer). The flavor is your typical respectable Breyers vanilla flavor. So, it is what it is, typical Breyers quality in a plain vanilla flavor.

Oh yeah, the shake didn't come out too well. It looked a smidge too thick, and then I added just a bit too much milk. I was dumping vanilla extract in to try and bring back the vanilla flavor, but it was too late.

Nutrition: 130 / 60-4 / 0 / 2 (similar to regular vanilla, but 1g less of protein....)

2013 Update: This still exists, but it's now a Frozen Dairy Dessert

DQ Blizzard of the Month August - Thin Mint Blizzard

It's uncanny how many times I've tried mint ice cream recently. Any long time reader of this blog will know of mint's long time absence from my taste testing regiment. You know what the really scary thing is? I think I'm starting to like it!

The latest example of this trend is the August Blizzard of the month at DQ: The Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookie Blizzard. While the blizzard before you is overflowing, you will notice an abscence of any large cookie chunks. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: making a blizzard is an artform. You have to blend it just right. Too much, and you'll be left with but -3- thin mint chunks at the bottom. Now this isn't to say I didn't enjoy my treat, I found it quite pleasant actually. It's a nice mild mint flavor, and while the cookies may be obliterated, they still had the chocolate flavor we are all looking for. I have no problem recommending this little treat, and I'm thinking his brother, the Mint Oreo blizzard, is tasty as well.

Side Note: I thought ice cream made people happy, and it usually does...unless you are the lady next to me. One of her kids reached for his treat and she let the expletives fly as she told him he had to wait. The good news is: anyone with that bad an attitude probably isn't reading this blog (and thankfully, my daughter didn't ask "Daddy, what does that mean?")

...Chill lady, it's time for DQ!

Culinary Circle Double Caramel Pretzel Brulee Ice Cream Dessert

The only downside to trying Peanut Butter Passion first is that it has set the bar very, very high. However, this is an ice cream blog, and we have 7 more flavors to get to, so, without further ado, may I present Double Caramel Pretzel Brulee.

I've said it before, and I will probably say it again (and again), I LOVE pretzels. If I was on a deserted island with 2 food choices, I'd probably say ice cream and pretzels ...actually, let's say 3 choices: ice cream, steak, and pretzels. Mmmmm, I'd be happy for a long time. Sorry, started thinking about a nice, peppery, grilled steak ...ok, pretzels, I love pretzels so I was very excited when I saw this as one of the 8 flavors. Here we have a major dessert initiative giving props to my buddy the pretzel. Oh yeah, I'm excited.

The exact definition of my potentially perfect dessert is "layered caramel flavored ice cream and creme brulee flavored mousse, topped with caramel sauce and pretzel pieces". Let me admit right here that I've only had creme brulee once in my life, and it was on our honeymoon ...and it was delicious! (as was almost all the food on our honeymoon)
Same swirly pattern design as the other, but I wasn't greeted by any aromas as I removed the paper cover this time. It didn't smell bad, I just didn't smell anything (not that I tried real hard). Time to flip it over and see what's in store.
Uh oh, that's not right. The box show pretzel bits, but what I see is pretzel dust. That's ...not really appetizing looking, is it now? I take a taste and it's what I expected: it tastes like salty pretzel crumbs. This is not cool ...well, it's cold, but, you know what I mean. I love pretzel twists and pretzel sticks, thin pretzels and hard pretzels, sourdough and regular, but that does not mean I snarf down the crumbs in the bottom of the bag. In fact, I really don't like pretzel crumbs. My daughter actually got frustrated and just ate the ice cream underneath the pretzel layer.

Now, maybe --hopefully-- this is just a side effect of the UPS ride to my house, but if it's not, this is a shame. Or, maybe, I just got a bum treat. As I was eating, I started to think. Now it would probably take some doing, but if they could somehow caramel coat the pretzel, then break them up and sprinkle that on top, it might have a better result. Oh, that reminds me, the pretzel bits were kinda stale too, which just makes the whole mess even worse (but again, a caramel coated pretzel might last longer).

Final thoughts? It's well made like the PB Passion, and it's not awful, but there is no denying that execution falls short on the final and most important ingredient: the pretzels.

UPDATE: Had a talk with the manufacturer and this is not how the treat is suppose to be. It could be a packaging issue, or something as simple as the UPS ride was a bit rough, but look for an updated review in the near future. My apologies for the rogue sample.

Nutrition: 1/2 the cup - 87g: 220 / 70-6 / 0 / 3