The Time I Made Mint Ice Cream

So here is what happened.

I came across an ice cream maker for 50% off. So I bought it, because, obviously.

Also, I'm a stress baker. Some people drink or gamble or scrub bathtubs (I'm looking at you, college roommate). Normally, I bake things. Today it was really hot, and I had this new ice cream maker so I made what I really wanted: Mint Chocolate Chip.


 So I googled. And I found an egg-less recipe. This was important because I am both impatient and lazy. Egg-less means you don't have to heat anything up. It also means there are no eggs, so it's less of a custard base? You just throw ingredients in a bowl and stir them.

Let's go on this journey together, shall we?

Supplies

Sugar, Cream, Milk, Salt, Peppermint Extract, Vanilla Extract, Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

1 cup of Heavy Cream. 1 cup of milk.

1/2 cup of sugar

Add Vanilla to taste. You're supposed to measure it, but, you know. I added drop by drop and taste-tested it until it was good.

Add peppermint extract to taste (same as the vanilla, drop by drop.) This stuff is strong so take it easy. Also, in my extensive 5 minutes of research, I learned one should not use peppermint oil. Extract is where it's at. Now we know.

Stir it until the sugar dissolves.

Into the ice cream maker we gooooo...

So, you wait about 10 minutes until it's firming up a bit and then add the chips.

I thought the regular sized chocolate chips I had on hand might be hard to eat once frozen so I put some of the chips in a ziploc sandwich bag and beat the crap out of them with a meat tenderizer. I added them, handful by handful, into the ice cream maker.

I waited 20 more minutes.

If you were smart, you'd use this time to clean up.I did not. 

Instead, during this time, I got a spoon and tried to sample the ice cream while the machine was stirring. I knew this was a bad idea as I was doing it. However, I thought if I timed it juuuuuuuuuuust so I could get enough on the spoon to taste. What actually happened is that I almost broke the machine by sticking a spoon in it. So...don't do that.



I lifted off the top of the ice cream maker, and it looked like this:

I used a spatula to spoon the ice cream into 2 small tupperwear containers, and put them in the freezer.

After two hours, I took one of the containers out and made a bowl of ice cream.

Here's the Final Product!

What I learned:

- You have to freeze the bottom of the ice cream maker (I'm sure it has a name but don't know what it is) before you can make the ice cream. Probably overnight to be safe. What this means is you should always have it in the freezer JUST IN CASE the spirit moves you and you need homemade ice cream right. now.
- The peppermint tastes much stronger in the mixture before it gets frozen. Next time, I'm going to add the peppermint to taste and then add a bit more than that.
-  The recipe called for green food coloring, but I'm not a child. I knew I wouldn't be confused by something that isn't green tasting like mint. But. You do what you want to do there.
- Peppermint extract, not oil
- Don't put spoons in the mixer.

Real Home: Decision Time

 Hey, remember this photo?
This is the nook. Remember the nook? 

 

And it is sooo beige right now. So vanilla. Which isn't terrible. But it isn't great. 

I'd like to get a few things here. 

1. Bench 

2. Comfy Chair

I don't actually need both. Maybe one or the other. Or maybe both. Whatever. It's fine. Stop yelling.

Here are my limitations:

1. I have to lift and move it by myself 

2. It has to fit into the Pathfinder

3. I'm poor. 

4. Seriously. I'm so poor, you guys.

So, here is what I did. I went to TJ Maxx. I took pictures of things. Things that I liked. And things that were terrible. The former, so I could think each item through. The latter, so we could make fun of them together. 

 Here are two armchair options. 

Gray armchair, Cream armchair, and Ottoman.

 

 So Gray Armchair is up first. 

Pros:

It's gray. 

It's a darker color, so it won't show dirt or stains as much in the future. 

In my next house/apartment, it could go with anything, even if I change my mind on brighter colors. 

It matches the living room rug PERFECTLY. (cream, gray, sage green, robin's egg blue) 

Cons:

It's gray. 

It doesn't go with the rug I have in the nook right now. 

 Your turn, Cream Armchair. 

Pros:

 It's a lovely cream color

Goes well with the rug I have in the nook now. 

I can bring in any other color by adding to it 

It would match the red leopard bench. (we'll talk about that later)

Cons:

It's cream, and will show dirt, stains, etc.(especially with how often I move)

It's cream

It does with that cute ottoman...LOOK AT THE OTTOMAN.

 Here's a little thing. A little chair with a little something.

The thing though: I have a slipper chair already. With a modern leaf-type pattern. 

This is robin's egg blue (which I do like these days)

The floral looks old. 

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

OK...so probably not this one.

 Alright. It's bench time. 

The Contenders:

Red Leopard with Nail-head Trim

Pros:

It has nail-head trim. I love that ish. 

It's leopard. And in another life I maybe was some sort of big game hunter. So I dig it. 

If I get it, I can finally introduce some RED into the room. 

It's a pattern (see: not beige) 

It would go with the Cream Armchair

Cons:

I mean...it's leopard. 

Nothing else in the room is red right now. 

It doesn't go with the living room rug (If I end up using that one for they gray chair)

It doesn't go with the gray chair and I like the gray chair.

 Leather Bench

hahaha. Just kidding. What am I - a bachelor in the 1980s? 

Although, I wonder if it comes with the empty plastic bag...

Here was the other bench option. 

Beige. Safe. Nail-head trim. Goes with stuff. Yawn.

 

Velour Purple Bench!

 Earlier, when we talked about the ridiculous things I took pictures of? This is my favorite. 

It is a velour purple bench.

Velour, friends. 

And there are two of them!

Here's this pillow. 

It's regular leopard. It's smaller than a normal pillow.

And this one has a pattern. It's embroidered, which is nice. 

Sorry. I got fatigued near the end there.

I have a lot to think about.

I'll probably go back tomorrow night or Friday, so if any of these things were sold, I guess that makes my life easier.

Crossing my fingers the purple benches are still available!