According to my mother, my first words were "ice cream". So having been a lover of ice cream my whole life - or at least since I was first capable of verbalizing - I thought that I might share with you some of my favorite ways to enjoy ice cream.

    When I was in college, I worked at an East Coast hand scooped ice cream chain during the summer. Everyday at break time I would make myself a brownie ice cream sandwich.  People always told me that eating ice cream everyday I was sure to get sick of it. They were wrong.

Brownie Ice Cream Sandwich & Sundae

For sandwich:  

2 large homemade brownies or blondies  

1 large scoop of good ice cream (strawberry and coffee are especially tasty with brownies)  

For sundae, the above plus, 

whipped cream   

hot fudge  

walnuts  

fresh strawberry   

    For sandwich, place one brownie on a plate. Top with ice cream. (If you don't want your ice cream to melt right away, like the peppermint crunch above, cool your brownies first. Though, really, who can resist warm brownies and ice cream?) Spread ice cream out to the edges and level on top. Top with the second brownie. Eat right away or wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes before serving. To turn this simple treat into a decadent sundae, top with whipped cream, hot fudge, walnuts and the strawberry as a garnish.  

     When in Venice, Italy one summer, I enjoyed a drink called Sgroppino that was served between courses at a lovely semi-hidden restaurant frequented by local residents. I've since discovered that it can also be served as a cocktail or as an after-dinner drink. 

Sgroppino  

lemon ice cream, gelato or sorbet, slightly softened 

chilled vodka

chilled Prosecco (to serve as a cocktail or after dinner drink) 

lemon wedge, lemon zest or mint leaves for garnish 

    To serve as a palate cleanser, beat a small amount of lemon ice cream, gelato or sorbet with a mixing spoon until it is a workable consistency but not melted. Whisk in just enough vodka to make the ice cream barely pourable. Pour into chilled cordial glasses. If desired, top with Prosecco. To serve as a cocktail or after dinner drink, after whisking in the vodka, whisk in enough Prosecco to make a drinkable consistency, then pour into chilled Champagne glasses. Add choice of garnish. Elegant variation: Fill Champagne flutes half way with Prosecco, add a splash of vodka, then a scoop of lemon ice cream, gelato or sorbet. Add choice of garnish.

     Baked Alaska is a special holiday treat in our family. It's easy to make and always gets big "ooh's" and "aah's".  And, of course, you can have it with a Sgroppino. 

Baked Alaska  

serves 8  

1 quart ice cream (or 2 pints of different flavors) 

9" round sponge or genoise cake (any flavor) 

5 lg. egg whites

2/3 c. granulated white sugar 

1/2 t. cream of tartar

    At least 4 hours ahead of time, or the night before, put ice cream out to soften slightly at room temperature. You only want it to be soft enough that you can push it around with a spoon. Meanwhile, line a 1 1/2 quart bowl with plastic wrap. Spoon the softened ice cream into the bowl, pressing to remove any air bubbles and making sure that the surface of the ice cream is level. Cover surface of the ice cream with plastic wrap and freeze until very firm.

    When ready to make, place oven rack in the lowest position. Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place the cake base on the center of the baking sheet.

    While oven is preheating, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar and continue beating until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Set aside.

    Wipe a warm wet towel around the outside of the bowl holding the ice cream. Remove the plastic wrap from the surface of the ice cream. Use the remaining plastic wrap to lift the ice cream out of the bowl. Invert the ice cream onto the center of the cake base. There should be at least 1/4" space between the edges of the ice cream and those of the cake. Remove the remaining plastic wrap. Spoon meringue over the ice cream and the cake base making sure that the edge between the cake and the ice cream is well sealed. Place in center of the oven. Bake for about 3 minutes or until the meringue is golden. Slice and serve immediately.

    For a variation, make individual Baked Alaskas, using rounds slight larger than a muffin cup cut out of a sheet cake and then use the muffin cups as  your ice cream molds. 

    When we moved into this house 11 years ago, I drew up a landscape plan which included creeping thyme grown between limestone rocks. I had read that it can withstand people walking on it (which has turned out to be true) and hence that it was good for use in walkways (which I would have to say is only partially true). Though we still have thyme growing in the path that winds through the front garden, I've decided that this is not necessarily something that I would recommend. Here are my reasons.

    First, once established, a good ground cover should prevent weeds from taking root in where it is planted and ideally be low maintenance. In our yard, creeping thyme does not block invading weeds. They rampantly grow up through it. Though thyme has a dense growth pattern, its stems and leaves are very delicate and so weeds have no difficulty pushing right on through and their roots become completely entangled in the ground cover. In trying to eradicate the weeds, we are constantly digging up the thyme by accident - and then having to replant it.  We've tried regular applications of corn gluten (an organic pre-emergent weed killer), but it did not seem to do deter the weeds. Second, though creeping thyme does grow in the spots where we planted it, it prefers the loose soil of the garden to the compacted soil of the walkway and so it likes to move into the surrounding flower beds rather than stay put and tough it out where it was planted. (Pictured above, thyme creeping out of the walkway and into the garden. Perhaps that explains its name.)

    On the plus side, however, I will concede, that creeping thyme is very hardy and is attractive where it flourishes, even it that doesn't necessarily happen to be where I want it.  I am guessing that when gardening experts recommend creeping thyme for walkways, they are thinking that it does better than other plants which couldn't withstand the foot traffic. Beware, however, that doesn't mean that it will be a low maintenance design. So, what works well in a walkway? Your thoughts? 

     Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption was recommended by Mary from Missouri who could barely bring herself to put the book down while she was staying with us a few months ago.

    Unbroken is the biography of Louis Zampirini whose life has been one of extreme highs and lows. (Zampirini is still alive and now in his 90's.) Born in 1917, the son of Italian immigrants, Zampirini was nothing but trouble to his parents growing up, stealing, getting into fights and in general making trouble. When he was 2 years old, for example, he ran down the aisle of the passenger train that was carrying his family from New York to California and jumped off the back of the train, which then needed to be backed up for his parents to retrieve him. And that set the mold for how his childhood was to go. Things changed only after as a high school student he ran away from home to ride the rails and discovered that he needed to straighten up if he was going to make it in life. In just a few years, he turned his life around, becoming a member of the U.S. track team and running in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Shortly after, war broke out, dashing Zamperini's hopes for the 1940 Olympics which were to have taken place in Japan. Just shy of enough credits to graduate college, Zamperini joined the marines as an airman.

    Unbroken opens in 1943 with Zamperini and two of his fellow crewman on their 27th day adrift in the Pacific Ocean after their B-24 crashed into a shark-infested sea.  I don't want to spoil the book by giving too many details - and there are so many truly interesting ones to be given. So, I'll just say that Unbroken is a gripping book about a man who exhibited courage and strength beyond what any human being should have to summon and beyond that, an amazing capacity for forgiveness. The book is well researched and rich with historical detail.  One caveat, I found parts of the book trying to read. I'd sometimes have to put the book down and pick up something cheerful; but I was glad that I stuck with it to learn Zampirini's story. 

    Just for fun, during the month of May, we ran a "Fancy Hat" special. Diana from Florida graced us one morning with this lilac-hued silk number which she wore to breakfast. (She, of course, waited until later in the day to don the rest of her wedding-going garb.)  One of the fun things about running the B & B is being able to have a goofy special every now and then and discovering the interesting and wonderful people who take us up on them! Now I, I'll need to come up with something new.  I guess I'll have to put on my thinking hat! 

Umi Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi  

Call Hall Dairy Bar 

150 "Best" Kansas Books

The All True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton is one of Jane Smiley's true-to-life-seeming novels. Set in the mid-Western prairie of the 1850's, Lidie Newton tells the story of a young bride, already once widowed, and her new husband as they get to know each other while traversing the prairie amidst dangers present in a country approaching civil war.

Dates to Remember  

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