#IceCreamWeek is Coming!

That photo is not a pizza. Nor is it anything involving vegetables. Instead, this is a warning to you. I'd like to announce a radical departure from my usual routine and suggest you consider digging out the stretchy pants. Instead of my typical posting schedule--sharing a vegetable- or fruit-inspired recipe on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, I will be sharing 6 recipes [all involving ice cream] over the next week. You could say I've been churning (or no churning--puns totally intended) quite a lot lately.

You know we eat more than just the goodies from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share, right? Even though we are walking distance from Graeter's ice cream, I occasionally make ice cream treats at home. In fact, I've wanted to share How to Make an Ice Cream Pie on this blog practically from the start. With my blog's focus--on how to make the most of the produce from your farm share, garden, or farmer's market--I didn't really see how I could include an ice cream pie.

When Kim announced that she and Susan were hosting HashtagIceCreamWeek I knew I had my opportunity. I had a blast participating in HashtagAppetizerWeek, so why not join in the fun? I'm not completely chucking my local produce focus out the window this week--in fact 3 of the 6 recipes I'll be posting use a fruit or vegetable. The others? Well, it's Ice Cream Week and I believe in going big with the flavor--and fat carries flavor, as does chocolate [I'm just guessing here, roll with me].

Six different recipes is a lot of ice cream to crank out [the puns, they keep coming], so it's a good thing that I am training to walk a half marathon next month and shared some of these recipes with my son's marching band and the gals at work. It's hard to share ice cream and take photos, though, so the pies . . . well . . . I had to keep making them to get a decent photo of a slice. I had to. Really.

On Monday I'll share How to Make an Ice Cream Pie at Home. This concept recipe is one I use often, with whatever flavors we're craving at the moment (Chocolate Mint/Grasshopper Pie, Caramel Fudge Pie, and Sea Salt Caramel Pie are big favorites). On Tuesday I'll nod to the vegetable focus of this blog with a Chocolate Beet Milkshake.

I'm sharing a lazy way to use up leftover fruit salad in Lazy Leftover Fruit Salad Ice Cream on Wednesday. Thursday we're getting spicy with Cinnamon Chunk Ice Cream, and on Friday we're turning that ice cream into Snickerdoodle Ice Cream Sandwiches. We'll round out the #IceCreamWeek recipes with Caramel Toffee Apple Parfaits on Saturday.

In addition to a whole host of bloggers churning out ice cream recipes each day, we've got giveaways, too! Stop in and check it out. I'll return to my regular posting schedule [after a good training walk and a nice long nap] on Monday August 25th with Eggplant Walnut Dip.

This is not ice cream. These are vegetables.

Hatch Chile, Egg & Potato Casserole

Breakfast casserole of eggs spiced with Hatch chiles in a mashed potato crust.

I'll admit years ago I thought all the Hatch Chile Madness was a bunch of hype, but sheer laziness compelled me to try them after we moved here. See, my local grocery store fires up a round roaster in the parking lot each August and sells quarts of freshly roasted Hatch chiles. [Um, if I don't have to do anything more than walk the dog a mile down the road to buy a quart of already roasted chiles . . . why would I expend more energy? Laziness!] Then I found out they taste really good, too.

I must point out that I've not been compensated to rave about these chiles--I bought mine on my own dime because I was curious and lazy. Simon came along for the ride--and because he likes to get a drink halfway through his walks.

Year 1, I used some of the quart of chiles to make a batch of salsa verde along with the tomatillos from our Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share, then gave the rest of the quart to our neighbors. Silly me. Year 2, I bought a quart, made my batch of salsa verde, and froze the rest, sticking them into chili here and there. Year 3, I picked up 2 quarts, made lots of batches of salsa verde, and stuck chiles in a whole host of dishes (listed below).
This year, Year 4, I will be buying 3 quarts. When will it stop?

Banana Blender Waffles

Easy banana oatmeal waffles using a blender, a bowl, and a bit of time

Weekend breakfasts should be easy and special, I think. Especially on the days we all wake up cranky and retreat to our separate computers corners pre and post breakfast, it's enough to know that we sat and shared a meal. During the week my spouse nukes his oatmeal and is gone before the kids wake to eat leftovers, sandwiches, toast or cereal. Me? I just drink tea unless I'm lucky enough to get beet greens in the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share. Then I'll make this for brunch.

But on the weekends I like to do a little more. Even if your "weekend" happens on a Tuesday/Wednesday, it's nice to relax and enjoy a less-hurried meal. I'm a fan of waffles for weekend breakfasts for a few reasons. First, waffle batter mixes up easily and improves with a short rest. Second, it's easy to keep waffles warm in the oven while you're making enough for the whole bunch. Third, it's super easy to double the batter, make all the waffles, and freeze some for your kids to eat on weekday mornings.

I've shared a variety of waffles on this blog. I've got waffles using butternut squash, tangerines, zucchini, carrots, and even corn and blueberries. Time for one of my standby, 'always in the kitchen' fruits:  bananas. Ripe bananas freeze beautifully in the packaging nature provides and thaw quickly.