Baklava Ice Cream

I can't take all the credit for this one. My lovely, talented baker of a mom made some homemade Baklava, and let me tell you, it's some of the best Baklava in the world. So sweet and rich, it just melts in your mouth. She sent me home with a big bag, which would be way too easy for me to eat in one sitting, so I decided to make a little ice cream out of it!

I gotta say, crushing the Baklava was really hard. It hurt to hit something that tasty!

I used my old faithful vanilla bean ice cream base.

And so it churns...

Who knew this ice cream would come out so attractive?

I saved a little of the crushed Baklava as garnish, which would probably also double as a great topping on plain vanilla ice cream too!

Okay, last one! This ice cream was just too photogenic... and tasty!

Amish Friendship Bread

How cool is this? A chain starter for bread! Genius! I was pretty excited when a friend from work offered me a starter, I hadn't even heard of Amish Friendship Bread before, but after she told me what it was all about, I couldn't refuse! Who knows how long this starter has been passed around? I just love the concept!
It all starts with a bag.

Mush the bag one day. Add ingredients the next day. Another mush here, another mush there, and after ten days, my starter was ready for some baking.

It was started to smell kind of good, which was weird, since it was still in a doughy state, but yes, this dough smelled amazing. And there's not much better than a pan lined with cinnamon and sugar....

Well, okay, this is much better. Freshly baked Amish Friendship Bread.

Oh, I love this.

And this. Look at that sugar!

This bread is definitely dangerous. It tasted like cinnamon donuts. Light, fluffy ones.

It was so moist and wonderful... and gone in 2 days.

I swear, it wasn't all me... there were friends and coworkers and boyfriends all sharing the friendship bread. Though, it wouldn't be difficult to finish these loaves on my own in two days either. The next time someone offers you Amish Friendship Bread starter, I say TAKE ONE. As for me, I can never take one again, because I will eat the entire thing in one sitting, guaranteed. It's just that tasty. It really, really is.

Out Of Hibernation

I am back! Oh dear friends, the past two-three months have been a whirlwind of activity and I am tired. What have I been up to? Well, I finally graduated! Just about one year ago today, I started my first day of school, and here I am today... a little bit smarter and a whole lot more exhausted. Oh yea, and I have a new quilt! Remember that little scrappy library school quilt I started when I began my library school courses? Well, that's done now!


Some of the detail...


And the back...

I left a yellow polka dot border on the back, so that I may eventually embroider over. Not today, but eventually. Like I said, I'm still pretty exhausted and am slowly coming out of my hibernation period. Yet, I have a lot to update you all on, and I can assure you it won't take 3 months next time!