peppermint ice cream

Ice cream may not seem like a winter dessert to some but I love pairing it was something warm and fresh out of the oven. Today, it's peppermint ice cream with dark chocolate brownies. Yum! I essentially used the same recipe as the Thai tea ice cream I made over the summer, substituting fresh peppermint sprigs for the Thai tea. I'll include the recipe here anyhow!

Here's what you'll need:
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 1 1/2 cups cream
* 6-8 sprigs of peppermint
* 1 cup sugar
* 3 egg yolks

Here's what to do:
Heat the milk on medium until it just starts to bubble. Stir in the peppermint leaves and remove from heat. Let steep about 25 minutes.

Strain into another bowl and add 1/2 cream and sugar. Mix and heat until steamy. Put your egg yolks into a large bowl then spoon the heated mixture into the egg yolks while whisking. Be careful not to add to much at a time or your eggs will cook to quickly resulting in an unwanted egg drop soup situation.

Alright, we're almost here. Add the rest of your cream. Then, take the combined mixture and cook at medium heat until it thickens into a custard-like texture, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let it sit until cool. I tend to get impatient so I pour the mixture back and forth between two containers to speed up the cooling process, and then stick it in the freezer until it cools down completely.

Now that you've got your custard, just follow the instructions on your ice cream maker. After about 15-25 minutes of churning, your ice cream should be ready! I served this batch with the most amazing brownies baked from a recipe from Inside a Black Apple.

What's your favorite winter ice cream? Drop me a recipe if you've got one!

sweet potato minis

I've been wanting to make these sweet potato minis for a few weeks but just got around to it this afternoon. A little treat just in time for Thanksgiving dinner I suppose!

The recipe is a modified version of a family-to-family sweet potato casserole. A Southern holiday dinner staple that's usually served as a side dish, I wanted to sweeten it up a bit to serve as a dessert. I didn't really know what to call it. It's not so much a pie, not really a tart and not eggy enough to be considered a custard. Here's what happened...



Here's what you'll need:
3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 small can evaporated milk
1 stick melted butter
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. nutmeg
1 cup pecans
2-3 tbsps. brown sugar

Here's what to do:
First you'll need to preheat the oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, fold the eggs into the mashed sweet potatoes. Add the sugar, evaporated milk, 1/2 stick butter, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set this mixture aside.

Now it's time for the crust. Finely chop up the pecans, then toss in the brown sugar and butter. Mix well and spread on the bottom of a pie pan or tart pan. Add the sweet potato filling. Bake for 35-40 minutes depending on if you're making a full size pie or little minis as shown above. Add a dollop of whipped cream, sprinkle with cinnamon or nutmeg and devour!

P.S. Better names welcomed!

lemon panna cotta

I've been wanting to make dessert lately but baking a cake for one seems a bit excessive so last night I opted for something a bit more reasonable, a yummy lemon panna cotta that my mom makes every now and then. Light in taste and small in portion, it's a great dessert for a family of one.



Here's what you'll need:
1 package gelatin
1 cup milk
1 3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup sugar
1 cinnamon stick
Lemon zest
Raspberries

Here's what to do:
Mix the gelatin and milk in a bowl and set aside. Pour cream, vanilla and sugar into a pan. Add lemon zest and the cinnamon stick and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer for about five minutes. Add the milk mixture to the pan, stir and let cook for about two minutes.

Strain the mixture into a bowl and set on ice. Stir until the mixture begins to set. Then pour into your serving container and refrigerate until firm.

I chose to serve in a tea cup with raspberry and mint garnish. But that's just because small daily bowls don't exist in my house! What's your favorite light dessert? Recipes and advice welcome.

chocolate samosas

Lately I've been craving sweets in the evenings, so tonight I decided to indulge. This was the result.



Healthy? No. From scratch? Um, not quite. Delicious? Oh, absolutely!

These chocolate samosas are actually a super simple creation. Maybe not as easy as last weeks granola, but almost. (I'm looking in a certain someone's direction, you know who you are!)

I can't claim this recipe as my own, but I'll happily give credit to Michele Cranston, author of my favorite cookbook, Kitchen.

Here's what you'll need:
1 package of wonton wrappers
semi-sweet chocolate (Michele's recipe calls for milk chocolate)
bananas
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp water
vegetable oil
powdered sugar

Here's what to do:
Whisk one egg yolk with 2 tablespoons of water and set aside. Lay out wonton wrappers and fill with a little chocolate and few banana slices. Brush the edges of the wrapper with the egg mixture. Twist the four corners of the wrapper together. Prepare as many as you like and set aside.

Fill a pot with about 1" to 1 1/2" oil and heat on the stove until the oil just starts to simmer. Drop the wontons in the oil and cook until golden brown. Remove and set on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil. Dust with powdered sugar and serve with your own homemade whipped cream.

Enjoy as a sinful dinner as I did tonight, or serve up as a tasty afternoon treat.

Side Note: You'll probably have a stack of leftover wonton wrappers so get creative! There are so many things you can do. For instance, I've got some wilting spinach and yummy tomato feta in the fridge which I'm thinking will make a pretty good ravioli stuffing. Use anything in your kitchen! What delicious stuffing could you make for a ravioli or tortellini? Or use them in their traditional sense with a steamed Asian style dumpling. There are numerous possibilities. What would you create?

homemade granola

This is one of my favorites for breakfast these days. I must admit I'm usually a breakfast taco on-the-go gal, but lately I've been opting for this simple alternative. I'll make a batch of granola that lasts about two weeks, add Greek yogurt, whatever fruit I have in the kitchen and top it off with a little honey.



Granola really is one of the easiest things to make in the kitchen. Here's a little guide if you're interested in trying it out yourself!



Here's what you'll need:
* 4 cups whole wheat oats
* 1/4 cup sesame seeds
* 1/4 cup oat flour
* 1/2 cup honey
* 1/2 brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons water
* 1/4 vegetable oil
* 1 tsp vanilla
* dash of cinnamon
* dash of salt

Here's what to do:
You'll want to start by preheating the oven to 300. Then, combine all the dry ingredients except the brown sugar. In a separate bowl mix the honey, sugar, water, vanilla and oil. Add this mixture to the dry ingredients and stir well. You want to make sure all the dry ingredients get a little moisture so your granola will clump.

Slightly grease a cookie sheet and spread the mixture evenly on the sheet. Bake for about 20-25 minutes then remove, toss and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until a golden brown.

The granola may be slightly sticky still but let it cool before storing in an airtight container. I store mine in whatever random Tupperware containers I have around the kitchen and it is good for about two weeks.

What about you? I would love to try out other granola recipes if you've got them!

thai tea ice cream

Thai tea is what cravings are made of. Well, at least for now.

I had a glass just about every day for the seven months I was in Thailand. And, oops, have continued to do so upon getting back to Texas. Some may call this addiction. Me, I say it's just part of my daily diet. Either way, it's gotten to the point where I'm daydreaming about other ways to get my fix. For a few weeks now, the idea of Thai tea ice cream has been dancing in my head, trying to escape. I finally gave in yesterday.



Here's what you'll need:
* 1 1/2 cups milk
* 1 1/2 cups cream
* 1/2 cup Thai tea
* 1 cup sugar
* 3 egg yolks

Here's what to do:
Heat the milk on medium until it just starts to bubble. Stir in the tea leaves and remove from heat. Let steep about 25 minutes.

Strain into another bowl and add 1/2 cream and sugar. Mix and heat until steamy. Put your egg yolks into a large bowl then spoon the heated mixture into the egg yolks while whisking. Be careful not to add to much at a time or your eggs will cook to quickly resulting in an unwanted egg drop soup situation.

Alright, we're almost there. Add the rest of your cream. Then, take the combined mixture and cook at medium heat until it thickens into a custard-like texture, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and let it sit until cool.

Once cool, add the mixture to your ice cream maker and follow the directions accordingly. Voila!

And how easy was that? Although this particular recipe was a bit too strong, I was pretty happy with how it turned out. Next time I'll be using half the tea, as I like a subtle ice cream.

*** Side note. In the past, I have been slightly obsessed with making ice cream. Some of my favorites were honey lavender and chocolate chip Oaxacan coffee. And yes, it's true, I once made jalapeno lime ice cream. That said, please send me your recipes. Strange and unheard of. Tried and true. Whatever it may be, I would rather risk an odd ice cream flavor than die in this Texas heat.

strawberry jam

I finally did it! The strawberry jam hath been made and boy is it tasty. If you decide to try out any of the kitchen projects I've been listing lately, this is it. I snagged it from The Anne of Green Gables Treasury I mentioned the other day. All it takes is two simple ingredients, strawberries and sugar.



Chop the tops off 2 cups of strawberries and toss in a pot with 1 1/3 cups of sugar. Heat slowly until the sugar begins to melt. Then bring the mixture to a boil and stir frequently for about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat. You'll probably have a light pink foam on top. Scrape this off then pour the mixture into a pan. Cover and let sit overnight. Grab a jar and pour the jam in for storing. Strawberry jam!



I'm no jam expert, but I would say making jam this way you'll want to eat it up in a week or so, as it won't keep. But seeing as this makes about one jar, you shouldn't have a problem! It's quite tasty as a topping for that shortbread I made the other day.

shortbread a bakin'

Last week I mentioned I had a little canning project. Well, it obviously hasn't happened, so I'll go ahead and spill the beans on what is was...You may have guessed as I don't know how much you can do with strawberries and jars but I'll tell you anyway. I was going to try my hand at strawberry jam! In all honesty, I've just been too lazy to pick up the jars so I thought I'd go ahead and bake the other half the kitchen project seeing as I already picked up the supplies. Hello shortbread!

My inspiration came from a little book found in the children's section of my local library. One I used to check out at least twice a month in elementary school, The Anne of Green Gables Treasury. You're probably wondering why on earth someone would continuously check out the same book but the thing is I used to do that with quite a few books. This one in particular was filled with recipes and small projects based off the series. How could I check it out only one time when there were so many projects to be crafted? From tea time baking to pressing flowers, this little treasury had it all.

Yup, I was a bit of a nerd, okay I suppose I still am! I had such an obsession with the series though. I read each and every book, had VHS tapes recorded from TV and so on. My parents were even kind enough to take me to Prince Edward Island to see Avonlea and the whole spread before it burned in the 90s.

I could go on and on but I'll spare all you non-Anne fans. So to the point...I was thinking about all that the other day, and decided to see if the library still had it, and you bet they did!



Like I said, it's filled with good looking recipes, but as I've been drinking tea in the afternoons lately, I decided to try out the shortbread recipe. A perfect compliment to afternoon tea. The recipe consisted of a simple list of ingredients, just how I like them.



* 1/2 cup butter
* 3 tbsps sugar
* 1/4 tsp vanilla
* 1 1/4 cups flour
* pinch of salt



The rest is easy...Just preheat the oven to 325F. Mix the butter, sugar and vanilla until it's light and fluffy. Gradually add the flour until the mixture becomes slightly crumbly. Roll into a ball. Set on a cookie sheet and flatten to about 1/2 inch. Sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 20-30 minutes and...Done! Ready to enjoy with a nice cup of tea. Now let's hear about your childhood obsessions!

strawberries & cream

Today's kitchen project is brought to you by the sweet and delicious fruit of the season, Miss Strawberry. I had things planned a bit differently, ie. not strawberries and cream. However, the thrift store was closed today and I couldn't pick up the jars I needed for Plan A. I suppose I could have headed back to the store, but I'm kind of against buying new jars when I can get perfectly good ones at the thrift store. That said, I decided I would have to save my canning project for tomorrow.

When I came home though, I had a flat of fresh strawberries staring at me, begging to be nibbled. I had to do something with them in the meantime. With all the cream I've been keeping in the fridge lately for butter, I decided to fix myself up a little evening snack.




Looks pretty tasty, right? If you're curious, here are the easy steps for making this delicious snack a reality.

• Rinse your strawberries, chop off the tops and cut into quarters.


• Pour the heavy whipping cream into a bowl with a spoonful of sugar (or two!) depending on sweet you like your cream.


• Whisk until the cream becomes stiff and you can make little peaks.


• C'est fini! You can put your strawberries in a bowl and top with the whipped cream or serve it up parfait style like I did, simply by layering.

Voila! A simple summer treat. Now that you know my original plan involved canning, stay tuned for tomorrow's post. I'll give you a hint...It involves tea time.

buttermilk biscuits

I told you last week to stay tuned for what to do with that extra buttermilk we had left over from the homemade butter. I know, I know, I'm a bit late. But better late than never, right!? There really are so many things you can make with buttermilk, but I wanted to share a simple classic...Buttermilk biscuits!

The first recipe I used several weeks ago was incredibly simple with only five ingredients, four if you think of the butter and buttermilk in it's original cream form. They were tasty enough I suppose, but last night I decided to test out a different one from a certain Colonel Sanders. So glad I did because they turned out softer and lighter than the first batch.



You can find the original recipe here and if you're as grossed out by the word lard as I am, just be aware you're going to see it in the recipe! But know that if you substitute butter for the lard you'll still end up with a yummy biscuit. I followed the directions to a tee and my advice to you would be to make sure your butter is as cold as possible. Cold butter is the key the flakiness! Enjoy and let me know how you batch turns out if you try it out.

butter & buttermilk

For the most part, Dalena Vintage has been a place for me to talk about all things fashion related. Lately though, I've been thinking about changing it up a bit, incorporating more of my loves and giving it a rounder feel. After all, in the scheme of my life, vintage clothing is only a teeny tiny piece of who I am!

So this is a test. Just a test. Here we go...

Starting up your own shop isn't always all it's cracked up to be. It's freedom from the man. It's living on your own schedule. It's doing what you love. It's a limitless list of good things really. But it's also long hours, living on a tight budget, a perpetual lesson in stress manangement, ecetera.

This said, I've recently fallen out of the honeymoon phase and into a being-broke-is-no-fun-let's-get-this-thing-moving phase. I've learned quite a bit about stretching what I've got and simplifing my life. Over the past few months, it's been an interesting challenge to bring this mentality into the kitchen but I've managed and actually found it quite fun. Let's take last week's kitchen project, turning one simple ingredient into two useful products. Butter and buttermilk!

All you'll need is heavy cream, a mason jar, an extra container and strong arms.

1. Fill your mason jar about halfway with heavy cream. Close it up and start shaking!

2. After about 5 minutes, your cream will turn to whipping cream. Keep shaking you're halfway there.

3. The mixture will start to thicken and look like this.

4. Now the fun part, it's going to separate into two parts. The solid piece should be a slight yellow color, and yup, this is the butter. The liquid is fresh buttermilk.

Now you'll want to pour the buttermilk into your extra container. With cold hands, take the butter and squeeze out the excess buttermilk. Next rinse with cold water, folding a few times and voila! Fresh butter and buttermilk.

Stay tuned later this week for what to do with that buttermilk!