salton sea photos part 1
It’s been ages since we went to the Salton Sea now, and I’ve only just gotten the film developed from the trip.* It makes me want to visit again, but it will have to wait for cooler days. I’m particularly fond of this prize winning cat. Also, I find it quite amusing that the accidental light leak is a look that so many iphone photo apps are trying to recreate. Film has its magic, but quickly capturing a moment has its perks as well. There are still a few more photos for another day.
*Actually Shawn took it in finally so I wasn’t even the responsible one here. Five months later, that film was just sitting on the counter taunting me.
cookie dough ice cream pops
A few weeks ago I had the idea of chocolate dipped cookie dough ice cream in my head and I couldn’t let it go. After the red velvet ice cream turned out so well, I thought I would give it a shot. The hardest part about this recipe was choosing the mold. I initially was going to go low tech and just DIY something, but at the last minute I realized it would be a lot less complicated to use a mold. I settled on these round pop molds
One of my biggest complaints with cookie dough ice cream is that there’s never enough cookie dough so I dig it all out and end up with a container of craggy vanilla. Here you can add as much as you please. Plus, because the cookie dough is vegan, there’s no worries about uncooked eggs.
These are a pretty decadent treat, so I was fine with only having a few, which meant I had leftovers of everything. You could easily make more with this recipe.
Vegan Cookie Dough Ice Cream Bars
non-dairy vanilla ice cream
chocolate chip cookie dough
chocolate dip (recipe below)
Set your ice cream out to soften (but don’t let it melt). Prepare your cookie dough. I recommend using mini-chips if you can, so it’s not super crunchy. In a separate bowl, mix equal parts cookie dough and ice cream. You can mix it as much as you like but make sure you still have some chunks of cookie dough. Fill your popsicle molds and freeze for about 4 hours, or until they are firm enough to remove from the molds.
While the pops are freezing, line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Then prepare the chocolate dip. Full disclosure here, I wasn’t totally satisfied with this chocolate dip. It tasted fine, but didn’t have the crunch I was looking for. Next time I’ll try omitting the soy milk.
Chocolate Dip
1/4 cup soy milk
4 oz chocolate chips
1 Tbs coconut oil
In a small sauce pan, bring the soy milk to a boil. Remove from heat and mix with chocolate chips and coconut oil until melted and smooth. Let cool, but not solidify.
Remove ice cream pops from the molds and dip in chocolate. Place the chocolate dipped ice cream pops on the cookie sheet and freeze for 1/2 and hour to an hour, until the chocolate hardens. Enjoy!
Ashes of a Cowboy
I’m excited to share that Shawn has launched a kickstarter for his newest short film ASHES OF A COWBOY. He’s been working like crazy on this project but needs some help getting it off the ground. To quote from his site:
Lately I’ve been making my films more experimental, lower profile and lower budget. For once I want to make something with a more traditional narrative and I need your help. I’d love to make a movie that my friends and family will really care about. This movie is all about great acting and telling a sincere story. For a low budget movie this will take me a lot of time, preparation, and resources.
We’ve been funding our own film projects for years and this is the first time we’ve reached out to the the community for support. If you have a few spare dollars to contribute to independent film we would be forever grateful. Even if you can’t donate, sharing the project with friends helps get the word out.
Watch the film above or checkout the kickstarter page.
Mabel
Last weekend little Mabel was adopted. I’m so happy she found a forever home, but since she was with us for quite some time seeing her go was bittersweet. I gave her a lot of special attention because she couldn’t hang out with the other cats, and her little personality really grew on me. Not to mention she was uber cute.
The whole experience of fostering her started with a stressful, heartbreaking situation and I’m really thankful that I was able to intervene before an almost certain death at the shelter. Even though Mabel was the sweetest little dear that just wanted to hang out and cuddle all the time, she was still another responsibility. It’s funny how you get used to the things that seem difficult though and even grow to sort of enjoy them.
Here’s to Mabel, darling rescue kitty with a happy life at new home ahead of her.
homemade deodorant
For the past two years or so, I’ve been a faithful user of Soapwalla deodorant cream but I ran out this weekend and had forgotten to order more. In my desperation I made my own deodorant. It was easy enough and seems to be working pretty well. I made a tiny batch just to try. Here is the recipe.
homemade deodorant
3 Tbsp coconut oil
1/8 cup corn starch or arrowroot
1/8 cup baking soda
splash of tea tree oil
Mix ingredients until combined. Store in cool place.*
*With recent high temperatures, I haven’t had a cool place. The mixture liquifies but still totally works, I just give it a little extra stir before applying.
