Chocolate Ice Cream in a snap!

Chocolate Ice Cream in a snap!

1 teaspoon instant coffee or espresso powder
1 tablespoon hot water
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of salt
1-1/4 cups cold heavy cream

1. melt chocolate base. combine coffee powder and hot water in small bowl. let stand until coffee dissolves, about 5 minutes. microwave chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, and coffee mixture in bowl, stirring every 10 seconds, until chocolate is melted, about 1 minute. Stir in vanilla and salt. let cool.

2. mix and freeze. with electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip cream to soft peaks, about 2 minutes. whisk one third of whipped cream into chocolate mixture. fold remaining whipped cream into chocolate mixture until incorporated. freeze in airtight container until firm, at least 6 hours or up to 2 weeks. serve.

Makes 1 quart. If you plan to store the ice cream for more than a few days place plastic wrap directly on its surface before freezing.

high risk foods?

You've seen it before how a diet high in cholesterol isn't good for the heart...but have you ever taken notice which foods these are?

White potatoes
White rice
White bread
White flour
White noodles
White milk

Beef, Sirloin, roast, hambuger, etc...
Even pizza has cholesterol...

For some of you, I'm not telling you anything new... but for those of you that were curious...now ya know..

I'm sure there's more out there... like I mentioned this is a quik list.

rubber stamped madness....

I remember making my own greeting cards, even before they became "the rave"...back then there were no books, magazines dedicated to this art. I used to hand draw all of my cards, before there were programs on computers to just plug in a design with a simple push of a button. Infact, back in the early 1980's, there was no mention of computers..there may have been computers out there somewhere..but I didn't hear about this technology..and if someone told me that there was such a program to make designing cards a little easier..it would have been foreign to my ears.
Fast forward to the mid '80 and early '90's..I found a display of tiny rubber stamped images..ladybugs, hearts, mice, cats... as I held these little gems in my fingers I thought "how cool" this will help make my creative job a little easier with instant images. So, I picked up a black ink pad, blue, purple..and more card stock..I couldn't wait to get home to try this new skill. I was so thrilled with my attempts at making something beautiful..I couldn't wait to get back to the mall and pick out a new image...by this time there were other displays of bigger rubber stamps.. my eyes darted back and forth looking at all the possiblities. Now it was harder than ever to choose. What do you think I should pick?, asking my husband...he pointed to one then another...he said, well its really your choice. [ Alot of good that did! ] So, I filled my basket with rubber stamps of flowers, a cat, butterfly..more card stock...and now I had graduated to embossing powder and a heat gun! Think of the possibilities. By the end of the year I had more than I knew what to do with..my drawer was spilling over with stamps, stickers, ink pads, card stock, heat gun, glitter, glue, etc... when was this madness going to end? I wondered. Yes, the stamps helped me produce some lovely card items...I made them for friends, relatives...sigh..anybody I could think of. And now, I found myself getting bored.

To this very day...I still have a "supply" of stamps..various styles..ink pads...I still have my original heat gun. And just now, I picked up a 2000 February Issue of Stamping Arts & Crafts collecting dust on the bookshelf... thumbing through the pages...beautiful artful designs fill every page...I'm in instant wonder. They make the designs I did, look elementary.

I've got an idea..if you are a "stamper at heart" and you don't mind sharing your ideas with me..leave a comment and tell of your latest greatest project! I would love to hear from you. =) Mary

Our Old Trees

My wife and I live in a 53 year old house which sits on a lot in an old neighborhood that back in the 1910's to 1920's used to be woods and farmland. Our yard now has only 3 trees, 2 in the back and one in the front. One tree is a rather young thorn tree, but there are also 2 different maples, which are mature; I became curious about what their ages might be. Looking online, I discovered some sources that showed how the age of a tree can be estimated from the outside, without chopping it down to count the rings.
Basically, you measure the circumference in inches at about the 4 foot level from the ground and divide by pi (3.14) to get the diameter. Then you multiply the result with the growth factor, which varies from one tree species to another. You also take into account whether the tree would have grown in a woods, or if it had grown by itself because stiff competition for water creates closer rings in the tree's growth.
We have a silver maple in the backyard with a growth factor of 3.0 which turns out to be approximately 85 years old. Our red maple in the front with a growth factor of 4.5 is about 100! We really have some antiques around here!

Mark
Here's the website for determining how old your trees are; http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/leaf/HowOld.html

almost time...

to say goodnight...more like goodmorning, but since I have yet to go to sleep..its goodnight!
I have been having a blast making this newsletter for you all. I will return again to add more news, and features... later. :O) ~Mary~ thank you for visiting with us!

Sunset

This is my favorite part of the day~Sunset~

'Beautiful glory fills the sky ~
as we sing praise to our Lord on high.'
~Mary

Junk Food City

I call them; Friendship Pockets

Here's another "pocket" I made for a friend.

To decorate my pockets I use fabric paint, buttons, rosettes, lace, ribbon..just whatever I happen to have on hand. To see this image a lil' closer place the cursor over the pic & click.