Almond Roca Ice Cream Sauce

A few weeks ago, I heard about Nuts.com's almonds project. I love almonds, so creating something delicious with them didn't seem too challenging.

And sure, there were lots of healthy things I could make with almonds. Because almonds are delicious and a super food and what not. But I still chose to make an ice cream topping with them.

I can't think of a good reason for this except for my low moral fiber (and awesomeness). But if you are a person of similarly poor character (and awesomeness), I can assure you that you'll really thank me for this recipe. Because it's pretty rocking.

I love Almond Roca. Yes, you could chop up Almond Roca and top your ice cream with that, but Almond Roca is more expensive than this. Furthermore, I was looking for something that could be drizzled--a sauce that embodied all the awesome that Almond Roca is. You're welcome.

Of course you don't have to eat it with ice cream. You could use it on pancakes or French toast. You could dip apples or fruit into this goodness. Or put it on plain yogurt. You're still welcome.

Almond Roca Ice Cream Sauce
makes 3-4 C
Prep/Cook time: 10 minutes
Cost: $4.75 (I know that sounds pricey, but this makes double or triple what you'd get if you went and paid for nutless, chocolateless store-bought ice cream topping. We halved it, which cost only about $2.40, which is about the same amount for about the same price as a store-bought sauce. And it had all those nuts and all that chocolate, which is reason for rejoicing and swooning)
corn syrup: .25, brown sugar: .30, butter: .20, milk: .10, almonds: 3.00, chocolate chips: .90

Note: I halved this and that was plenty for us.

1 C white corn syrup
1 C brown sugar
3 Tbsp butter
1/2 C milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 C almonds, chopped
1 C milk or semi-sweet chocolate chips

Bring corn syrup, brown sugar, butter, and milk to a boil. Do this gradually. If you boil foods with milk in them too quickly, the milk will curdle. I start it at low and let things melt, then up the heat to medium low and then medium. Don't go over medium.

Lightly boil for five minutes (that means that once it's boiling you might have to turn the heat down again). Stir constantly while it boils.

Add vanilla and nuts. Allow to mostly cool. Then add chocolate chips. You want them to remain mostly solid with maybe just a little tiny bit of chocolate melting in. (Note: If you don't have the patience of Job for goodness sake, and want to eat this RIGHT NOW, just put the chocolate chips on your ice cream, then pour the hot sauce on and the chips will soften and get just barely melty and everything will be right with the world. This is what I did and it was amazing.) (Another note: I suppose that you could just throw the chocolate chips into the hot sauce and swirl them in. This would probably create a pretty amazing chocolate caramel almond sauce, but I wanted the chocolate to have its own distinct place.)

Serve over ice cream. Die from happiness.

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Cuteness Fail--4th of July Frosting

This week when one of my piano students came, she had a food magazine with the cutest frosting ever. Also, it sounded so...easy.

I would do it. And blog it. Hahahahahahaha. Cuteness and I don't always get along. Part of the problem being that I was rushing trying to get it done before I had to go pick up a child. Part of the problem being, well, me. And part of the problem being magazines that make things look perfect and sound easy when they really take a little practice and fiddling to get right.

I still think this method could work. But I'm not the blogger who will make another batch of cupcakes and frosting tonight just to get it right. It's easier to just make fun of yourself.

They were supposed to look more or less like this (only I was only going to use blue and white on my red velvet cake).

To achieve this, you take two pastry bags (or Ziploc bags), put a different frosting in each bag, and cut the tips off. Then put these two bags into one bag with both their tips side by side and ready to squirt out of the other tip. See, it doesn't seem too bad. And for my first cupcake, it was kind of okay.

Here's the first--a little wobbly, but kind of the right idea.

Then, well, one of my bags must have slipped or it kind of seemed like one of the bags had frosting that was softer than the other. Maybe one of my openings was bigger than the other or obscured or whatever. At any rate, it all went downhill from there.

Starting with top left, we've got Swirly, Double Double, Blobby, Dumpy, Original, Whitey, and then Halfsy in the middle. Not quite the ideal I was going for. 

Then I thought, "Hey maybe I can fix these and just use the tip of a spoon to give them a gentle swirl." Sure I can.

Don't get me wrong. They weren't hideous. And my kids and their friends were kind of hanging on my elbows as I was taking these pictures begging me to be done so they could eat them. But they weren't quite the centerfold beauties I was going for either.

I still think the method is sound. It would have helped if I had used actual pastry bags instead of going the Ziploc route. And a little practice would surely go a long way. We'll talk again at Halloween. Or maybe Christmas.

If you do this better than me (it won't take much), I'd love to see a pic in the comments or on my facebook page.

Guacamole Rice

I made this and I thought it would be a kind of good side dish that would add some vegetables to my rice. Yay. What it turned out to be was a super amazing bowl of deliciousness. I made it with some meat to "balance" the meal for the minions. Whatever. This was all I wanted. And it's pretty. And easy. It won't heat your kitchen into summertime purgatory. And lately I've been finding avocados for really cheap. 

You can make this as a side dish or a light summer dinner/lunch. You can make from scratch or cheat and use a bit of Rotel. It could be a perfect way to use leftover rice. Also, it can be eaten warm or at room temperature. What, on earth, is not to love? Unless of course you hate avocados, in which case you have issues and I can't help you.

I'll include directions and cheats below.

Guacamole Rice
adapted from Foxes Love Melons
Serves: 6
Prep time: 3 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes for the rice
Cost: $2.45
rice: .65, avocado: .65 (that's how much I paid for the last one I bought, but the price varies on these a lot), lime juice: .15, Rotel: 1.00 OR tomato: .40, jalepeno: .40, other stuff: ..40 (guessing a bit here; I haven't bought some of these items for a while because I get them from my garden and freeze them--they should be cheap this summer)

Cheat: If you'd like to cheat a good cheat, use the first four ingredients here and follow directions below. Then drain a can of Rotel (save that juice for something amazing) and add it plus a good pinch of cumin to the avocado/rice mixture. It's pretty awesome.

1 ripe avocado, diced
juice of 1 1/2 limes (or about 2-3 Tbsp juice)
1/4 tsp salt
3 C cooked rice (or any other grain that floats your boat--quinoa, barley, whatever)
1 clove garlic, very finely minced
1 Roma tomato, diced
1/2 Jalepeno pepper, seeded and minced (add some seeds if you like more heat)
1/4 C chopped cilantro (optional)
1/4 C diced red onion (optional and we skipped it)
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp cumin

First cook your rice if you don't have any leftover.

While it cooks, take the avocado, lime juice, and salt and mash that all together.

When rice is ready, toss it with the mashed avocado mixture and the other ingredients.

Serve warm or cool.

PRINTABLE RECIPE