Sweet Corn Ice Cream

I'm a little sad because this is the last post on Living Mostly Meatless... but I'm not too sad because what is coming feels a little bit more like me. For future posts, come to my new site, jessiekaufman.com, after August 20th to see the goodness. You'll be greeted with my updated portfolio- lots and lots of food photos to gawk at, and a new blog- that focuses more on clean eating that eating vegetarian. I hope to see you over there soon!

So. Corn Ice Cream. It's the one thing that if I see on a menu I know I am going to get. Up until a few weeks ago when I was testing this I hadn't made a successful batch. It's my favorite thing in the world and it was a bit depressing that I couldn't nail it. So I tried a few different things- a custard base and a typical ice cream recipe, with emulsified corn. It was ok- but I was really missing a lot of corn flavor. Next I tried coconut milk, again it was fine, but it was missing creaminess. So  I regrouped, and I came up with something completely different.

Update

You've probably noticed the lack of posts lately. That's because I'm changing things up. A new site, with a new name will debut August 20th. Stay tuned, it's gonna be awesome!

Inside Out Sofrito Stuffed Peppers

Sofrito, a staple in Spanish cooking, is basically vegetables cut in small pieces that are sauteed in vegetable oil until they resemble a sauce.

The one that I usually make is garlic, green peppers, tomatoes, and bell pepper. I add annatto and parsley too. 

So when I wanted to make stuffed peppers and had no rice to stuff them with, I came up with this. This is another one of those recipes that could win over any meat lover. It's so filling, and very adaptable- you could add ham chunks to the quinoa if you don't want to go without meat, and end up with an easy, healthy option for dinner.  Yum. I'm probably going to be living off of this for the next few days. It's addicting. 

French Galette Pancake with Sweet Plaintains in a Butter Rum Sauce

There’s always a few recipes floating around in my mind that I’m dying to make. This one has been simmering for about six months so you can imagine the anticipation when I finally got around to buying the ingredients to make it. I’m honored to be sharing it here with you today. It’s a very special recipe. I’m half French and my husband is half Puerto Rican. I wanted to combine our cultures to make the perfect breakfast treat. Galettes actually originated in the town that my great, great, great grandparents grew up in. (Brittany, FR) And if you’ve ever been to Puerto Rico you’ve likely tried Mofongo or Tostones which are both made with plantains.


If you’ve never tried a plantain they are sort of like a banana mixed with a potato. They tend to pick up the flavor of whatever you add to them, making them a fun ingredient to play with. Sweet plantains are just overripe plantains, so if you can’t find them, put a ripe plantain in a paper bag for about a week. It’ll ripen just like a banana, except you want this to get black before you use it.

Painting & Sherwin Williams Emerald Paint Review

I bet you did not know this. I actually minored in interior design and got my start in professional photography by photographing rooms and interior design products for companies. I've been published in Architectural Digest, Southern Accents, Veranda, and Elle Decor. I like to think that I know what I'm doing when it come to interior design, which is why I was really excited when we purchased a blank slate of a house.

Our house was built in 1908. It's considered a Victorian Builders Cottage, which basically means it's Victorian leaning in the details but wasn't built by an architect. It was likely a contractor that built the house who had worked on Victorian builds in the past and sort of just threw the house together in a way that made sense to him based on what he had picked up. 

This house has no hallways and every room other than the bedroom, office, and bathroom are off of this foyer, so we felt like it should be our first project. 

We wanted to go with a bold paint color and are aiming to make it sort of like little sitting area/bar area/art gallery. 

So, here is what we started with:

And here is the semi-finished project:

Summer Update

We moved into our house sixteen days ago. It's a 3bedroom, 2 bath 1908 Victorian Builders Cottage with a lot of character and few quirks. The quirks are mostly in the basement. It's evident that this house was built for people much smaller than us, as the basement ceiling is probably 5ft 11 inches high. There are two air ducts and one giant water pipe that I've hit my head on three times this week. I'm praising my decision to become a lifeguard when I was in my late teens because I know how spot the signs of a concussion. According to my self diagnosis, I should be fine. I have to find something to wrap those damn pipes though.

Kitchenaid 5-Speed Hand Blender Review

A few weeks ago KitchenAid sent me their 5 speed hand blender to review. It comes in a plastic storage box, which was my favorite part of the whole thing. I don't know about you but with my lack of kitchen space I'm constantly wondering where I put a random attachment to a mixer when I need it.

In the few weeks that I've had this, I've really put it to the test. I made guacamole, salsa, chopped nuts, whipped eggs, a mole,  and mixed a cheesecake.

Thoughts:
For what it is, it's a great, powerful little tool. It whips, chops, and emulsifies better than my previous blender.

It's easy to handle, cleans beautifully, looks nice, and it's dishwasher safe. I found myself utilizing the mini chopper more than anything else. I really liked it because it cleaned so easily and didn't take up as much counter space as my food processor. I was very impressed with the emulsifier too. My previous one took forever to get a good froth and this one frothed things so quickly that I pulled out the other one to make sure I did the exact same thing- this one was the winner by far.

A little note though, while this tool is great for replacing a mini chopper and using a hand held whisk it isn't for heavy lifting. You'll still need to use your food processor for larger recipes/quantities- with that being said- I use it all the time. Pick one up, it'll make your kitchen life easier.