Chocolate "Sherbet"

(No, not mine. But it looked a lot like that, really!!!!)

Dairy's been kicking my ass lately, so I thought I'd do a little experimentation based quite loosely on David Lebovitz' Chocolate Sherbet recipe. Sherbet, as opposed to Sorbet, contains milk. In this case, Soy Milk.

So I took 2 Cups of Soy Milk, 3/4 Cup of Cocoa Powder, one chopped banana, a bunch of tablespoons of thick apple butter, and a healthy couple of twirls around the pot of honey into a sauce pan. I brought it all to a boil and whisked it together. Somehow it came together nicely, and after boiling, I pureed it in my blender and set it to cool. Is it possible that this dessert could be good for you AND actually work?

Somehow, it cooled into a just slightly sweet chocolate pudding?!?!? How this happened, I do not know. It is in the freezer now, and all we can do is wait and see....

UPDATE: SUCCESS. Using Mr. Lebovitz's making-ice-cream-without-a-maker tutorial, I successfully crafted a perfectly smooth decadent fudgy non-dairy (low-fat if you dig that too!)dessert! (Sorry for lack of photographs). I think the apple butter/banana additions assisted this achievement. How the custard came out so thick and pudding like will forever befuddle me, but it worked.

-R

The Perfect Scoop: gone to parsley!

Oh jeeez! Alien shots again. Well I made David Lebovitz's parsley ice cream and it was a great success, so fresh and nutty! AND, I didn't fail at custard thanks to some good directionals.

I kept the heat lower and was very careful about signs of boiling this time. But, I think adding the warm mixture in little bits to the eggs really was the saving feature. After adding the mixture to the eggs, I put it on the stove again and voila! No scrambled eggs! 

Also, I've got to plug the magic bullet for ice-cream ease. Makes quite the nice parsley puree! I've gotten so lax about recipes but that just means you should go get the book!

S.

Aamchi Pao / Sundaes and Cones

Attention all ye who are in the never ending search for late night drunk food. I have found your Mecca: Aamchi Pao (Bleecker St. btwn 6th ave and macdougal, on the south side). A new Indian dig featuring classic Indian flavors arranged in the form of good ole Fast Food. Pictured above: Brian's Tandoori Chicken Takatak on a Pao Slider Bun, accompanied by home-made potato chips. In the forefront is Manchurian Cauliflower. I ordered the Spinach Lentil Tikki on Paratha flat-bread. It was the greasiest, saltest thing I've probably ever eaten. It was admitedly too much for me to handle at the time, but if you're 8 beers in, you can pretty much guarantee it will be the best thing you've ever had. The bread is super chewy, and the filling dense and definitely paneer spiked. They have mango lassis and chocolate lassis and tons of other bread/filling combos for either 6 or 8 dollars each. Check it: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/around_town/dining/Aamchi_Pao_Carbo-loads_the_Indian_Way_in_the_West_Village.html

Also featured: Sundaes and Cones (East 10th st at 3rd ave), Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream in a Sprinkled Waffle Cone.

-R