A Sure Sign of Spring and Ice Cream Sundaes

 As I was stirring around outside today while enjoying the sun, I noticed a lot of movement in two pine bushes at opposite ends of our home.  Robin’s kept escaping from the same places, so I decided to survey the area!  Look what I found! 5 perfectly blue and beautiful Robin’s eggs…This color was my Dad’s favorite and every time I see it I am reminded of him.  He was right, it is the most beautiful color…completley soothing and soft. Then I checked out the other pine bush at the other end and ……

How cute are they? ( in a really ugly cute way)  I heard little peeping and much to my surprise there they were!  They arrived quite early.  I think there are only three…you  can barely see the one at the bottom of the nest.

it’s hot out today and I thought: ” they MUST be roasting in there and getting a sun burn” ,so I found some paper towels and covered the area over them to give them some shade.  I tried not to disturb the area AT ALL…I hope the momma bird isn’t afraid to come back!  They look so hungry that it makes me want to give a spin in the food processor to some of the earthworms that have been making their way into the driveway.  But BELIEVE me when I say, I could NEVER do that.. 

Last weekend my daughter and I volunteered for an event called ” Women Build” through ” Habitat for Humanity” and they gave me this  little pansy plant as I was leaving and said : ” Happy Mother’s Day!”  Pansies are so cheerful…looking almost like little babies with bonnets looking up to the sky…and the vibrantness just makes me realize that winter is gone- well…this IS Ithaca..you never know!

Today I promised to give you the tutorial for the Ice Cream Sundae that was in “ Summer with Matthew Mead”.  The lifestyle “Bookazine” that I am featured in this month.  This is almost the end of the series for the Bookazine…Ice Cream is still left and I may not post it until Monday..My daughter had a lot planned this weekend with friends! 

I know I said that I would post once a week, but I have posted almost every day this week to pay an homage to Matthew and Jennny Mead and also to their reader’s ( whom I hope are all of you). 

miniature "Ice Cream Sundae" in a salt well with mini salt spoon!

I realized that this doesn’t really need a tutorial per se, but I will give you the fudge recipe and some hints!  First of all, this is REALLY tiny!  This ice cream sundae rests in an old salt well that I found at a flea market some years ago.  The adorable solid sterling spoon is from an INCREDIBLE shop here in Ithaca co-owned by my friend Sandy Cozarin…antique DIVA!!  Her antique mall is filled with retro, vintage and antique goodies of all kinds and many are repurposed by Sandy herself…I have LOTS of other goodies I found at her place and I will be sure to share them with you on some rainy Sunday…but not THIS Sunday because she is holding a flea Market at her store ( Every last Sunday of the Month through October.)  The name of the store is ” Found in Ithaca”..we Ithacan’s refer to it simply as ” Found”.

The peachy-pink sundae cups were found on e-bay and I could lick them…they remind me of watermelon jolly rancher sticks ( remember those?)

To make the Sundae, find something small that would accomodate three scoops of  ice cream ( fudge). You will also need the following:

• Two small parchment paper cones (or two small plastic ziploc® bags with a small corner cut off, or a small piping bag fitted with a coupler and a tiny star tip)
• Melted white chocolate
• Melted dark chocolate
• Red sixlet® candies or cherry fondant from fondarific®
• Banana flavored laffy taffy®
• chocolate, vanilla and strawberry flavored fudge ( recipe follows)

To print this recipe. please place your cursor over the picture, right click and choose print..the recipe will print on a 5 x 7 inch card-  don’t double click on the image, otherwise the image will be larger than an 81/2 x 11 inch piece of paper)

Fudge Bar, Orange Cream Bar, Strawberry Shortcake and Toasted Almond Bar Recipe

1. Using a small melon ball scooper, scrape the fudge ( see the recipe above for flavor variations) into small balls and put into your sundae vessel ( whatever that may be!)
2. Soften the Laffy Taffy® and roll into a banana shape that is in proportion to the ice cream scoops and split it in half and put one half on either side of the ice cream scoops.
3. Let the white chocolate sit for a spell so that it will pipe a thicker texture when squeezed from the bag
4. Using the dark chocolate, pipe the “chocolate sauce” over the scoops of ice cream and let the chocolate sit in the frig for a few minutes to harden.
5. Pipe out the white chocolate ( whipped cream) on top making it pile up like real whipped cream would
6. Quickly top the whipped cream with a red sixlet ( cherry) or a cherry made from Fondarific® Fondant
7. Serve to all the dolls in your neighborhood!

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