You Can't Eat Ice Cream When You're Mad!

I've discovered that it is almost impossible to eat ice cream while you are mad. Well, you can't stay mad when you eat ice cream. Something about that gentle coolness, the creamy texture, maybe a chocolate chip or two, that just deflates that anger in moments! We become children again, on a hot summer day, perhaps with a cone of our favorite flavor. Lapping up the drizzle as it melts before it hits our hand. Savoring the delicious taste, sometimes with just a hint of a different flavor from the previous scoop....
Ice cream was a big treat for us when I was growing up. It was an after dinner/before bedtime treat at home. Once or twice a month in the summer, we would all pile into the back of my grandfathers pick-up truck and take the ride to Four Seas Ice Cream shop. (No, we never fell out, nor got hurt by riding back there. Of course he didn't drive much over 25mph) Back in those days, my favorite was Butter Crunch, my mothers was Peppermint, my grandmothers was Pistacchio. My brother always got something different, and you never knew if he was going to like it or not. We would have ice cream licking contests and contests to see who could make their cone the smallest without destroying it. It was a time for stories, laughter, and a time for connecting with family. For a few years, my mother made ice cream in an old churn style maker, it was the sweetest vanilla ice cream I've ever eaten. Now I'm partial to Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia. Whenever the stresses of the day weigh too heavily or perhaps I'm a bit bent out of shape over some minor upset; you can be sure to find me with my bowl and spoon, peering into the depths of my freezer, in search of a scoop of medicine for the soul!

Posh Nosh By Gosh! or Are Your Vegetables Embarrassed?

One of the funniest shows I've seen in a while.... Posh Nosh! I just caught an episode for the first time and I highly recommend watching a show if you can find it! PBS carries it sporadically here in MA... If you like British humor, (Benny Hill etc.) then you should definately give this a try! If you haven't seen it... read on...

Posh Nosh
From Wikipedia
Posh Nosh was a 2002 BBC television programme parodying television chefs. Written by Jon Canter from an idea by Arabella Weir and directed by Chris Langham, the programme stars Weir and Richard E. Grant as chefs the Hon. Simon and Minty Marchmont, owners of a very posh restaurant called "The Quill & Tassel." There were nine ten-minute episodes, in which the chefs carry out their mission to bring "extraordinary food" to "ordinary people."

Simon and Minty prepare various dishes ranging from architect's fish and chips to bread AND butter pudding, offering snooty and frequently surreal commentary along the way. For instance, they employ words in odd ways in parody of specific culinary terminology, such as "interrogate a lemon"; and their cooked vegetables are not peeled but "embarrassed," after which they might be "annoyed" instead of boiled. They also frequently insist on ultra-specific, often prohibitively expensive, ingredients - such as Greek currants that you actually have to fly to Greece to buy.

At the same time, a thread of domestic tension (and often hostility) runs beneath the surface of every exchange between Simon and Minty, along with some not-so-subtle hints about Simon's sexual orientation. A running joke in the series is Simon's crush on his tennis instructor José Luis, played by David Tennant. Both Marchmonts are obsessed with their dog, Sam, going so far as to throw a birthday party (complete with other dog guests) for him. The birthday cake prepared for the party contains huge amounts of chocolate, which would kill dogs, a rather macabre joke.

The common use of web sites in television programmes are often spoofed as well, with items such as www.sexmexavacado.com and www.arthurleggbourkersfarmnearbanbury.co.uk appearing as subtitles on screen.

Finally, each episode concludes with teaser for the next episode and a short faux promotional piece for a jar of something "from the Posh Nosh range" at your local purveyor of all foods fine and extraordinary. Each item on offer is progressively more ridiculous. For example, here is the close from the episode about architect's fish and chips (as distinct from builder's fish and chips):

Minty: Join us next week on Posh Nosh, when I'll be disabling a partridge in its own jus.

Not for the Faint of Heart or Queasy of Stomach

Steve Don't Eat It

You've heard the old line from the Life Cereal commercials - "Mikey will eat anything" ? This guy puts Mikey to shame. Consider yourself warned!