Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker

My parents had one of those old-fashioned ice cream makers where the large metal canister sat inside a wooden bucket. Dad would bring home dry ice and we knew Mom was going to make ice cream, often banana, which was our favorite. Mom and Dad had to mediate the arguments between all of us kids on who got to lick the dasher, and sometimes Dad won and got the dasher all to himself.

The memories of homemade ice cream tugged at me when we started having children, and I’m glad to carry on the tradition in our home. Read more

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Back to Basics Electric Ice Shaver

When Michael and I went to Hawaii last year, I had my first opportunity to try Hawaiian shave ice, a favorite treat of locals and visitors alike, and we returned home with hope that we might find a machine that could replicate the shave ice we had on that vacation while staying within a family budget. We didn’t want a snow cone machine, as the texture is completely different. Traditional U.S. snow cones have ball shaped pieces of ice, but shave ice is flaky like snow flakes and is light on the tongue. Read more

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Senseo Coffee Pod System

A few months ago I received a weekly email from BlogHer with their picks for great deals and fabulous freebies, and one item caught my eye: the Share Senseo program. For just the cost of shipping, you get a free single-serve coffeemaker, free bag of coffee pods, and free pod canister. Since I’m the only coffee drinker in the family, I thought this might be worth a try. I applied for the program (yes, you have to fill out a questionnaire and receiving one is not guaranteed) and a few weeks later I received an email stating that a Senseo was on it’s way to me. For purposes of disclosure, I was under no obligation to blog about the coffee maker, so this review is written of my own free will.

The Senseo is supposed to give a European style coffee with a foamy crema layer on top, so the coffee is forced out under pressure rather than dripping. Read more

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