Low Carb Black Walnut Divinity Ice Cream

This is a popular flavor by Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams and is in their recipe book. The original recipe involves grinding ½ cup of toasted walnuts into a paste using a food processor and and then mixing that into the heated base “so the oils in the walnuts adhere to the oils in the butterfat—this locks the walnuts’ distinct flavor into the cream.” By all means, go ahead and make it that way if you like. I took the easy way out and used black walnut flavoring, which means any of my low carb sweet cream bases can be used including the no-cook method.

Curlify - Make all your quote characters curly

Blogger’s web-based composer is a simple to use interface for creating blog entries. It’s got a basic word processor interface and includes formatting options like bold, italic, number lists, bulleted lists, etc. Unlike most modern word processors, the composer only inserts straight quotes rather than the fancier curly quotes. What’s the difference, you may ask?

Straight quotes are the two generic vertical quotation marks located near the return key: the straight single quote ( ' ) and the straight double quote ( " ).

Curly quotes are the quotation marks used in good typography. There are four curly quote characters: the opening single quote ( ‘ ), the closing single quote ( ’ ), the opening double quote (  “  ), and the closing double quote (  ”  ).

Low Carb Chocolate Philadelphia-style Ice Cream Base

Chocolate ice cream is probably the most varied of all the popular flavors. Googling for recipes yields wildly different ratios of cocoa, chocolate, and milkfat. Back when I first read the Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book, I was surprised to see there were two different formulas provided. Ben used lots of melted chocolate and zero cocoa while Jerry used a combination of cocoa and chocolate. (I’ve always preferred using a combination of the two.) The technique I use for melding the cocoa, cream and chocolate together is from “The Perfect Scoop” by David Lebovitz. It’s basically the same method for making a ganache: Heat the cream, sugar, and cocoa until it begins to boil, remove from heat, and stir in chopped chocolate.

Low Carb Zabaglione Gelato

This is another low carb conversion from The Perfect Scoop book by David Lebovitz. This ice cream is based on an Italian custard that uses Marsala wine and sugar for flavoring.

True zabaglione—a foamy custard of egg yolks, wine, and sugar—is often made to order in Italian restaurants. Moments after the waiter takes your order, you’ll hear the frenetic “clang-clack-clang” of the whisk hitting the copper bowl in the kitchen. Once it’s reached a billowy peak, it’s heaped into a glass quickly but not necessarily neatly (speed trumps presentation with zabaglione) and served straight up and warm. In season, you’ll often find sliced strawberries buried underneath all that delicious froth. Zabaglione Gelato captures the taste of a true zabaglione in a cool scoop of ice cream without the last-minute flurry of activity, and it’s just as good served with lots of juicy strawberries.

Low Carb Cookie Monster Ice Cream

This is another low carb conversion of a recipe I found in the book “Scoop Adventures” by Lindsay Clendaniel. She was inspired to make a homemade version of this flavor from Serendipity Homemade Ice Cream in St. Louis, Missouri.

Walk into any ice cream shop with children and they are often drawn to the most colorful flavors, with blue flavors at the top of the list. When owner Beckie Jacobs decided to make a blue flavor, she started with a cotton candy ice cream. One day she decided to mix in cookies so the flavor was reminiscent of the favorite Sesame Street character Cookie Monster, and now it is her most popular flavor. Bright blue and full of flavor, this ice cream is sure to please any color-loving child (or adult).

Low Carb Honey Jalapeño Pickle Ice Cream

There’s an ice cream shop in Denver, Colorado called Sweet Action Ice Cream that used to make this flavor. This is one strange combo, even for me, but how can I resist the challenge?! I was surprised how much I like this savory, sweet, and spicy flavor.

How to Get WiFi Voice and Text Phone Service for Free

My wife suggested getting a cell phone for my son, but I fear that he’s too young to be responsible for an expensive device. I’m also pretty sure he’s not going to be using it to make phone calls often. Still, it would be nice if there was an inexpensive way to contact him when he’s at a friend’s house or at the library.

Our local cable company is offering a WiFi-only cell phone service for $9.95 a month for its subscribers. There is no cell-based voice or data connection. They’re relying on their WiFi hotspots for connectivity away from the home. A proprietary app is what’s used to make (voice-over-IP) phone calls and SMS text messages. I don’t think this is a good deal considering it’s a WiFi-only solution. The phone they provide costs about $100 on top of the monthly fee. However, this got me thinking about other services that could offer the same thing for less. Inexpensive Android OS devices combined with free voice-over-IP and free phone bridging services are out there if you know where to look.