I am a sucker for a fresh baked cookie and what's more fabulous than adding some ice cream to it?!

I can still remember when my brother and I were younger and if we were sick my mom would bring us ice cream sandwiches. For some reason they would make us feel better. To this day if my stomach is upset or I am seriously hungover from some crazy night of Toronto partying I will crave ice cream ...

If I could replace all meals with this and still be healthy I would!



RECIPE:

This is a cookie recipe from my cookbook The Happy Baker-A Dater's Guide To Emotional Baking. It pretty much has a little bit of everything and is great to bake when your emotional and don't know why all you know is you have to bake something NOW! I added vanilla bean ice cream in between cookies to make a sandwich you can also use frozen yogurt...get crafty people!

ERIN'S GO-TO COOKIE:

½ cup sugar
½ cup brown sugar, packed
½ cup butter, softened

½ cup smooth peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg

¾ cup all-purpose flour
¾ cup rolled oats
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
½ cup coconut

Preheat oven to 375 F (175*C)

In a large bowl, combine sugar and butter, beat until light and fluffy. Add peanut butter, vanilla, and egg ; mix well. Blend in flour, oatmeal, baking soda, and salt. Stir in chocolate chips and coconut.
Drop by tablespoon on a lined cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Flatten with fingers.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until golden brown. Let cool completely. Remove ice cream from freezer and let soften slightly. Add a generous scoop between two cookies and gently press cookies to form a sandwich. Wrap in plastic wrap or a sandwich baggie and store in the freezer until ready to eat!

August has been quite the month for active weather! One of my favourite towns Goderich, Ontario was hit by a F3 tornado. Causing major damage to the historic town square. Businesses are demolished and 100 year old trees completely uprooted. In the words of many it is a miracle there were not more fatalities. This is a link to The London Free Press and photos of the storm.

I grew up a hop, skip and a jump away from Goderich and I am hearing many stories from friends and family members about the tornado. It really is heart breaking but I know Goderich will come back from this tragic event! If you would like to help please visit this LINK for more details.

I do spend a ton of time back home but for the past 18 years I have lived in Toronto. We had quite the lightning show from an extremely active thunderstorm. Here are some photos I took of the night. You can also check out a YouTube video I did of lightning hitting the CN Tower.









It looks like the week is going to be filled with amazing and sunny weather a great way to end off August! I just happened to wake up extra early this morning and took a few shots of the city and the sunrise. I love this city!







BOHM@HOME

Woo hoo we cut the first melon and it was delicious! Super sweet and juicy! It could have been a little sweeter so we are going to keep the others on the vine a tad longer.



I let my BF aka “Babe” cut the first melon he was super proud of my melons so it only seemed fair. This is his "I'm so cool hanging on to this melon" face.



I then took it back to my home in Toronto and got busy in the kitchen.



So far I have made a Watermelon Sangria (which I need to tweak recipe will be included in next newsletter NEWSLETTER) as well as a Watermelon Arugula salad with Peppercorn Goat Cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.



That was pretty darn yummy next time no red onions it was spicy enough without it!

Also don’t forgot about the new fabulous Watermelon Contest. To enter the contest simply visit my FACEBOOK. page and post your favourite watermelon recipe and photo. One winner will be picked at random and will receive these lovely one of a kind cocktail wands from Marie Bohm



Designer of BOHM@HOME as well as a Happy Baker swag. The winner’s watermelon recipe will be included in my next newsletter and of course featured at my watermelon crawl! Thanks for being a part of my melon journey. Ill post new recipes and photos soon!

My watermelons are growing like there is no tomorrow. Here is a look at the measurements of the melon with the fastest growing spurt as told by “One Arm”.

July 27/2011 ~ 11"
July 28/2011 ~ 12 1/2"
July 29, 4:45 pm ~ 14"
July 30th 12:00pm ~ 15" (with help from Babe aka my BF)
July 31st 5:00pm ~ 16 1/2"
Aug 1st 3:45 pm ~ 18"
Aug 2nd 4:24pm ~ 19 1/2"
Aug 3rd 12:23 pm ~ 20" (slower growth due to lack of sun)
Yours till melons ripen, “One Arm”



"…… This just in, at 4:32 pm (July 28th) eastern standard time Erin’s melons are 12 1/2" in circumference. That is a gain of 1 1/2" from yesterday. da da dot dot......"
“One Arm”



"Hello from the garden of "One Arm" I have recently updated my measuring string to a "measuring tape" with hopes to get more accurate measurements of Erin’s Melons.

I am now measuring 3 melons:
(Original melon) now called Erin’s First - 4:15 Aug 9th 22"
(2nd melon) Erin’s Blemish - 4:15 Aug 9th 26" (Aug 4th measurement 20")
(3rd melon) Erin’s West End - 4:15 Aug 9th 24" (Aug 8th measurement 22 1/2")"

(I don’t know how he measured all melons in one minute with one arm … that is one talented gardener).

Can't wait for the harvesting and final measurements of Erin’s Melons see ya when I see ya "One Arm"



I just had a look at my melons this past week-end and it look like my original melon has stopped growing and now is changing colour and becoming a little more green. The one melon that is now in 1st place is the one called Erin’s Blemish. It has a little scar on one side but I think it adds a lot of character.



Now to celebrate my first attempt at growing watermelons and having a watermelon crawl I have a fabulous contest for y’all. Marie Bohm designer of BOHM@HOME has designed and created some lovely handmade glass cocktail & shaker wands.



Perfect for stirring the Watermelon White Sangria I plan on making! To enter the contest simply visit my FACEBOOK page and post your favourite watermelon recipe and photo. One winner will be picked at random and will receive these lovely one of a kind cocktail wands as well as some Happy Baker swag (you must be 21 yrs. old and above to enter). The winner’s watermelon recipe will be included in my next newsletter and of course featured at my watermelon crawl!

I have been talking about my melons for quite some time now and yep they are still huge and getting even bigger and greener! Yes you have it I’m talking about watermelons. We have been measuring them every couple of days and I can’t wait to have a fabulous watermelon crawl.

Now it hasn’t been an easy ride. First I bought some organic watermelon plants in Toronto and planted them at my BF’s … unfortunately they did not get enough sun and after a good fight they dwindled away … RIP 1st watermelons.



Well that is not going to stop me I was hell-bent and determined to have a watermelon that I grew filled with some Kettle One vodka this year. I decided to buy more plants but considering it was a month past planting season in southwestern Ontario they weren’t too easy to find. Finally at the Islington Nurseries in Toronto I found some watermelon plants. I have no idea what kind they are if they will have seeds or not but at this point I just don’t care.

It was time to find a nice sunny garden to put my new plants in … hmmmm who will let me?!?! These plants grow huge, long and winding so they are not for everyone with a garden. Well I twisted someone’s arm … currently his only working arm. His nickname at the moment is “One Arm” due to shoulder surgery he just had on his other arm. “One Arm” was happy to plant my watermelons and take care of them for me … of course he knew he would be invited to the watermelon crawl as well! Unlimited watermelons and fabulous recipes most of them including a little booze this will be the start of a lovely tradition.

50% cupcake ... 50% muffin ... 100% Enjoyable. May I introduce you to the CUPPIN. They are too sweet to be considered a muffin and without the icing they are not really a cupcake but they are seriously yummy and a perfect dessert for summer. I LOVE fresh peaches what better way to eat them! This is a great moist vanilla cuppin!

Summer Lovin’ Peach Crumble Cuppins

Ingredients:

2 cups sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cake & pastry flour
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp. salt

3 eggs, large
1 tsp. almond extract
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup milk, I used 1%

2 cups peaches, peeled and sliced into small chunks

Crumble Topping:

1 cup ground almonds
1/3 cup dark brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
½ cup flour




Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees line 2 cupcake tins (makes 24 cupcakes). In a large mixing bowl combine the flours, sugar, salt, baking powder and baking soda; whisk or sift together.

Add eggs, almond extract, milk and oil. Mix together with a hand mixer until smooth about a couple of minutes.

Stir in the peaches.

For the crumble topping: In a medium sized mixing bowl stir together the ground almonds and brown sugar. Using a fork add the flour and butter until the mixture is crumbly and not gooey.

Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full of the cupcake batter and then sprinkle a generous tbsp. of the crumb topping on top. Bake for 22-24 mintues until the edges are golden brown. Let cool and enjoy! Store in an air-tight container in a cool dry place.

Happy Summer Baking Everyone!!