for the faithful, there is dessert

with my absence from the kitchen, joe has become not only a mean dishwashwer, but has gone all inspired-chef on me. it's been dreamy! in fact, he's currently whipping up some sort of lamb dish from our pub food cookbook (i guess i'll be posting more pics later). :)

we're both so into cooking. i do the bulk of the creations in our marriage, and love it. but joe also has a great flair for the fancy, and he is constantly inventing gastronomic pleasures. we compliment each other well - i like to see how i can make the practical, week-night dishes divine, and he likes to step out of the box and create the five-course, five-star restaurant extravaganza. and i've learned something these past five years - he needs a little bit of my restraint, and i need a little of his daring. ;) we continually discover why God decided we should marry eachother, and the kitchen (and all its ideals) is a big reason. we always say we would drive anyone else crazy, and who else would love jamie oliver, jeeves and wooster, or bach like we do?! we sharpen, encourage, and inspire one another not only in food, but the theology behind it all, which then in turn creates a family's trajectory, worship, and traditions. to be of one mind and heart in these things is precious, not to mention fun.

this week, his drive has inspired me, even in the state that i am, to get into that kitchen! after eating such a yummy dinner last night, i felt a bit of strength enter my bones and i really wanted to make a little dessert. earlier that day, i had been lying down with a cookbook on chocolate (thanks, jenny!), totally drooling over this one recipe (you know you're alive again when your appetite for chocolate returns!). little did i know that joe had gone and bought the one most important ingredient for this recipe - coffee ice cream! we never buy coffee ice cream (a direct result of the kind of job my husband's in), so when i discovered it sitting there all cute in our freezer, i yelled out "oh, i'm making chocolate waffle ice cream sandwiches!", and joe said, "um, ok!"

by the time i was done, i was done. my energy was spent, and i was barely even hungry for these gems. but, one bite and it was all worth it. these are divine, not to mention easy. you must try them. they're not supposed to be cut into heart shapes, but my edges looked funky so i decided to dignify them with a little cookie cutter.

this recipe came from chocolate holidays by alice medrich -

hot waffle ice cream sandwhiches

in a medium bowl, mix together:

3/4 c. flour
2 Tbl. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

in a small saucepan, melt 1 stick butter (8 Tbl.), then add 1/4 c. unsweetend cocoa powder and stir till smooth and hot. Gradually stir in 1/2 c. milk. Take off heat and whisk in:

1/4 c. brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Make waffles with batter, and cool them a few seconds on a rack to get slightly crisp. Press a scoop of coffee (or butter pecan) ice cream between two waffle sections.

straus, a marshall, california family farm, is our favorite brand for all things dairy. their milk comes in a glass bottle. :)