Banana Ice Creamish

This summer, I've noticed two culinary trends of mine:

1. Almost every day I've damned my lack of ice cream maker.

2. I've come to really appreciate the banana.

So when I read about making ice cream with just a frozen banana and no ice cream maker on The Kitchn I knew I had to try it. They claimed that whipping up a frozen banana in a blender or food processor would create a rich, creamy consistency that felt like you were eating ice cream. But are they big fat liars?

Yes and no. With trepidation I plopped the chunks of frozen banana in my blender with a dollop of honey and pressed "blend." It didn't seem to be working at first, but after a few rounds of blending and rearranging, it did indeed suddenly transform into a creamy consistency. My first issue with it was that I have no idea how they got their banana to look like it does in the picture, all nice and firm. Mine looked far more like a custard. But, since it was just me, I decided not to get too caught up on presentation. The real question I cared about was, well how does this Banana Ice Creamish taste?

It tastes like a frozen banana with honey. To call this any kind of version of banana ice cream would be like claiming a strawberry pie and a strawberry smoothie is essentially the same thing. However, with that being said, it was pretty damn good. And it did have to be eaten with a spoon and chewed, which separates it from a Banana Smoothieish. It was really refreshing and tasty and definitely satisfied my craving for frozen dessert.

Other perks?

• It took about 2 minutes to make.
• If anyone has any dietary concerns, either by choice or allergy, this is one of the simplest and most healthy desserts you can get away with. You don't even need to add the honey. (May I also suggest frozen grapes. What is it about those things that make them so damn good?)
• It's freaking cheap. Granted that I was living in NYC this summer, but everytime I got ice cream it seemed like a splurge. $8 to get it at the store? $3.50 to get a scoop? This costs roughly twenty-five cents for a serving. Just try and beat that.

So, for this last month or so of hot weather, I suggest you try this out.

A Fridge For Roommates

If there's one thing I've learned about my roommate, Chelsea, after living in the same room as her for two years is that she's a thieving ho.

I'm kidding of course, but if you read that and thought "yup, sounds like my roommate too," then maybe you should look into The Flatshare Fridge. A design student created this set of stackable mini-fridges to attempt to eliminate the confusion of distinguishing between your two milk cartons (which will never happen for us because she drinks skim. Ew.)

And each unit is customizable too, with a variety of skins and add-ons. They also are eco-friendly since each piece uses up less energy than a full-size fridge. It seems like a good idea in theory but that shape doesn't seem like it can easily store any common fridge item. Where am I supposed to put my cartons of juice? Or even a bottle of ketchup? I guess we'll have to wait and see how the logistics pan out once the design becomes available to the public.

How To Keep Track of Your Ideas

Between constantly decorating in my head and reading numerous decorating blogs, my mind is filled with ideas. I don't want to lose any of them, but how to keep track of them all? I've always loved the look of artists' inspiration boards, but since most of my inspiration is digital nowadays I didn't want to use up so much colored ink printing everything out. The solution? I have a handful of folders in my pictures folder that are solely for collecting inspiring images. It's so easy and helpful. I have a general one filled mostly with artwork and photos from Europe, one for my current writing project filled with photos of old New York, and then of course my decorating one. Here are a few of my favorite images.

Spice Up Your Memo Board

Bulletin boards come in handy but I can't thing of many things uglier than a big ol' slab of cork. So I whipped up something a bit more pleasing to the eye.

What You'll Need:-corkboard: I found this set of 4 6x6 boards at Michael's, but you can get a sheet and cut it down to whatever size you prefer.
-fabric: This set of 4 coordinating pieces of fabric also came from Michael's. I like having each board be a different pattern, but you can use just one kind of fabric if you'd like.
-fabric scissors: unfortunately I only have paper scissors with me (thankfully the edges are hidden for this project)
-craft glue
-double sided tape

Step One: Cut your fabric down to size
Using your corkboard as a guide, cut your fabric so it's about an inch bigger than the board on all sides.

Step Two: Secure one side
Draw two lines of glue on the corkboard and pull the fabric taut over two opposing sides. Press down.

Step Three: Secure the other sides

This took a bit of maneuvering, but maybe someone who's more adept at wrapping gifts than me would have an easier time with it. First, I put a dot of glue between the two sides of the fabric where they meet at the corners so they'd stay put. Then draw two lines of glue on the corkboard and across the folded fabric. Pull the fabric taut and fold over, pressing down while keeping everything in line.

Step Four: Repeat with the other four boards and let dry.

Arrange the boards in a grid and stick 'em on the wall with some double-sided tape.

You can throw things up there willy nilly or artfully arrange photos or souvenirs so the fabric acts more as a frame. The added bonus is they're also perfectly lovely to look at if they're not in use.

Dorm Decor: Remake Your Space With More Than 35 Projects

Ok, so you're feeling crafty, and those ladies at The Kitschnettes have been slacking on the DIY ideas (don't worry, we'll have plenty in the near future), what do you do? How about taking a look at Dorm Decor: Remake Your Space With More Than 35 Projects? This book, originally intended to spice up dorm rooms with individuality, is chock full of great ideas to help transform your space (which, let's face it, will likely not have much more room than a dorm room anyway). These sewing projects add a little flair to your bed, study space, closet, common areas and bathroom. They vary in difficulty and wow-factor, but I could see myself attempting most of these projects (I might even have to have a crafting day tomorrow). My favorites are the towels embellished with birds (see my decorating scheme), the tongue-in-chic Magritte pencil pouch (Ceci n'est pas un crayon) and the cosmetics carryall. And, while I'm probably not making them, I love their idea of making a stuffed animal out of a blown up picture of your pet at home and a closet organizer shaped like a dress that hangs from a hanger. They also include information on how to buy and care for fabric and sewing tools, and there's a pocket on the back cover stuffed with templates and patterns.

Bonus idea! A few nights after you move in, invite a couple of similarly crafty friends over to each make a project from the book for a house-warming party that's both fun and useful.

What's Cookin' Good Lookin'?

I have amassed a rather hefty collection of cookbooks for someone who really only started having a use for them two months ago. Let's face it, there aren't tons of cookbooks targeted towards the same audience as this blog is, so I thought it would be useful to show you which ones I've been turning to for inspiration and guidance.
1. College Cooking by Megan and Jill Carle was the first cookbook I could ever claim as my own. I like this one because it was written by two college students (obviously for college students) so they really stick to the tastes and budget that I'm looking for. There are some classics like baked ziti, mac n' cheese and chicken and rice, but they also cater to the more adventurous like crab cakes and Thai chicken. Their instructions are easy to follow (but not condicentingly so) and the accompanying photos are lovely. There are also a few party menus interspersed between each chapter. Also, there are little bits of trivia and tricks to turning their recipes into vegetarian options littered throughout. If you like this book but feel it's a bit too meat-heavy for your tastes, these ladies are coming out with Vegetarian College Cooking soon which had some very tasty looking recipes.
2. I was very excited to finally have an excuse to get I Like You by Amy Sedaris . This book did not disappoint. I had always assumed it was more for the sake of humor than actual recipes and advice, but I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it was heavily packed with both! I kid you not, I actually sat down and read this from cover to cover and had to stop every now and then to remind myself that, yes, I am indeed reading a cookbook. While certainly entertaining, it is a bit difficult to actually put to use since the recipes are arranged so haphazardly (tell me, Amy, what do you cook for a lumberjack lunch?). With that said, this book is an absolute must in your kitchen library.3. Memorable Recipes to Share With Family and Friends doesn't, I admit, look terribly exciting at first glance, but once you pay a bit of attention you'll see that there are some very tempting recipes throughout. There is also a wealth of entertaining advice (although not as amusing as Mr. Sedaris teaches us). The recipes in this book are a bit more adult (read: more sophisticated and intricate) than, say, the ones found in College Cooking, but they all seem perfectly doable (read: relatively inexpensive and easy). If they aren't enough to get your mouth watering, the gorgeous photographs certainly will. Warning: a bit of math will be involved, assuming you won't be serving over 6 people with each meal.

4. Honestly, I got The New Basics Cookbook because it was on one of those $1 book carts outside of The Strand, but it really is very good for- surprise! - the basics. It's organized in a way that makes more sense than all the other books on this list: the vegetables are listed with the vegetables, chicken with the chicken, desserts with the desserts etc. Is The New Basics terribly thrilling? No. But is it full of useful and tasty recipes? Definitely.
5. I don't keep kosher, but according to Hip Kosher: 175 Easy-to-Prepare Recipes For Today's Kosher Cooks it's the next big culinary trend. After looking at the recipes in this book I, admittedly, picked up with trepidation, I believe it. They look absolutely delicious, the soups especially. It's trying to be chi chi, but definitely the kind of chi chi that can be recreated in your own kitchen.
6. I got Nadia G's Bitchin' Kitchen Cookbook for my birthday in January and then it promptly disappeared. This dearly departed friend was full of sass and wit and, oh yeah, occasionally a good recipe thrown in. From what I remember, not many of the recipes jumped out as something I could see myself cooking on an average night but I could always see myself eating if it just so happened to be served to me. Everything's very Italian, even most of the instructions (don't worry, there's an Italian slang glossary in the back). Like Amy's book, you may not be turning to Bitchin' Kitchen on the regular, but it's an excellent book to have in your toolbox.