I need gelato, STAT

Check out this recipe for creamy mango gelato, from My Man's Belly. I really wish we had an ice cream maker!


Ingredients

1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
3 large ripe mangoes (peeled and diced – 1 1/2 pounds of fruit)
3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
2/3 cup Le Crème Original Flavor Creamer

Directions

1. Prepare a large bowl or pan of ice water for an ice bath. The container you use should fit the pan used to make the simple syrup.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water. Bring to a boil while stirring occasionally, cook until all of the sugar is dissolved and the liquid is clear (this is simple syrup). Place the hot pan in the ice bath and stir the mixture occasionally until the mixture cools to room temperature.
3. Purée the mangoes in a blender or food processor with the lime juice and simple syrup. Transfer to a sealable container and whisk in the creamer. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 3 hours.
4. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Transfer to another container, cover and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

The mush chronicles

Ever since my traumatic tooth extraction, I've been eating soft, mushy foods. I constantly feel hungry because of it. I guess you never really realize how unsatisfying it is to be limited to one texture.

However, one good thing did come from my tooth's untimely departure. My husband and I found a recipe for "rustic potato-leek soup" in an America's Test Kitchen cookbook. It's basically a super-unrefined vichysoisse, served warm. When we went to the grocery store to pick up the leeks for the recipe (which calls for five pounds of leeks), we were only able to find three leeks hidden behind the kale. At the checkout, the cashier picked up the bag of leeks and said, "What are these?" I said, "They're leeks!" to which she replied, "Uh. How do you spell that?" She had also asked us about the rutabaga we bought ("Can you tell I don't eat a lot of vegetables?" she quipped, patting her ample gut).

Let me tell you, that soup was capital-A awesome. Even though I was unable to chew or taste on the right side of my mouth, the left side sure got a treat. I was even able to eat a mini croissant with dinner! It definitely surpassed all the mashed potatoes, Malt-o-Meal, and pudding I had been eating previously.

On another note, I got to use the scale at my in-laws' house the other day and was disappointed. My husband said he thought I looked like I had lost a few pounds, yet I'm still 4.5 lbs. heavier than I was when we got married (and a whopping 11.5 lbs. heavier than him, the guy who inhales frozen pizzas and McDonald's and doesn't think twice about what that might do to his waistline. Although... his waistline is almost 10 inches bigger than mine, so what do I know?). It doesn't sound like much, but it's concerning for me. He suggested that it was probably muscle, since we've been going to the gym 5 days a week and I seem to bulk up from lifting. The dentist told me to take it easy and not work out for about 4 days after the extraction, so maybe the combination of mush food and not exercising will cause me to drop a few pounds. I'm concerned that my husband said he thought my "ideal weight range" was about 140-155 lbs., and that if I got to 160, he'd think I was overweight. I can't help but think that means he wants me to lose weight, but is trying to be nice about it. I mean, there's really no other way to take that, is there? I think I'd rather have him just say, "Yeah, you need to lose about 10 lbs." so I can guilt myself into doing that.

Meh. I'm rambling and should go to sleep.

What's the point?

I have 10 followers and no one comments on my posts anymore. Am I really that boring? What do I need to change to make my blog more interesting and relevant?

Green Mountain Coffee makes me happy

The blog Tatum's Family Reviews is giving away a Green Mountain Coffee Roasters sampler pack. *swoon*

My husband and I had the fortune of visiting the Green Mountain Coffee museum/cafe when we were on our honeymoon in Vermont. While we were there, I had a coffee drink I knew I'd never find in Minnesota -- they blended their delicious coffee with steamed cream, maple syrup, and possibly some cocaine (ok, I'm joking about that, but it was REALLY GOOD). Yeah, yeah, yeah, heavy cream... as if the trip to the Ben and Jerry's Factory earlier that day wasn't enough to plug up my arteries and widen my hips. We brought home a bag of their Fair Trade Vermont Country Blend, which, aside from giving me unprecedented caffeine jitters, was pretty tasty. We got my parents the Signature Sampler for Christmas last year. My Mom said it was good enough to drink without cream and sugar, and THAT is significant.

Giveaway ends Feb. 26 at 11:59 PM EST.

The whole tooth and nothing but the tooth

I want my tooth back. Last night, I asked my husband if he could take my extracted tooth and push it back into the socket until it pops into place. He said, "I could, but you'd probably want to divorce me after."

I have a draft in my mouth and I lisp when I talk. The dentist said it would be a full month before the extraction site is fully healed. I don't want to talk like a gimp and look like a northwoods nerd for any length of time. I wish I could have just had antibiotics. If that tooth was going to come out in time anyway, as the dentist said (the roots were almost fully resorbed on one side, or so he claimed... they looked fine to me!), I should have just let nature take its course and wrest my tooth from my head when it was time.

I think I have phantom tooth syndrome.