What a Weekend!

Whew! It was a busy weekend. We kicked it off Friday with the kid's school parties. After school, we picked up H. so she could have a little overnight with us, and Ray helped the kids carve pumpkins. And, a LOT of pumpkins we carved. No, I didn't get a single picture of the finished products, but, they're still on the porch, so I may get one, yet.

Rubber gloves were in order....the kids don't like that slimy pumpkin mess.

This was Nelly's first real opportunity to help clean out a pumpkin. The gloves proved to be a bit of a hassle.

Halfway through the carvings, Lauren decided it was time for bed.

Then, Saturday morning we all got up bright and early and headed to Owosso for a family photo shoot with KK....
...and then the train festival. The Pere Marquette 1225 steam engine is located in Owosso. That's the one used in the Polar Express story. We didn't see that particular train on Saturday, but we did get to ride on an old caboose....

...then we all rode a tiny open train to a little pumpkin patch where the kids each picked a pumpkin to take home.
After a trip to a local coffee shop (you can visualize that, right!), we went home. The kids were totally wiped out.

Sunday, after gospel meeting, we had a few friends over for supper and trick-or-treat. This was Nelly's first year to go. She got to be the same ol' bunny that Emily and Lauren were at her age, but she didn't seem to mind. She also didn't seem to mind that she got a whole bucket full of candy! Owen was Superman, his friend C. was a cowboy, S. was a ballerina, E. was a cat, the other C. was a ninja, and Emily and Lauren were dressed up the same as for their school parties. Now, I have 4 bags of Halloween candy, AND all the extra candy that didn't get passed out. Help!

Monday was Emily's 10th birthday. Her actual party will be later, but we did have dinner at G-ma and G-pa's house, with a yummy lasagna. Grandma made apple pie for Emily's birthday treat. I can hardly believe it was 10 years ago that Emily was born!
I'm wondering how long this centerpiece will last. I made it from a real hollowed out pumpkin, though not all the greenery is real. It's held up pretty well so far, but I'm sure it will be just a matter of days before it begins to smell up my house. Thought it was a fun idea, though. Maybe next time I'll try to find an authentic looking fake pumpkin so all the hard work of putting it together lasts a little longer.
Today's recipe post is for Toasted Coconut Ice Cream. I tweaked the original recipe just a bit, because the original recipe is just for Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (courtesy of Pioneer Woman), and doesn't contain any coconut whatsoever. This is not for the faint of heart, nor anyone with cholesterol issues. Once you read the ingredients, you'll know what I mean. It's exceedingly delicious, though, if you're like me and love coconut and ice cream. Have a great day, ya'll!

Toasted Coconut Ice Cream

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla bean paste

3 cups half and half

2 cups sugar

7 large egg yolks

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk

1 tsp. coconut extract

1 1/2 - 2 cups sweetened, shredded coconut

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Heat half and half, vanilla paste, and sugar in a large saucepan over low heat. Whisk occasionally, but watch closely, and when it's heated through, remove from heat. Meanwhile, beat egg yolks in a separate bowl until they are pale yellow and slightly thick. Temper the egg yolk mixture by slowly drizzling in 1 1/2 c. of hot half and half mixture (whisk egg mixture while you do this). Pour egg mixture into saucepan with remaining hot half and half mixture. Cook over med-low heat until quite thick, stirring constantly to prevent burning on the bottom. Strain custard using a fine mesh strainer. Pour heavy cream into a large bowl, and then pour strained custard in with the cream. Stir well, cover and refrigerate at least 12 hours to chill completely.

While custard is chilling, prepare toasted coconut. Using a heavy cast iron (or nonstick) skillet, turn heat on to med/high and spread shredded coconut in pan. Stir frequently until coconut is 80% browned. Spread heated coconut on a cookie sheet (one with sides works well) and sprinkle with chocolate chips. Once the chips begin to melt, stir the mixture around a little to coat the coconut. Allow to cool, break up any large chunks, and store in a container.

Freeze custard in ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. Transfer frozen custard to a large container and stir in toasted coconut. Re-freeze in container to harden, or serve as soft-serve.