i've practically been living on foodgawker and tastespotting 24/7 these days. beautiful food photos aside, i can't believe how much creative ideas and inspirations i've garnered from the site. i lost count of the photos i bookmarked and the recipes i wanted to try out "tentatively". i mean, how could you say no to stuff like strawberry yogurt-covered pretzels and very vibrant-looking red velvet cake made not with red food coloring but beet puree? and then i also came across this polka-dot strawberry milkshake which involves sticking cut marshmallows onto the side of the glasses to give it a polka-dot effect. totally creative and this is something that i wouldn't think of in a million years.

i made some kickass & ridiculously good vanilla bean ice cream and i can't wait to share the recipe with you guys! it all started with a case of having too much leftover whipping cream from my previous attempt on the apricot panna cotta. nowadays i buy whipping cream in 1L carton instead of 200ml coz its alot more worth it that way. only about 8 bucks for 1L, compared to $3.40 for 200ml, but it'll also mean i get alot of leftovers, so what could be better than to make some cold comfort food like ice cream? vanilla bean ice cream is all i eat these days and i'm glad most patisseries are using vanilla bean in their ice cream coz you just can't beat the real stuff. and yes, i turn my nose up at the cheap supermarket variety, the kind that only use essence in them. i only regret not making it any earlier but its never too late! glad i now hv my stash of vanilla bean ice cream to call my own. and it also makes me wonder what i can't or won't do *chuckles*