This Weekend: Spicy Ice Cream!

Ever since seeing Chocolat, I've had a passion for adding a little heat to anything sweet (no, that's not a reference to Johnny Depp). I've included smoked ancho chili powder in my chocolate biscotti recipe, I added a dash of cayenne to hot chocolate. Both were delicious!

So, naturally, I was intrigued by a post on SeriousEats about spicy ice cream. If you're up for a little food fun this weekend, why not try a scoop of your favorite cold dessert with dash of fire: chocolate with cinnamon & cayenne or maybe watermelon-jalapeno?

Click here to read the article. Click here for SeriousEats' recipe for Cinnamon-Cayenne Ice Cream. Yummmm!



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It's National Coffee Day: Try a cup of Kopi Luwak

If you saw "The Bucket List" you know that Kopi Luwak is the most expensive coffee in the world. You also know that it is created through a process that only an adventurer could love. Since today is National Coffee Day, it seems only fitting that an adventurous woman should forgo her usual Starbucks latte or mug of Folgers and choose something a bit more exotic.
The Kopi Luwak process does not begin with Juan Valdez and his mule, it begins with something smaller and furrier, the Common Palm Civet. The civiet, which looks a little like a monkey-cat, eats the raw, red coffee "cherries" as part of its usual diet. Because the hard inner beans don't digest, they travel through the civet's digestive tract intact. Enterprising local citizens collect the beans from civet feces and sell them to dealers.
Considered the rarest coffee in the world, Kopi Luwak is very expensive. Shopping around the web I found prices ranging from $100 to $300 per pound. However, I'm not sure how you go about verifying that you are buying the real thing so actually purchasing Kopi Luwak may be the most adventurous part of the coffee.

Cool Off With A Cold Book

Into Thin Air, a true account of one writer's experience on Mt. Everest, may be just the thing for these hot summer days.

In 1996, Outside magazine sent Jon Krakauer to Napal. His assignment: tell readers what to expect on a guided ascent of the world highest peak. Into Thin Air was written after Krakauer returned from what had become the deadliest season in the history of the mountain. The author's insight into the culture of the Himalayas, the personalities and motives of climbers, their sacrifices and survival stories is mesmerizing.

David Breashears' IMAX team was filming during the same climbing season and their incredible film Everest is a must see after reading the book.