Cold Treats
Jul. 26th, 2016 11:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
twilightponyPinkie sprang a surprise ice cream confection party on us today. I found out about it earlier than most because Pinkie decided the tree-chest castle is the best for an ice cream making party, but she had to be sure it was alright first. In case I'd spread my stamp collection all over the dining room table. I don't collect stamps. She announced that friendship is food and ice cream is the best food there is! I think she may have danced and sung while she made that proclamation... I was too busy wondering where I should file stamp collecting and ice cream in my Elements of Friendship : Resources, References and Results. Then she was gone, off to the races, leaving me with my ears ringing from a toy horn blast, in a cloud of confetti and with an invitation stuffed in my mouth. Mid afternoon! That was short notice. I didn't have to trot far with my pails and bowls but it meant that I did have to scramble for ingredients and flavors.
Not the mane ingredients. Pinkie had that covered: cream, milk, sugar and salt. She also was bringing the hoof-cranked churns. She had put Rainbow Dash in charge of the ice. That meant Dash had been the first in on the surprise. I rounded up Spike and Starlight Glimmer and together we worked out a plan of action. Our plan was to trot off to the bazaar to see what we could find there.
On the way I decided I wanted to make mint chocolate flake ice cream. Spike thought tourmaline ruby ice cream would be good but I told him he'd be the only one to eat it and good luck finding those gems in the bazaar. Turns out he had some tourmaline and ruby left over from his Crystal Empire lunches, so I suggested he spice it up with paprika. As for Starlight, she looked around the bazaar a bit and decided she wanted a practical ice cream. Hay and rolled oat. We already had those items in our pantry, so I suggested she mix it up a bit and add dandelion flowers. That was acceptable. We left the bazaar with dandelion flowers, spicy paprika, mint oil and big chunk of hard black chocolate. It wasn't our biggest haul.
Back at the castle, Spike ground up his two gems into sparkly grit, I lined up the bowls, pails, spoons, chopping and flaking tools on the dining room table, and Starlight put a few cups of chopped third cut hay to soften up in hot water.
Pinkie and Dash were the first to arrive. They set up the ice-maker and I placed Pinkie's three ice cream churns on the table. Spike put his ground up stones and his paprika on the table, I got out my ingredients and Starlight came in with her oats and a bowl of strained wet hay. Soon after that, everypony had arrived and we could get started.
We made three teams. I teamed up with Starlight Glimmer, Rarity teamed up with Fluttershy and Spike, and Pinkie, Dash and Applejack made up the third team. Rainbow Dash's ice-maker started cranking out the ice and chilling the room in the process. It's cool in the castle already, but with and ice-maker in the room, it quickly got frosty.
Everypony wanted their turn turning the crank on the ice cream churns, just to warm up. We were blowing great billowing gouts of vapor from our nostrils as we huffed over the churns. Frost was building up on the table and walls. I sent Spike to get blankets out of storage for everypony and after we'd strapped those on we felt better. There was no problem keeping the fresh ice cream from melting.
I made my mint chocolate ice cream first, Starlight and I took turns between grating the chocolate flakes into the mix and turning the crank. She wanted to churn the mix magically but I told her that sharing a task builds friendships. As will eating the ice cream together later on.
Spike made his gem ice cream last, to make sure no sparkly grit got into Rarity's chocolate saffron ice cream or Fluttershy's raspberry oat nut crunch ice cream. On Pinkie's team, Dash made orange sesame ice cream, Applejack made an apple cinnamon ice cream, and Pinkie's ice cream flavor was peppermint cherry swirl.
We'd finished by evening and eight big buckets of fresh ice cream graced the center of the frost-covered table. We went out on the balcony where is was a lot warmer and dined on hay and vegetable sticks washed down with hot tea. When we had warmed up we sampled each other's creations, except for Spike's, and traded scoops. All the flavors tasted wonderful, even Starlight's hay ice cream. It was like a meal and dessert rolled into one. I think it was the dandelions that made the difference. If nothing else, they made her creation look like a swirly field of wind blown grass and yellow flowers. Pretty and tasty.
Not the mane ingredients. Pinkie had that covered: cream, milk, sugar and salt. She also was bringing the hoof-cranked churns. She had put Rainbow Dash in charge of the ice. That meant Dash had been the first in on the surprise. I rounded up Spike and Starlight Glimmer and together we worked out a plan of action. Our plan was to trot off to the bazaar to see what we could find there.
On the way I decided I wanted to make mint chocolate flake ice cream. Spike thought tourmaline ruby ice cream would be good but I told him he'd be the only one to eat it and good luck finding those gems in the bazaar. Turns out he had some tourmaline and ruby left over from his Crystal Empire lunches, so I suggested he spice it up with paprika. As for Starlight, she looked around the bazaar a bit and decided she wanted a practical ice cream. Hay and rolled oat. We already had those items in our pantry, so I suggested she mix it up a bit and add dandelion flowers. That was acceptable. We left the bazaar with dandelion flowers, spicy paprika, mint oil and big chunk of hard black chocolate. It wasn't our biggest haul.
Back at the castle, Spike ground up his two gems into sparkly grit, I lined up the bowls, pails, spoons, chopping and flaking tools on the dining room table, and Starlight put a few cups of chopped third cut hay to soften up in hot water.
Pinkie and Dash were the first to arrive. They set up the ice-maker and I placed Pinkie's three ice cream churns on the table. Spike put his ground up stones and his paprika on the table, I got out my ingredients and Starlight came in with her oats and a bowl of strained wet hay. Soon after that, everypony had arrived and we could get started.
We made three teams. I teamed up with Starlight Glimmer, Rarity teamed up with Fluttershy and Spike, and Pinkie, Dash and Applejack made up the third team. Rainbow Dash's ice-maker started cranking out the ice and chilling the room in the process. It's cool in the castle already, but with and ice-maker in the room, it quickly got frosty.
Everypony wanted their turn turning the crank on the ice cream churns, just to warm up. We were blowing great billowing gouts of vapor from our nostrils as we huffed over the churns. Frost was building up on the table and walls. I sent Spike to get blankets out of storage for everypony and after we'd strapped those on we felt better. There was no problem keeping the fresh ice cream from melting.
I made my mint chocolate ice cream first, Starlight and I took turns between grating the chocolate flakes into the mix and turning the crank. She wanted to churn the mix magically but I told her that sharing a task builds friendships. As will eating the ice cream together later on.
Spike made his gem ice cream last, to make sure no sparkly grit got into Rarity's chocolate saffron ice cream or Fluttershy's raspberry oat nut crunch ice cream. On Pinkie's team, Dash made orange sesame ice cream, Applejack made an apple cinnamon ice cream, and Pinkie's ice cream flavor was peppermint cherry swirl.
We'd finished by evening and eight big buckets of fresh ice cream graced the center of the frost-covered table. We went out on the balcony where is was a lot warmer and dined on hay and vegetable sticks washed down with hot tea. When we had warmed up we sampled each other's creations, except for Spike's, and traded scoops. All the flavors tasted wonderful, even Starlight's hay ice cream. It was like a meal and dessert rolled into one. I think it was the dandelions that made the difference. If nothing else, they made her creation look like a swirly field of wind blown grass and yellow flowers. Pretty and tasty.
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Date: 2016-07-27 04:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-07-28 01:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-07-28 02:38 am (UTC)