This is their 4th annual event and they are partnering with National Fallen Firefighters Foundation.  The Baskin Robbins Community Foundation will donate $100,000 to the non-profit organization.  Customers will also be able to donate to their own local community firefighters at each shop.

WHAT: 31 Cent Scoop Night

WHEN: Wednesday April 28th from 5:00-10:00PM

WHERE: Your local Baskin Robbins scoop shop

8 oz. milk
2 tbsp. powdered non-dairy creamer
3 tbsp. powdered chocolate (If you don’t have powdered chocolate, you can make your own by combining 2 parts sugar to one part cocoa powder)
16 oz. ice
To finish: whipped cream and sprinkles

DIRECTIONS:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Pour into a tall glass and top with whipped cream and sprinkles.

INGREDIENTS:

6 oz. milk
6 oz. eggnog (store bought works fine)
2 oz. espresso or strong brewed coffee

DIRECTIONS:

Warm milk and eggnog together by either steaming or warming on stove. Put espresso at bottom of cup and top with eggnog mixture. Enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

8 oz. milk
2 tbsp. sweetened condensed milk
2 oz. fresh espresso or strong brewed coffee
4 oz. heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp. powdered sugar
To finish: whipped cream and maraschino cherry

DIRECTIONS:

Combine whipping cream and powdered sugar and whip until forms stiff peaks. In a mug, combine freshly brewed espresso and sweetened condensed milk and mix well. Steam milk and pour on espresso. Top with a scoop of fresh whipped cream and a maraschino cherry.

For additional recipes check out the Got Milk? recipe page.

Recipes provided by Got Milk? and Heather Perry

Wellness Mat – What true foodie wouldn’t love something soft and squishy under there feet while they’re working away in the kitchen. You gotta love that they’re “ergonomically engineered to provide maximum comfort, safety and relief.”

Citizen Bean – For that over-caffeinated coffee lover on your list check out Citizen Bean. They work with small batch, sustainable coffee roasters across the country and deliver a full pound of beans, “food samples, herbs, coffee accessories and/or other monthly delights” and they include both a how-to guide and a Roaster profiles. Makes me wish I drank more coffee.

Grill Grates – I bet each and every one of us can think of someone that loves their grill. Well thanks go Grill Grates, you can now grill to perfection without the flareups or drying out your meat. The grates allow for that perfect steakhouse sear all while letting the fat drain down through the holes.

Destination Dinner – I’ve always wanted to try my hand at cooking some more exotic dinners, but I always felt bad about having to buy all the spices only to never get around to using them again. Recipe Kits by Destination Dinners includes the pre-measured hard to find spices, sauces and dried items as well as step-by-step instructions, a shopping list for fresh ingredients and fun facts and trivia about the destination you are “traveling” to.

Bev Shot – When I first saw BevShots – beers, wines and cocktails photographed under a microscope and featured as modern art – I was immediately intrigued. Not only is it some cool and funky art, but it also pays tribute to your favorite adult beverage and gives you a fun story when folks ask about your art collection.

Freshman in the Kitchen: From Clueless Cook to Creative Chef – The perfect gift for that recent grad or foodie in the making. Freshman in the Kitchen is written with the budget-mined first time cooks in mind. Their goal was to get the inexperienced cook or future foodies to get excited about cooking from scratch and to ditch the frozen and fast food options. You can’t go wrong by learning some simple “getting started” recipes, adding “heat”, moving up to “grilling”, “cooking to impress” and trying your hand at “themed meals” before ending with some simple desserts.

Nutra Salt – Who isn’t trying to cut back on salt these days? There’s no need to scrimp on flavor though. NutraSalt are low sodium, sea salt season blends packed with a full day’s supply of potassium. Allows you to bring salt and flavor back to your meals.

Culinary Institute of America – The Culinary Institute of America is a lot more than just a cooking school. Not only do they have they own gift shop chock full of cookbooks, DVDs and kitchen essentials, but they also offer up some amazing experiences for the cook and foodie alike. You can take classes (or bootcamps) as well as experience up-close-and-personal visits with premier growers, vintners, chefs, and purveyors that let participants experience the best of California’s legendary Napa Valley or demonstrations, tastings, and hands-on cooking, where you can expand your knowledge, explore new flavor profiles or the world of wine.

Naumes Gourmet Pear Gift Box – You’ve got to love a giving a gift that keeps giving. The Naumes family have pears that not only taste good, they also do good! They ship directly from their orchards and have no middle man. For every fruit gift purchased, they donate an equal amount of fresh fruit — pound for pound — to a local food pantry or shelter.

Coombs Family Farms – What’s better than a winter breakfast of pancakes with hot maple syrup? Not much, which is why anyone would love a Coombs Family Farms basket filled with pancake mix, maple syrup and some maple sugar. Ahhhh…heaven!

Vineyard Sampler: Cheesecakes in a Jar –   Cheesecake is one thing. Vineyard-inspired cheesecake is something else entirely. What foodie on your list wouldn’t love to get their hands on some Blackberry/Cabernet, Blueberry/Merlot, Pear/Chardonnay and Port/Fig with a currant reduction sauce Cheesecakes in a Jar? And they can last up to six months in your freezer (if you can manage not to eat them all at once!).

Cali Bowls – Have you ever tried to spoon up some salsa using a chip only to end up pushing the salsa out of the bowl leaving you with a naked chip and a mess? Well, CaliBowl has a patent-pending design that puts an end to that. So whether you are using a chip, a spoon, chop sticks, your hand, or any other utensil the CaliBowl not only prevents the contents from spilling, but effortlessly guides the contents back toward the utensil making eating, mixing, feeding, cooking, whipping, and scooping more fun and exciting! Perfect for young kids.

POURPerfect: bowls, measuring cup & spoons – How many times have you tried to pour your batter from your bowl into the pan only to have some of it end up on the counter? The POURPerfect bowls have solved that problem. Thanks to the deep spout and high sides, it guides your ingredients to go exactly where you tell it to go. Even their measuring cups and spoons are designed to allow you to pour your ingredients exactly where you want them to go.

The I Love Trader Joe’s Cookbook: 150 Delicious Recipes Using Only Foods from the World’s Greatest Grocery Store – We have been going crazy for this book in Southern California. It’s a simple and delicious cookbook that takes basic ingredients that you your local Trader Joe’s store carries and turns it into something fabulous. We’ve had this book for less than a week and have already made three things out of it and told everyone we know to get it. Yes, it is that good.

Disclosure Policy

Hopefully, listening to Alton talk about his Thanksgiving Survival Secrets will be the next best thing.

“Milk is not only a healthy beverage, it’s also the basis for many fun drinks like milkshakes.  Drinking a milkshake brings out the kid in everyone, but each flavor highlights a person’s personality.” ~ Chef Mariah Swan

Yesterday we were lucky enough to attend the Got Milk? event at hot spot, LA eatery, BLD.  The team from Got Milk? were on hand to teach us why (especially as women), it’s important to have plenty of milk. You know…it does a body good  

There were delicious pastries provided by Chef Mariah Swan and more milkshakes than you knew what to do with. There were even a couple build-your-own shake stations set up.

To be honest, half of them didn’t sound all that enticing to us so we didn’t get around to trying all of them.  But the ones we did try were quite good. And believe it or not, there is such a thing as too many milkshakes – even if they’re only in shooter-sized glasses.

Our favorite milkshake of the event was the caramel tequila shake – a big hit with many of the ladies.  A close second was the salted caramel shake.  Trust us, it was heaven in a frosty glass.

There were quite a few different flavors getting passed around – Blueberry Malt; Frozen Mexican Chocolate; Orange Dreamsicle; High School Musical’s Monique Coleman creation, Cookie Jar Milkshake; an oddly delicious, peanut butter cheesecake and so much more.  We noticed at least eight or more frozen temptations going on around the room.

If you’d like to try out some of the recipes from the event (sadly, the caramel tequila recipe isn’t available), you can find them here (along with many other yummy milky concoctions).

To get you through the rest of summer season, here’s the recipe for their amazing Salted Caramel Milkshake:

1 pint vanilla ice cream
1/4 cup caramel sauce
1/2 cup milk
1 tbs salt

Combine all ingredients and blend.  Divide between two glasses and top with whipped cream, a drizzle of caramel sauce and enjoy!

And did I mention that there were also tarot readers there? What a fun event.

Pizza - Trader Joe’s has premade pizza dough for just over $1 a bag. Let everyone assemble their own personal-size pizzas and toss them on the grill. They cook up in just a couple of minutes, and you won’t believe how good the dough tastes when it’s grilled.

Vegetables - Use a grilling basket, or thread veggies on skewers. Lightly toss the vegetables with olive oil, salt, and dried herbs. A few minutes on a hot grill, and these veggies are good to go.

Clams - Simply place cleaned clams on the grill. They’ll open when they’re done (discard any that don’t open). Toss hot clams in a mixture of bread crumbs, parsley, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil. Similar idea to clams casino, but lighter and oh-so-good.

Shrimp - Marinate shrimp in olive oil, lemon, and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes in a grilling basket or on skewers. Sprinkle on heaps of fresh cilantro and serve. This makes a terrific appetizer or main course.

Fruit - Grilled fruit makes a fabulous dessert for a barbecue. The intense heat caramelizes the natural sugars in the fruit, intensifying their sweetness. Try grilling pineapple slices, halved peaches, or even whole strawberries! Serve on their own, or with vanilla ice cream.

Source: Cooking With Trader Joe’s
Photo: AliTaylor

According to the Latte Effect (did you know there’s an iPhone app for that?!?!), we tend to spend a LOT of our future retirement on frivolous things like dining out and drinking fancy coffee drinks.  Let’s face it, there must be some big bucks in the premium coffee business since Dunkin Donuts, 7-Eleven and McDonald’s (and many more, I’m sure) have all decided to join in on the fancy coffee drinks fun.

So why not save yourself a little money and those unwanted calories and make your own iced coffees this summer?

The following easy to make, recipe was originally posted in the New York Times (6/27/07) but I recently rediscovered it through SmittenKitchen.

Yield: Two drinks

1/3 cup ground coffee (medium-coarse grind works best, but there’s no need to buy something special here)
Milk (optional)

1. In a jar, stir together coffee and 1 1/2 cups water.  Cover and let rest at room temperature overnight (min. 12 hours).

2. Strain twice through a coffee filter, a fine-mesh sieve or a sieve lined with cheesecloth.  In a tall glass filled with ice, mix equal  parts coffee concentrate and water (or to taste if you like your coffee strong).  If desired, add milk.

3. Enjoy!  You can thank me later

Remember to add all that money you’re saving to your retirement account or it’s not found money.

Photo by TheBittenWord.com

This recipe is so easy I’m sure you’ll simultaneously love me and hate me for sharing it.

5 MINUTE CHOCOLATE MUG CAKE

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil (or 1.5 tablespoons oil AND 1.5 tablespoons applesauce)
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
A small splash of vanilla extract
1 large, microwave-safe coffee mug or ramekin

• Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well
• Add the egg and mix thoroughly
• Pour in the milk and oil and mix well
• Add the chocolate chips (if using) and vanilla extract, and mix again
• Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes (watch closely as cooking times vary)

Just make sure you mix well and all will be good.  The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed!  Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired and then ENJOY!!  Personally, I think it tastes a better (less dry) when topped with whipped or ice cream.  If that feels a bit too decadent, you can always share it.

And why is this the most dangerous cake recipe in the world?

Because now we are all only 5 minutes away from chocolate cake at any time of the day or night!  Use this information wisely

It’s a great time to either try something new or enjoy one of your favorites…for free!!

Around the world, Scoop Shops are opening their doors from noon to 8:00 pm, to serve up a free scoop of your favorite flavor. Please check with your local Scoop Shop for more info!

Join the Free Cone Day event on facebook!