Recipe: Simple Homemade Ice Cream and Chocolate Hard Shell

Growing up I remember having a bowl of ice cream for dessert right after dinner nearly every night. My mom always stocked our freezer with various flavors that were on sale -- orange sherbet, plain vanilla, neopolitan, and my all-time favorite chocolate chip (but only if it was on sale).

Lately, I've been really into making my own ice cream at home not only because it saves money and it's "healthier", but because I have the easiest four-ingredient recipe that can be made in less than 30 minutes. I got this simple recipe from my friend's mom about five years ago and have been making it ever since.

If you're like me and loved Magic Shell chocolate topping over your ice cream since you were a kid, you'll be happy to know it's super easy to make and requires two ingredients.

I'd love to know if you make this ice cream and/or chocolate hard shell. Enjoy!

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Lucas' 5th Birthday Party

For the last two years, I've been asking Lucas what kind of birthday party he would like to have. He didn't have much of a say for his 1st or 2nd birthdays, but starting with his Superhero 4th birthday last year, he's been very clear about what he wants. Of course, he gets the modernized version of it because that's how I roll.

This year Lucas turned five (can't believe I have a 5-year old!) and without hesitation, he said he wanted a "Wild Kratts" party. If you haven't seen this show, it's worth checking out. It's an educational animated series on PBS, created by and starring brothers Chris and Martin Kratt.  The show is full of fun facts about animals, ranging from polar bears to geckos, and each episode features a particular critter's unique "creature power". Lucas gets really excited learning about animal powers and defenses, and I love when he enlightens me with new animal facts! This year we decided to throw a joint animal-themed birthday party with Judah, Lucas' good friend from school, who turned five the day before.

This year I partnered up with Whole Foods Market, which provided the amazing appetizers, entrees, beverages and desserts for our party. The super-talented catering teams from the two Berkeley locations created a delicious picnic style meal that included fried chicken, mac 'n' cheese, deviled eggs, strawberry/spinach salad, a yummy cabbage crunch salad, "turtle sandwiches" and cupcakes in two flavors. In addition to the lunch menu, they created some amazing food sculptures to go along with our animal theme.  Mice out of lemons? Porcupines out of watermelons? Chickens out of eggs? Crazy cool and fun, right? And as a special added touch, the team at the Gilman store location were kind enough to make us custom paletas in three flavors -- blueberry cream, apple/pineapple and fresh strawberry.

To modernize Lucas' vision of a "Wild Kratts" party, I decided to go for a more generalized animal theme, with "Go Wild" as a primary graphic element. Starting with the invitation design, I painted abstract animal patterns using simple black watercolor paint, and hand wrote "Go Wild" which would later become a logo for the party. I took a cute photo of Lucas and Judah and used it as a custom envelope liner. The envelopes were finished with matching wraparound address labels. The invitations, liner and envelopes were made with recycled paper.

For dessert, I baked a yummy red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, decorated with rainbow sprinkles and five wild animals on top.

If you've seen our other birthday parties, you know that donut holes are a Jackson family  tradition. This year's donut cones were made with the animal printed recycled paper.

Judah's parents got each birthday boy a Wild Kratts "creature power" suit as a gift. Lucas started off as "Chris" (green), but by the end of the party had traded with Judah to be "Martin" (blue).

I love this photo of Lucas testing out the t-shirt favors.  He wasn't crazy about having his photo taken, hence the pouty face. I couldn't resist. 

For the party favors, I made a giant rubber stamp of the "Go Wild" logo, and hand stamped white t-shirts in various sizes that I ordered online. Each friend got a t-shirt to wear at the party and take home. (The shirts were also handy as a change of clothes for several kids who got grubby or cake-covered during the party). 

We originally scheduled the party for Saturday, and had all the invitations printed up. We later changed it to Sunday due to Little League conflicts. I didn't want to waste the old invitations, so I cut off the old RSVP information, and used the top half to make "creature power" trading cards that accompanied each t-shirt. Each trading card had fun facts about different animals. Cute AND educational! The bottom of the invitations were used to create name tags. Big thanks to Jocelyn, Judah's mom, for ironing and packaging each shirt with a custom hand written tag!

Jeremiah (Judah's little bro) and Theo!

We also set out a bunch of animal masks which the kids loved!

Partnering up with Whole Foods Market to provide all the food and desserts was a dream! The catering team was fabulous to work with.

How cute are these "turtle sandwiches" made of turkey, cheese, cucumbers and fresh bread baked especially for us by Whole Foods Market Gilman?

As the party's main event, we had Lick Your Eyeballs present a fun, informative and hands-on animal show. They were amazing! From geckos and frogs, to a kingsnake and caiman lizard, the kids were very brave and gentle with the animals.

Elsa holds a jar of gecko egg shells.

One of my favorite ideas for the party was to make "polar bear ice," aka popsicles. There's a Wild Kratts episode called "Polar Bears Don't Dance," and I wanted the "polar bear ice" to tie into that.

The team at Whole Foods Market Gilman made custom paletas in three fruity flavors (blueberry cream, apple/pineapple and fresh strawberry). All were a huge hit on the warm day.

I designed some packaging for the pops using wax food bags, snipped at the bottom and  sealed on top with a hand lettered label. The package kept the pops from sticking together in the cooler, and also doubled as a place for the melty drips to fall. But as you can see, the package was ripped right off. Devoured in seconds!

Birthday boys waiting patiently to blow candles.

I had no idea Whole Foods Market catered kids' parties, but now I'm spreading the word because the food was spectacular, and the catering team was open to my ideas, accommodating, easy to work with, and even delivered onsite (including compostable plates, utensils, napkins and adorable cups and straws from Susty Party). Special thanks to Lizzie at Whole Foods Market Berkeley for collaborating with me, to Jocelyn and Aaron (Judah's parents), and to my husband Nick, all of whom helped make Lucas' 5th birthday party a smash! For more information about Whole Foods Market catering you can contact the team here.

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Giveaway: The 52 New Foods Challenge Book

When I met Jennifer Tyler Lee a couple of weeks ago at her book party and dinner event at Williams-Sonoma (thanks again for the invite Jeanne!), I was really inspired by her dedication to healthy eating and making it fun for kids to try new foods. Lucas eats a variety of foods and will try many new things, but he doesn't eat much and would rather play than eat. I lucked out with Theo, on the other hand, who eats like a champ most of the time. No stranger to mealtime battles, I was really inspired by Jennifer and her latest book, The 52 New Foods Challenge which is full of fun tips and simple recipes.

Check out the giveaway details at the end of the post.

One tip that really resonated with me was to cook with your kids, not for them. I know it's easier said than done, but I love how Jennifer suggested trying it out just once a week. From simply going to the grocery store/farmer's market and having your kid choose one new vegetable to getting their hands dirty in the kitchen, once a week sounded pretty doable. She also said it wasn't about getting the kids to eat the end product but inspiring curiosity and building confidence.

To my surprise, I EASILY got Lucas and Theo to help me peel leaves off brussels sprouts to make her simple and delicious Brussels Sprouts Chips recipe. When they were done, Lucas complained that he didn't get his own bowl of chips. Yeah, these were amazing and inhaled in a flash. And we've made them several times already so this one's a winner.

We even roasted some asparagus the following week and I asked Lucas if he wanted to snap them apart for me and he couldn't have been more excited. And all I had to do was ask!

Another tip from Jennifer was to go to the grocery store or farmers market and have your kid pick out anything from the vegetable aisle -- bonus points for something new. I headed to Whole Foods and told Lucas to pick out anything he wanted from the vegetable aisle. His eyes lit up and he seemed so empowered by this. He immediately chose carrots and I said, "That's awesome, I know you love carrots." As I put them in the cart, he said, "Okay, I'm going to try something else. How about that? What's that?" He pointed to the prettiest bunch of radishes and we both got super excited to try them out. He carried them on his lap on the car ride home. Side note: he instantly forgot about them when we got home but that's not the point, right?

In hopes of inspiring curiosity, building confidence, reducing dinnertime battles and spending more time with my kids, I'm definitely going to try getting them in the kitchen with me more often. I know it won't always work but it's worth a try!

I was so inspired by Jennifer that I would love to give away one of her books!

Here's how to enter:

• Follow @good_on_paper and @crunchacolor on Instagram, leave a comment and tag a friend with a kid(s).

• If you don't have Instagram you can leave your email in the comments below

• Please comment by Friday, April 3rd, 12pm PST

• This giveaway is for U.S. residents only

• I will announce a winner selected by random number generator by Monday, April 6th

Best of luck!

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CONGRATS to Michele of @cakewalkbaking for being the randomly selected winner!
This giveaway is now CLOSED.

Favorites: The 52 New Foods Challenge Book and Williams-Sonoma Event

Last week I got a super sweet invitation from my friend Jeanne of Shop Sweet Things (one of my favorite lifestyle blogs) to attend a private dinner at Williams-Sonoma in San Francisco's Union Square to celebrate the latest book by Jennifer Tyler Lee, an award-winning author, game creator (Crunch a Color), and healthy eating advocate. The 52 New Foods Challenge book launch party was so much fun! And even more fun was meeting Jennifer, watching her cook and getting totally inspired by her tips on how to make it fun and playful for kids to eat healthier and try new foods.

Stay tuned for an Instagram giveaway next week!

The Williams-Sonoma team really brought it together with a beautifully simple tablescape that included fresh and pickled jarred vegetables and along with fresh flowers.

Here's the lovely Jeanne introducing Jennifer. That gigantic open kitchen is a total dream!

Another highlight of the night was meeting Amanda Haas, Director of Culinary at Williams-Sonoma, founder of One Family One Meal and author of Cooking Light Real Family Food. We follow each other on Instagram so it was nice to finally meet her in person. She's such an inspiration and a total sweetie with laid back style and humor.

These Quinoa Crumble Cakes were surprisingly one of my favorite dishes of the night. I made quinoa cakes before and they did not taste anything like these! Ha! I had about 9 of these that night.

Also loved the Clay Pot (but not made in a Clay Pot) Chicken Fried Rice. Super easy to make and so good! My kids would love it so it's on my list to make soon (like this week!).

Remember to check in next week as I'll be doing an Instagram giveaway for the book!

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Recipe: Almond Date Vanilla Shake

Last week's weather here in Berkeley was amazing and I was craving a refreshing drink. I whipped up this easy thrown-together (think a dash of this and a bunch of that) Almond Date Vanilla shake -- so refreshing and healthy on a warm day. Reminds me a bit of Mexican horchata. Lucas and Theo love it -- it's gluten free and vegan to boot! Enjoy!

Oh, and just a note about the almond milk. I absolutely LOVE all the ones from Califia Farms. I used the unsweetened one here. It's the only brand of almond milk I can drink plain. I must admit I initially bought it for its cute packaging!

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Recipe: Easy Swedish Chocolate Cake

I recently went to a craft night at my good friend Lisa's beautiful house where my other good friend Lisa taught us how to make simple beaded necklaces. I offered to make a dessert but realized I didn't have a lot of time to get too fancy. But if you know me, I love baking, but it had to be something simple. I went straight to my new cookbook Top with Cinnamon by Izy Hossack, a rad 19-year old who bakes amazing things and takes gorgeous photos of it all.

I love chocolate cake and this Swedish Chocolate Cake could not have been easier to whip up. With only six ingredients plus some powdered sugar for dusting, I was able to bake this amazing cake in under 30 minutes. Done and done. I loved this cake and the girls at craft night did too. Think brownie but with a molten chocolate center. No frosting necessary! Yum!

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Recipe: The Yummiest Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

When Nick and I first met over 12 years ago, he told me his all time favorite cookie was oatmeal raisin. Cute, right? Well, since then I've tested out several different recipes (I even burned my arm pretty badly trying to make these for him), but none have quite been my hands down favorite. Until now. While perusing through my friend Sarah's blog Snixy Kitchen (amazing photos and recipes by the way), I did a search on oatmeal raisin cookies and found one to try. With only two minor modifications -- adding more raisins and adding nutmeg (a little America's Test Kitchen tip) -- I literally ate five cookies once they were cool enough to touch. They were SO good. I made them again several times after that just to be sure my stomach wasn't lying to me. Yep. they were that good again and again -- crispy on the outside and not too thick or chewy.

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Recipe: Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup

When it comes to comfort food, my go-to is a big bowl of soupy noodles. Whether it's ramen, soba, pho, or chow fun noodles in chicken broth, I will never turn down a giant bowl of noodles swimming in hot broth. It's kind of crazy, but I have been making this super simple Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup since 2001. I found it in one of my Cooking Light magazines years ago and it's been a staple in our house ever since. It's so simple (throw everything into a big pot, boil the noodles, put the two together), yet surprisingly complex in flavor. I don't always have every topping on hand, so I love that you could doctor it up however you like and it's always yummy -- add spinach and fried shallots, or baby kale and bean sprouts, or jalapenos and thai basil . My whole family loves this dish, especially if it's cold outside (hello, east coast friends!) or if someone is sick. As Theo would say, "More Thoop Peas!"

This would be perfect for this much needed rainy weekend. What's your go-to comfort food?

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My Cheese Platter and a Giveaway with 34 Degrees Crisps

Is it weird that putting together a really nice cheese platter was on my list of things to do in life? Yes, I know. Well, I had the perfect opportunity to make that happen when I had my good friend Lisa and her lovely family over for dinner. They are a foodie family so I wanted to make something a little extra special -- I didn't want to just whip up my weekly tofu-dipped-in-egg-and-pan-fried-over-rice entree (though I know they would love that too!).

Anyway, I went to the new Whole Foods on Gilman Street and headed straight to the cheese counter. When I went on the preview tour of the store, one of the highlights was the cut-to-order cheese section. Mental note! Luckily, the cheese lady Julia was there to help me answer questions and provide samples of all kinds of tasty cheeses and olives. After making my final cheese selections, she also recommended 34 Degrees Crisps. Oh man, I thought the fancy cheeses would be the stars on the platter, but turns out I also fell in love with these thin and delicate crisps. They each had their own flavors that really complemented the different cheeses. I'm pretty proud at how my platter turned out.

In case you're wondering what was on my platter, here's a list:

• Cheeses: Brillat Savarin Delin (soft cheese, 6-year old Zoya's fave), Abbaye de Bel'loc (hard sheep's milk), Bay Blue Point Reyes (the perfect blue cheese) and Murcia Curado - Naked Goat (mild tasting, firm goat cheese)
• 34 Degrees Crisps: Toasted Onion, Rosemary, Cracked Pepper, Poppy Seed and Natural
• Olives: Whole Foods mixed olives with Parmesan rind that I baked in the oven, as well as Castleveltrano, my favorite olives ever
• Nuts: Rosemary Marcona Almonds from Trader Joe's
• Fruit: Organic D'Anjou Pears
• Next time I think I'll include these Spanish Olive Oil Tortas and maybe a fig spread
• Gold cheese knives from West Elm, Rustic oak pie slab from Food 52

I even dotted some creme fraiche on the cracked pepper crisps and topped it with smoked salmon and capers. Delicious! Look, I'm all fancy now!

The awesome crew over at 34 Degree Crisps is giving away a set of their limited edition flavors, Toasted Onion (my personal fave!) and Poppy Seed, along with their Natural and Rosemary flavors, including pairing and recipe cards.

Here's how to enter:

• Follow @good_on_paper and @34Degrees_ on Instagram, comment with your favorite cheese and cracker pairing, and tag a cheese loving friend

• Please comment by Friday, January 23rd, 12pm PST

• This giveaway is for U.S. residents only

• I will announce a winner selected by random number generator by Monday, January 26th

Best of luck!

Recipe: Massaged Kale with Pomegranate, Persimmon and Pistachio

I am a huge fan of kale. In fact, my whole family loves kale (yes, even the kids -- Theo says, "More K-O Peeese!") anyway you cook it. Or in this case, not cook it. I'm also a huge fan of Erin Scott's blog and book, Yummy Supper. So when I saw this recipe on her blog, I immediately made it as a side for dinner that night as I had all the ingredients on hand. Hearty lacinato kale, creamy persimmon, bright pops of pomegranate seeds, and pistachios for texture with a kick of salty goodness, marry so nicely together with a simple dressing (the sweet maple syrup is key here) to make this one of my favorite salads. It's also so versatile -- the other day I added roasted carrots and avocado.

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