Bermuda, Birthdays, and Bunnies (of the Easter Variety)

Happy spring, friends! We made it!

Little buds are popping on all the trees, daffodils decorate the neighborhood, and my dog is on a perpetual chipmunk hunt. She can stick her entire snout in one of their little burrows!

I am so excited to be working out in the yard, I've been neglecting my kitchen. Not a whole lot of meal prep has been happening since I returned from Bermuda.

A little cafe in the Dockyard that serves full pots of tea! I love tea.

Oh, did I fail to mention that? Dan and I went to Bermuda. It's so beautiful. The water is aqua colored and so clear you can see straight to the bottom. Even the deep water isn't so freaky because it's the most beautiful shade of blue green instead of that New England murky color we're so used to. Dan was able to spot fish instantly and he chased them all week.

Hunting for bonefish

We also ate and drank the most wonderfully delicious food. Normally I only drink wine or an occasional beer on a hot, summer day, but in Bermuda I was all about the fruity cocktails. Perhaps my favorite was this raspberry concoction we had on our last day. Pureed raspberries, Citron, some simple syrup, and mint for garnish. Amazing.

The view helped, too.

Sadly, I came home from vacation to a frantic mother who was prepping for Easter. Seeing as how I'd been traveling all week and wouldn't have time to shop or meal prep, I had relinquished the celebration to my mother. Which was fine and all, but she's such a perfectionist that she spent her entire April vacation setting the table, cleaning the house, menu planning, grocery shopping, etc. By the time I got to her on Good Friday, she was exhausted.

Poor thing.

Of course, I pitched in and helped. I made deviled eggs (which I'm not convinced is a thing people eat) and helped salvage the carrot cake she'd made. The cake itself was delicious, but while puttering around in the kitchen, my mother accidentally spilled a container of sea salt all over her freshly iced cake. How she didn't have a meltdown, I do not know.

To fix it, I let the cake stand at room temperature, scraped off the frosting, made a new batch of frosting, and re-iced it. Good as new.

I am stupidly proud of my decorations

Speaking of cakes, somebody had a birthday last weekend! Daniel requested an ice cream cake and I decided to take a chance at making one rather than picking one up at our beloved Dairy Queen. Following the directions of my favorite blogger, Sally, over at Sally's Baking Addiction, I assembled this bad boy over the course of a few days.

I modified Sally's directions a bit by using a springform pan instead of a 9x13, adding a layer of Oreo cookie crumble, and decoratively piping the whipped cream because I like pretty things. Do use her suggested recipes for hot fudge and whipped cream. Those did not disappoint!

For easy cookie crumbs, use a food processor

Look at those layers!

To take off the springform mold (is that what it's called?) soak a rag in very warm water and rub all over the outside of the ring. The inner layers will start to pull away from the pan and you can unlatch it easily. 

Not perfectly even, but still pretty!

Hope you like leftovers!

The only problem with this cake is the leftovers. As it is difficult to transfer an ice cream cake, I am left with the most delicious monstrosity of a dessert in my freezer. I can't bring the remains to work and pawn them off on my dear coworkers, therefore, the task of eating the rest is left to Dan and me.

In other news, I'm in the market for a beach cover-up.