The Final Countdown

We're eagerly counting down the days until our baby girl makes her debut. This week has been all about tying up loose ends and indulging in a few "nice to have" extras now that the big items on our to-do list are checked off. One of those extras is making a few small batches of Salt & Straw ice cream to enjoy once she's here. We already had a leftover container of lavender ice cream from last month, which counted as the first batch. Then, Alison and I went through the Salt & Straw cookbook and picked out some new flavors we hadn’t tried yet but sounded too delicious to pass up.

On Monday, we tackled Xocolatl de Davíd’s Bacon Raleigh Bar. This one has been on our list for a while—I even tried to convince Skylee to choose it for her birthday this year, but no luck. If you’re unfamiliar with a bacon Raleigh bar, think of it as a fancy Snickers. The ice cream base was simple; it just required adding some salty water to the Salt & Straw base. The real challenge—and flavor—came from the mix-ins. We made chocolate pecans by melting dark chocolate with fleur de sel and butter, then mixing in the pecans. They turned out delicious. Next, we whipped up a light and fluffy chocolate nougat cream. The toughest part was the bacon caramel. It took us a few tries to nail the flavor and texture, but on the third attempt, we got it just right. Finally, we layered all three toppings generously between the ice cream, and it instantly became one of our favorite Salt & Straw creations.

On Wednesday, we took on Rose City Riot, a flavor I’ve been eyeing for a while—mostly because of the stunning pink ice cream photo in the Salt & Straw cookbook. We’d avoided it until now due to the unusual ingredients it requires, like red beets, rose water, and saffron threads. But it turned out to be surprisingly straightforward once we gathered everything we needed and made the saffron cream. The result was incredible. The ice cream had a subtle, refreshing rose flavor and a beautiful blush pink color. This one quickly became another favorite of ours.

On Thursday, we finally made Stop, Guac, and Roll—an avocado-based sorbet that’s been on our list for a while, partly because of its clever name. I had tried to convince Debbie to let us make this for her birthday since she’s an avocado fan, but she wasn’t sold. Then I suggested it to Skylee, thinking it would be perfect for her Cinco de Mayo birthday, but she passed too. So, I knew we had to make this one for ourselves. The process was simple: just blend all the ingredients and pour them into the ice cream maker. We added generous layers of Cinnamon Tortilla Crunch between the sorbet, which tasted like a homemade version of Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. The result was creamy, refreshing, and another hit. We’re three for three this week!

On Friday, we experimented with Pumpkin Custard & Spiced Goat Cheese, treating it as a dress rehearsal for Thanksgiving since we’re considering making it then. This flavor is a rich blend of goat cheese and pumpkin pie seasoning, creating a creamy and flavorful base. We then mixed in generous dollops of pumpkin pie custard—imagine a slightly looser pumpkin pie filling. The combination was delicious, with the goat cheese and pumpkin flavors complementing each other nicely. While it didn’t quite make it into our favorites, it was still a tasty and satisfying treat.

On Saturday, we whipped up Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper. It might sound like an unusual combination, but it really enhances the strawberry flavor. The issue with many strawberry ice creams is that the cream can overshadow the fruit’s taste. The balsamic vinegar brings back the missing acidity, while the black pepper highlights the fruitiness. The result was a beautifully balanced flavor. Skylee was over while we were making this one and tried a bowl. She liked it but couldn’t quite get past the honey balsamic. I think if she hadn’t seen it being made, she would have loved it.

On Sunday, we decided to go out on a limb and make Pear and Blue Cheese ice cream, a Salt & Straw classic I’d been eager to try. Alison remembered sampling it in the store and not being too impressed, but she agreed to give it another shot since I was so excited about it. It turned out to be quite a project—I spent a few hours making pear purée and candied pears—but I was still enthusiastic. The final result was pretty good, even better than Alison remembered. While it didn’t become a favorite, we’re glad we gave it a try.

We finished packing our hospital go bags and the comfort bag on Monday. This has been a work in progress for a couple of weeks, but we finally gathered all the outstanding items. There are a few things we use daily that we’ll need to grab when it’s time to go, but overall, we’re packed and ready.

Tuesday brought our second session of mindfulness and meditation. We almost didn’t make it—a summer thunderstorm hit just as we were leaving the house. The rain was pouring down, and the streets flooded, making Alison nervous. She suggested we turn back, but I felt confident I could navigate through the storm, and thankfully, it did lighten up. We were glad we made it to class. This session focused on mindfulness, covering affirmations, paced breathing, and body scans. We’re continuing to build our toolbox of comfort techniques for labor. Since most people were delayed by the storm, Alison and I were the first to arrive, which gave us some time to chat with the teacher. Alison shared her concerns about a potential induction, which she hopes to avoid. The teacher offered some great advice on approaching induction if it becomes necessary and recommended some evidence-based methods to help get labor going. As a result, Alison scheduled a couple of acupuncture appointments later this week.

On Thursday night, Alison had her first acupuncture session. We didn’t expect it to kickstart labor immediately, as we’ve learned it can take a few sessions to have an effect. This was just the first step in the process. Alison enjoyed it enough that she convinced me to schedule a session with her early next week. While she was getting her treatment, Tex and I took advantage of the beautiful summer evening by relaxing on the porch.

On Saturday Alison had her next acupuncture appointment. It did not start labor, but she felt so relaxed she stayed longer than she had planned. It can take a number of acupuncture appointments to see the expected result. In the evening we made dinner for Alison's parents. Kristin also came over since her Saturday night plans were to mow her lawn, but we had a lot of thunderstorms and heavy rain so that wasn't going to happen. We made wood-fired pizza again. We ended up making six pizzas - pepperoni, ham and mushroom, Margherita, Margherita with tomatoes, and two peras. We made 4 of them with sourdough crust and two with conventional. The conventional were more difficult, but they all turned out pretty well. I love making wood-fired pizza. After dinner I let everyone choose one flavor of ice cream to try. They chose the strawberry, which was a hit. Blake even said he thought this was the best one we have made. 

Later on Sunday evening, we made one last lasagna, officially stocking our freezer with meals in preparation for our baby girl’s arrival. Now, if only she would get the memo!