Just in time for Mother’s Day, Baskin-Robbins has introduced a brand-new Flavor of the Month, and a fun one at that: Breakfast in Bed.

It combines buttermilk pancake- and maple syrup-flavored ice creams, fluffy pancake pieces, and a blueberry compote swirl (photo #1). It’s a good excuse to have ice cream for breakfast.

Along with the launch of the new flavor, Baskin-Robbins has introduced an ice cream cake, the Tall Stack Cake, also for a limited time (photo #2).

The Tall Stack Cake has the look of real pancakes, topped with a caramel praline “syrup” and a scoop of vanilla ice cream as a dollop of “butter.”

You can order it with Breakfast In Bed ice cream, or customize it with your favorite Baskin-Robbins ice cream and cake flavors.

Are you ready to serve Mom ice cream for breakfast in bed on Mother’s Day?

This new ice cream flavor and the new ice cream cake will be a memorable addition to any Mother’s Day celebration.

Head to your nearest Baskin-Robbins or head to the website for online orders. Here’s a store locator.

Some locations also deliver via Doordash, Postmates, and Uber Eats.

It must be fun to be in Research + Development for Baskin-Robbins. While developing Breakfast In Bed, the R&D team taste-tested a variety of flavor pairings, including buttermilk pancake and blueberry ice creams swirled with maple syrup.

They then altered the concept, to include maple ice cream with a blueberry swirl—plus the fun of pancake pieces.

On the downside, imagine how many variations you have to taste before one gets the thumbs up.
 
 
> The history of ice cream.

> The different types of ice cream and frozen desserts.

[1] May’s flavor of the month: Breakfast In Bed ice cream with flavors of buttermilk pancake, maple syrup, pancake pieces and a blueberry compote swirl (both photos © Baskin-Robbins).

[2] You can have a Breakfast In Bed ice cream cake, or pick your favorite flavors.

[1] Strawberry White Chocolate Popcorn. The recipe is below (photo © recipe © Popcorn Board).

[2] Freeze-dried strawberry halves. We got them on Amazon (photo © Natierra Nature).

[3] Guittard white chocolate chips (photo © Webstaurant Store).

[4] You can pop the corn from scratch, or buy a large bag of already-popped-corn (photo © Charles Deluvio | Unsplash).

[5] The easiest sweet popcorn recipe: a plain bowl of popcorn and ramekins of mix-ins so everyone can help themselves (photo © Family Fresh Meals).

May is National Strawberry Month, and next Sunday is Mother’s Day. If you’ll be seeing friends and family, here’s a yummy Strawberries & Cream Popcorn recipe, the cream being white chocolate (photo #1). You can bring it as a treat when you visit, or to enjoy as a sweet snack at home.

Of all the sweet snacks you can pick, popcorn is a whole grain food.

Freeze-dried strawberries give this yummy popcorn loads of flavor, and the white chocolate provides the perfect creamy pairing.

While you need to buy freeze-dried strawberries, you can use the extra for baking, cottage cheese, frosting, ice cream, shakes, smoothies, etc.

> The history of strawberries.

> The history of white chocolate.

> The history of popcorn.

> What makes popcorn kernels pop.

> How to remove the burnt popcorn smell.

> Popcorn trivia.
 
 
RECIPE: STRAWBERRIES & CREAM WHITE CHOCOLATE POPCORN

Depending on how you like to have strawberries, you can use anything from freeze-dried strawberry halves, to smaller cubes, to strawberry powder*. All are easily found online.

Thanks to The Popcorn Board for the recipe.
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PULSE the freeze-dried strawberries in a small food processor or spice grinder, until finely ground.

2. PLACE the popcorn in a large bowl. Drizzle the melted chocolate over top; toss until well coated. Sprinkle evenly with the ground freeze-dried strawberries; toss until well coated.

3. SCRAPE onto a large parchment-lined baking sheet, spreading into an even layer. Let stand at room temperature for 30 to 60 minutes or until the chocolate is set and hardened. To serve, break into pieces.
 
 
MORE POPCORN RECIPES

 
 
SEASONAL POPCORN RECIPES

*Instead of using larger pieces, you can mix the strawberry powder into the melted white chocolate to make strawberry chocolate.

The 148th running of the Kentucky Derby will take place on May 7, 2022—always the first Saturday in May, always at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is open to 20 horses, who qualified for the race by earning points on the 2022 Road to the Kentucky Derby.

The official drink of the Kentucky Derby is the Mint Julep. The clubhouse at Churchill Downs began mixing bourbon-based mint juleps around 1875. The Mint Julep became the racetrack’s signature drink in 1938, when the venue started to serve the drink in Kentucky Derby souvenir glasses.

In 1999, Wolford Reserve became the “official Bourbon of the Kentucky Derby”—although we do have a Maker’s Mark recipe below, which makes enough for a crowd.

Today, the Kentucky Derby serves more than 80,000 juleps over the two-day event. (The capacity of the track is 50,000 (x 2 days = 100,000 people to drink, so some revelers are not drinking their fair share!).

Mint Julep recipes are not just for the Kentucky Derby, but anytime you want a minty Bourbon cocktail with lots of shaved ice.

> Check out the recipes below.

> The history of the Mint Julep and what’s a julep?

> Grow your own mint.

> Have a retro cocktail party.

> Food Fun: Use your julep cups for food.
 
 
RECIPE: MAKER’S MARK MINT JULEP

 
Ingredients For 14-16 Juleps

 
Preparation

1. PREPARE the mint extract. Remove about 40 small mint leaves, wash, and place them in a small mixing bowl. Cover with 3 ounces of Maker’s Mark and allow the leaves to soak for 15 minutes.

Then, gather the leaves in a clean, soap-free piece of cotton cloth and vigorously wring the mint bundle over the bowl of whisky. Dip the bundle again and repeat the process several times. Then set aside.

2. PREPARE the simple syrup. Mix 1 cup of granulated sugar and one cup of water in a pot. Heat to dissolve the sugar, stirring constantly so the sugar does not burn. Set aside to cool.

3. PREPARE the mint julep mixture. Pour 3½ cups of Maker’s Mark into a large glass pitcher. Pour the remaining whisky from the liter bottle into another container and save it for another purpose. Add 1 cup of the simple syrup to the Maker’s Mark.

4. BEGIN to add the mint extract to the julep mixture a tablespoon at a time. Each batch of mint extract is different, so you must taste and smell it after each tablespoon is added.

You may have to leave the room a time or two to clear your nose (a food taster’s trick is to inhale coffee beans or fresh-ground coffee to clear the nose).

The tendency is to use too much mint. You are looking for a soft mint aroma and taste, generally about 3 tablespoons. When you think the balance is right…

5. POUR the whole mixture back into the empty liter bottle and refrigerate it for at least 24 hours to marry the flavors.

6. TO SERVE: Fill each glass (ideally a silver Mint Julep cup) half full with shaved ice. Insert a sprig of mint and then pack in more ice to about an inch over the top of the cup.

Then insert a straw that has been cut to one inch above the top of the cup, so that the nose is forced close to the mint when sipping the Mint Julep. When frost forms on the cup…

7. POUR the refrigerated Julep mixture over the ice, add a sprinkle of powdered sugar to the top of the ice, and serve.
 
 
MORE MINT JULEP RECIPES

[1] A classic Mint Julep recipe is served in a silver, copper, or pewter julep cup (photos #1 and #3 © Woodford Reserve).

[2] No julep cups? No worry: Use any highball/Collins/tall glass (photo © Sid Wainer | Facebook).

[3] Add your own touch, with edible flowers.

[4] Or add an edible fruit garnish for munching, like these pear slices. Blackberries or cucumber slices are nice options (photo © Ruth’s Chris Steak House).

[5] Mound the shaved ice high before pouring in the julep mixture (photo © Arch Rock Fish | San Diego [permanently closed]).

[1] Two of King Oscar’s four varieties of ultra-premium tuna fillets (photos #1 through #5 © King Oscar).

[2] A “tuna board” for lunch or snacking.

[3] The flavorful fillets can be served as tapas.

[4] Make more flavorful tuna sandwiches. See creative recipes below.

[5] .

[6] Julia Child’s tuna salad recipe. The recipe is below (photo © Heami Lee | Stylist Maggie Ruggiero | New York Times).

[7] The popular tuna melt: grilled cheese with tuna (photo © Good Catch | Facebook).

[9] A Greek-inspired tuna salad recipe. The recipe is below (photo © Put On Your Cake Pants).

Each year on May 2nd, World Tuna Day is celebrated to spread awareness about the imperiled tuna stock, and the need to adopt sustainable fishing practices to save this endangered species. The high demand for tuna, canned and fresh, has created a worldwide shortage, with fewer tuna pulled from the ocean each year.

The World Tuna Day was officially proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2016. Its aim was to spotlight the importance of conservation management and make sure that a system is required in place to prevent tuna stocks from crashing.

Efforts are underway, but the challenge remains: How to fill enough cans of tuna to meet consumer demand while ensuring there are enough fish left in the ocean to replace those that are caught.

Today’s product focus is King Arthur, a sustainable brand of yellowfin tuna. Check out sustainability terms, below.

Check out the creative tuna salad recipes below.

> A glossary Of tuna types.

> Albacore vs. yellowfin tuna: the difference.
 
 
KING OSCAR TUNA

King Oscar is a producer of “ultra-premium” jarred and tinned seafood: anchovies, kippers, mackerel, sardines, and yellowfin tuna.

The King Oscar brand was established in 1902, when King Oscar II, monarch of Norway and Sweden, gave a small Norwegian canning company special royal permission to use his name and image on a line of superior sardines.

The brand champions sustainable seafood: wild-caught and dolphin-safe. It is backed by SeaChange, an integrated plan of initiatives to drive meaningful improvements across the entire global seafood industry. Here’s more about the brand’s sustainability efforts.

The yellowfin tuna (photo #1) is far removed from a can of Bumble Bee. Tender fillets of select yellowfin tuna are marinated in 100% top-quality extra virgin olive oil, with herbs and spices. There are four varieties:

 
Here’s more about them.

The firm fillets encourage inclusion on antipasto plates, tapas, and other recipes where the flaked tuna in cans won’t do.

Give your taste buds the royal treatment with King Oscar!
 
 
TUNA SALAD RECIPES

 
Plus:

 
 
AN EXPLANATION OF SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD

The world tuna population is endangered: Due to the popularity of tuna, several of the major species are on the endangered species list. Learn more about it here.

U.S. fisheries are taking the lead in sustainable tuna fishing. These terms will explain both the situation and the solution:

Fewer Food Miles: Caught in the Pacific Northwest and canned at local canneries in Oregon, Washington, and California, the distance U.S. albacore travels from ocean to plate is significantly lower.

Fewer Trace Metals: With tuna, the larger the fish, the higher the amounts of accumulated metals, including mercury. Trolling catches younger and smaller albacore weighing between 5 and 15 pounds. These juvenile albacores have significantly lower levels of mercury.

The Oregon State University conducted a study in 2004 to determine mercury levels of North Pacific troll-caught albacore.

These tuna were found to have low total mercury concentrations (average 0.14 ppm), very low compared to the 1.0 ppm methylmercury action level set by the FDA and comparable to “light tuna” or Skipjack.

Read the full report.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Get up to six times the heart-healthy omega-3s from your tuna sandwich. Cooked just once in the can, custom-canned U.S. albacore retains all its good fats (omega-3s). Health experts recommend eating omega-3-rich fish, including albacore, at least twice a week.

According to the American Heart Association, research on omega-3s suggests they may reduce the risk of diabetes, reduce insulin resistance in people with diabetes, enhance bone density, inhibit the proliferation of cancer cells in the breast, prostate, and colon, and aid in curbing psoriasis.

Inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn’s disease seem to improve with more omega-3s. In infants, they improve cognition and visual acuity.

Sustainably And Ethically Caught: Trolling is a low-impact method where small, barbless hooks are used to catch albacore one at a time. The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program gives U.S. troll-caught albacore a “green” rating, the highest obtainable. Trolling is one of the most environmentally-sound fishing methods. For a full explanation, visit Monterey Bay Aquarium’s website.
 
U.S. Troll-Caught: Using U.S.-caught tuna supports fishing communities in California, Oregon and Washington. Eighty percent of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported, some from countries that have lower environmental and sustainability standards.

U.S. fisheries are some of the most regulated in the world; fishers must adhere to strict environmental regulations and quotas which ensure the ongoing health of the marine environment.

First up is Lemonade Day, May 1st this year (it’s the first Sunday in May), which began as a promotion for a not-for-profit youth program. Lemonade Day helps communities of need, by introducing children to entrepreneurship through starting their own lemonade stands.

Then there’s National Lemonade Day on August 20th, which can also encourage entrepreneurship among young folk but is an opportunity for those of us without young’uns to enjoy a cold, refreshing, sweet-and-tangy glass of lemonade.

For either occasion, check out the lemonade recipes below, which include both enhancements to classic lemonade, and lemonade-based cocktails.

> The history of lemons.

> The different types of lemons.

> The history of lemonade.
 
 
LEMONADE RECIPES

 
 
LEMONADE COCKTAIL RECIPES

[1] Strawberry lemonade: Stir in sliced strawberries (photo © Cocina De Color Lila | Blogspot).

[2] Bubbly meats lemonade in this cocktail. Add raspberries to lemonade and top off with Prosecco or other bubbly (photo © Cavit Prosecco).

[3] Add watermelon juice to lemonade, with optional gin, tequila or vodka (photo © Haru Sushi).