Steamed Mussels and Banana Ice Cream...YUM

Okay so these are two SEPARATE dishes, don't worry! and sadly they were so delicious that the camera ate the photos...erin just said that means we have to make it again!

I'll start with the mussels. I was craving something light and summery yet yummy and satisfying. My mind immediately went to fish but after perusing the fish counter at the local supermarket I decided to challenge myself to make mussels. A favorite for both erin and I! We usually always order mussels out at a restaurant because lets face it...anything that comes in a shell is a bit intimidating to cook! something I may have failed to mention is that although erin is quite willing to try just about anything I attempt, she is rather suspicious of anything that needs to be cooked a certain way in order to avoid a certain food poisoning issue! So I was hoping she would trust my culinary (or googling) abilities with this one and dig in.
I asked the seafood lady how many mussels we would need for two and she recommended a pound! skipping to the end we totally didn't need that much but the bags were already filled so I think she gave me the smallest one.
After jetting home with the smell of the ocean in my car I threw the mussels in the fridge and began googling. Of course there were numerous mussel recipes to choose from but alot of them had similar preparations and techniques.
All of the recipes I found stated to: Always wash the mussels! They actually have brushes that you can buy (they wash clams, oysters etc.) but you can also just use the rough side of a sponge.
I had a bottle of white wine open in the fridge and wanted to use that to steam the mussels in. due to my love of ordering the mussel dish on the menu I opted to throw in some sauteed garlic, shallots and parsley to season the wine. research told me to let the mussels cook/steam in the broth for about 8 to 10 minutes or until they had opened up. (if they don't open up...they are NOT good!)
I prepped everything and then when erin came home I turned the heat on and let them pop (well not literally pop...but open up in the pan)

I served them along with some french bread and white wine! YUM. they were light, easy and delicious. Perfect for a hot summer night.

We of course had to have something sweet a bit later, and that's where the banana ice cream comes in! I am not a huge fan of ice cream, I would rather eat cake...or chocolate. But erin LOVES ice cream, and in the summer is the perfect ice cream weather. I had seen this "change your life" blog post and knew it was a must try!! READ THIS POST...seriously what could be easier? freeze two bananas...put them in a food processor...hit start...watch it spin for five minutes. ENJOY!
Now something to note, that many other "attempters" have as well, the bananas go through stages from frozen to shredded to finally creamy. Be patient. it will work.
The results. good. now I am not freaking out because again I am not a HUGE ice cream lover, and my huge ice cream lover said it was good, but had a "strange" aftertaste. We aren't quite sure if it has anything to do with my 1950 style food processor though :). I think we will be trying it again soon!