Nurturing my inner... foursquare flashback

It was gorgeous yesterday, so I went for a run.  (Thank goodness I'm getting my way too soft self back out there before all is lost.)  And naturally, as I seem to enjoy rewarding myself with food, (which gets me into the aforementioned soft self predicament in the first place), I wanted dessert.  But I knew I shouldn't have dessert.  So, instead, I was dreaming of a highly creative endeavor I had whipped up out of nowhere some time ago, but has remained vividely on my mind.  (And I ate some low fat cottage cheese instead. *groan*)

It was an ordinary week night sometime last June when a friend suggested, on the fly, that we get together for dinner.  That very night.  As in, two hours from the asking time.  The plan quickly formed that instead of going out, she would pick up takeout and I would whip up dessert from things I had lying around the house.  (This is as close to an Iron Chef moment as I get.)

I got out a pen and paper and started to create my vision first in a literary sense.  (Must be the artist in me.)  I divided my paper into four quadrants and the sparks began to fly!  I could do this and this and even this.  And oh, I also had the perfect plate to pull it all together!  (There is no way to truly document the creative process.  It kind of just finds a starting place and takes off from there.)

With today's types of sampling variety plans in mind, I had purchased plates with four compartments from World Market.  My original idea when I had been shopping around was thinking I would be serving up appetizers in this fashion, but that day I came up with dessert extraodinaire instead and it was going to be outrageous!  (I aim to impress.)

Oh yeah, lot going on.

The final product was this, working clockwise:

1.) Caramel sauce, fresh blueberries, vanilla Hagen Daas and a Trader Joe's fried pineapple chip.

2.) Nutella hazelnut spread, Ben & Jerry's pistachio and half a Trader Joe's waffle cookie.

3.) Freshly-juiced watermelon granita (that I made myself with my juicer) over large blackberries with a splash of Malibu coconut-flavored rum.

4.) Ben & Jerry's Rocky Road, almond slivers, mini chocolate chips and half a marshmallow I toasted on my gas stove.

Yes.  It was amazing!  Yes.  I can remember every detail.  Yes.  I do want that scrumptious dessert right this very moment!!  Who wouldn't!  But I was strong.  (This time.)

It was fun to put together different flavors and textures.  I moved things around on my idea paper until I decided on the perfect match ups.  I do also have to note that the plates are not huge and the scoops of ice cream were done with a small scoop.  It would be impossible to eat a normal-sized scoop of all these decadent treats.  (Well, I wouldn't go so far as to say "impossible.")

Some days you enjoy dessert, some days you enjoy the memory of dessert.  Either way, I hope you find yourself content in your choice that day.