The cupcakes at Bubblecake have married the frozen custard at Chillypop. The Roanoke Times l File photo.

Correction: The price of an adult scoop at Chillypop is $3.25, not $3.75.

I can’t think of anything that goes better with cake than a cold scoop of ice cream. And that’s the idea behind Rob and Lisa Lusk’s newest endeavor, Chillypop, a frozen custard stand located inside the same big white house on Crystal Spring Avenue in Roanoke that houses their cupcake bakery, Bubblecake.

Chillypop had a soft opening earlier this week. When I talked to Rob Lusk yesterday, he said he recently bought a commercial batch freezer for his 40th birthday. “Most people get a Harley or a guitar or a mistress,” he joked, “but I got the ice cream machine.”

The Lusks have been making homemade frozen French custard in the machine and have already perfected 11 flavors that are available at this time. They plan to offer temporary special flavors, too. Rob said they are using all-natural ingredients including eggs, cream and sugar. They even put an entire cheesecake in a batch of blueberry cheesecake custard (that’s the flavor I’m going for ASAP).

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I know there are lots of folks out there who can’t stand Valentine’s Day. They’re either sad because they’re alone or they just think it’s been commercialized like all the other holidays. And I would agree wholeheartedly that if Valentine’s Day is the ONLY day you show your sweetie how much you love them, you’ve got a little work to do in the romance department.
However, I love Valentine’s Day, and here’s why: because wonderful little treats, like these lovely cupcakes made by my co-worker, Stephanie, pop up all day long.
This morning, I also came in to find a single rose on my desk in a bud vase. It was left there by my boss, and each of us in the Features department got a different colored rose and a different vase. How cool is that?
Don’t forget your main man or your lady on V. Day, but also remember that this is a perfect day to practice random acts of kindness and remind everyone you appreciate, including your friends and family, how much they mean to you.
Come to think of it, now’s a perfect time to remind all of you how much I appreciate your readership and comments every day. You make my job incredibly fun.
Tell me about your Valentine’s Day so far. Have you encountered any wonderful surprises? What do you plan for the ones you love?

It’s time to give away another free cookbook, boys and girls!

We’ve given away collections of recipes for bar food, delicious chocolate creations and more. Now, it’s time to give those vegetarian and vegan readers a little love.

A few weeks ago, I received THREE copies of “Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. THREE copies! They really wanted me to see this book.

Moskowitz and Romero are described as “America’s best-selling vegan chefs.” They are the authors of two other vegan cookbooks called “Vegan with a Vengeance” and “Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.”

I love the title of that last one, don’t you? I am just thinking of some cheesy B-Movie where giant, pink-iced cupcakes come crashing through the skyscrapers of New York City. Okay, so I digress.

“Veganomicon” is packed with almost 300 pages of recipes for appetizers, brunch items, salads, salad dressings, side dishes, bean dishes, tofu dishes, soups and stews and more. Although I’m not a vegan myself (I spent a few teenage years as a vegetarian), I believe I could totally survive off the recipes in this book.

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