In the long run, as good as salted caramel ice cream atop a gingersnap crust and slathered with whipped cream, cashews, and an ooey, gooey caramel sauce may taste (and let me tell you, it tastes mighty fine), stress eating all that sweet and salty goodness will only make you more stressed. In all seriousness, I do not recommend eating the stress tornado away. Occasionally, however, they also result in Cashew & Salted Caramel Ice Cream Cake.

All attempts to borrow beyond the day inevitably result in just more trouble. God doesn’t give you the grace to bear tomorrow’s troubles he only gives you the grace for today’s troubles…or sometimes just the moment’s troubles. But better isn’t perfect, so from time to time, I find myself borrowing trouble from tomorrow, only to discover (surprise, surprise) that such borrowing is a very bad idea. I’m actually a lot better about avoiding that vortex than I used to be. The same organizing skills that enable me to juggle a dozen different writing projects, plan big, fancy parties, and keep a house looking all pretty like are the same skills that allow me to whip up my very own stress tornado-a whirling vortex of anxiety where I see All The Things forever and ever coming at me. But it goes with the territory of being me. It’s perfectly insane, and I am aware of this. All The Things I might not get the opportunity to do. And I do mean All The Things: All The Things I have planned All The Things I don’t have planned. Then, of course, I-being the hyper-organized, super-scheduler, over-planner that I am-had to go and make it all the rougher by sweating and fretting about All The Things. Or, more simply put, “stupid first world problems” rough.

Just “deadlines looming, plumbing breaking, house projects overwhelming” rough. Not “people dying, children starving, hurricanes hitting” rough. No Bake Cashew and Salted Caramel Ice Cream Cake, Emily Stimpson Chapman Find more recipes on her blog, The Catholic Table. Emily Stimpson Chapman is the award-winning author of several books, including The Catholic Table: Finding Joy Where Food and Faith Meet.

Salted caramel cashew ice cream