Herb Ice cream

Yes, you read that right. Herb ice cream. Basil has been the most popular at my house and a few people like rosemary as well. Below you’ll find my basic ice cream recipe with the adaptions for the herbs.

1 bunch herbs of your choice– I’ve used (as of this blog writing) basil, rosemary, mint

1 1/2 cups milk of your choice

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Combine cream and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook until mixture almost boils, about 5-8 minutes. Reduce heat too low.

Meanwhile, beat egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl until light yellow and smooth. Add 4 tablespoons of the hot cream/milk mixture and stir until combined. Gradually add egg yolk mixture to warm cream mixture, stirring continuously to prevent eggs from curdling.

Cook over low heat until slightly thickened and mixture coats the back of a spoon, 3-4 minutes.

Pour the ice cream into a container to cool it overnight in the refrigerator. I use the Tupperware freezer containers as they work great for freezer. Before closing the container, add the chosen herb, giving it a stir or two, and let it steep overnight. Before placing in the ice cream bowl in the morning, strain the herb out (which also will strain out any curdled egg).

Pour the mixture into the ice cream bowl and turn it on, letting it mix until it thickens about 20-25 minutes. I then place the ice cream in the freezer for at least several hours until it hardens.

Add a garnish of fresh herb for fun color, too!

Strawberry Ice Cream

I’ve been using the same basic ice cream recipe for twenty (gasp!) years since I received my still-working Cuisinart ice cream maker when I married the first time. This is the recipe from the booklet and it does involve raw eggs that are cooked in the process. While this recipe is for strawberry ice cream, you can try any berry or fruit, just remember that it’s important to chop the berries in the food processor. I chop them until some liquid forms because that allows the flavor to soak into the ice cream itself and lends a natural color to it.

I also use 2% lactose free milk because that’s what I drink and sometimes use half and half instead of heavy cream. The taste is still great if one uses less dairy fat, but the creamy texture might not be, well so creamy.

And don’t throw out those egg whites! At the very least, fry them up and feed them to your dog for a treat. Lilly and Ash concur.

1 1/2 cups strawberries, washed and hulled

1 1/2 cups milk of your choice

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

Chop the strawberries in a food processor and set aside.

Combine cream and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook until mixture almost boils, about 5-8 minutes. Reduce heat too low.

Meanwhile, beat egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla in a small bowl until light yellow and smooth. Add 4 tablespoons of the hot cream/milk mixture and stir until combined. Gradually add egg yolk mixture to warm cream mixture, stirring continuously to prevent eggs from curdling.

Cook over low heat until slightly thickened and mixture coats the back of a spoon, 3-4 minutes. Cool completely– at this point I put the mixture in the refrigerator overnight, however, you can let it cool for 30 minutes in an ice bath if you want to make ice cream that day.

Pour the mixture into the ice cream bowl and turn it on, letting it mix until it thickens about 20-25 minutes. I then place the ice cream in the freezer for at least several hours until it hardens.

Molasses Cookies with Prickly Pear Cactus Frosting

I’ve been working on ways to incorporate prickly pear cactus puree into more of my cooking– mostly desserts and drinks right now. I had made a prickly pear frosting for cupcakes a few years ago for Greg’s high school girls soccer team so this time I thought I would try putting the frosting on cookies. I have more experiments ahead, but here you’ll find the results of my first try and how you can replicate them.

I found the prickly pear cookie cutter on etsy and the original cookie recipe came from Land O Lakes.

The cookies have an understated flavor, however, I wanted that on purpose because I wanted the prickly pear flavor to shine.

Here is my adapted recipe:

Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses

1 large egg

1 1/2 teaspoons vinegar

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Frosting

4 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup, softened

2 teaspoons (or more) prickly pear puree

3 to 4 tablespoons milk

Combine butter, sugar, molasses, egg, and vinegar in bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add all remaining ingredients; beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed.

Divide the dough into thirds and wrap in plastic food wrap. Refrigerator 2 hours or overnight until firm.

Heat oven to 350 F.

Roll out dough on surface lightly covered with flour and sugar, one portion at a time (keep remaining dough in the refrigerator) to 1/4-inch thickness. Cut with the cookie cutter.

Place 1 inch apart onto untreased cookie sheets. Bake 8-10 minutes until no indention remains when touched. Let stand 1 minute. Cool completely on wire rack.

Combine all frosting ingredients except milk in a bowl. Beat a low speed, scraping bowl often and gradually adding enough milk for desired spreading consistency. You can add more puree as desired, however, remember that the frosting might be more wet and become too thin. Decorate cookies.

Pumpkin Bread

I’ve been making pumpkin bread since I was in college and I’ve made some changes to the original recipe I used that help the pumpkin flavor stand out more. After all, that’s what it’s about, right– the pumpkin flavor?!

1 cup sugar

1 to 1 1/2 cups pumpkin (note: if you open a can and make one loaf, you have leftover pumpkin so I tend to use half a can each time I make it)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup oil

2 eggs

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 2/3 cups flour

Preheat oven to 350 and grease a loaf pan. Combine the sugar, pumpkin, water, oil, and eggs, beating them with an electric mixer until well combined. Combine cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and flour and then combine with the wet ingredients until just combined. Bake for about 45 minutes when the toothpick comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the loaf pan before removing to finish cooling on a wire rack.