You scream, I scream, we all scream for Ice Cream

     I <3 good ice cream.  It's probably something I've inherited or learned from my mom - in the states, we used to have a minimum of 5 ice cream flavors in our freezer at a time, normally being closer to 10.  Ben & Jerry's and Cold Stone Creamery were two of my favorite Ice Cream shops, and when we moved to South Africa we were surprised to find that the amount of flavors available was small compared to what we were used to.  A solution had to be discovered!  So I pulled out our ice cream maker.  
     Ice cream, sorbets, gelato, frozen yogurt.... they're all actually very easy to make.  Recipes can be found all over the web, and the result is yummmmmmy.  My favorite homemade flavors so far have been Berry Cheescake, Mint Chocolate Chip, Raspberry Sorbet, Rocky Road, and Lemon Sorbet. Other flavors I've made that have been well liked include Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, Snickerdoodle, Tropical Sorbet, and Butter Pecan.  
     Today I want to share a couple basic recipes with you - raspberry sorbet and butter pecan.  

Raspberry Sorbet

Soo yummy - but, then, I <3 sorbets.  I find them very refreshing.  If you want to be daring and edit this, just replace the fresh raspberries with other fruits, adjusting sugar quantity if necessary.  Or you can just google the kind of sorbet you want.  


1 1⁄2 cups sugar

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 lb. fresh raspberries (about 5 cups)

2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1. In a 2-quart saucepan, bring 2 cups water and sugar to a boil, stirring to dissolve. Reduce heat to low and simmer, without stirring, to make a syrup, for 5 minutes.

2. Pour the syrup into a medium bowl, stir in vanilla extract, and transfer to the freezer to let chill for 15 minutes.  At the same time, put your sorbet-tub-to-be into the freezer to chill so that it won't melt the sorbet when it is poured in.

3. Purée 1 lb. of the raspberries (about 4 cups) with the syrup in a blender or food processor until smooth. Scrape the purée through a fine sieve into a bowl; discard the seeds. Stir lemon juice into the raspberry purée and pour it into a 2-quart ice cream maker. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions until almost set but still a little slushy, about 25 minutes.  (Alternatively, pour the sorbet mixture into your chilled tub and stick in the freezer.  Stir every 15 minutes until firm (a couple of hours), making sure to scrape the edges.)

Butter Pecan Ice Cream

I'm using this recipe, and not the Cheesecake or Rocky Road recipes because it is based off of a simple vanilla custard, which is something that needs to be understood very well before tackling harder recipes.  Most ice creams have custard bases, and things like Mint Choc Chip or Rocky Road or Choc Chip Cookie Dough just have extra things added.  The butter pecans are yummy, so be sure to hide them out of sight (out of mind) if you want to have any left over for the ice cream :)

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup light brown sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/2 cups half-and-half cream

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. In a small skillet over medium heat, saute pecans in butter, salt, and 1 Tbsp sugar until lightly browned, stirring frequently.  Note: they burn easily.  Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, beat eggs.  Set aside. 

3. In a medium saucepan , combine sugar and half and half and heat until the milk is steaming, without allowing it to boil.  

4. Slowly add the half and half to the beaten eggs, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the eggs.  Return the mixture to the saucepan and cook until it reaches 175°F, or until it coats the back of a wooden spoon, being careful to not allow it to overheat.  

5. Remove from heat and strain through a sieve into cream (this removes any eggs that might have cooked and any burnt milk).  Add vanilla.  Chill for several hours or overnight.    

6. Put your ice-cream-tub-to-be into the freezer to chill.  Freeze ice cream mixture according to ice cream maker manufacturer's directions.  Before transferring to your chilled tub, stir in pecans.  (Alternatively, pour the ice cream mixture into your chilled tub and stick in the freezer.  Stir every 30 minutes until firm (a couple of hours), making sure to scrape the edges)

     

     Those are the recipes!  At the bottom is a bibliography - gotta give credit where credit is due!  A couple things I've discovered (by error and error): having that wanna-be-tub in the freezer makes a huge difference when using an ice cream maker, so the ice cream doesn't melt the instant it hits the tub; the sugar-salt-vanilla-stuff content of the ice cream effects how well something freezes and if it's hard or soft (so don't change it too much, especially if you're cutting back on something); and having an ice cream maker is totally worth it.  Of course, that's coming from an ice cream <3er.  I think the consistency of the ice cream is nicer that way.

     Another thing about living in South Africa - since I'm an expat (foreigner), I can't get a job.  God has provided though, through this <3 of ice cream.  I'll be selling my homemade, all-natural ice cream at a local market and through a co-op.  God constantly reminds me that He will provide for all my needs, and that His plan is the best. 

Bibliography: 

www.thekitchengeneration.com

www.davidlebovitz.com

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/butter-pecan-ice-cream/  

http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Raspberry-Sorbet