Thursday, July 1, 2010

Ice Cream

Avocado, ginger, lavender, beer and olive oil are just a few of my favorite things to use when flavoring homemade ice cream. Don't drone. These flavors alone, not mixed, are great in ice cream. Beer and lavender together are not very tasty. But lavender alone is lovely.

I too was a doubter until I tried avocado ice cream. It was so quick and easy. No cooking. No eggs. Only five ingredients. A little churning and creamy ice cream was mine. I was hooked and the off-beat ice cream flavor door was wide open.

One of the best ice cream books I own is The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovtiz. He takes all the credit for the above flavors. I have tweaked them slightly to cut down on the fat when I can. If you decide to think outside the store bought ice cream box and try something unusual, remember that homemade ice cream will always be harder than store bought. You just can not whip enough air at home to make it soft like the commerical ice cream. But the trade off is intense flavor. Just let your homemade ice cream rest on the counter for 10 minutes or so and enjoy.

So, try something different. The door is wide open. And, if your flavors disappoint, you can always close the door and go to your local ice cream shop for a hot fudge sundae.

July is National Ice Cream Month
July 1 is Creative Ice Cream Flavor Day
July 25 is National Hot Fudge Sundae Day

Lavender Honey Ice Cream
Delicate overtones of floral enhance this custard base ice cream to new levels
½ cup honey
¼ cup dried lavender, divided
1 cup milk
2 cups half and half
¼ cup sugar
4 egg yolks

Heat honey and 2 tablespoons of lavender. Cover and let cool for one hour. Heat milk, half & half, sugar and 2 tablespoons of lavender. Cover and let cool for one hour. Strain both the honey and milk mixture through a mesh strainer to remove the lavender. Add the honey to the milk mixture and reheat over low heat. Slowly add the egg yolks. Stir until thick. Strain again. Cool in fridge for three hours. Place the cooled mixture in an ice cream maker and follow instructions.



Avocado Ice Cream
This ice cream proves avocado can be served sweet and is not limited to salads & guacamole
4 avocados (peeled, pitted and diced)
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 cream light cream
¼ cup lime juice (about 6 limes)

Whip avocados, sugar, sour cream, cream and lime juice in a food processor until smooth. Place mixture into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturers instructions.