Homemade strawberry ice cream

I've been having all kinds of fun with my grandma's old ice cream maker.  A few weeks back, I took a day off work to go strawberry picking at Berry Patch Farm in Nevada, Iowa.  I came home with 12 pounds of strawberries.  And it was really heavy to carry home!

After picking strawberries in the morning, I spent the rest of the day making strawberry jam, strawberry ice cream and strawberry pie.  Even as I'm typing this, I can't believe I did all that in one day!  Maybe I should relax on my vacation days, like a normal person, instead of spending all day in the kitchen! But how good does this strawberry pie look?

Even though I loved the pie, what I was really craving was ice cream.  So I looked through magazines and cookbooks and came up with a super-easy homemade strawberry ice cream recipe. I decided to go with another eggless ice cream recipe, because it was quick to whip up, and I needed the extra time to make strawberry jam.

Here's the recipe for homemade strawberry ice cream, if you want to try it at home.  FYI:  I doubled the recipe, and it turned out terrific. Enjoy!

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Strawberry ice cream

1 C. heavy whipping cream
1 C. half-and-half
1/2 C. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/8 tsp. salt
12-ounces fresh strawberries
1/4 C. sugar

Put the strawberries in a bowl and mash them a bit with a potato masher. Then add 1/4 C. sugar. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Whisk together the 1/2 C. sugar, cream, half-and-half, vanilla extract and salt in another bowl until thoroughly combined. Add strawberries. Process entire mixture in ice cream maker according to manufacturer instructions. Transfer ice cream to a freezer-safe container. Freeze. Makes 4 servings (1/2 cup servings).

Homemade vanilla ice cream

 

I inherited an old ice cream maker from my grandmother, a 1970s-style electric ice cream maker that's still in its original box.  I've had it stored in the closet for a couple years, but never have used it.  I wasn't sure if it would work; plus, I thought it would be hard to use, since I have to buy ice cream salt and crushed ice to freeze the ice cream mix.  

But over the Memorial Day weekend, I decided it was time to either try out the old ice cream machine, or throw it out.  So I bought ice cream salt and ice at my local Fareway grocery store, and I found a recipe for vanilla ice cream in one of  my favorite cookbooks, The Homemade Pantry.

The recipe is an egg-less, or Philadelphia-style, ice cream.  It was super easy to mix together, using just a few simple ingredients.  And to my delight, my grandma's old ice cream maker still works!  It ran perfectly, and now I can't wait to try out more ice cream recipes!

Here's the recipe, if you want to give it a try.  Also, please leave a comment if you have any advice for making ice cream at home.  I'd love to learn a few tips.

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Vanilla ice cream

From The Homemade Pantry

• 2 C. heavy cream
• 1/2 C. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 C. whole milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Combine 1 C. of heavy cream, sugar and salt in medium saucepan. Warm over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. 

Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise, and scrape the seeds into the pan with a paring knife. Drop the bean into the pan. Remove from the heat, add the milk, remaining 1 C. cream and vanilla extract to the pan.  Stir to combine, then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Remove the vanilla bean. Freeze the ice cream mix according to your ice cream maker's instructions.

Iowa eats: Bauder's Ice Cream

Last week, our boss surprised us by bringing in Bauder's ice cream as a thank you for working at the Iowa State Fair.  The Bauder's ice cream trailer is an always popular destination at the fair.  We were treated to the famous peppermint bar.  As you can see, it's peppermint ice cream sandwiched between two layers of crumbled chocolate cookies.  It was so good!  I ate my bar at my desk while editing pages.

Oh, and I should mention that there is also a layer of hot fudge in the Bauder's peppermint ice cream bar.  As if a giant ice cream treat wasn't rich enough!

Have you ever stopped for Bauder's ice cream?  What's your favorite ice cream destination?

Traverse City eats

I enjoyed one night free of meetings on my recent trip to Traverse City, Michigan. When I learned that Traverse City is one of the foodie havens of the Midwest, I decided to search for the best treats that Michigan has to offer.

I got an early introduction to Michigan's bounty in the "swag bag" I received at the meeting.  How cool is the bottle of honey from Michigan State University! Unfortunately, I wasn't able to take it home with me, because I couldn't carry liquids in my carry-on bag.  So I settled for taking this picture so I could remember it.

My first stop was the famous Grand Traverse Pie Company.  These restaurants are all over Michigan, but this is the original.

I ordered a slice of blueberry-cherry crumble pie to go (sorry for the lousy photo under the hotel room lighting) and a sugar cookie with the most amazing icing!

 I also didn't want to leave Michigan without some cherries. I stopped at Cherry Republic in downtown Traverse City and bought a few bags of dried cherries, including a bag of white chocolate covered cherries. This bag didn't last long when I brought it home for my husband! (Thankfully, cherries aren't a liquid and I can pack them in my carry-on. LOL!)

I also bought a bottle of cherry root beer for the road.  Don't you love the label?

As if I didn't get enough sweets, I couldn't resist stopping at this ice cream shop on Traverse Bay for a scoop of cherry-chocolate ice cream.  It was easily the best treat I found in Traverse City.  And I loved the lakeside view!

Oh, and one more treat for the road.  I heard good things about Pop-Kie's Chicago-style popcorn, so I picked up a bag of dill pickle flavor.  Sounds strange, but I loved it!

As you can see, I packed a lot of food-related sightseeing in just a short trip!  But it was all the more memorable for it.