I Scream You Scream...

We all scream for ice cream!

Saturday was one of those rare days that I did not have anything on the books.  I may or may not have kissed Joe goodbye when he left for work  (it was really early folks), and then I rolled over and snuggled in till way past the rooster's crow.  No commitments, none.

This is what I live for...putzing around the house, cleaning a little, clipping and snipping fresh flowers as I waltz from room to room with Mumford and Sons blaring....candles lit throughout the house in wafting scents of apples and spices.  Coco was perfectly content with the Saturday morning line up on the boob tube, and was also perfectly content with a lazy breakfast of self serve cereal.

It's days like this that I get the hankering to bake, or make, or craft...or whatever the spirit fills me with.  I set Coco up with all of her craft baskets spread out on the floor, and tasked her with lazily reorganizing them as she watched TV.  And, I went to town in the kitchen.

Ice Cream.  It's a staple around here.  Joe has been known to plow through a half gallon from sundown to sunrise.  I often awake to find an array of bowls, plates, and silverware in the bedroom from his midnight snacking.

I have a standard vanilla ice cream that I make, and then jazz it up with whatever we have laying around.  You can, of course, make the non-egg variety, but we always have an abundance of luscious duck eggs...so I make the custard version.  Here we go folks!!....

STEP ONE:  Scald two cups of half and half.  This means put it on low/medium heat just till the bubbles form on the top, then remove it from the heat.

STEP TWO:  While that is bubbling, separate 5 egg yolks into a bowl.

STEP THREE:  Add 2/3 cup white sugar, and whisk the yolk and sugar for a minute or two until it's light and fluffy and yellow ;).

STEP FOUR:  Slowly add the egg yolk/sugar mix to the scalded cream...a little at a time, whisking constantly so that the yolks don't curdle.  

STEP FIVE:  Put the cream, egg, sugar mix on a double boiler, mixing with a wooden spoon.  Do this for a few minutes, until you lift the wooden spoon out and can draw a line across it with your finger, and the custard stays.  Then it is thick enough.

STEP SIX:  Put the pan on the counter and stir in a little vanilla, and let it cool.  This is your base.  This is a good time to add cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger...whatever spice flavors you are working with.

Today, we are making Banana & Toasted Coconut - because we have over ripe bananas, and the tale end of some coconut from Joe's batch of granola this week.  You know it's a good day when Coco is still in her Rainbow Bright nightgown mid-afternoon. (a rainbow bright nightgown that was indeed mine when I was her age!)

At this point I stick the liquid mix in the Cuisinart, and slowly add the fixins.  Some other Cesarz favorites are peppermint stick, oreo, pumpkin, or whatever fresh fruit is in season.  Once it thickens a little, put it in tupperware, and stick it in the freezer for a few hours.  

If you don't have an ice cream maker, I have bypassed this step and just thrown the whole mixture in the freezer -it will set up just fine!

And, Voila!  Happy Tuesday Ladies and Gents!  xoxo, e.