Last night Zach made a Totoro cube for me.
I keep wanting to make autumn-like ice cream recipes. The problem being it’s not autumn and I know I would just feel annoyed at it not being autumn if I made the ice creams I wanted. I asked Zach what kinds of ice creams he’d like that could be considered “anytime” ice creams. He said peanut butter.
After looking up plain peanut butter recipes and then chocolate peanut butter recipes, we decided to do the latter. I looked up a few and figured out the general amounts and then went from there to make up my own. What I thought would be a very mild tasting chocolate peanut butter ended up being so-damn-rich-it-sticks-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth full blast tasting ice cream that it feels like a sin to eat more than two spoonfuls. This ice cream is like taking a family sized bag of reeces cups and melting them in a pot, then freezing them. It’s that dense and rich and yummy. I think the only thing I would’ve changed to this recipe is adding a couple egg yolks to it, not because it needed to be any more rich tasting than it already is, but because sometimes the ice cream gets “skinny”, meaning you can taste a sort of skin on it from the cream and especially notice it on your spoon. Creating a custard mostly gets rid of that. I think this is especially true of chocolate recipes.
Recipe:
*Note* If you want a more mild tasting/ less rich ice cream, then use HALF of the chocolate and peanut butter amounts.
2 C heavy cream
1 C milk
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate (I veered from my usual Ghirardelli cocoa powder and used two Baker’s squares)
1/2 C creamy peanut butter (you could use chunky if you want some crunch to your ice cream)
3/4 C sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
If using bar chocolate, then I suggest breaking it up or shredding it with a knife.
Put chocolate, sugar, and cream into a sauce pan and heat until the chocolate is melted through, but do not boil mixture. Always try to keep heat at just below simmering. Add milk and peanut butter to mixture and heat until peanut butter is melted through. If need be, use a blender or processor to mix it up a bit and make sure it is fully incorporated. Take off heat, add vanilla.
I like to separate the milk into 1/2 cups for use. I use 1/2 in the heated mixture and then pour the other half in when I put the mixture in the ice bath. The cold milk helps cool the mixture down. Let mixture chill before putting in ice cream maker.
Because this ice cream is very dense when it hardens in the freezer I recommend letting it sit out for five minutes or so before trying to scoop it for serving.
4 miles to Buckingham
13Aug08
At times I wish I could record the images I see in motion. Video attachments set to see only what I naturally do when we go for rides on the motorcycle. There isn’t enough time or room enough on the roadside to stop and photograph it all. Lines of laundry out in fields next to old faded barns. Plaster crumbling off buildings, baring their original brick. Linkin’ log fences. An array of slim trees with tangled branches next to the asphalt looking like soldiers, creating a barrier between me and the forest that flashes by.
We stopped at Nockamixon state park. A man lay under a tree with a book. A couple sat atop a picnic table with their little dog sprawled out on the grass below. I chased butterflies with my camera, but never got a shot. Zach sat in the grass next to purple flowers with a bee buzzing nearby. When walking through the woods spider webs lit up like silver Christmas garlands when the sun shined.
There are not enough photographs in the world to catch what we see, cherish, and then take for granted. I used to think how it would be nice to bottle up such experiences as keepsakes, but then figured we’d let them sit and collect dust. It’s best to try and remember them as they are.
One needle
12Aug08
Recently I bought a set of magenta knitting needles to teach myself how to knit. I’ve always known how to crochet, but knitting seemed too different. While I have a pretty good one needle casting on method, I cannot juggle the two needles together for knitting to save my life. I am, however, fairly good at crochet.
Lavender ice cream
10Aug08
Sometimes you have to truly want a flavor when it comes to eating or drinking, and especially when it comes to ice cream. Some flavors are clearly an acquired taste, like Lapsang Souchong tea (smoked tea), or licorice candy. You have to want that flavor and enjoy it thoroughly to be able to consume it. I think some of the more exotic ice cream flavors are like that as well.
I think lavender ice cream is one of those flavors. You have to enjoy lavender and want to taste a bouquet of it in your mouth to like this ice cream. I think those who enjoy floral tasting teas may enjoy this ice cream as well because it’s the sensation of breathing in flowers that makes it a treat.
Recipe:
1 C heavy whipping cream
1 C half & half
1 Tbsp dried lavender
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 C sugar (minus a tablespoon - or for a less sweet taste, use 1/3 C)
3 large egg yolks
1/2 C milk
Put the cream and half & half in a sauce pan with lavender and let come to a light simmer, then immediately take off heat, cover, and let sit for up to ten minutes. Add vanilla extract.
Whisk egg yolks and sugar together until light in color and creamy.
Pour cream mixture through a mesh sieve to catch lavender. Temper the egg mixture with the warm cream mixture until incorporated and then put back in sauce pan and heat until custard is thick and coats the back of a wooden spoon.
Put mixture in an ice bath or fridge until chilled, then put in ice cream maker.
Orange sherbert
08Aug08
Originally I had taken a photo of a container of Old Bay seasonings I bought this afternoon and was planning on writing about our little adventure tonight in making fish and chips after Zach saw it on Good Eats. If anything, Good Eats just showed us how terribly easy it all is when one has a full camera crew and kitchen crew to help do all the work while Alton Brown just explains it all (and yes cooks a fair bit as well). By the end of our endeavors the whole apartment reeked of oil, the kitchen was an oily mess, and I don’t want to look at anything fried or oily for the next three months. The short of it is - go to a restaurant. It takes way too effing long to do all this crap just to have it turn out ok. The fish ended up being good, but the fries were lacking. Ok, so it was our first time, but I think it’ll be our last time while we live in this apartment.
That on top of my nearly being killed five times today while going out for groceries because every idiot in all of Philly was on the road today has kinda put me in a bit of a foul mood.
After Zach and I spent almost as much time cleaning the kitchen as we did cooking he said, “I definitely want sherbert later.” I completely agreed. Mostly because it’s not oil related and anything fresh and zesty compared to that seems blissful right now. Also, for anyone who gives me the whole “it’s sherBET not sherBERT” schtick, I’ve got two words: PISS. OFF. (Is this a cranky post or what?)
Recipe:
2 C freshly squeezed orange juice
1 Tbsp orange zest
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp liquor (I used brandy because that’s all I had)
1 C sugar
1 C heavy whipping cream
Fresh juice would be best for this recipe, but if you’re hard pressed for good oranges then orange juice will work too. I’d recommend reading the label of whatever juice you buy and make sure there isn’t any added sugar. Keep the contents simple - pure orange juice. If juicing fresh fruit, room temperature fruit bears more juice than refrigerated.
Taking a cue from my friend Trish who mentioned flavoring sugar with vanilla (from the vanilla ice cream recipe), I mixed the zest and sugar for a little bit so the sugar would take on the orange flavor from the oils in the zest (you’ve no idea how much I cringe at writing oil right now). Give that a few minutes then put in the juices and mix together. Put through a small mesh strainer to get the zest or any seeds that might’ve gotten in when juicing the fruit.
Then add the liquor. I read a lot of sherbert recipes and all of them stressed the importance of putting in liquor. Since this is not a custard recipe something else needs to be done to make the final product smooth. That ingredient is alcohol. Yes, you could make it without, but I’m not going to try to find out. I saw some recipes put as much as a 1/4 C of liquor into their recipes. I thought that was a bit much so I went the middle road between the high and low amounts I read about. I don’t think one would want to use vanilla extract for this recipe, despite it’s alcohol content. Liquors such as brandy, rum, cointreau, or even a citrus vodka would be best.
Put the mixture in the fridge (or an ice bath) until chilled. In the meantime, whip the cream until soft peaks form. I use a hand blender for this and usually takes around five minutes or so.
While whipping the cream, slowly add chilled mixture until fully incorporated. The cream will liquify more from it’s whipped state with the added mixture. Put into ice cream maker and follow instructions for your machine.
I made this batch a couple days ago and it’s still insanely soft. At first I was worried about there not being enough sugar, but I do believe it’s perfect. This sherbert has a very strong flavor to it and is very soft, smooth, and light.
Muffin morning
05Aug08
Simple Blueberry Muffins:
1/4 C butter, melted
1/2 C sugar
1 1/2 C flour
1 egg
3/4 C milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
As many blueberries as you like - I used around a half cup
Melt the butter then add sugar and egg. Beat until creamy and slightly lighter in color. Add baking powder, flour, & vanilla. Slowly add in milk. Mix until incorporated (it’s ok if it’s a little lumpy), then fold blueberries into batter. Spoon out batter into greased muffin pan or cups, 3/4 full. Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.
A long time ago a British friend of mine made fun of me for putting butter or margarine spread on my muffins. He said, “You don’t put butter on cake!” Since muffins are similar to cake he considered it odd that anyone would put butter on muffins. I stopped eating spread on my muffins for several years afterwards. Lately though I’ve been thinking about that again and realized that he was wrong. First of all, it’s a personal preference. Secondly, muffins aren’t cake. Cupcakes are cake, but not muffins. Muffins are more savory whereas cupcakes are truly like cake, and very sweet. Of course one would not need butter on cupcakes, icing goes on cupcakes. But sometimes, on muffins, it’s nice to have a little slathering of butter on them, particularly when they’ve come out of the oven, with slightly crunchy tops, sides and bottoms. Cutting one open and putting on the butter, letting it melt, and biting into it is heaven. The mix of salty and sweet is perfection.
When my sister and I were little, one of our weekend treats was always blueberry muffins on Saturday mornings. We sat at a little brown table in the living room with matching chairs, our eyes glued to the morning cartoon shows from the TV not too far in front of us. Mom would make the muffins and just before they were done, always put margarine spread, little knives, and napkins on our table.
Spread and muffins was ingrained in my mind from the very start and I never realized people might consider it odd until my British friend mentioned that. I don’t know if it’s a regional thing, a country thing, or what, but to hell with what he says or anyone else. My blueberry muffins always need spread.
Oohey, gooey, mmm.
05Aug08
Tonight I made a pie for the first time. A peach pie. I’d been craving peaches and felt bad that only I could eat them. So in an effort to make more edible fruit desserts for Zach, I decided to make a pie.
The other night I tried a peach tart recipe, which was passable, but nothing spectacular and not really worth mentioning. Yet it made me want to make something better with peaches. After looking up recipes for two days I figured out what I wanted to make, which was yet again another Jen mash-up. Taking a bit here, a bit there, and hoping the bits will all get along with each other in the end to produce something edible.
The crust came from a funny site called Where’s the beef?. Anyone old enough to remember those Wendy’s commercials with the old granny always yelling, “Where’s the beef?” will understand why I laugh a little inside whenever I look at that phrase. Considering the site owners are British, I’m not certain they understand the hilarity of the comment to Americans, but if they do, bravo! I think the title of the site is more about them being vegetarian than anything else. Anyway, so the crust ingredients are written in gram amounts, which is something I can’t measure in my kitchen because everything is in ounces. So, going to a conversion website and plugging in numbers I estimated on the crust recipe, or rather just adapted it to ounce measures.
Recipe:
Crust -
1 stick of butter (4 oz)
2 oz icing sugar (confectioners sugar)
1 egg
1 1/4 C flour (10 oz)
Filling-
4 large peaches, peeled and sliced rather thickly
1/4 C flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 C sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
I followed the crust instructions on the site, which I linked to, so I won’t post it all here. However, let me say that the crust is awesome and should I get a hankering for making pie again, I will definitely use this recipe. Where I varied from the crust instructions was in the final prep of the pie. Since I’d never made a pie before and had a previous disaster with a crust (I’ll never forgive that lemon tart recipe), I decided to put my crust in a 9.5″ glass pie dish. I was very smart to do so.
For the filling, after the peaches have been peeled and sliced, pour the lemon juice on them and toss lightly. This helps them from browning too fast if it takes a while to get everything in the oven, as it did for me this evening. Mix the cinnamon, nutmeg and flour and sift over the peaches. I did this in batches to evenly coat the peaches - pouring a little at a time, tossing, then sifting more. Then I added the sugar and added that in batches as well, tossing lightly so as not to mush up the peaches too much.
When the crust was ready I took it out of the fridge, took off the top layer of wax paper and inverted it into the pie dish, then peeled off the rest of the wax paper. Rolling out the crust beforehand and then chilling it and tossing into the pie dish worked excellently. If need be, give it a roll or two to even out any creases before putting it in the pie dish. Or if you are brave enough and good enough with crusts, do it the “rustic” freeform method and just leave it on the paper and put it on a pan in the oven as the site directions say.
Spoon out the peaches and put them in the pie dish on the crust. I could’ve trimmed the crust off at this point, but I didn’t want to waste it. I knew it wouldn’t make for a gorgeous presentation, but I really didn’t care. So I folded over the rest of the crust on the peaches. There might be a little be left over liquid from the peaches, add this if you like. I left it out and was rather glad I did. The peaches I had were super juicy and yielded a lot more water than I thought to the final product, but as it sat with the sugar it turned into a wonderfully gooey delicious sauce.
Put in an oven preheated at 400F and bake for around 45 minutes or until crust is golden and peach juice is bubbling. When I opened the oven I saw a near moat of delicious peach juice and sugar, which was why I was glad I didn’t do the freeform method. It would’ve ended up all over the inside of my oven most likely. Let the pie sit for an hour at least before eating. When you do finally eat it, you will want a shovel and a bigger mouth.
This pie was fantastic and perfect and though it was a gooey mess it was still exactly what I wanted. Zach at first was afraid he’d have an allergic reaction because of how strong the peaches were in flavor, but luckily it cooked long enough not to set him off in the slightest.
Photo by Zach.
Sorry for the bad lighting in the photos, but I was feeling lazy and didn’t mess around with the settings. Plus, it was dark out so I had to rely on artificial light in my tiny kitchen.
