Wild Blackberry Swirl Ice Cream

August 15, 2013August 16, 2013 ~ Crystle ~ 5 Comments

I’m assuming that the dry summer weather caused a smaller yield in Washington’s Wild Blackberries than it did last year because as I paced the perimeter of a few blackberry bushes near the local dog park, I saw that the majority of the fruit had dried out. Or the smaller-than-average crop meant perhaps other like-minded people had harvested the bushes before I had.

I didn’t really let it deter me. On one foot (and in Birkenstocks, no less) I balanced precariously over the thorny bushes to reach the wonderful Washington Blackberries sitting atop the bushes; the same berries that were probably out of reach for more cautious foragers. I have the scratches on my arms and the snags in my favorite shirt to prove it. While I stomped around in the thorny brush, Margot sat in her carseat in the shade nearby. She was more interested in her hand than my foraging. Babies.

Last year, our over-abundance provided me with enough blackberries to make preserves. I even shipped a few jars to family members in other states. This year I only came out with a pint or so. At the suggestion of my dear friend Rachel, I decided to turn my small yield of berries into ice cream. That Rachel is full of good ideas.

Using the same concept I did for my Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream, I made my Vanilla Bean Ice Cream Base and swirled in homemade Blackberry syrup. The great thing about this recipe is that you can omit the Blackberry syrup-making process and substitute for another fruit syrup, fruit preserve or topping of your choice. Throw in some chopped up cookies or candies, chopped nuts, or even caramel sauce! The possibilities are endless.

Wild Blackberry Swirl Ice Cream Recipe

Ingredients:

2 Large Eggs

1 1/8 Cup Sugar

1 Vanilla Bean

2 Cups 2% milk

1 3/4 Cup Half & half

1/4 tsp of Xanthan Gum

1 Cup Wild Blackberries

1/2 Lemon, juiced

Instructions:

1. Slice the vanilla bean length wise using a paring knife, then scrape the caviar using a spoon.

2. In a large bowl, mix the eggs, sugar and vanilla bean caviar until well blended. Slowly add in the milk, and the half & half. Next sprinkle in the xanthan gum. Allow ingredients to incorporate while you work on the blackberry swirl syrup.

3. Rinse blackberries, and pick through, ensuring there are no stems or other debris present, then put into food processor. Squeeze half a lemon (less is okay) over the blackberries and blend until smooth. Over a bowl, strain the blackberries through a sieve, making sure that all the juice is extracted from the berry pulp. Set blackberry syrup aside. Discard pulp.

4. Pour ice cream mixture into ice cream maker, and allow it to churn for about 20-25 minutes. Watch it closely. When the Ice Cream reaches the rim, turn off the mixer and spoon ice cream into a freezer-safe container. Slowly drizzle blackberry syrup over the ice cream and swirl in with a spoon. Be sure to fold the syrup into the lower layer of the ice cream as well. Freeze for an additional 2-5 hours until the ice cream reaches a scoopable density. Serve and enjoy!

Notes:

– I originally blended the blackberry syrup directly into the ice cream mixer, creating a delightfully colorful, and less marbled ice cream. The taste was still wonderful, but for that marbled affect, use the above instructions.

– Xanthan gum is used in my ice cream recipes to keep this lighter ice cream base from become icy. It works wonders!

– Follow this vanilla ice cream base recipe and add fruit preserves straight into the ice cream mixer. This is another great way of having a fruit-swirl ice cream of your choice. But be sure to keep an eye on it, when you add more volume, the changes of an overflowing ice cream machine run high.

BONUS!:

Take your lemon and vanilla bean discards, place them in a pot with water and let it simmer on low as a natural air freshener. I like to save up a few vanilla bean pods for the pot so the fragrance is extra sweet.

Ruby Beach, WA

August 12, 2013August 12, 2013 ~ Crystle ~ 9 Comments

Spontaneity is not lost on us, I’m happy to report. After lamenting all the lost travel opportunities in Washington that we are up against, we decided to pick a couple locales and go for it.

Highest on the wish list was a camping trip to the Olympic National Park, but you’d need to reserve a campsite months in advance; an impossibility since we weren’t sure how difficult life with a newborn would be. Travelers come from all around the world to camp in the old-growth rain forests and backpack in the steep mountains of the sprawling park. Steep cliffs? River crossings? Snowy trails? Ai, ai, ai, not with a baby.

So, a day hike: the perfect solution for a young family. We chose Ruby Beach, because it was the closest in scenery to the Giants Graveyard, which is what we really wanted to see. Doing so meant we would have had to check tide charts and risk a rocky traverse across a receding shoreline with a baby in a day pack. I was particularly keen on seeing a foggy seascape, freckled with sea stacks– from a safe vantage point. Overly-cautious mom reigns in the adventure, again.

Visibility maxed out at one mile, so the highly-anticipated infinity horizon of the Pacific Ocean was a no-show.

Fog obscured the tree-tops while a cool, misty breeze reminded us that the ocean churned nearby. Driftwood and boulders, littered with Cairns, dotted the shoreline.

From a wind-swept branch high above the cove, a bald eagle sat, calmly watching the shoreline (can you find him in the following photograph?).

Landscapes like this are a dime a dozen along the Oregon and Washington Coast. For however long, or short we live in this region, the novelty of such beauty will never wear off.

Bird Watching at the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge

August 4, 2013August 4, 2013 ~ Crystle ~ 6 Comments

With only five weeks left here in Washington, it looks like we won’t be able to kick off all the items on our Pacific Northwest Bucket List. There is only so much you can get done on the weekends, especially with a baby. To our credit, it was a pretty long list, and we got most of it done.

At this point, priorities on our to-do list have changed. We hired a property management company to rent out our home, had movers survey our belongings to ensure a smooth moving day, and bought a trailer to haul behind our Subaru so we can have a little bit of home with us when we arrive in Alaska. I won’t go more than two weeks without my kitchen stuff, and with having a baby and a dog comes lots of extra gear. When did we become so conventional?

In an effort to savor the scenery of the South Puget Sound, we went down into the valley outside of our neighborhood to tour the Nisqually Wildlife Refuge. It’s a shame we hadn’t done it sooner.

The Refuge is nestled in a fertile valley where the coniferous rainforest meets South Puget Sound. From this place, when visibility allows, the snow-capped mountains of the Olympic National Park jut into the sky across the water, and the Tacoma Narrows Bridge spans the aquatic horizon to the north.

Rain or shine, birds skim the surface of the water, while jellyfish float gently below. The salty breeze carries waterfowl, sandpipers, hawks and kingfishers over the delta where bird watchers and their telescopes collect like barnacles.

At this particular refuge, a boardwalk two miles long, takes tourists out over the water to get a better view of the birds that frequent the shallow waters.

European Starlings, Canadian Geese, Blue Herons, and Great Egrets freckled the delta, while Sharp-shinned Hawks soared above. Bunnies hopped across walking paths, then disappeared under the ferns while Morning Doves feasted nearby on Wild Blackberries.

It was lovely to see them all independent of one another and not actively demonstrating their roles in the food chain.