Vanilla Bean Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream

May 28, 2013July 30, 2013 ~ Crystle ~ 7 Comments

I’ve been enjoying myself far too much in the kitchen lately, meaning my once-kicked sugar habit is now on reprieve. An ice cream maker was finally added to my arsenal of small appliances, and it’s been busy churning frozen greek vanilla bean yogurt (what a mouthful!) nearly every day.

The greek frozen yogurt I’ve been making is wonderful when fresh, but I find that it freezes hard as a rock, making it cumbersome to scoop and serve a day or so after making it. So I gave in to a more traditional ice cream recipe, and made it a little lighter. And bonus!, it includes two of my all-time favorite flavors: vanilla and strawberry.

This recipe also had the benefit of an extra taste tester since my sister-in-law is in town. After touring rainy Olympia like we should have done as residents long ago, it was nice to unwind to a little ice cream served in a soda fountain glass, garnished with a fresh strawberry.

It’s also such a delight when my husband and his sister can play with Margot in the adjacent living room while I’m busy in the kitchen. During the work week when I’m at home alone, and Margot begins to cry, I usually keep working and holler “it’s okay honeeeey!” until I can hurriedly stop what I’m doing and rush to her aide. I already sound like a terrible parent, but I still have a house to run! Okay Moms, time to reassure me that that’s a sort-of normal thing for us to do.

Vanilla Bean Strawberry Swirl Ice Cream

Ingredients

2 eggs

3 cups of 2% milk

2 cup half and half

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 Vanilla Bean – slice lengthwise and scrape caviar, discard bean

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup sugar free organic strawberry preserves

Directions

1. Using whisk attachment in mixer, beat eggs until light in color. Add sugar and beat until creamy. Add milk, half and half, salt, and vanilla bean caviar and stir well to combine.

2. Pour mixture into ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer directions. In my Cuisinart ice cream maker, it takes approximately 30 minutes to get a decent texture, but it still requires several hours freeze time to get a solid ice cream scoop.

3. Approximately five minutes before completion in ice cream maker, stir in half of the strawberry preserves.

4. Spoon ice cream out into 2 quart glass casserole dish, swirling in the remaining strawberry preserves.

5. Freeze for 2-5 additional hours, or until firm.

Notes:

In my Cuisinart ice cream maker, it takes approximately 30 minutes to get a decent texture, but it still requires several hours freeze time to get a solid scoop of ice cream. If you plan on making this ice cream for a group, or would like it ready by a certain time, I recommend giving yourself six hours to let the ice cream set.

Recipe adapted from Apple A Day: Oklahoma Farm Style Ice Cream.

Saturday Brunch featuring Soyrizo Frittata

June 23, 2012July 22, 2013 ~ Crystle ~ 10 Comments

I’m probably not the only Washingtonian wondering why the weather stays sunny and dry during the week, then rains like crazy on the weekends. Well, it does. So it’s a good thing my husband and I went for our weekly long distance run yesterday, when the rain wasn’t as heavy. For some insane reason, he wants to run a marathon. I’m trying to be a supportive running partner, but because I’m only half-crazy, I have no desire to run any further than a half-marathon. This is about the biggest problem we have at the six month mark into our marriage. Another concern is that I’m constantly cooking him vegetarian meals. Most of the time he doesn’t notice, but occasionally he “needs” a meal with red meat. Today’s brunch was one of those occasions, faked.

While the rain beat down outside, I whipped up my favorite Mexican inspired frittata. And let me preface the meal description with this: I may have dropped my Mexican maiden name, but that in no way means I’ve abandoned my Mexican ways. I still love chorizo and eggs. That will never change.

Instead of the traditional pork based sausage, I use soyrizo, a brilliant and delicious substitute. I like Trader Joe’s take on Soyrizo, but there are other options.

For this recipe, which is adapted from a master recipe formula by Pam Anderson, you’ll need the following:

8 large eggs
1/4 cup goat cheese (or feta, queso fresco, parmesan etc.)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 heaping handful of arugula
1 1/2 cups of Soyrizo, or half of the included package
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
Cracked pepper to taste
Sea salt to taste
1 cup halved plum tomatoes to garnish

Move your oven rack to the highest position in the oven. Turn oven on to broil (set to high if the setting is available).

In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, cheese and salt & pepper. Mix evenly.

Turn the stove to medium-high and coat the oven safe cast iron pan with the olive oil. When it’s glistening, add the chopped onions, arugula, minced garlic and Soyrizo. Cook until the onions are translucent (about 5 minutes). Then turn the heat down to medium and make sure the ingredients are evenly distributed across the pan. Add the egg mixture. Once the eggs start to set around the edges, place cast iron pan in the oven.

Broil the dish for 3-5 minutes, until the surface is lightly golden brown. Let it sit for 5 minutes to cool then garnish with tomatoes and arugula. Serve and enjoy!

Also, if you haven’t picked up Pam Anderson’s Cook Without a Book: Meatless Meals, you should! It’s my cookbook bible.

Sprouted Lentil Bread

May 24, 2012June 21, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 7 Comments

This week I worked on cultivating lentil sprouts. It took several days, but it was well worth the wait.

I watched the lentil-filled mason jars on the windowsill diligently, rinsing them twice a day to ensure they were cared for properly. When those tiny green leaves finally emerged at the top of the sprout, it was chow time. I immediately went to work on incorporating them into meals. For lunch, they found themselves sprinkled on our sandwiches. For dinner, they ended up on pizza. And as for the weekly baked good, I baked them into a hearty wheat loaf of delicious sprouted lentil bread.

I’ve heard of people using sprouted flour in their hippie breads, but the recipe I looked up from Trusted Earth called for simply kneading them into the dough. So I did. And it was good. Beyond good.

The crust was artisan-tough, while the interior was soft and springy. Lentil sprouts punctuated the bread with a coarse quality akin to sunflower seeds. It was a fun balance.

I had to refine the recipe a bit, mainly because when the dough hits the mixer to knead on the bread hook, the consistency has to be correct before you can let it rise. At first the dough was too dry and wouldn’t combine. So I had to add water. But I added too much water….so went the game of adding flour and water to get the consistency correct. Typical me, I overlook such things as “let rise in pan”. So I ended up letting this loaf rise 30 extra minutes total. Which in my opinion, is never a bad idea. I find that the longer you let bread rise, the better the end result. Patience is a time honored skill in bread making.

This entire process was extremely cost effective. The dried lentils turned sprouts cost less than a dollar per cup, and we all know flour, sugar etc. is equally inexpensive. The priciest ingredient is the yeast, and I started to buying that in bulk.

I thought I was a true homemaker when I bought my first bag of flour by the 5 lb. denomination, but then I bought mozzarella in a 10 lb. bag and blasted through a quarter of it in the first week. All I could do to cope with this rapid change in lifestyle was sit in the corner and rock myself gingerly, while eating veggie pizza on homemade dough.

Splendid, delicious, life changes.