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.

Across the Hours

August 2, 2012December 9, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 4 Comments

Lately, it seems that time has been slowing down and speeding up simultaneously. I’m sure I know why, but I’m not in a position to say as of yet.

With certainty, the soundtrack to this changing era in our lives is Beach House’s newest album “Bloom”. It’s exactly as Lindsey Zoladz with Pitchfork says, “‘Bloom’ is also what these 10 songs do, each one starting with the sizzle of a lit fuse and at some fine moment exploding like a firework in slow motion.” Truly profound.

I also expect the passage of time to be indicated by the life expectancy of my 12-year-old Beagle, Yango. The vet gave him only a few months to live this April. It’s now August, and he’s better than he’s ever been (although I can’t say much for his internal malignant tumor). He’s more active, happy and spry than when I first adopted him. Thanks be to Iggy. Our newly adopted dog won’t take no for an answer at playtime. They will run, they will scrap. Joy overwhelmed me when my friends who visited this summer commented on how great Yango looked. I’m optimistic that he’ll be hanging around for at least another year. R-e-l-i-e-f.

There are some major changes in our household afoot. I really haven’t been feeling so hot lately, which explains the recent blog hiatus. I’ll be posting less frequently this month as a result. Rest assured, I’ll be sharing more at a later time.

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AND! We shall not forget, the giveaway winners! I used the random number generator to pick two readers from the comments on the last post. Lucky ladies # 2 and 6 are the winners. Lauren and Ashley can email me their mailing address and a pretty little necklace will be coming their way from South Africa via Washington State!

Whale Watching in the San Juan Islands

July 3, 2012December 9, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 6 Comments

Whale Watching in the San Juan Islands has been on my to-do list since I moved to Washington. So when Jordan came to visit last weekend, I finally had the chance. The 2.5 hour drive North from Tacoma to Bellingham went by relatively quickly, probably because the area is so beautiful. I remember the scenery well from our trip to Mt. Vernon for the Tulip Festival earlier this year.

Jordan and I were out on the water with our fellow tourists all day. The day started out grey and cloudy, but the sun broke through and shone down brightly. It was still cold. After a few hours, we were both beating ourselves up for being underdressed and neglecting to bring sunscreen. Outside of a flu setting, I had no idea it was possible to be freezing cold and hot at the same time. The wind cut through us like a knife while the hot sun bared down on our shoulders and faces. It was a strange dichotomy, truly. And talk about gnarly, the ocean wind did quite a number on my hair.

Otherwise, it was a beautifully scenic and informative tour. I had no idea here were so many Islands that compromised the San Juans!

It took several hours to arrive at the waters surrounding Henry Island, where both migrating, and native Orca pods fed on salmon. Relief swept the boat when the tour guide announced the first dorsal fin sighting toward the bay. We all crowded around the side of the boat snapping photos or scoping out the sights through binoculars. It was a spectacle.

Now, when my husband and I went to Discovery Kingdom on our California Sojourn a month ago, the Orca show was spirited. The star of the show caught some serious air, comparable to the dolphins we saw later that day. Well, these Orcas were in hunting mode, not performance mode. They tended to skim the surface of the water, only bobbing up once or twice to show us more than their face and dorsal fin.

Still, they did not disappoint.

Our tour of the Islands was not limited to Whale Watching. I counted four bald eagle sightings, one even plucked a fish right from the water! I failed to get any lasting images on my Canon, the eagles are a bit too quick and small for a girl lacking sea legs. Some of that water was mighty choppy.

We also spotted some wild rams on an island just south of Canadian waters. It was exciting! And for the first time I saw how fresh water mixes with ocean water. I had no idea their densities were so disparate.

If ever you find yourself with the opportunity to Whale Watch in the San Juan islands, I highly recommend it. Hopefully you’ll miss the rain like we did!

And many thanks to Elizabeth for recommending Jalapeños in Bellingham! Dinner there was delicious.