Homemade Sweet Corn Ice Cream

I recently made a new addition to my cookbook collection - Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home, by Jeni Britton Bauer. It is lovely. It's been my bedtime reading for the last week, and I've been dreaming of ice cream every night.

The book is organized by season, and I've decided to try and work my way through the summer section in the next couple of months. If I'm feeling up to it come autumn, I may carry on through the book. We'll see. I've got to get through the summer first. Anyway, the first recipe for summer is Sweet Corn Ice Cream with Black Raspberry Sauce. After glancing through the refrigerator, I realized that I had almost everything I needed to make it, so I picked up the last few ingredients and gave it a go.

I used red raspberries instead of black, since I already had them in the freezer. Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen a black raspberry in my life. A few months ago, I saw white raspberries at the grocery store, and they froze me in my tracks. I had no idea such a thing existed. All that to say, the sauce is delicious with red raspberries.

 

The trickiest part of the whole ordeal was convincing the kids to try it out. I knew if I said, "Hey, kids, want some corn ice cream?" they'd have gone running in the opposite direction. I told them it was called "Red Swirl." Neely loved hers. Aidan tried a few bites before deciding he doesn't like "the red." 

I think it's wonderful! The sweet corn flavor is light and summery, and the tangy sweet raspberry sauce blends with it beautifully. Who knew? Jeni. ;)

I don't think it's fair to spill Jeni's recipe here. Her book is brand-spanking new, and I think you should all go buy one yourself! Come back next week to see what I think of her Kona Stout Ice Cream recipe, which I will not be asking my children to sample.

Comfort Food - Fettuccine Alfredo

Even in the dead of summer, sometimes you just need a little comfort food. This creamy deliciousness is one of mine. The homemade sauce is way better than anything that comes out of a jar, and nearly as good as going out to an Italian restaurant. And just to warn you, it is nowhere near healthy. This is also, coincidentally, the only 30-Minute Meal I've ever pulled off in half an hour. Enjoy!

Fettuccine all'Alfredo

Makes 4 servings.

2 (9-ounce) packages refrigerated fettuccine noodles (or linguine if fettuccine is sparse)

3 tablespoons butter

1 cup heavy cream or half-and-half (but let's be honest, it's better with cream)

1 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Bring salted water to a rolling boil for the pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain.

Preheat a large skillet over medium heat, add butter and melt. Add cream or half-and-half, and stirring constantly, add cheese and cook, 1 minute. Season with nutmeg, pepper, and a pinch of salt. Turn off heat and add drained pasta to the skillet, tossing until sauce coats the pasta evenly. Adjust seasonings and serve. 

My Beach Angel

I'm still working my way through all the photos. I remembered last night that I have a whole second camera to import. I wanted to share this one of my little beach angel, because I love it. With her hands on her hips, staring at the ocean, it's totally Neely. I wonder what she's thinking. 

Home Again

After 1,763 miles of driving, we are home from our beach vacation. We saw friends and family, and we played and ate our little hearts out. It was worth it. And even though it is Africa hot outside, I breathed a little sigh of relief to finally be here.

Until next time, I'll be tweaking my 239 photos, doing loads upon loads of laundry, and trying to revive my crispy lawn.

Summer Fun

Summer is here. We're out enjoying it. Sorry for the lack of blogging. :)

Freezer Jam

I finally decided to take advantage of all the delicious strawberries available right now and tried my hand at freezer jam. I may be making a lot of freezer jam this summer. I'm not supposed to do traditional canning on my new stove. Bummer. 

Anyway, here are all my pretty berries, washed and quartered.

You need four cups of mashed strawberries. The mashing takes a little while. And if you want to skip your arm workout that day, I say go ahead. This part is grueling!

Instant pectin for freezer jam. I used two of these packets.

Voila! Six jars of lovely jam. My canning urge is satisfied...for now. I may be borrowing somebody's stove for pickled okra this year.

Strawberry Freezer Jam:

Makes six 8-ounce jars

4 cups mashed strawberries

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 0.5-ounce packets instant pectin

1. Mash strawberries.

2. Mix pectin and sugar together in a bowl. Add mashed berries and stir for three minutes.

3. Ladle into clean jars, leaving 1/2 inch head room. Put the lids on, and let them sit for 30 minutes. Store in freezer until ready to use. Jam is good in the freezer for 1 year.

Preschool Rocks!

Aidan's preschool graduation was this morning. *sniff* Actually, I did really well. I only teared up a few times, and no all-out boo-hooing ensued. Thank goodness. They had a really cute program where they sang a few songs and passed out diplomas. I even managed to video parts of it. Neely was really well-behaved...for Neely.

I apologize for the poorly focused videos. I used the video function on my DSLR, and I think it was having trouble focusing with the lighting dark where I was and bright up on stage. 

Oh, and seeing so many of my t-shirts all in one place? Crazy. Plain crazy. Here's my little graduate. I'm so proud of you, sweet boy.