I'll start with the ice cream. You may remember me saying in my cleaner eating post that I no longer bought ice cream from the store. Last summer I bought an appliance that changed my ice cream habits for good. Prior to owning my Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker, I almost always had a carton of ice cream in the freezer. It was way too easy to just fill a small bowl every night. I had seen this ice cream maker at Williams-Sonoma and I really wanted it, especially for use during the summer months that bring so much wonderful fresh fruit. I finally splurged (there was a deal going on and that helped) and had to get one. I popped the freezer bowl into the freezer the very moment I unpackaged it. I had picked up some Cruze Farm whole milk and I had frozen some fresh strawberry puree, so I was ready to try it out. My favorite recipe is for an eggless homemade ice cream. I can whip this up in just a couple of minutes, and I almost always have everything on hand. Another really yummy recipe is, as weird as it sounds, Strawberry Basil Frozen Yogurt from Southern Living this spring. It is more time consuming and I have only made it for a special occasion. I can't wait to try more creative recipes!
I like to make all of my ice cream mixtures in my Pampered Chef Quick-Stir Pitcher, and I like to let them sit a couple of hours in the refrigerator before putting them in the ice cream maker. I pick lots of fresh fruit in the summer, and I will automatically puree some as soon as I bring it home, measure it to 2 cups, and freeze it in freezer bags for this exact purpose. I can just pull out a bag and thaw it, and have fresh, yummy ice cream all year long. Blackberries, peaches, and strawberries are my three main fruits that I keep at the ready. A note on the vanilla: I have found that the flavor that 2 teaspoons of vanilla brings is very overpowering if you want to be able to taste the fruit. I only use 2 teaspoons when I am making plain vanilla. I just use a dash of vanilla (or even none) when I am using the fruit. Thanks to my friend, Joanna, I have a wonderful brew of homemade vanilla extract. It is unbelievable.
Back to the ice cream maker for a moment. This ice cream maker sits right on your counter and it will have your ice cream ready in just 20 minutes! It works best if you store your freezer bowl in the freezer at all times. Ours goes right back in as soon as it's clean. There are extra bowls available for purchase, and I would like to have one so that I can make two different kinds for the same dessert. Once you have used the freezer bowl, it will not freeze a second batch of ice cream without returning it to the freezer. It's just not cold enough at that point. This maker does not make a very large batch of ice cream and this is good for two reasons. 1) Refrozen homemade ice cream is never *quite* as good as it is straight out of the ice cream maker and 2) I don't need a ready supply of ice cream. From my experience, it makes enough for about 8 decent-sized servings.
I do NOT miss ice cream from the store at all. I have NO issues, though, with say, Marble Slab, FroYoz or anything like that! I'm happy to support those businesses with all my heart and some of my money. For home, though, this is our one and only. I even whip some up for a birthday party. It's THAT easy. You will not regret this purchase, I promise!
This is what we had last night. It was heavenly!! Go snag yourself some fresh blackberries if you can still find some. If you aren't in a cobbler mood, puree the blackberries and make ice cream with them. If you can't find blackberries, you can find peaches now, so go for those! Peach ice cream is my favorite! I can't wait to try peaches in this cobbler.
Back to the ice cream maker for a moment. This ice cream maker sits right on your counter and it will have your ice cream ready in just 20 minutes! It works best if you store your freezer bowl in the freezer at all times. Ours goes right back in as soon as it's clean. There are extra bowls available for purchase, and I would like to have one so that I can make two different kinds for the same dessert. Once you have used the freezer bowl, it will not freeze a second batch of ice cream without returning it to the freezer. It's just not cold enough at that point. This maker does not make a very large batch of ice cream and this is good for two reasons. 1) Refrozen homemade ice cream is never *quite* as good as it is straight out of the ice cream maker and 2) I don't need a ready supply of ice cream. From my experience, it makes enough for about 8 decent-sized servings.
I do NOT miss ice cream from the store at all. I have NO issues, though, with say, Marble Slab, FroYoz or anything like that! I'm happy to support those businesses with all my heart and some of my money. For home, though, this is our one and only. I even whip some up for a birthday party. It's THAT easy. You will not regret this purchase, I promise!
This is what we had last night. It was heavenly!! Go snag yourself some fresh blackberries if you can still find some. If you aren't in a cobbler mood, puree the blackberries and make ice cream with them. If you can't find blackberries, you can find peaches now, so go for those! Peach ice cream is my favorite! I can't wait to try peaches in this cobbler.
If you are also interested in the cobbler recipe, you can find it HERE.
I wanted the stainless, but they only had the extra bowl deal in white. I can't wait to try it. After what you wrote about the additives to ice cream...Bleh. I am ready to make my own!
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