Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

March 3, 2017March 1, 2017 / makingofahome / Leave a comment

After finding my family’s old ice cream maker in my dad’s basement a few weeks back, I decided it was time to test it out again after over 25 years. The ice cream maker still worked great, and I was so happy to be able to find an excuse to make homemade ice cream in the middle of winter 🙂

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

3 cups organic half and half

1 cup organic heavy whipping cream

1 cup organic sugar

8 organic egg yolks

2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract

Place the half & half and whipping cream in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently. Mix the sugar into the egg yolks. Once the half & half and whipping cream have reached a simmer, temper the eggs with the mixture. Continue to stir the custard mixture over medium heat for 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 30 minutes. Add the vanilla extract and refrigerate until cool. Pour into an ice cream maker and follow the manufacture’s instructions. Enjoy!

Variations:

Chocolate Ice Cream: Add 1 1/2 cups organic cocoa powder to the cream mixture and then simmer.

Pistachio Ice Cream: Replace the organic vanilla extract with organic almond extract. Then add 1 1/2 cups chopped pistachios once the mixture is cooled.

Fresh

June 28, 2012June 26, 2012 / makingofahome / 1 Comment

Each morning I make a lovely cup of piping hot coffee and stand at my kitchen window overlooking my garden. Even in the dead of winter, when the garden is buried beneath layer upon layer of snow, I do this. It allows me to view one area of the earth, each day, and observe all of the changes that take place and often go unnoticed.

Yesterday, as I was conducting this every day task, I noticed that the mint in my herb garden had reached an all-time-out-of-control-I’m-goiing-to-take-over-everything state. I now had more mint than any human could ever even dream of consuming. I twiddled my thumbs for a bit, trying to think of what in the world to do with even a small bit of this mint. Then it came to me. On our trip to Champaign this past weekend I indulged in this exquisite homemade, flourless cake that was served with fresh mint ice cream. Yummy. So, that was it…fresh mint ice cream!

I used my normal ice cream recipe, but this time I added fresh, finely chopped mint at the stage when I add the vanilla. I covered the pan with a ceramic plate and allowed the mint to steep in the mixture until completely cool. This allowed the lovely, fresh flavor of the mint to infuse into the ice cream.

Enjoy!

I Scream, You Scream

April 26, 2012April 24, 2012 / makingofahome / Leave a comment

The chants of, “Ice cream, ice cream, we want ice cream!” can often be heard ringing through our house. Yes, I’m afraid my girls have a sweet tooth like their momma and ice cream is one of their favs.

We have taken to making most of the ice cream we consume in our house because I can be assured that there are only five ingredients in the ice cream, and I know where those ingredients come from. Perfect.

Below is our basic ice cream recipe for vanilla ice cream. I purchase our eggs locally and buy local heavy cream and half and half from our natural food store.

3 cups half and half