A Dessert Worth Your Time at the Gym

There are many desserts which, for me, don't equate the time at the gym or on the pavement that will be needed to get rid of the fat and calories consumed. However, the dessert we served up on the Fourth of July was not one of those.

We made (drum roll, please....) Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream and Homemade Lemon Thyme Ice Cream served over Batch Bakehouse's Lemon Pound Cake (grilled), topped with our freshly made mulberry sauce. It was as good as it sounds.

So...the ice cream. Pretty straightforward. If you've been following our ice cream adventures, you know we consistently use the same custard recipe and then add the fruit/flavor once the custard is cool. The lemon thyme recipe is linked here, and the strawberry ice cream recipe is as follows:

Ingredients:
 6 cups of hulled strawberries
1.5 cups of sugar
1.5 cups of half and half
1.5 cups of heavy cream
4 egg yolks

Instructions:
1. Hull and chop the strawberries. Mix with 1 cup of sugar. Let this sit for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight).
2. Whisk egg yolks with the remaining half cup of sugar.
3. Warm the half and half in a saucepan, stirring constantly so not to burn. When the half and half starts to foam, remove from the heat. Slowly pour this into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly as you pour so that  you don't cook the eggs.
4. Once combined, put egg mixture back into saucepan. Warm over low-medium heat, stirring, until the mixture coats the back of the spoon.
5. Remove from heat. Stir in the cream.
6. Cover and cool overnight.
7. Remove half of the strawberries with a slotted spoon. Put into a separate bowl and save for later use.
8. Mash the other half of the strawberries to form a syrupy sauce.
9. Mix syrupy sauce with custard. Use ice cream maker as instructed.
10. Once ice cream is formed, spoon into a freezer-safe receptacle.
11. Mix in the reserved strawberries and freeze until ready to eat!

Mulberry Sauce (recipe makes about 1.5 pints)


Ingredients:
4 cups mulberries
3/4 cup of sugar
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1/2 cup of water
1 Tbs. cornstarch

Instructions:
1. In a saucepan, pulverize mulberries, creating a saucy consistency.
2. Stir cornstarch into water in separate bowl.
3. Combine cornstarch-water mixture, lemon juice, and sugar into the pulverized mulberries.
4. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool.
5. Strain sauce to remove seeds. Store in container. Serve cooled over ice cream (or pancakes or french toast, etc., etc.)

Then, to assemble this massively delectable delight:
1. Cut pound cake into 1" thick slices. Brush with butter and grill over hot fire for 2 minutes each side.
2. Put pound cake slices into serving bowls. Top with ice cream(s). Finish with mulberry sauce.

YUM! YUM! YUM! YUM! YUM! YUM! ...and I'll be with you in spirit at the gym tomorrow.

Rhubarb-Strawberry Ice Cream

We celebrated Father's Day with my dad over Cuban Ham and black bean tacos for dinner and fresh rhubarb-strawberry ice cream for dessert. He definitely appreciated this gift. My dad is not one to request seconds, but he had another bowl of this luscious summer cool-down without much prompting. SCORE!

Every spring/early summer, there are two rhubarb treats I feel I must make time to create: rhubarb-ade (plain or in soda form) and a type of rhubarb ice cream. Spring just wouldn't be spring without them. Inevitably, there is a heat wave at the beginning of June, and both of these seem to exist for the sole purpose of taking the edge off.

Last year, we whipped up a batch of a simple rhubarb ice cream. It was perfectly tart and creamy. This year, we tried a rhubarb-strawberry ice cream. It turned out much sweeter, less tart, and very strawberry-y. For me, it's impossible to say which was better - any semblance of a real opinion would be completely mood based. However, for Andy, this version rocked his taste buds, and he's sold on this combination.

Here it is! Hurry and make it - only a week left of rhubarb season:

Ingredients:
3 cups of chopped rhubarb
1 cup of water
1.5 cups of sugar
1 pint of strawberries
1.5 cups of half and half
1.5 cups of heavy cream
4 egg yolks

Instructions:
1. Bring water, rhubarb, and half cup of sugar to a boil. Once it's boiling, remove from heat. Allow to sit for five minutes. Drain.

2. Hull and slice the strawberries. Mix with a half cup of sugar.
3. Combine strawberries and rhubarb together. Mash or blend.
4. Whisk egg yolks with the remaining half cup of sugar.
5. Warm the half and half in a saucepan, stirring constantly so not to burn. When the half and half starts to foam, remove from the heat. Slowly pour this into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly as you pour so that  you don't cook the eggs.
6. Once combined, put egg mixture back into saucepan. Warm over low-medium heat, stirring, until the mixture coats the back of the spoon.
7. Remove from heat. Stir in the cream and fruit mixture.
8. Cover mixture and cool. Use ice cream maker to complete.

Lemon Thyme Ice Cream...with Rhubarb Syrup

*

I have a few summer goals, two of which involve my health: weight loss and training for a 1/2 marathon. My intentions are good, my desire is strong, yet here I sit watching Breaking Bad and having a deliciously large helping of Lemon Thyme Ice Cream topped with Rhubarb Syrup for dinner. Hey - the lemon thyme and rhubarb are from the garden, so this can't be all that bad, right? 

Today was the last day of school with students. I graded exams, began packing up my room, and then came home to find two of my besties ill with  cases of the squirts...all over my house. So, I rushed Carmen the Cat and Franklin the Puppy to the vet, dropped all the money Andy and I will be making proctoring the ACT this upcoming Saturday (and then some), and returned home to clean up the doo-doo. A girl deserves a big helping of delectables after that, wouldn't you agree?

Since we planted a lemon thyme plant last summer, we've been hoping to use it for something wonderful. Kathy, Andy's colleague, brought him a recipe for lemon thyme ice cream last fall, but we never got around to using it before the snow (or it could have been because I was trying to lose weight and train for a 1/2 marathon...my will power is rock solid, I swear!). Finally, tonight, we whipped up a batch.

It was well worth the wait. Tart. Sweet. Refreshing. Delicious. WIN.  ...and I'm gonna work out and eat well tomorrow. Seriously.

Wanna make your own? Here you go:
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/4 cups whole milk
2 oz fresh cut lemon thyme (rinsed)
9 egg yolks
1 cup sugar

1. Put the heavy cream and whole milk in a saucepan and heat until it is about to boil.

2. Add the lemon thyme. Stir. Remove from heat and leave to infuse for one hour.

3. Slowly reheat the mixture and remove the lemon thyme.
4. In a bowl, whisk the egg yolks and sugar together. Then, slowly add in the milk mixture. Be sure to whisk quickly as you pour in the milk so that the eggs do not cook.
5. Return mixture to pan. Over low heat, stir continuously until the back of your spoon is coated.
6. Cool. Then, put the mixture into your ice cream maker and follow its instructions.
7. If you want, top with a yummy, tangy syrup like our Rhubarb Syrup. Or enjoy as is!

...and 8. If you have egg-laying hens, don't forget to give them all of the egg shells! Janis and Spindy were delirious when they saw the stash of calcium I was about to give them.