Strawberry ice cream. 3 ways.

Before we had to put the ice cream maker away for the move, I wanted to make ice cream one last time. Strawberry ice cream, to be exact. The day after I made this decision, Bridget over at Bake at 350 posted a strawberry ice cream recipe! It was meant to be!

I like to eat ice cream in three ways: 1) with a spoon, 2) with a fork, & 3) with my fingers.

But first, we have to start with the ice cream. Which, in this case, apparently comes from the Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream & Dessert Book. After tasting this, I think I may need to go out & buy it.

• 2 cups hulled & sliced strawberries
• 1/3 cup sugar
• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 2 eggs, pasteurized**
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup whole milk

** If you can’t or don’t want to buy pasteurized eggs — or don’t realize until you’re already halfway into the recipe that it calls for eggs that don’t get cooked, ahem — pasteurize them at home! The eHow.com link I used is now broken, but the gist is to bring the eggs you’ll be using to room temp, then heat a pot of water (enough to cover the eggs) to between 145 & 160 degrees F (use a candy thermometer; I don’t have one, so I used my meat thermometer, which was much less precise & my whites got just the tiniest bit cooked, but still whisked up just fine). Add the eggs to the water, remove from the heat, & let sit for exactly 3 minutes. Then remove the eggs, rinse with cool water, & use them!

1. In a small bowl, combine the strawberries, 1/3 cup sugar, & lemon juice. Stir just enough to coat, then cover & refrigerate at least an hour.
2. Mash the strawberries with a potato masher, pastry blender, or even 2 forks; set aside.
3. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs for 1 to 2 minutes, or until frothy & light. Bemoan the fact that your arm is screaming in protest. Vow to start lifting weights again.
4. Gradually add the 3/4 cup sugar while still whisking (& arm still protesting); whisk (with your left hand now) for one more minute after it’s all been added.
5. Stir in the cream & milk. Add the strawberries & stir well.
6. Add the mixture to the chilled canister of your ice cream maker & follow the manufacturer directions to process it.
7. Remove from the canister to a freezer-safe container & freeze for a few hours to allow it to harden. But not too much. Unless that’s how you like it. In our family… well, to give you an idea, The Munchkin calls it “ice kweam soup.”

Now. How to serve it?

With a spoon: Scoop some into a dessert dish. Add some blueberries for some fruity, patriotic flair.

With a fork: Serve a scoop alongside a slice of my most favorite lemon-blueberry pound cake. So many delicious summer fruits together on one plate? You can’t say no to that.

With your fingers: Press a small, hard scoop between two soft chocolate-chip cookies. When I was in high school, I used to frequent a shop near UCLA called Diddy Riese, where they made amazing ice cream sandwiches using soft, fresh-baked cookies & enormous scoops of Dreyer’s (Edy’s, for you Easterners) ice cream, for only $1! The price has since gone up to $1.50, but the lines are still around the block, the sandwiches are still scrumptious, & this ice-cream/cookie combo still brings back tasty memories.

What’s your favorite way to eat ice cream? Are you an “ice kweam soup” person too?

Lemon bars.

It’s Sweets Week here in our house, with 2 birthdays, a birthday party, & Father’s Day falling in the same week. I have a feeling that next week will be Stretchy-Pants Week…

My Husband The Connoiseur’s family has a tradition where, on someone’s birthday, they get to choose a dessert for his mom to make. One of his favorites is lemon tarts. Now, my mother-in-law is an amazing cook, & while I do know my way around the kitchen, I also know better than to try to compete with her. So when my husband requests something of hers, I instead find a similar recipe. That way, if it tastes different, it’s not because I made it wrong! Genius, right?

So for Father’s Day, I made lemon bars for My Husband The One Whose Special Day It Was. Still lemony, but not lemon tarts. This is me preserving my pride & vanity. I found this easy but delicious recipe at Favorite Family Recipes & added notes for next time to make it lemonier, because we love lemon! Except The Munchkin. Which is unfortunate, because in addition to the third of a pan or so that’s still left of these, we now have 3/4 of My Husband The Birthday Boy’s German chocolate cake… Yikes! Like I said, next week is Stretchy-Pants Week. Anyone feel like coming over & helping us finish it all off?

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup margarine (or butter-flavored shortening — what I used)
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• (I would also add some lemon zest to the crust)

1. Preheat oven to 350 & lightly spray 9×13 pan with cooking spray.
2. Blend together with 2 forks or a pastry blender until crumbly.
3. Press into bottom of pan.
4. Bake about 20 minutes or until just starting to brown.

• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• juice of 2 lemons (about 6 Tbsp.)
• 1/2 tsp. lemon extract — this is me adding this
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• lemon zest — she says “a little,” but I zested a whole lemon & still thought it could use a little more. So I would do zest of 1 lemon in the filling & a little more zest from the other lemon in the crust.

1. Whisk together in medium bowl until well blended.
2. Pour over crust.
3. Bake 20 minutes.
4. Sift powdered sugar over the top & cut into squares.