30 Days of Creativity - Day 18: Blackberry Gelato

I'd like to believe that you have all been waiting patiently to hear about how our homemade gelato came out. Before I get into those details let me just say - I am not longer to refer to this creation as gelato. It's custard. I don't think that gelato uses so much creme and whole milk.

I could be wrong, but personally I consider gelato to be "more healthy" than custard or ice cream. Maybe because it's an Italian thing. Or maybe just because I'd like to believe that this delicious treat is indeed healthy. It's got calcium right?

The anticipation is over. This custard turned out AMAZING. I was so surprised with how creamy and fruity it tastes. We'll be eating it for some time to come - as it made much more than I anticipated.

Here is the recipe that we used:

1 c sugar

3 c whole milk (eeks!)

1 c whipping cream (double eeks!)

6 egg yolks (!)

1 t vanilla

3 cartons of frozen blackberries

Put sugar in sauce pan. Stir in milk, cream and egg yolks. Heat and stir until mixture thickens. Add vanilla once mixture thickens.

Place sauce pan in ice water. Let cool and stir occasionally. Chill mixture in fridge overnight.

The next morning thaw out blackberries. Blend berries together until smooth. Be sure use A SIEVE to remove the seeds. (I forgot to do this step out of excitement). Then stir the blackberry puree into the chilled custard mixture. Put mixtures in containers of choice (old ice cream tubs work great :)) and freeze. Then ENJOY!

We will continue to enjoy this treat. I am already hoping to make another batch. Maybe strawberry this time. Or lemon. Or peach. Or something. It'll have to be a smaller batch.

Random Baking Desire. 100th Post!

I don't know if there has ever been a time in my "baking" life that I have ever wanted for a recipe to turn out as badly as I do now.

If you know me then you know that I am a huge lover of ice cream. If I had to choose one thing to eat for the rest of my life I think it would be ice cream. My parents have an ice cream maker, and since I have a birthday in the summer I always requested that we made the ice cream. I loved churning it, sprinkling in the salt, and ultimately eating the final product.

We do not have an ice cream maker. I guess I should have thought of that when we did our wedding registry. Oh well. The other day I made custard over the stove top. I also blended a portion of our blackberry load in order to make it a blackberry gelato. It is now in the freezer waiting for judgement day. I am hoping that tonight we get to judge if it turned out well or not. (I did sample it, and if it tastes anything like the sample we will be in business).

Patience is a virtue. Patience is a virtue. But can't the freezer freeze any faster? Come on!

Also - today we are celebrating our 100th post!! Woot woot. Any words of wisdom of what you'd like to see / hear more of? We're taking orders. :)

30 Days of Creativity - Day 13: Tomato & Blackberry Overload

Today has been a day of really having to s t r e t c h our creativity in the kitchen. Allow me to explain.

In the winter we went to Maxwell Street Market and were not very impressed (refer to post here). We went again today and our opinion has done a complete 180. A complete 180. I am not even going to get into the crazy deals we scored today - even if I really want to. (By the way, I have learned that it's a Midwestern thing to always want to share our good deal stories with others. For example: "That's a cute shirt." How do I always want to respond? "Thanks. I got it on clearance for $$$ at xxx.").

I digress. Back to the market.

Next time we go we are bringing a suitcase. We bought a box of tomatoes and a box of blackberries for $10. To put this into perspective - we have at least 10 pounds of tomatoes and 12 packs of blackberries. A ridiculous deal? I think so. Our challenge since we have been home is being creative with how we are going to use all this produce before it goes bad. (Naturally, we will be freezing lots of tomatoes.)

I have decided to conquer the blackberries. I have worked through 6 packs already on various baked goods. I will write more about those tomorrow and they all need a day to set. Pm has been responsible for the tomatoes (with some help from yours truly). Tonight's menu will consist of rustic tomato soup. The recipe below is from the Big Food cookbook by Elissa Altman. We will certainly be making some gazpacho with these tomatoes too.

Big Food Rustic Tomato Soup Recipe (ampm style)

1/4 c olive oil

1 c baby carrots (diced)

1 large yellow onion (peeled & diced)

3 garlic cloves, minced

6 c fresh tomatoes (peeled, seeded & chopped w/ liquid) ~12 tomatoes

1 c chicken stock

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 T dried basil leaves

salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil and add carrot and onion. Cook until softened. Add garlic, stir and cook for 3 mins. Add tomatoes and juice and cook until they fall apart. Add stock, cover and simmer for 10 mins. Add basil, cover and continue to simmer for 20 mins. Season accordingly. Serve hot. [Note: We will be blending the soup before serving.]

I better get back in the kitchen and help. Que Aproveche! (We'll post a picture later on Flickr of our final product.)

And as promised here's the soup :)