Summer Wish List

I want it all...

Seriously?

Eew. Not only does it scream "label-whore" but it's not even cute. Who wears this crap?

Blackberry Sage Ice Cream

It isn't officially summer yet, but it's been warm and pleasant and that's a good enough reason for me to make homemade ice cream. In fact it's better this time of year because making ice cream requires standing over a hot stove for a little while and that really sucks when it's 90 degrees and 90% humidity.

So anyway, last weekend I made Blackberry and Sage ice cream. Ever since I made Cherry Basil ice cream last summer, I've wanted to try my hand at other fruit/herb combinations. The Blackberry Sage had a wonderful flavor--tart and sweet from the blackberries, but with a subtle herbal/citrusy backdrop.

Here's how I made it (I use The Best Recipe's vanilla ice cream without the vanilla as a base and then make adaptations from there):

Blackberry Sage Ice Cream

4 egg yolks
1.5 cups heavy cream (heavy cream really does work best, the consistency is off with light cream)
1.5 cups whole milk (I used soy milk in this recipe, since that's all we had around the house)
3/4 cup sugar
About 1 cup pureed blackberries
6 sage leaves

• In a pan over medium heat, heat the cream, milk, and 1/2 cup sugar to about 175 degrees.
• In a separate bowl, combine egg yolks and remaining sugar.
• Once the cream mixture has reached 175, use a large ladle to spoon the cream mixture into the egg mixture and stir constantly. Gently spoon in another ladle-full of the heated cream mixture and stir. Then slowly pour the egg mixture into the cream mixture on the stove, stirring constantly.
• Heat the mixture on the stove to about 180-185 to cook the egg yolks, stirring constantly.
• When the temperature has reached 185, pour the mixture into an ice bath and add the sage leaves. Once cool, place in the refrigerator for several hours.
• After several hours of cooling, remove the sage leaves from the ice cream base and stir in pureed blackberries. (The blackberries should be kept in the fridge too.)
• Add the ice cream base to the ice cream maker and in 20 minutes, the ice cream should be thick.
• Pour the ice cream into a separate container, cover with plastic wrap and leave to set in the freezer for at least two hours.

Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!

Last night I was in my aerobic/kick-boxing class, feeling pretty good about things, and actually even having fun.

And then.

Pop! My back goes out. It was that sharp, shooting, breath-taking, I'm-not-going-to-work-tomorrow kind of pain. Good times. Really fun.

I managed to grab my stuff and get myself into the car and drove home where Chris got me a heating pad.  I popped 5 Advil and a beer, which helped (although I'm sure that can't possibly be good for one's liver).  Now I'm on some muscle relaxers. They're doing the job nicely, but they certainly make me feel...slow. And dumb.

Not really not much point to this post. I'm just bored. Daytime tv really sucks, if you have had the misfortune of being at home during a workday. And I'm mad because now I probably won't be able to make it back to the gym for a few days, which means I'm not able to watch "What Not To Wear" on the treadmill because the gym has TLC and we're cheap and we don't. Grrr.

Super Saturday

You know those American Express ads where they ask celebrities to describe the perfect day? Well I think yesterday was my perfect day. We woke up around 8:30 (not too early, not too late) and decided that since we were out of coffee at the house, we'd walk to our nearby Starbucks, which is 2 miles away. The trees are completely filled in now and the weather was perfect: 70 degrees or so. So we grabbed some iced coffee and a half pound of the Pike's Place Blend and walked back home.

Then we made our way to the State Farmers' Market and had a hell of a time. We bought locally raised beef, chicken, and lamb, some pork barbeque for lunch, and a ton of produce: lettuce, tomatoes, asparagus, peas, beets, and these babies, a quarter of which are being made into ice cream as I type:

Then we came home, read some magazines, made dinner (lamb chops, asparagus, and roasted beets), and watched Lars and the Real Girl, which I highly recommend.

On tap for today: a little cleaning around the house and some gardening. The weather is perfect for working in the yard and the mosquitos aren't out yet. I love this time of year.