An Ice Cream Conundrum (Triple Mint Chip Ice Cream)

Nearly every recipe for home made ice cream I've made says something along the lines of, "eat within 3 days" or "keep for up to a week in the freezer". Why three days? Why a week? Well, I have personally done some highly non-scientific home-testing on this subject and am here to tell you: Ice cream you make from scratch will keep just fine for longer than a week. It will last even up to four weeks! None of the test subjects lasted longer than four weeks because that happens to also be the absolute and total limit of our self-control... or I might have just forgotten it was in the freezer. Oops.

The only reasoning I could find anywhere for the 3-day/one-week rule was that the ice cream could start to lose it's flavor the longer it sat in the freezer. It may happen to some extent, but it doesn't go from luscious to unpalatable after that one-week mark. I, for one, haven't discerned any noticeable deficiency of flavor in the ice creams I've made, nor did any of them pick up any off-odors during their one to four weeks in the icebox. That said, the chocolate chips, nuts, and other mix-ins will suffer texturally if frozen too long, but the ice cream itself will be fine.

 

So go ahead and make the homemade ice cream more than a week ahead of when you need/want it, just save the textured tidbits for sprinkling on top when you serve it... and don't forget that it's in the freezer! Wondering what kind of iced cream to make? Here's a good one if you really like mint—or are ambivalent about it but happen to have a ton of it taking over your yard...

 
Triple-Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream 
Start with a good, natural (actual mint leaves), Mint Chip Ice Cream recipe. I love this fantastic recipe from David Lebovitz. Then, instead of using just one type of mint, substitute a combination of three different varieties. The three that are growing in my back yard are: Peppermint, Chocolate Mint (a variant of peppermint), and Spearmint. I've found that a 2/3 to 1/3 mix of peppermints to spearmints made a nice balance, but play around with it. Don't sweat it if you can only find two varieties. Just call it "Double-Mint"! Side Note: If you're not going to eat it right away, for heaven's sake don't use the cheap mini chocolate chips like I did one time... the texture was not pleasant.

 

The first time I made this Mint Chip Ice Cream I could not get over how very different it was from store-bought Mint Chip ice cream. For instance, did you happen to notice that the ice cream in my photo is not green? It is the barest hint of green-tinged beige. Real mint-infused foods are not actually green.

 

While the flavor of this ice cream is undeniably mint, it doesn't taste like hyper-flavored fake mint flavoring. It doesn't shout, it whispers. It is not a blast of mint, it is a wafting of it. This is a subtle... lingering... complex... and layered creamy mint that tastes of a late afternoon in the garden at the height of summer. 

 

Which, incidentally, is right now (I don't care what the calendar says)...

Stay cool out there,

Steph

Turmeric: For Pain and Inflammation

If you had told me four years ago that I would one day stop taking ibuprofen... I wouldn't have believed you. If you told me that I would be making my own capsules for pain and inflammation... I would have laughed. And if you told me that I'd be filling those capsules with turmeric, a common pantry spice... I'd just have laughed harder. But here I am not laughing... and not missing my OTC anti-inflammitories one bit.

I feel so much better about how I'm treating my aches and pains, and worry a lot less about any long-term or cumulative effects from my pain-management choices. But that's me, and I'm not here to convince you to change what you're doing. It's just that friends and acquaintances always ask about our switch to turmeric and I figured it would be easier to just steer them here and have the info in one spot.

Scores of others have already written about turmeric and it's many benefits—and done so better than I could—so I won't rehash any of that here. Instead, I will point you to some articles/posts to get you started. After that, if you are at all interested in pursuing it further, I'll link to some sources for supplies.

Start Here...
There is a very thorough blog post on the many benefits of turmeric at Fresh Bites Daily. You can also check out what Doctors Weil, Axe, and Mercola have to say. But don't just take their word for it, do more reading and research on your own before making a decision. It's your body and your health after all.

If you do decide to replace your current NSAID with turmeric, you can either buy pre-filled capsules or fill them yourself. Not a DIY kind of person? You can usually find them ready-made wherever you buy vitamins and supplements. I've seen some great sale prices at Swanson-Vitamins.com (get on their email list, they're always having sales).

You may find it easier on your wallet to make your own. If so, you'll need a capsule machine, empty capsules, and organic turmeric root powder. The capsule machine and empty capsules come in two sizes: "0" (500mg) and "00" (735mg). The empty capsules also are available vegan-style (called "V-Caps" they're made without gelatin). Mountain Rose Herbs has a great video on how to use the capsule machine.

FYI: Turmeric has been used historically as a dye, so don't wear white when working with the powder, and put some paper down on your work surface before you begin. It can and will stain, so wash and scrub your hands immediately after working with it (or wash a sink-full of dishes!).

A Toddy for the Body...
Another option I like is to make a therapeutic hot drink called Golden Milk (or Turmeric Tea, Turmeric Milk, Turmeric Tonic) which works just as well as the caps but is administered via a mug of hot soothing liquid goodness. Here are some recipes and methods to get you started...

• From RootedLondon... Rooted Turmeric Milk
• A handy method from 101 Cookbooks for turmeric "tea-base" that keeps in your fridge to use as needed. 
• The Bloody Mary Mix with Turmeric and Black Pepper from HelloGlow sounds healthy and delish!
• The mommypotomus blog shares tasty Turmeric Tonic "shots" to drink with breakfast.
• The Doctors Weil, Axe, and Mercola all have recipes for variations of this healing drink.

Unlocking The Treasure
Whether using the capsules or hot drinks, be sure to take them with a pinch of black pepper and some healthy fat. Turmeric is fat-soluble, so it needs to be consumed with some sort of fat to help your body absorb the nutrients effectively. Black pepper also greatly increases the bioavailability of the compounds in the turmeric.

It's easy to add a bit of coconut oil and a grind of pepper when you're making a turmeric drink, but if you prefer the caps, just remember to take them with meals. If it's not mealtime, I'll have a few nuts or olives, a dab of nut butter, glass of milk or piece of cheese, etc. As for the black pepper, I add some to the turmeric when I make the capsules (or you can even buy them that way). 

Some Sources for Ingredients and Supplies

Whether ready-made or DIY, for one-stop-shopping you can get everything at Mountain Rose Herbs or bulkherbstore. You can also find most everything at Vitacost. Local Sonoma County sources to try are: Oliver's or Sprout's, and in Sebastopol there's a nice little herb shop called Rosemary's Garden that should have everything you need.

One Last Word...
Fresh is best of course, and if you have the means, time, and availability to use fresh turmeric root... all the better! I don't, so I can't relate any favorite recipes etc. for using it in that form, but between the internet and your local library... you should find all the info you need. 

—be well... and stay well!

Big Ol' Disclaimer
I am not a doctor or health professional. I am only relating what I do myself. Take your health seriously and take your personal medical history into account when making any decisions that concern your well-being. Unsure? Talk to your doctor or other trusted health professional. Everyone's different. Results may vary. None of the links in this post are affiliate links. I am not connected with any of the brands, companies, or stores mentioned except as a customer. All opinions are 100% my own. Nothing was given to me for free, or provided for review, etc. Please recycle and do unto others as you would have others do unto you.

Simply Cilantro Salad Dressing

One of the last things I did before my second cilantro plant bolted, was to make a simple dressing with it. A simply delicious dressing. If you are one of the many people that don't like cilantro, you probably won't find this tasty in the least. The rest of us, who do like cilantro... will love it.

Simply Cilantro Salad Dressing

Adapted from: simplefoodhealthylife

1/3 cup olive oil
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 garlic cloves
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 bunch/handful cilantro
1/2 tsp ground pepper
sea salt to taste

Mix everything but the salt together in a food processor. Taste the dressing, then start adding the salt, a 1/4 tsp at a time, tasting as you go. When you're happy with it, transfer the dressing to a bottle or jar and store in the fridge. It should keep at least a couple of weeks.

Notes: We've been using this on lots more than just salads... tacos, quesadillas, even omelets and baked potatoes. It's great for a bright little touch of flavor almost anywhere.

Twig Tea (on the rocks)

 
Saving can be good: saving lives, saving money, saving endangered species, saving time, saving the document you've worked so hard on...

But saving can also be bad: saving used staples, saving bellybutton lint, saving junk mail, saving every issue of Underwater Basket Weaving Weekly since 1967.

I like to think that I fall somewhere in between. Although truth be told, I probably skew a bit further to the bad side of saving stuff (just short of the used staples and bellybutton lint). I can't help it... I like to wring every last drop of usefulness out a thing before throwing it out. Even if it's going to be composted.

Save up and stock

For instance, when I dry herbs from my garden and strip the leaves from the stems, the dried stems go into my "stock jar". When I use fresh herbs in my cooking, I save those stems too, letting them dry first, then I add them to the jar. The next time I make stock, I throw a big handful of those dry stems into the pot. They add depth and make my vegetable stock more flavorful.

The sweeter side

It's a good system and it works great for things like rosemary, oregano, and basil. But what about the "sweet herbs"; the lemon verbena, lavender, and the mints? Well, I save those stems separately in a big bowl on the counter and make Twig Tisane (herb tea) with them.

Dr. Franken-Cilantro, I Presume?

My cilantro bolted. Actually, it is currently bolting. What does it even mean, to bolt? It sounds like something in Dr. Frankenstein's notes: 

...don't forget bolting: Add contact points to monster [sides of neck?] for attachment of jumper cables; crucial for next phase in reanimation of creature. Bwah-ha-ha-hah!

"It's Ali---ive!!!"

In this instance however, it describes what happens to cilantro plants when their roots notice that the soil has reached 70°F. If you've ever had your cilantro bolt on you, you'll know what I'm talking about. If not, I'll let you in on what happens at that magical 70°F point... the plant decides that the time is right for making seeds, shoots up with a staggering amount of growth, bursts into pretty little blossoms, followed by round green seed pods.

It happens fast. It happens dramatically. You're happily snipping some cilantro here, some there. A salad dressing one week, maybe a marinade or quesadillas the next, and then...BAM! By the time you realize what's happened... it's too late to warn the villagers.

So... I guess the whole creating-a-monster analogy actually does apply here after all.

Love Is A Many Blendered Thing

I've been wanting to try making a green smoothie for a while, but never seem to have any extra greens sitting around. What I do have are a lot of herbs in my garden… they're green, do they count? I even have beet greens... although the variety we planted are ruby red, I think they'll do.

Wandering through my front and back yards, I clipped a bit of this, snipped off a bit of that until I had a big handful of "greens"...
 

Also intriguing me has been the idea of the whole-citrus vinaigrette. I just love the idea of pulverizing and consuming the whole fruit. Maybe I'm just excited about not having to slice, squeeze, zest, or otherwise fuss with it. It is simplicity and laziness together at their beautiful best. Why not try it in a smoothie?

I picked a small ripe lemon from our dwarf Meyer tree on the back patio and headed into the kitchen...

The smoothie I created is entirely experimental and admittedly, a little bizarre. I basically shopped from my garden and my freezer with a "let's see what happens" attitude. What happened was a surprising combination of flavors and a smoothie like no other. It's very lemon-forward due to the whole lemon of course, but also to all the lemon-scented herbs I used. Each one lemony, but in slightly different ways.

I've included the recipe here, not because I think anyone else would want to recreate it, so much as to show just how completely crazy you can get when making smoothies, and still end up with something really tasty....

Five Out Of Five Soda Bread

I have to say right here, right now, that I've never personally made a soda bread that I liked. Never. Maybe I just like stuff that I don't have to make myself? That's a distinct possibility. After all, I like the soda bread that friends and family have made. But when I make it myself, it just doesn't happen for me. Ever.

Until now. This soda bread I like... in fact, this soda bread I love. I've only made it three times, but the recipe makes two loaves and we gave one away, so we've eaten five loaves of it (so far). Five out of five. We've had it by itself as a snack, alongside bowls of soup, and with mugs of strong black tea for breakfast (my favorite). I very nearly ate an entire loaf myself. It's that good.

The combination of flavors in this quick bread blur the line between savory and sweet… the caramel-y rich browned butter, sweet/hot freshly ground black pepper, piney/herbal fresh rosemary, a little saltiness from the baking soda, and some earthy sweetness from the honey... I'm making myself hungry.

Herb Drying Made E-Z (Weather, Or Not)

resh herbs never go to waste at my house. What doesn't get used right away, usually gets hung to dry so I can use them throughout the year. Sometimes there's too much humidity in the air though (or not enough patience). Other times, I'll just have a handful of herbs to dry, not really enough to tie into a bundle. That's when hang-drying may not be the best or fastest route. And that's when I utilize this nifty trick. I happened upon it purely by accident, but it works so well I wanted to share it with you...

My Super E-Z Herb Drying Instructions:

1. Lay the herbs in a single layer on a baking sheet.
2. Place baking sheet in oven before you go to bed.
3. Turn oven light on.
4. Go to bed.
5. In the morning, check herbs. If they're crumbly-dry... you're done! Put them in an air-tight container and store them someplace dark, dry, and cool. 

If the herbs are still a bit bendy, repeat the steps (leave them in for another eight hours or so) until they are completely dry. Any residual moisture can turn into mildew/mold... and we don't want that. Store them in an airtight container away from heat and direct light. Crush them, crumble them, or grind them as needed throughout the year.

Lavender, Sage, Rosemary & Time

Gardening was never my first love, I don't think it would even crack the top 20. In my dictionary, "garden" is a noun, not a verb. Nevertheless, I often find myself thinking about my dream-garden and what plants I would put in it.* Perhaps partly due to my aversion to actual hands-on gardening, my dream garden is what's known as a perennial garden.

Plants tend to fall into one of two camps: annuals or perennials.** Annuals are generally the ones you see making a big splash of color on racks outside the garden department of the home store. They are often bright, brash, and bedazzling. Picture petunias, pansies, marigolds and impatiens. They also need to be replaced every year. Annually. They are the pop stars of the garden. The flashes in the pan.

Long Live The Perennials!
Unlike annuals, perennials are described with words like consistency and continuity. Think of buddleia (butterfly bush), hydrangea, or peonies. They keep on keepin' on. Perennially. They are the Dave Brubeck of the plant world. They are Ella Fitzgerald in bloom. There is something so comforting about being in a mature perennial garden; a real feeling of stability and history. Perennials are survivors. Below ground are deep strong roots, holding the soil together and supporting the new growth and seasonal changes taking place up above.

My Summer Loves

straw hats clothes drying on a line cherries crushed ice  

children playing on the lawn fields of lavender in bloom strawberries 

soft breezes through open windows eating breakfast on the patio blackberries  

sunflowers ripe cherry tomatoes warm from the sun wearing flip flops every day

blueberries flying kites at the beach bossa nova  

farmer's markets and lemonade...  

For me nothing quenches on a hot summer day better than homemade lemonade. Lemonade redolent with fresh herbs and ripe fruits in a tall glass of ice. Pick your favorite summer flavors and customize your next pitcher or glass of lemonade.

I made two today: Triple Berry-Lavender and Peach-Thyme (that's the one in the photo)...  so now I'm going to go have a seat in the shade, put my feet up, take a long sip and remind myself that maybe, just maybe, summer isn't so bad after all.

Eat More Greens

It was a whim, pure and simple. And green. Very green. There was some fresh basil in the fridge (leftover from the bruschetta we made), and it needed to be used up fast. It wasn't getting any younger, if you know what I mean. Not enough left to make pesto with and too early in the year to start thinking about Caprese salads... why not try making colored pasta with it? So on the most spontaneous of whims, I began mixing up and rolling out beautiful, basil-y green pasta dough. The perfect thing for no longer spring but not yet summer.

Basil is one of those smells and tastes that seem like the very essence of summer. My dream garden would have basil, rosemary, sage and (of course) lavender are planted to form a labyrinth* with the tomatoes growing at the very center. Imagine it: walking and picking herbs in deep profound contemplative thought, then plucking ripe tomatoes and journeying back out, followed by cooking something wonderful and eating outside.

Of course, in the winter it would look like hell. Let's just say that my dream winter garden involves a plane ticket, a hammock and Piña Colada. Oh, but I digress. And yet, that really is the point of it all. Digression: to turn aside, to stray.  I made basil pasta yesterday and my mind digressed for a moment to summer days ahead and Caprese salads on the patio...

Basil Pasta
Makes 4 - 8 servings (depending on whether it will be a side dish or main dish)

1 big handful of washed and dried basil leaves
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
3 eggs, lightly whisked
a good drizzle of olive oil
3 oz. water

Pulse the basil in the food processor until it's chopped up really fine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the flour, salt and pepper, pulsing a few times to mix the dry ingredients together. Add the eggs and olive oil and start up the machine again. After a few seconds, begin adding the water slowly and process until everything is thoroughly combined and dough looks like very course, pebbly sand.

Dump the dough onto a floured board and start kneading. Knead until extremely smooth, at least 10 minutes. Divide dough into quarters, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let it rest for 30-45 minutes.

Working with one piece of dough out at a time, knead it until it's smooth and pliable. Begin rolling it out, brushing it with flour if it starts sticking. Flip the dough over periodically to work each side and roll out as thin as possible; you should practically be able to see through it. Dust a little flour over it and fold it in half twice, then make 1/4" - 3/8" slices across it with a sharp knife or pizza cutter. Unfold the strips of pasta, toss in flour lightly and pile into "nests". Repeat with the rest of the dough.

Start boiling a big pot of water. As soon as it is at a rip-snorting boil, toss in a tablespoon of salt and gently drop the pasta nests in the pot. If you're cooking all of the pasta, you may want to cook it in two batches depending on the size of your pot. Stir pasta often and check for doneness at 3-4 minutes.**  Drain pasta, toss with a little olive oil and serve immediately with your choice of sauce.

If you won't be cooking it right away, you can freeze it for up to a month. Place the uncooked pasta nests on a baking sheet and freeze for 30 minutes. Place the frozen nests into a freezer bag, removing as much air as possible and put back in freezer. No need to thaw them before cooking either, just drop them straight into the pot of boiling water.

My Notes: We cooked half of it right away, and froze the rest for later. A little of the color came out during cooking but overall it was still plenty green. I think I'd like it even more basil-y though, so next time I'm putting a lot more basil in it. The dough might need more flour and/or liquid with the addition of more basil, I'll update this post with my notes the next time I make it.

• Read about how to make other colorful pastas in this article from The Kitchn.

*The first time I walked a labyrinth, I was blown away by the "distance" you could walk in such a relatively small space. I mean that both physically, and poetically. I thought them silly before I walked one, but they really are quite calming and focusing.

**The only accurate way to test pasta for doneness is to bite it. Fish a piece out of the water with a fork, let it cool for a second and take a bite. The "flinging it on the wall" technique is by no means accurate but must be done once, in your first apartment, when you're 18 and sharing a giggle-fit with your roommates.

Lemon Verbena Tisane

I adore lemon verbena. It smells like candy. Like lemon candy. I add it to fresh-brewed iced tea. I infuse simple syrup with it to sweeten black tea (hot or iced). I harvest it and dry it to use during the winter when the plant is dormant. I use peppermint leaves in the very same ways.

Last year when we moved, we brought some of our plants and trees with us, but had to leave a lot behind and gave still others away. Of the plants we kept, most were Hubs' favorite roses and Japanese maples. I insisted on bringing only a few, among them were my potted peppermint and my lemon verbena: my two favorite "sweet" herbs. Both are real troopers; surviving each winter for the past three years, barely clinging on to life and battling back each spring. You can chop off as much as you need and they just shrug it off as if to say "I needed a trim anyway" or "You want a piece of me? Bring it on Lady!"  They're tough that way. But they're really kind of sweet. Either one would make a lovely tisane. (I even think M. Poirot would approve.)  Here's how....

• Lemon Verbena: the perfect dessert tisane
  
• Hot Drink for Summer Evenings: Lemon Verbena Tisane

Tisane: A drink made from herbs steeped in hot water. Commonly referred to as herbal tea even though it does not contain any tea leaves. Pronounced tee-sahn.