Take A Bite

A busy week, but well worth it. When I was younger, I used to kind of like to be bored. I would spend hours on end watching TV wasting away summer days (My mom is probably dying that I'm admitting this). Now I can't sit still for more than 30 minutes. Even if I'm watching TV, I'm usually also blogging, online shopping, instagramming or something else to multitask my time. When I'm on a walk I have to listen to music or a podcast, when I'm cooking I usually have the TV on or a Netflix show playing on my computer. I blame part of this on my generation of always having to be stimulated, but I also blame myself.

I can't stand to be bored now. I think this is more a good thing though. All of this is coming back to how I had a busy week last week. It was full of family dinners, work events and parties, but ended with a weekend at the lake with some of my best friends. As I've gotten older I've realized I'll take being busy over being bored any day. Are you a bored or busy person?

-Barre3 in the Park is easily one of my favorite summer activities and a perfect start to the week!
-The week was full of work events, but when food is involved I find it hard to call it work.
-Seeing this pic again from last week's recipe for Vanilla Bean Ice Cream has me seriously drooling.
-Crafted up lavender oatmeal and can't stop thinking about it.
-Welcome to OKC 21C! Loved getting a peek at my city's swanky new hotel and restaurant.
-I'm a sucker for party hors d'oeuvres. I made a few too many trips to the charcuterie board...
-5 years later and we are all back at the lake together!
-High school lives on.
-Turmeric and cumin roasted cauliflower. Flavor game strong. Recipe on my insta.

Annie

I feel like I've been a little pushy with all of my "perfect" or "go-to" recipes recently. Like my Perfect Green Smoothie, and Basic Granola, and Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I'm sorry. Actually I'm not sorry. Why wouldn't you want a great and trusted recipe? I've been busy recently so cooking has been slim, but what I have been making are classic recipes I'm excited to be mastering. That's where this "go-to" homemade ice cream recipe comes in. Here I go again...

You can buy some pretty good ice cream in the store these days, but nothing compares to homemade ice cream. I remember when I was really little always having homemade ice cream with our dessert at summer family gatherings. We used to have one of those big wooden makers you had to crank and use the ice cream salt, that then turned into an updated pink plastic version from Sam's, which has now turned into a countertop Cuisinart machine that does everything for you in about 25 minutes. The nostalgia may be lost from not have to put some elbow grease into it, but the taste of homemade ice cream really takes you there!

Homemade ice cream has to made at least once over the summer. Now that I have this delicious vanilla bean recipe, I know it is going to be made more than once. This just means I am also going to be making a lot of cobblers, pies, grilled fruit for it to be eaten with.

Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
makes 1 quart adapted form Serendipity Sundaes

Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1 vanilla bean,
3 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:
Slice your vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Using the back of your knife remove the caviar. Place the vanilla bean caviar and the pod in a sauce pan with the milk over medium heat. Bring to a soft boil, stirring often. After it has come to a boil, reduce to a simmer. While simmering, beat together the egg yolks and sugar in a heat-safe bowl for 3-5 minutes until pale yellow, light and fluffy.

Now you are going to temper the eggs. This is where you will slowly add the warm milk to the eggs to make sure you don't coddle them. First, remove the vanilla bean pod from the pot. Pour half of the warm milk to the egg sugar mixture, stirring quickly to incorporate. Then add the warm egg mixture back into the sauce pan of warm milk, stirring to combine. Still over low heat, stir for about 5-10 minutes until it coats the back of a wooden spoon. Take off the heat and add the heavy cream.

Place the cream mixture into a clean bowl and place in the freezer for 25 minutes to chill. After it has chilled take it out of the freezer and stir in the vanilla extract. Pour the cream mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to your machines directions. I have this machine so my ice cream churns for 25-30 minutes.

Place in a plastic quart container and freeze for at least 3 hours. Overnight is best. *These containers are perfect for ice cream!