i scream

Ever since I finally sprung for my amazing ice cream maker, I've been dreaming about all the different ice creams, frozen yogurts, and sorbets I'm going to make.  And I've actually done a fairly good job of fulfilling these promises to myself:  lemon sorbet (too tart!), plain froyo (delish!), coffee ice cream, and nectarine ice cream have all inhabited our freezer at various times in the last three weeks.  The nice part about making my own frozen treats is that I know exactly what goes into them, and also that they last nearly forever (we are bad at eating leftovers).

Because of my obsession with Pinkberry (why oh why do I live in the provinces!?), plain tart frozen yogurt was the first on the docket.  I was going to just make this whole post an ode to tart froyo, but the recipe is too simple to even be a recipe:

3 C plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
2/3 C sugar (more if you want it sweeter, but I wouldn't do less - this was quite tart)
Stir together until well mixed.  Freeze according to instructions on ice cream maker.  Store in freezer.  Makes about a quart.

Seriously - that's it!  I've been enjoying it with berries, sometimes even for breakfast, for the last several weeks.

Because we have a truly amazing family-owned dairy in our community, I wanted to take advantage and make some excellent ice cream.  Never having made my own before, I did a little internet research and quickly found out about the custard vs. non-custard debate.  Since all the foodier sources recommended eggs, and I had three dozen eggs to use up from our also-amazing CSA (another post!), I went for the custard base. 

It was wayyyy too rich for me!  Every time I ate the coffee ice cream I made with five egg yolks, I felt like my mouth was coated in butter.  Apparently this was the "smoother mouthfeel" the foodists love so much.  It felt like I had been eating Crisco, no joke. 

So, the next time I went in for ice cream, I had nectarines to use up.  I found a good-looking, non-custard-based recipe, and based mine on it.  We didn't have milk, so I used all cream.  It was truly just iced cream.  It's amazing.  I love it.  But I can't eat it for breakfast, because each half-cup serving has 304 calories.  Just sayin.  Here 'tis.

3 large nectarines
3/4 C sugar
1 T fresh lemon juice
2 C heavy cream
1 t vanilla
1/4 t lemon zest
salt

Peel and slice nectarines, and put the peels and pits into a medium saucepan.  Put the slices into a food processor with 1/2 C sugar and lemon juice, and pulse to a rough chop.  Chill the nectarine mixture.  Add the cream, 1/4 C sugar, vanilla, lemon zest, and a pinch of salt to the peelings and pits and heat over medium fire until hot but not boiling.  Remove from heat, cover, let come to room temp, and then chill thoroughly (minimum 1 hour).  Strain cream mixture through fine mesh strainer into a bowl, add the chilled nectarine mixture, and stir to combine.  Freeze in ice cream maker according to instructions, and store in freezer.  Makes about a quart.  As I said above, a half-cup serving contains 304 calories.