Flavor #27 - Lime Sorbet

Last summer I was practically addicted to these great lime popsicles.  Saw a box of them recently at the market and that inspired me to do a straight up lime sorbet. I did a Lime Basil Sorbet earlier in the challenge. This one is quick, easier and real refreshing on a hot evening.

Not the best photo. Although knowing a professional food stylist, in addition to my wife, who also snaps some wonderful food porn, you would think I could get a better picture than this. Sad. Please know the flavor and consistency is drastically better than the photo and that I will try to do a more appealing shots as we more forward.

1 Cup of Lime Juice = 5 Limes Freshly Squeezed

1 Cup of Simple Syrup

You can go a little light on the sugar in the syrup if you want a stronger lime flavor. I usually do that with Lemon Sorbet as I like it a little more sour. But watch out if you do this with Lime as it gets strong and bitter really fast!

I do plan to start making some popsicles soon as I have come across some great recipes, but it will have to wait. Next week, I will have a new flavor or two as I will be cranking out product all week in preparation for the annual family Christmas in July festivities up in Maine. I plan to post the results. Traveling with ice cream is always a challenge and there will not be enough room in the tiny freezer in the cottage for everything I am bringing. It will be a fun race for everyone to taste it all before it melts!

Enjoy!

Flavor #26 - Chocolate Peanut Butter Crunch

I adapted this from a recipe I found online where the ice cream flavor was originally peanut butter. I have now tried a number of peanut butter flavor recipes and none of them have gone well other than Scoop Dogg. The idea of the added chocolate peanut butter crunch was what attracted me to this from the beginning.

1 Cup of Heavy Cream

1 Cup of Milk

1/2 Cup of Sugar

2/3 Teaspoon of Vanilla

1 Pinch of Salt

The chocolate peanut butter crunch was simple to make but I did learn an important lesson about this min-in. As we are staying away from Clark W. Griswald's food additives and preservatives, I found that a batch with this mix-in needs to be eaten within a day or two before it loses it's crunch.

3/4 Cup of Puffed Rice Cereal

2oz. Milk Chocolate

1/4 Cup of Peanut Butter

Melt the chocolate and peanut butter in the microwave. Pour the cereal on a stick-proof cookie sheet and smooth out the cereal before pouring the chocolate peanut butter mix over the cereal. Place a sheet of plastic wrap over the top of the mixture and put the sheet in the freezer for an hour of so.  Before adding the crunch mix to the ice cream, peel the mix off the cookie sheet and chop it into bite sized pieces. 

Depending on your individual taste, you can adjust the amount of chocolate or peanut butter in the mix. I tried this in other flavors of ice cream, but found it was best in vanilla.

Enjoy!

Flavor #25 - Arnold Palmer

I am amazed that the Arnold Palmer himself does not make some lucky lawyer a lucky man by suing everyone using his name to sell an iced tea/lemonade related product based on his history of combining the two on a regular basis while on the PGA tour. When the day comes that I need to change the name I will.

1 Cup of hot water with three tea bags

1 Cup of Fresh Lemon Juice

1 Cup of Simple Syrup

 

Toss it in the machine and go play two par 3 holes.  By the time you are done, the mix should be ready.

Now go play 18 with the Dali Lama - big hitter, the Lama.

Enjoy!

Flavor #24 - Alice's Coffee Health Bar

As I have mentioned before, we live within walking distance to a legendary road side ice cream stand know simply as Carter's. This place has been around forever and if you have spent any time on this end of the Merrimack Valley you have waited in line there at some point during the summer.

Carter's makes their own ice cream. They don't hide the fact that they get their frozen yogurt from Richardson's. Richardson's is all over the place in this part of the state.  You can even get it commercially in big gallon tubs. Coffee Heath Bar is Alice's favorite - except she prefers the yogurt version and I haven't ventured in that direction. At least, not yet. When we order from Carter's, I don't even have to ask as I know she will get the Coffee Heath Bar. When Carter's closes for the season, we will pick up a tub from time to time until it is spring again and we can return to Carter's.

1 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 Cup of Milk

1/2 Cup of Coffee reduced from 2 Cups

3/4 Cup of Sugar

1 Pinch of Salt

6 oz of chopped Heath Bars

It's not easy to find Heath Bars! I had to go to a few different stores before I found them. I figured they would be everywhere. Wrong!  I bought a few bags just in case. I am not sure why the Heath Bar does not freeze hard. I am just thankful it seems to stay the same consistency when it is below freezing.

Enjoy!

Flavor #23 - Blueberry Pomegranate Sorbet

A happy accident. I did plan to make this, just not this week. This was supposed to be a Blueberry Sorbet. I ended up not having enough blueberries for even a small batch. I originally bought a pint of fresh blueberries thinking I would add an equal amount of simple syrup, forgetting that blueberries are already so sweet that an equal amount of simple syrup would be sweetness overkill.

Bring on the Pomegranate juice.

1 Pint of Blueberries 

1/2 A Lemon, Juiced

Simple Syrup of 3/4 Cup of Water and 1/2 Cup Sugar

3/4 Cup of Pomegranate Juice

I started by heating the blueberries with a little sugar and water before straining the juice, enough to yield about a cup. Add the rest of the ingredients and let it all chill for a few hours before tossing it into the machine.

The whole thing came out better than expected and one of the boys has already been in for a second helping.  It also goes well with a scoop of Vanilla.

Enjoy!

Flavor #22 - Cinnamon Mocha

Zach's Mocha Peanut Butter Cookie went over so well I wanted to strip it down and dress it back up. No cookies this time. However, I added a teaspoon of cinnamon in the mix and a dash in the presentation.

1 Cup of Heavy Cream

1/2 Cup of Milk

2 Cups of Coffee reduced to 1/2 Cup

3/4 Cup of Sugar

1 Pinch of Salt

1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon

One of my new favorites as I like this even more than the Mocha with the cookies!

Enjoy!

Flavor #21 - Scoop Dogg

We have an occasional house guest with special needs.  She is the best guest. Not too picky, not loud and just curious enough to keep things interesting. She also wants whatever we are having. But since dairy, chocolate and sugar are not necessarily the best things for dogs, I looked up a few canine friendly recipes and present you with one I am calling Scoop Dogg.

 Millie has had the Doggie Treat Ice Cream down the street at Carter's.  Carter's is a great, traditional New England seasonal roadside stand that has been serving award winning flavors for generations. Their formula seems to be a vanilla yogurt with a few dog bones. I went in a slightly different direction.

16 oz Fat Free Plain Yogurt

One Banana

1/4 Cup of Peanut Butter

Throw it in a blender and put it in the machine. It's that simple. Except it comes out in a frozen brick. I put it on very low for a minute of two in the microwave to get it to soften up and added a few Milk Bones. It smells good and there are people online who say they even make extra for themselves - just without the Milk Bones.

Of course, I don't serve it in a cup. it goes right in the bowl.

Since it was gone in a few minutes and there were no later intestinal issues, I am willing to say this was a success!

Enjoy!

Flavor #20 - Oedi's Thai Iced Tea

I do not spend enough time going to Thai restaurants.  When I do, I always get a Thai Iced Tea. Thai Iced Coffee is good too, but since I just made an Ice Tea Sorbet yesterday, I could not waste the opportunity. 

I am still working on the overall presentation as this combines the Iced Tea and the Vanilla I made earlier in the week to get the layered effect of an actual Thai Iced Tea.  In an ideal world, I would load the two batches into individual servings like you do with pudding. I just don't have enough room in my freezer! To get the layered effect, rather than scoop the Vanilla, I spooned it out to lay flat on the top. After a few tries, I got it to somewhat look like I wanted but it is still a work in progress.

The flavor of the tea and vanilla is wonderful and was enjoyed even more than just the simple Ice Tea last night.

For those of you not in the loop, this flavor is named for my friend, former Program Director and part-time Thai resident Oedipus. Oedi is one of the only people I have ever worked with who related to Asian culture as much as I did. And the lucky bastard lives in Thailand with his lovely wife for a good chunk of the year whenever the political situation is not boiling over. For those of you who miss his show, Nocturnal Emissions on WBCN, feel free to check out his site The Oedipus Project.

Enjoy!
สนุก!

Flavor #19 - Iced Tea Sorbet

There are a million different ways to do an Iced Tea Sorbet. This is one of them. 

 I've done Iced Tea Sorbet with all kinds of different teas, from Green Tea to Passion Fruit. This one is with Earl Grey. You can also add all kinds fruit as well as alter the level of sweetness. I will only do a few variations as a part of the challenge and leave the rest to Moby.

1 Cup of Steaming Hot Water

4 Tea Bags

1 Cup of Simple Syrup

Add lemon if you like. I've learned that Earl Grey may need less sugar in the simple syrup. I will have another variation tomorrow.

Enjoy!

Flavor #18 - Monkey Head

I made a quick batch of Vanilla for another flavor I will post in a few days. There was an ulterior motive. 

Growing up in Tokyo opened a door to a whole new world of sweets. Meiji from Japan and Lotte from South Korea made some tasty stuff for us to eat when we were on the 45 minute train ride home from school. These days, almost all of the same things are available in a good Asian food store. One of the favorites of me and a few of my friends was something called Kinoko no Yama or Mushroom Mountain. It is a treat with a crisp biscuit stem and a chocolate cap.

They're supposed to resemble little mushrooms. Being teenagers at the time, we had a different name for them and as juvenile as it is, the name has stuck with me all these years later.  This being a blog for ice cream lovers of all ages, the silly name my friends deemed our after school treat will go unmentioned. But as a nod to those days walking to Tamabochimae Station, the snack will now go by the name Monkey Head. Crawl into the head of a group of 15 year old boys and you'll figure it out.  Although Monkey Head may not be something you would try when looking at the big board in an ice cream store, it sounds better than Mushroom Mountain.

What I have learned over time with these Monkey Heads is that they do not freeze well and they are difficult to mix-in after the mix goes into the hard freeze after coming out of the machine. They seem to work best after the ice cream is scooped and sticking straight out - like a mushroom - except mushroom ice cream just sounds gross. I love these little Monkey Heads and they taste as good in ice cream as they do on their own.

1 Cup Heavy Cream

1 Cup Milk

1/2 Cup Sugar

2/3 Teaspoon Vanilla

1 Pinch of Salt

10 Monkey Heads

In ice cream, Monkey Head is always a big household favorite. So much so that the last two times I went to Tokyo for work the only thing I was asked to get more Monkey Heads as well as any other candy I could fit in my suitcase. Not only do Monkey Heads come in different flavors, but can be matched to other ice cream flavors as well.

Enjoy!

Flavor #17 - Jenny's Type O Negative

While having some friends and family over for dinner a while back, Jenny asked about this challenge. Specifically if I was planning a reverse Oreo with chocolate ice cream and vanilla cream cookies.

Vanilla Creams and Vienna Fingers always remind me of my grandmother. Normally, they are not a cookie I would ever buy, but once I started playing around with ice cream flavors this cookie brought back big memories of a mid-day snack with my grandmother in Wethersfield, Ct. while she watched two soap operas on two different TV's at the same time. And that is a whole other story!

1 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 1/2 cups of Milk

3/4 Cups of Sugar

1/4 Cup of Unsweetened Cocoa

1 Pinch of Salt

14 Chopped Vanilla Cream Cookies

I must say that his flavor does not have quite the same impact the traditional Oreo does. It has not seemed to stop the kids from digging in! To me, the charm of regular oreo is that the chocolate in the cookie makes a great contrast with the Vanilla ice cream.  In this flavor, the chocolate ice cream seems to almost overwhelm the vanilla cookie.  The overall flavor contrast is there, it is just more subtle.

It is also likely that I won't be doing many more cookie flavors for a while. Not that I have exhausted the cookie recipes, more that I am looking to branch out in other directions for the moment. I expected to start this challenge by going through most of the basics before hitting on more difficult recipes that would challenge the everyday roadside stand. I am barely 20% done. I think I will be returning to cookie based flavors is the Fall.

Enjoy

Flavor #16 - Raspberry Sorbet

I had not planned to make a Raspberry Sorbet for a while, but they were cheaper than I expected. A small container was only $2 and was just enough for a small batch.

1 Small Container of Raspberries

1 Cup of Simple Syrup

With fruits that have small seeds, like raspberries, I usually toss the fruit into a small sauce pan with a little extra sugar and a 1/4 cup of water over low heat to get the juice out of the fruit. After 20-30 minutes, remove the pan and strain the fruit so the juice is seedless. A small container should yield you about a cup of juice. Add the juice to the simple syrup and let it chill for a few hours before you put it in the machine.

One of the best parts of having several small batches of sorbet on hand is combining flavors. This Raspberry-Pineapple combo will be especially good on a warm New England day like today.

Enjoy!

Flavor #15 - Chocolate Chip

A basic but satisfying flavor, Chocolate Chip is a universal favorite. I don't make it too often. But when I have the right chocolate, it is a great way to end a meal.

It is a simple vanilla with some good Belgian chocolate. Believe it or not, there is a way to screw it up.

1 1/2 Cups Heavy Cream

1 1/2 Cups Milk

3/4 Cup of Sugar

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

1 Pinch of Salt

Six Blocks of Shaved Chocolate (Half a bar)

After putting together the mix for the Vanilla ice cream, take a standard bar of chocolate and shave it down with a vegetable peeler. The way to mess this up is to make the chocolate pieces too big, or even use chocolate chips. What most people do not realize is that after a hard freeze, a thick piece of chocolate is really hard to bite into.  Think of a time when you may have frozen a candy bar and how hard it was to initially get through it. Make your chocolate pieces too think and you will regret it. I used some chocolate we had around the house. Mix it in when moving the ice cream from the machine to the container.

Commercial ice cream uses a specially manufacture chocolate with chemical additives that will keep the chocolate softer at temps well below freezing. They do the same with a lot of the products mixed in to your ice cream. Another reason why the small batch retailer is catching on.  This batch is half gone within 24 hours.

Enjoy!

Today's Flavor Creation Song of the Day

If there is one thing I enjoy as much as ice cream it is traveling - road tripping in particular. I enjoy eating local, listening to local radio, even mapping out the adventure in advance. This past week I flew south on family business and drove 1000 miles back up i95. I realize that not all of you may be familiar with what some call The Great Road.  i95 is the highway that goes the length of the American east coast and is the most traveled interstate highway in the country. On the northern half, you get to travel through great cities of Boston, New York, Philly, Baltimore, DC and Richmond. The southern half gives you a much more pastural view through southern Virginia, the Carolinas and into Georgia and Florida.

Most people I know hate being in the car for long periods of time. Given the chance, I would drive for hours soaking in the scenery, listening to music and stopping at my leisure to eat, sleep or check out something cool along the way. I have now done the i95 trip more than 25 times.

Over the past 20 years or so I have had the chance to spend quite a bit of time in Low Country of Georgia and the Carolinas. It is a beautiful place any time of year. I can never help but spend that time driving through the salt marshes listening to The Allman Brothers who come from the region. Other than the Everglades, there are few other places in the US that feature an extensive marsh system like this. Jessica is one of the Allman's bigger hits and well known on the BBC as the theme to Top Gear. I try to kick off every trip along the Marshes of Glynn with Jessica, as miles of amazing marshland fly by. It always gets me in the mood for the start of the trip north and the many miles of cotton fields, kudzu and signs for South of the Border until we hit the beginning of the Northeast Megapolis around Richmond.

Flavor #14 - Key Lime Pie

I was down south for a few days this week. I always get inspired while visiting different locations so do not be surprised as some southern inspired flavors start emerging here. Key Lime Pie was something I was considering even before I left on my planes, trains and automobiles adventure. This is a recipe I adapted from one I saw on Health.com.

Two quick points; a Key Lime is one you would normally find here in North America with the name coming from the Florida Keys.  This is also the first ice cream I have made without sugar.

1 1/2 Cups of Milk

1/2 Cup of Heavy Cream

1/2 Cup of Freshly Squeezed Lime Juice (4 -5 limes)

1 14oz can of Fat Free Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 Pinch of Salt

3 Sheets of chopped Graham Crackers

I initially thought that I should up the amount of lime juice but it seems to be the right amount. Mix the first five ingredients and add the graham crackers when moving the mix out of the machine and into the container.  After using graham crackers for the first time in the Strawberry Cheesecake, I added more crackers than the original recipe and did not chop them as much as I did before. The challenge was really getting the mix even and smooth, as the condensed milk makes that a challenge, especially when you are whisking by hand. I was also concerned by the lack of sugar but the condensed milk is not only sweet enough for the mix, but adds another level of thickness to the overall consistency of the batch. 

As I seem to be the only one who likes Key Lime Pie in the house, I did not foresee the positive reviews from the boys. I expect this will be gone by the end of the weekend.

Enjoy.

Flavor #13 - Jimbo's Lemon Cookie

How do you know you have made a great batch of ice cream? When there is nothing left for photo evidence!

I made a few different batches last week for a dinner party we hosted for some family and friends. Another batch of the Pineapple Sorbet was requested as was the Lemon Cookie. The next day I had to leave for a few days to take care of some family business and never got to take a picture of the batch before both boys completely devoured it! All I have left is the original cookies!

Lemon Cookie is a simple vanilla with the lemon cookies mixed in. For some reason, most people never think to combine lemon and vanilla, even though it works very well.

1 1/2 Cups of Heavy Cream

1 1/2 Cups of Milk

3/4 Cups of Sugar

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla

1 Pinch of Salt

14 Chopped Lemon Cream Cookies

I'd say this batch was a success as the party goers loved it and it was gone in hours!

Enjoy!