Best Strawberry Ice Cream

20 Comments

Happy July 4th to my wonderful American friends! Hope you all had a great day off celebrating with your friends and family. What did you do to celebrate? And more importantly, what kind of food and drinks did you have for your July 4th festivities? 

Last weekend, we celebrated Canada Day here and one of the items we enjoyed during our Canada Day festivities was this awesome homemade strawberry ice cream. It is the most flavourful, delicious ice cream I’ve ever had. The fresh, local strawberries made this ice cream really stand out. I know I’ve said it before, but homemade is always best – but that’s especially the case when it comes to homemade ice cream. There is seriously nothing more creamy and flavourful than the homemade variety. 

Making ice cream at home is a lot of fun. I highly recommend buying an ice cream maker to use this summer. I use one from Cuisinart and I find it works great! You can also buy an ice cream maker attachment for your Kitchen Aid Mixer. By making ice cream at home, you can really play around with flavours and toppings. You can also be really creative with the base for the ice cream and make a variety of dairy free versions. I’m hoping to post a number of dairy-free “ice cream” recipes over the upcoming summer. Coconut milk ice cream is my number one priority! I recently discovered the coconut “ice creams” from So Delicious (Diary Free) and I’m smitten. The gluten free cookie dough coconut ice cream is amazing!!! Yum! 

If you are looking for some more homemade ice cream recipes, here is a list of great ice cream recipe books. I highly recommend all of them: 

What is your favourite flavour of ice cream?

Ingredients
  • 1 lb. of fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled and sliced
  • 3/4 cup of granulated sugar
  • 1 cup of sour cream (at least 7% M.F)
  • 1 cup of cream (35% M.F.); chilled
  • 1/2 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice

Method

1. In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries and sugar. Stir until the sugar begins to dissolve. Allow the strawberries to sit at room temperature, covered,  for 1 hour. Be sure to mix the strawberries occasionally.

2. Pour the strawberry mixture into a blender. Add the sour cream, the chilled cream and the lemon juice. Blend until the mixture is smooth, but still has small chunks of strawberry. Chill mixture in the fridge for 1 hour.

3. Freeze mixture in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Note: Homemade ice cream tends to get a bit harder in the freezer than the store-bought variety. Allow the ice cream to sit on the counter for about 10 minutes before scooping and serving to achieve the best consistency.

Yield: about 1 quart
Source: The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz

Watermelon Mojito Punch

19 Comments

Guess what! I have another summer drink recipe for you today. This one, however, is non-alcoholic and can be enjoyed by adults + kids alike during the summer. That being said, you are welcome to add some rum or even some tequila if you would like to step it up a notch. I won’t tell anyone. :)

This past weekend, I attended my dear friend Stephanie’s bachelorette party. After some Zumba and a nice dinner out on a patio, all us girls congregated outside on another patio for a fantastic ice cream party. Yum! We had three flavours of ice cream and then every single topping you could imagine! Delicious! I brought along some homemade strawberry ice cream. Recipe to come later this week!

It was extremely hot this weekend on the prairies, so I also decided to bring a delicious, refreshing drink for all the ladies to have in order to cool down a little. This watermelon mojito punch was perfect. Definitely refreshing, without being too sweet – it went quickly! 

I’m planning on making another pitcher of watermelon mojito punch for my upcoming book club BBQ potluck. It’s the perfect punch to share with friends and family during all of this hot, humid weather.
Ingredients
  • 1 medium sized seedless watermelon; peeled and cut into cubes
  • 1/4 cup of fresh lime juice
  • 12 medium to large fresh mint leaves 
  • 1L of lemon-lime soda; chilled
  • 2 limes, sliced for garnish
  • 1/2 cup to 1 cup of white rum (optional)

Method

1. Purée the watermelon in a blender. Blend until smooth.

2. Strain the blended watermelon through a fine-mesh sieve to remove any pulp. Set the watermelon juice aside.

3. In a 2L pitcher, muddle the mint leaves using the bottom of a wooden spoon. Note: You do not want to break up the mint leaves. You just want to bruise them slightly to release more of the mint flavour. 

4. Add the lime juice followed by the watermelon juice (just until half of the 2L pitcher is full).

5. Add the fresh lime slices.

6. Top with 1 L of chilled lemon-lime soda. Refrigerate the punch for an hour before serving to allow all of the flavours to combine. Serve over ice for a truly refreshing summer treat.

Note: You could also use sparkling water instead of lemon-lime soda. You may just need to sweetened the beverage with 2 tablespoons of simple syrup.

Source: inspiration from Cookin’ Canuck and Barefoot Contessa

Raspberry Gin Cocktail with Chamomile Syrup

25 Comments

Hello and happy Friday everyone! And happy almost Canada Day to my fellow Canadians! What are your plans for the long weekend? I have a pretty busy long weekend planned. I am shooting a wedding tomorrow, attending a BBQ and then going to my friend’s bachelor party. Sunday, I am heading to a friend’s bachelorette party and then to celebrate Canada Day at The Forks. Monday, I am going to spend the day sunning on the deck and catching up on my ever-growing summer reading list. Next up, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Anne Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

What books do you have planned for your summer reading?

On Monday, I also plan on having one or two of these delicious raspberry gin cocktails while lounging outside. I’m not one to drink much, but I when I do, I normally like something with a little gin. I know gin is not for everyone, but I love the flavour. Especially when mixed into a fruity cocktail such as this one! The chamomile syrup idea came from a recent Tasting Table newsletter. I love chamomile tea and was curious as to how a chamomile syrup would taste in a cocktail. The newsletter recommended pairing the syrup with gin – and I believe the recommendation was excellent. A really nice flavour profile between the tea, the gin, fresh lemon and sweet raspberries. I found the cocktail a little tart, so I added a little more syrup than the recipe called for. 

Wishing all of my American friends a happy upcoming 4th of July! What are your plans to celebrate? 

And wishing all my teacher friends a happy summer off! :)
Chamomile Syrup Ingredients
  • 1 cup of boiling water
  • 1/4 loose leaf chamomile tea
  • 3/4 cup of granulated sugar

Cocktail Ingredients
  • 8 large ripe raspberries
  • 1/2 ounce of chamomile syrup
  • 1/2 ounce of fresh lemon juice
  • 1 and 1/2 ounce of gin
  • ice cubes
  • club soda or sparkling water

1. Chamomile Syrup: In a small bowl, combine the boiling water and the chamomile tea. Steep the tea for 5 minutes then pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve set over a small saucepan. Discard the tea solids. Add the sugar to the pan and heat over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves (about 2 minutes). Turn the heat off and allow the syrup to cool. Transfer syrup to an air tight container and store in the fridge. Note: Syrup can be refrigerated up to a month. 

Yield: 1 and 1/2 cups of chamomile syrup

2. Cocktail: In a cocktail shaker, add 6 raspberries and 1/2 ounce of chilled chamomile syrup. Muddle thoroughly. Add the lemon juice and gin. Fill the shaker with ice. Cover and shake vigorously. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into an ice-filled glass with a wedge of lemon. Top the glass with club soda or sparkling water. Garnish with raspberries.

Yield: 1 and 1/2 cups of raspberry gin cocktail with chamomile syrup

Source: Porch Swing Sipper originally adapted by Erin Hayes (from The Tasting Table Newsletter)