frozen ice cream-yogurt with cherries & yogurt-covered pretzels

 okay, real talk: if you have an ice cream maker, you owe it to yourself to make this right now. unfortunately, there are some steps involving cooling things, so it's not like you can just eat it right away, but at least you'll have it started, which is the main thing.

the base is essentially like if ice cream and frozen yogurt got together and had an adorable and tasty child. actually, it's more like frozen custard + frozen yogurt, because eggs. the important thing, though, is that it has the soft creaminess of ice cream and a little (but not too much) of the tangy-ness of frozen yogurt together in one delicious spoonful. then you gild the lily by adding lots of cherries and (meta!) chopped up yogurt-covered pretzels. the sweetness, saltiness, and crunch may just make this your new summer favorite.

there are a few different steps to this, but none are difficult or really that time-consuming. the main thing is that once you make the base and the cherries, you have to let them chill for a good long time - preferably overnight. so it's something to plan ahead for. but the anticipation just makes it better. 

i got the notion for the base for this from a recent rhubarb ice cream recipe in the ny times. i actually first used the base in a rhubarb-blackberry crumble ice cream, which was delicious but for which i forgot to make any note of amounts of things, so i can't really tell you how to make it. maybe i should revisit that soon. 

although that recipe was sort of an inspiration, the main thing i took away from it was the use of sour cream. but i never have sour cream lying around, so i used yogurt. if you've never made ice cream with a custard base (i.e., using egg yolks to thicken it), it might be somewhat intimidating. but it's really not hard. first, separate 4 eggs so they're ready to go (here's a video) - put the yolks into a bowl big enough to hold at least 3 cups. you can save the whites for something else (pavlova?!). then heat 1 cup each of milk and heavy cream with 3/4 cup sugar (in a saucepan over medium heat). stir it pretty diligently. once it's hot and the sugar has dissolved (you'll see steam, but you don't want it to boil), add it verrrry slowly to the yolks while whisking them heartily. this tempers the eggs so they don't scramble. basically i usually start with pouring it in a very thin stream for at least the first half of the milk/cream mixture, then going a little faster once the eggs are a bit heated. you can certainly find videos of this if it doesn't make sense. once everything's mixed, put it back in the pan and let it cook, stirring assiduously but not too speedily. as the custard (look! you just made a custard!) cooks, it will thicken up. most recipes say it's done when it coats the back of a spoon. here's what it looked like when i took it off the heat:

pour it through a strainer into a largish bowl. you don't absolutely have to use a strainer, but it's nice just in case there are a couple of bits of egg that have congealed. then just add a cup of greek yogurt and a teaspoon or so of vanilla, mix it up, and put it in the fridge for at least 3 or 4 hours and preferably overnight. it needs to be nice and cold before you freeze it.

you can also go ahead and make the cherries now. they need to chill, too, so you might as well get it over with. i used this recipe by david lebovitz. it was easy and worked a treat, although they didn't get as candied-y as i was expecting them to. but they are simple if you use frozen cherries and only a little less so if you use fresh and have to pit them. i am no great fan of pitting cherries (which is why i usually just eat fresh ones or use them in something like clafoutis, where they don't have to be pitted), but this was worth it. though i think frozen would be just as good. so yeah, make those and put them in the fridge.

now it's the next day and you can finally make ice cream! first, chop up ~ 3/4 cup (~ 7 ounces) of the cherries and drain them over a bowl or something (the juice is good, but you don't want it in the ice cream) for at least an hour. it would be good to do it in the fridge if you can, so they are cold. ice cream is sometimes temperamental and it's best if all of the components are cold. 

then just freeze the base in whatever ice cream maker you have according to the directions. in my kitchenaid bowl thingy it took about 15 or 20 minutes. while it's going, chop up about a cup or so (~ 5 ounces) of yogurt-covered pretzels. you don't have to be super-obsessive in chopping them - just get them roughly in bite-sized pieces. 

 when the ice cream's cold, use a sturdy utensil to mix in the pretzels and cherries, then pack it all in some airtight containers and freeze for a couple of hours. you can also eat it right away - it'll be almost soft-serve-y. you might want to make it to bring to a party or something, though, because otherwise you will want to eat. it. all. 


summer!

*ingredients*
ice cream base
1 cup whole milk
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
3/4 cup sugar
4 egg yolks
1 cup full fat greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

cherries (by david lebovitz)
1 pound cherries
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice

~ 5 ounces yogurt-covered pretzels (maybe you could use regular pretzels, but yogurt ones are where it's at)

listening to: this insane and hilarious mix of songs sent in as demos in the 90s. also a preview of grizzly bear's upcoming album. and santigold. always santigold.

coconut milk & banana "ice cream"

this is the message that greeted me this morning. thanks, bananas, way to advertise.*

i never liked bananas growing up. the blandish taste did not make up for the weird, icky texture. rather than just owning up to my general banana-dislike, however, i guess i thought my dislike would seem more serious to my parents if i found something concrete to hate about them. thus began my years of claims that i hated potassium. somewhere i'd heard that they had potassium all up in there and so i figured it was as good a reason as any.

but lo, i have seen the error of my ways, and now bananas and i are ... friendly acquaintances. i still don't buy them that often, but i do eat them occasionally and i definitely take seriously the messages that appear on the ones in my kitchen.

i read about using frozen bananas to make an ice cream-like concoction a while ago, but it didn't particularly appeal to me, being a relatively recent banana convert and all. all banana, all the time is a bit much.

but i bought a can of coconut milk at the asian market the other day (because even i know that "roxy" means premium quality ... and i liked the can) as well as some palm sugar. sugar, coconut milk (ROXY) and bananas are definitely something i can get behind.

this requires a couple of preparatory steps, such as peeling the bananas and freezing them and also putting the can of coconut milk in the fridge (you want everything to be nice and cold). but that's not too onerous. just do it before you go to work or whatever.

once the bananas are frozen, just blend them up (i used a food processor, but i think a blender would work too) with the can of cold coconut milk and maybe 4 or so tablespoons of palm (or brown. or whatever) sugar. i started out with just half a can of the milk, blended for a bit, then added more. the sugar you'll have to adjust to your tastes. start with just a couple of tablespoons and go from there. i also added a teaspoon or so of lime juice just to balance it out with a little acid.

once it's smooth, it will be kind of a milkshake consistency. this is also a good consistency, but if you want it to be more ice cream-like, you can put it in the freezer for awhile. if you go that route, i would stir it around every half hour to an hour for the first couple of hours, so it stays creamy. i actually ended up freezing it down more in my ice cream maker attachment thing, so if you have an ice cream maker, i think it would give you the best texture. but it will still taste good if you don't. i hope.

there are a lot of things you could add in as well - chocolate comes to mind, either in chip or stracciatella form, also any kind of nuts would be great. or candied ginger. the world is your oyster!

i don't think oysters would be that good in it.

whether you're a banana lover or merely a banana well-wisher, this is a delicious and relatively healthy and wholly vegan dessert. it also received an enthusiastic dog seal of approval when i accidentally spilled a little. so that kind of tells you all you need to know.

except, of course, which of these mascots/logo characters is more disturbing.

of course, mr. number one (last in a line of palm sugar magnates) has a grotesquely enlarged right hand and his neck seems to end as the knot of his tie. however, mandy the soccer-playing clementine appears to have only applied blush to one cheek. also, she's a clementine. also, her hair? and i think she has claws.

mandy wins!

*ingredients*

4 regular-sized bananas. or like 5 or so. it's no big deal.

1 can coconut milk (or you can use coconut cream if you want to be all rich about it. use less sugar if you do, though)

2-5 tablespoons palm** (or other) sugar

~ 1 teaspoon lime juice (i used a slice that was about 1/6 of a lime)

blend everything up til smooth, then either drink it up like a milkshake or freeze it (stirring occasionally) for a few hours or freeze it in an ice cream maker.

*i learned this trick, like all important life lessons, from the bloggess.

**yo, seriously, palm sugar is delicious. if you see some around, you should try it.