This is one of my favorite flavors, and one I can only get at Asian stores. Roasted black sesame ice cream is wonderfully rich and nutty. Gray may not be the most appealing color for ice cream (it’s more like slate), but trust me, it’s delicious.

I almost failed in this attempt. I don’t know whether it was because of the different brand of half-and-half that I normally used, or the sesame, but the boiling point was at a lower temperature than my previous custards, and even though I was constantly stirring, I watched it go from creamy to curdled in a matter of seconds. Following David Lebovitz’s advice in Perfect Scoop, I quickly dumped the mixture in a blender and gave it a whirl. It seemed to return to a custard-like state, but after I churned it, the texture seemed grainy. I’d like to think it was from the ground seeds, but I’m not so sure. The taste was just right, though, and it made for a dense ice cream. It barely lasted a day.

I’m going to have to make it again. When I do, I’ll post a photo.

Adapted from Essentials of Asian Cuisine, by Corinne Trang.

Ingredients

• 3 cups half-and-half (in retrospect, I should have used 4)
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 cup finely ground black sesame seeds

Combine half-and-half, sugar, and ground sesame seeds in a saucepan and stir over medium heat until lukewarm.

In a large bowl, whisk egg yolks until just combined. Slowly pour the half-and-half mixture into the yolks while whisking to temper them.

Pour this mixture back into the saucepan, and continue to whisk until just thickened. Pour into a clean bowl. Let cool before covering with plastic wrap and storing in the refrigerator overnight.

Pour the custard into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Tags: black sesame seeds, egg yolks, half-and-half, sugar

We interrupt the monthly ice cream series to introduce a new obsession: bread.

We bought the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois, which explains how to make high-moisture dough in large volumes so that you can make bread at a moment’s notice. No kneading is necessary; simply pull off some dough, shape it, let it come to room temperature, and then bake. The rest of the dough is stored in the refrigerator until the next time you wish to bake some bread, up to two weeks.

This is the first effort from this book, the Light Whole Wheat Bread. It turned out beautifully– very crusty with a slight chew.

The only mishap that happened was that I poured hot tap water into a Pyrex broiling pan, which shattered due to the extreme difference in temperature. The bread, due to the moisture in the dough, had attained a good crust without the added steam that the water was to create, so I see no need to try that again. We have enough dough for another loaf that we’ll bake this weekend.

Expect to see several posts on different types of breads!

The mixer in action.

It had to be done. Green tea ice cream.

This is also another recipe that I will need to make again for better results. I got the recipe from Essentials of Asian Cuisine: Fundamentals and Favorite Recipes by Corinne Trang. It called for 1/3 cup of matcha green tea and 3/4 cups of sugar, and they are to be blended with the half-and-half until it turns green. I used instead the Japanese Sweet Green Iced Tea blend from a shop called Teaism, which combines matcha and sugar.

However, 1/3 cup of this blend barely changed the color of the liquid, and I think I ended up throwing in close to 3/4 cup. I think this may be because my tea is fairly old and has lost its freshness, so I want to try again with a fresher canister. However, the ice cream tastes fine– I just want more tea flavor.

Stay tuned for the next ice cream, which may also be Asian-inspired!

I think(!) I’ve hit the winning combination for the consistency of ice cream that I like. The power of 3 for 3/3!

3 cups half-and-half
3 egg yolks
3/4 – 1 cup sugar
Churn for 30 minutes.

This month’s ice cream is cardamom. Steep 8 slightly crushed cardamom pods in warmed half-and-half and sugar for about an hour. Temper the yolks by adding some of the mixture, then put it all back in the pot and heat until the custard registers to 175-180 degrees Fahrenheit, stirring constantly. Fish out the cardamom pods and then pour into a bowl, letting it cool before putting it into the refrigerator to chill overnight. Follow the instructions for your ice cream maker.

The ice cream looks like your ordinary crema, but the slightly nutty and spice-y cardamom makes its presence known, gently.

We heard on an episode of The Splendid Table a suggestion to add cardamom ice cream to kriek lambic. The photo you see here is with framboise– the tartness of the lambic is nicely tempered by the ice cream. I like the pink color, too.

Your flavored creams and ices
And your dainty angel-food
Are mighty fine devices
To regale the dainty dude;
Your terrapin and oysters,
With wine to wash ‘em down,
Are just the thing for roisters
When painting of the town;
No flippant, sugared notion
Shall my appetite appease,
Or bate my soul’s devotion
To apple-pie and cheese!

~”Apple-pie and Cheese,” by Eugene Field (1850-1895). Full poem can be found here. (Hat tip to villagecharm)

Join the movement.

This effort was pretty good, but not without some major flaws.

What turned out right:
1. The base ice cream was a simple crema, from Alice Medrich’s book, Pure Dessert. I was skeptical about making ice cream that didn’t have any flavorings– just cream, eggs, and sugar– but I shouldn’t have been. The unadulterated cream taste is clean and lovely.

2. The salted caramel is addictive! I am a big fan of the salty-sweet combination, and this caramel has the perfect blend of the two tastes. The recipe is from David Lebovitz’s book Perfect Scoop.

What went wrong:
1. I’ve been experimenting with the fat content. My very first attempt was with 2 parts heavy cream, 1 part whole milk, and 4 egg yolks. This was rich and creamy, and easy to scoop, but I felt it was too rich– the fat coated my mouth well after the ice cream was eaten. The next attempt, with yogurt, was less rich, but the lower fat content resulted in some ice crystals and difficult scoopability.

This time, I used 2 parts half-and-half, 1 part whole milk, and 3 egg yolks. It’s close, but still not quite right. I want just a tad more richness. I’ll keep playing with the ingredients.

2. As you can see from the photo, I was comically heavy-handed with the caramel. It was supposed to be layered into the ice cream, like a ripple. Instead, there are huge chunks of hard, sticky caramel embedded. The next time I make this (and there will be a next time!), instead of layering it after it has been churned, I will drizzle it in the last few minutes of churning.

Despite the mishaps, it still tastes delicious, and Lipby and I can’t seem to stop dipping our spoons into the container.

For Christmas, I got an ice cream maker attachment. I’ve always been curious about making my own ice cream, so I gave it a try after the holiday, starting with a vanilla frozen custard.

It was the richest, creamiest, vanilla-est ice cream I ever had. We were hooked.

I then decided to try my hand at different frozen delights for every month this year, all in the name of experimentation. (and yumminess.) Today, a vanilla frozen yogurt, courtesy of Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz.

We dug into it right out of the machine rather than storing it in the freezer first, so it appears pretty soft in the photo. For something so simple to make– just three ingredients: Greek yogurt, sugar, and vanilla extract– it had enormous pay-off. Light yet creamy, with the unmistakable tang of yogurt and just the right amount of sweetness.

Tune in each month to see what kind of ice cream we’ll make next!

Tags: sugar, vanilla, yogurt

Today is National Bundt Day! This post is inspired by Mary, the Food Librarian, who loves Bundt cakes.

I was in the mood to make something with pumpkin, since it’s the season. I decided on the Pumpkin Spice cake.

Easy to put together– moist, pumpkiny and spicy, and not too sweet. It got the Lipby seal of approval!

Thanks very much, Mary, for the inspiration.

This is the last CSA share of the year– they’ve given us a lot for the final round!

Fuji apples
Broccoli
Turnips
Chard
Napa Cabbage
Red Leaf Lettuce
Rutabaga
Arugula
Bell peppers
Jalapeno peppers
Onions

We’ve got plenty of vegetables to last us for a couple of weeks, as I didn’t get all the way through last week’s share.

Thanks for following this season’s worth of produce from Earth Spring CSA!

Sorry! I’ve been behind on posting. Here’s last week’s haul:

Red leaf lettuce (salad)
Mustard greens (put in a vegetable soup, and sauteed)
Apples
Chard (sauteed)
Leeks (soup)
Radishes (salad)
Jalapeno peppers (I’ve taken to freezing these, since I haven’t done anything with the others I’ve gotten)
Sweet potatoes (soup)

This week’s share consists of:
2 bunches(?) of chard
Rutabagas
Sweet potatoes
Potatoes
Arugula (I think)
Turnips
Asian pears
Broccoli (yay!)

I see some roasted veggies in my future!