Blueberry Ice Cream

My Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt - Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker is awesome! I sometimes forget that I have it and that it only takes 30 minutes to freeze ice cream.

We picked these blueberries Saturday morning and made ice cream Sunday afternoon.

The Cuisinart recipe calls for 1 cup whole milk and 2 cups heavy cream. I simplify by using 3 cups Half & Half.

Blueberry Ice Cream

2 cups blueberries, mashed (I put them in the food processor on 'chop')

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 cup sugar

3 cups Half & Half

1 tsp vanilla

Mash the blueberries and let them macerate in lemon juice and 1/4 cup sugar for 2 hours. Then add the other 3/4 cup sugar, half & half and vanilla. Process in ice cream maker for 30 minutes. Transfer to a tupperware container and store in the freezer.

Fried Green Tomatoes?

Did you know that a green tomato is just a tomato picked before it's ripe? While searching online for a good recipe, I discovered that many people don't know this...they are trying to figure out which type of tomato it is and where they can buy them.

Luckily for me, I can find green tomatoes at the farmer's market, since I live in a totally shaded yard that does not allow me to have my own garden.

Yesterday at the farmer's market, I chose 3 red tomatoes and 2 green tomatoes - Red for caprese and green so I could try to make fried green tomatoes. You really can't live in the South and NOT try fried green tomatoes and fried okra at least once.

Dare I say that my recipe probably rivals Sipsey's?!

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

3 medium green tomatoes
1/2 cup all purpose flour

1/2 cup milk

2 eggwhites

1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 tsp course ground salt
1/4 tsp course ground pepper
1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil

1. Slice the tomatoes 1/4 to 1/2" thick (I preferred the thicker slices)

2. Dredge in flour
3. Dip into milk/egg white mixture
4. Dip into breadcrumb, cornmeal, salt and pepper mixture

5. Cook in 1/4 - 1/2 cup olive oil at medium heat until browned, turning once.

6. Drain on paper towels

7. Serve hot

I like mine dipped in fresh ranch dressing!

This is certainly not something I'll be adding to my regular menu (because it's fried), but it definitely was a delicious Southern treat!

Caprese Sandwiches

Self explanatory, no? I did drizzle a little olive oil and a sprinkle of salt on them.

It tasted like a garden in my mouth! Everything homemade or homegrown except the mozzarella. Yum.

Farmer's Market

From May to October we have easy access to fresh, yummy, local grown produce. This is what I picked up LAST week at the farmer's market.



A quart of blueberries lasted exactly one week before the last one was eaten. We did enjoy them on angel food cake with cool whip, too!

We made pesto with the purple basil and a chinese chicken cabbage salad.

Onions were sliced and grilled. Brocolli steamed.

This week, I picked up the cutest little fingerling potatoes for $3 (enough for two meals), another gigantic bunch of sweet basil for $1 (enough to make focaccia several times and make a batch of pesto).

We're making sourdough focaccia caprese right now.

I LOVE summer foods!

If one is good, two is BETTER!

Guess who now has two of these?That makes for twice as many of these in half the time.
Did I tell you that I taught Jimmie to make sourdough bread this weekend? Yep! He made a loaf for his mom without my help and it turned out beautifully. ;)

Turkey Eggrolls!

I'm not gonna lie to you...they were GOOD!

Sorry, no pictures. Maybe next time.

TURKEY EGGROLLS

20 eggroll wrappers
1 lb ground turkey (or chicken, beef, tofu, etc.)
1-2 tsp diced ginger
2 cups chopped cabbage
1/2 cup chopped carrots
3 chopped green onions

Brown meat and ginger.
Add chopped veggies and cook for a few more minutes.
Cool.
Put 2-3 Tbsp on each eggroll wrapper and roll according to package directions.
Deep fry at 350 degrees for 2-3 minutes, turning once, until golden brown.

I know. Deep fry - ick. I used canola oil. And if I'm gonna deep fry, I'm using 97% lean turkey to make up for it. ;)

I may add something hot and spicy next time.

Enjoy.

Sorry, [Charlie]...

Jimmie requested a blind taste test of sourdough bread made with MY starter vs CARL's starter. I needed to make up some small loaves for gifts anyway, so I tossed two batches in the oven yesterday morning while I was working on my tile project.

Jimmie wasn't home when I baked them, but I used an identical method for both. He came home to two loaves sitting side-by-side (not this picture) on the counter. Here's how it went down:

Me: "Hey, there are your two loaves for your blind taste test. Go for it."

Jimmie: [taking a bite of each and pointing to the loaf on the right], "This one is DEFINITELY yours. It tastes better."

Kasey: "Are you sure? Did you taste both?"

Jimmie: [Looking suddenly remorseful at his hasty response], "Uhhhh...."

Kasey: "You are RIGHT! You picked mine!"

Jimmie: [Full of relief, smiles and says], "You had me going there for a second. I thought maybe I picked Carl's, but I was SO confident that yours was the one with a prettier crust and bigger holes."

Smart boy.

Sorry, Carl. I win.