Strawberries!

If you’ve read this blog from the beginning (all 3 weeks of it!), then you remember me saying that I am a produce snob! Well, I struck again! I love it when local fruits and vegetables are in season! Right now berry stands are popping up all over the valley that I grew up in. I can’t resist fresh local strawberries! I know that some of these berries will star in some strawberry ice cream, some will just top some ice cream (tonight!) and the rest I’m not sure about! Any ideas??

I bought the berries from Mike and Jean’s Berries. Support your local farmers!

I Scream For Ice Cream!

I would eat ice cream every day if I knew that I wouldn’t look like an elephant at the end of that year. Those of you who can eat ice cream and not have consequences, I have to hate you now!

Nate and I got this fabulous ice cream maker as a wedding present (Thanks Lance!) almost 2 years ago! We have used it several times. If you are newly engaged, I highly suggest adding this to your registry!! Once you make home made ice cream it so so hard to let yourself eat store bought ice cream again!

Here is our beauty!

My mom made request for Nate and I to bring the ice cream maker to her house this weekend so we could make ice cream. I brought up a few cookbooks to look through for recipes, along with the owners manual that came with the ice cream maker. Cuisinart has not failed me! We decided on Mocha Chip Ice Cream! We added almonds and omitted the cocoa powder but I’m sure it would be great too. So, I guess we made Mocha Chip Almond Ice Cream.

Look Mom! There’s your Fiestaware and your table! He he!!

Mocha Chip Ice Cream

Servings

Makes ten 1/2-cup servings.

Ingredients

1 cup whole milk, well chilled 3/4 cup granulated sugar 3 tablespoons instant espresso 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 2 cups heavy cream, well chilled 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup mini chocolate morsels 1/4 cup chopped almonds

Instructions

In a medium bowl, use a Cuisinart® Hand Mixer or a whisk to combine the milk, granulated sugar, espresso powder, and cocoa until dissolved, about 1 – 2 minutes on low speed. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Assemble the Cuisinart® ICE-20 Frozen Yogurt-Ice Cream & Sorbet Maker. Turn the machine ON; pour mixture into freezer bowl, and let mix until thickened, about 25 – 30 minutes. Add the mini chocolate morsels during the last 5 minutes of mixing. The ice cream will have a soft creamy texture. If desired, transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and place in freezer until firm, about 2 hours to “ripen.”

Emeril’s Macaroni Salad

I found this recipe in my newest Everyday Food magazine and instantly knew I had to make it for the potluck we were going to on the 3rd. We have some family friends who have a house on a local lake (Big Lake, unique name, I know! It gets better, we also have Little Mountain and Clear Lake!). The Big Lake Fire Department puts on a show on the 3rd of July and it is always great. We won’t talk about the cloudy, muggy weather that made it difficult to see the bottom half of the fireworks!!

This recipe was easy to put together the morning of the party! I also liked this recipe because it didn’t contain any mayonnaise, which is always a bit scary to bring to a sunny picnic or barbecue. Enjoy!

source: Everyday Food

Ingredients

Serves 6

• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 pound elbow macaroni
• 2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into strips
• 1 small shallot, minced
• 1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese (2 ounces)
• 1/4 cup pitted Cerignola olives (or your favorite olives), sliced
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Directions

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook macaroni until al dente. In a small skillet, cook prosciutto over medium until crisp; discard fat.
2. Combine shallot, vinegar, and mustard in a large bowl; whisk in oil in a slow, steady stream. Add tomato, cheese, prosciutto, olives, and capers.
3. Drain pasta; add to bowl with tomato mixture, and toss. Add parsley; season with salt and pepper. Cool to room temperature, and serve.