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Ice Cream of the Week/IMBB: Peach Tea Ice Cream

This week I'm combining the 17th IMBB topic hosted by Clement at A La Cuisine! This is the third IMBB I've done. I often plan items for the themes, but I never seem to write them up for the blog. The theme for July is tasteTea and I'm blending it with my weekly summer ice cream.

I'm huge tea fan and am equally likely to order tea as coffee at the Mud House. Lately I've been a huge fan of rooibos teas, but I generally drink black tea. This recipe was inspired by a flavored tea that I greatly enjoy -- an Indian black tea flavored with peaches and some outstanding peaches from the farmers market.

The main flavor of this ice cream is the black tea. The peach flavor is very clear, but it is secondary to the tea. This ice cream makes the perfect afternoon snack. The color leaves a bit to be desired (similar to a very light chai), but the taste more than makes up for what it lacks in appearance. The best way to describe it would be ice cream, sweet tea, and fresh peaches all in one dessert -- what could be better.

Peach Tea Ice Cream

1 cup heavy cream

3 cups half and half

1 cup sugar

4 teaspoons peach tea (although I think any quality black tea should work)

1 peach chopped finely (almost a paste)

Combine the dairy and the tea leaves. The tea should be measured as if you were making cups of tea, with a teaspoon and the whatever leaves cling to it. Bring the dairy/tea to 175° over medium low heat. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and allow the tea to steep for 5 minutes. Strain the tea and combine with the peach and the sugar. Chill the base until well chilled in the refridgerator. Freeze according to your ice cream freezer's instructions.

Switched to MySQL

I've had a few technical problems with the site lately which have prompted switching from PostgreSQL (which I prefer) to MySQL (which MT likes better). This is just a test post to see that all of the importing worked properly.

Bloglines Aggregator

I've been searching for an aggregator that fit my style of blog reading for quite some time. I've tried a variety of tools and nothing seemed to fit just right. The solution has been just to have blogs I read in bookmark groups that get opened as tabs in Firefox. Over the weekend I migrated all of the sites I read to Bloglines and so far I've been very happy. It's nice to have my aggregator in the form of a web site -- that way I can access it from any computer. It also will be nice to be able to update my blogroll to actually reflect the sites I read. Look for some updates to the site in the coming days/weeks. I may even move away from Movable Type if I can figure out a way to migrate my content effectively.

Ice Cream of the Week: Basic Vanilla (with Splenda)

Welcome to week two of the Ice Cream of the Week. This week we're modifying last week's recipe to make a lower calorie version by using Splenda instead of sugar. I generally don't go for stuff like this, but I wanted to try cooking with Splenda and this seemed like a good challenge.

This ice cream tastes very good for a sugar free ice cream. The texture is good, but not perfect. It freezes in a bit grainer, crystalline form. The base against the edges of the freezer canister froze so solidly that the only way to get it out was to melt if (fill the canister with cool water and let it rest until melted). There is a slight aftertaste from the sucralose, it's not bad, but it is noticable. I'm going to have to try baking something with Splenda to see if it is there as well. Overall if you want to make sugar free ice cream Splenda is an acceptable sweetner.

Philadelphia Style Vanilla Ice Cream (with Splenda)

2 cups half-and-half

1 cup heavy cream

1 cup Splenda

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp table salt

The process of making this ice cream is identical to last week's ice cream (although with Splenda). Combine the half-and-half and the cream in a saucepan and bring to a simmer (approx 175° F) then remove from the heat. Scalding the dairy changes the texture of the finished ice cream -- making a smoother product. Combine the all of the ingredients into a container that can be stored in the fridge (with a good lid or plastic wrap covering). Ice cream base that is cold makes better ice cream. Aging the base also makes for a richer flavor. After aging the base (4 hours up to 24 hours) freeze according to your freezers directions. Mine takes about 30 minutes. Ice cream can then be transferred to a container to harden in the freezer or served immediately (although it is quite soft at this stage). This ice cream will freeze much more harder than ice cream made with sugar.

Is there a good grocery store in Springfield, MO?

So we just got back from the grocery store and I'm mad. We've shopped at several stores over the year we've lived in Springfield. We originally shopped at Price Cutter when we moved, but with the house switched to shopping at Wal-Mart to save a little money. A couple of weeks ago we decided that the quality of products at Wal-Mart didn't justify the cost savings. Today I'm not so sure. I think Wal-Mart may have a better selection than the Price Cutter Plus on Battlefield (near 65). I'm needing dutch process cocoa for an upcoming ice cream entry, but apparently that is not something that can be stocked in the store here. The tomatoes are what pushed me over the edge though.

I know that we should buy produce from local farmers, in fact we usually do shop at the farmers market, but schedules and the weather have made in difficult to stand in line to buy produce. I don't expect to get great produce at the supermarket, but I expect it to be edible. Lettuce, onions, and even cucumbers are usually okay, but I don't understand why it is so hard for a supermarket to have a decent tomato in JULY! I can get a better tomato from a can than I can buy at the Price Cutter. Today, I was unable to find a tomato that didn't have the hardness of a baseball, most of which had been trucked in from Mexico and grown hydroponically. IT'S JULY!!!! When we lived in Columbia we were able to get decent tomatoes (grown in Arkansas mind you) at Schnucks. The best I can tell is that Price Cutter is the equivalent supermarket chain here in Springfield.

This is the sort of thing that makes me want to become a nut job who lives in the middle of nowhere and grows all his own food. Does anybody know where I can buy a decent tomato without standing in a 30 minute line in the 100° sun?

I'm Biking Again

In my younger days I was an avid biker, er cyclist. I used to ride more than 100 miles a week on average, often times riding twice a day. It's been quite some time since I've done that and I'm pleased to say I'm getting back into the swing of things. I still have a long way to go, but I'm started. This morning I did an 11 mile ride bringing me to 29 miles this week. Next week's goal is 35 miles which can be achieved easily by adding a third day of riding during the week. My goal for the year is to get my weekly mileage up to 75.

Currently I'm riding a Trek Multi-Track hybrid bike. It's a decent bike, but nothing spectacular. I bought it when I went to college because the touring bike I had been riding wasn't good for campus. That's when the regular biking pretty well stopped. The hybrid is great for quick runs across a campus and recreation, but not so great for longer distances. I'm jonesing really badly for a new bike, of course I have to be riding before I can buy one. Currently my desire is a cyclocross bike -- they're good on the road and on the trail. I've got my eye on the Kona Jake the Snake -- I'm hoping I'll be able to get a deal on the 2005 model as the 2006 bikes come out.

Margaritas

Last night we were bored and not sure what to do exactly. Sarah decided she wanted margaritas so we called some people up and made drinks. I'm not usually a fan of margaritas -- I can't say that I've ever liked the taste of tequila. Last night may have converted me. Our margarita recipe is fairly simple: lime juice, triple sec, tequila, sugar, and lots of ice. The initial test was WAY to tart which prompted adding the sugar, but we kept them fairly tart. I think my main problem with margaritas has always been that they seem sweet when ordered in most restaurants (the only place I've had them). We assembled the drinks in a blender to a snow cone like consistancy that melted nicely. Very tasty.

Food Blogs in 417

I just got done being interviewed by Evan Fisk for an article he's writing for 417 Magazine about food blogs in the Springfield area. I'm not sure how many of them there are in SW Missouri, but I was pleased to hear that there were enough for even a brief write up.

One of note that I'll probably start reading is by Noah Dorrance. His most recent post is about Bodegas Borsao "Tres Picos" which is a cheap Spanish wine I think is very good for the cost.

Fresh Toasted Bread

Yesterday I baked bread for the first time since we moved to the new house. I used my standard recipe (which isn't really a recipe): 1.5 cups of water, 2tsp yeast, 1 tsp salt, 1tbsp sugar, and the appropriate amount of flour to make a good dough. I also added a tablespoon of barley malt for some depth to the flavor. I kneaded for 7 minutes in the mixer and moved to a bowl to rise. I usually just punch the dough down once, but I had time to punch it down twice before shaping. I shaped it into a boule and let it bench proof while the oven heated to 550°. Once the oven was up to temperature I tossed in 4-5 ice cubes and let them melt/steam and scored the loaf. I moved the bread onto the baking stone in the oven, tossed in 3 more ice cubes, and dropped the temperature to 425°. Thirty-five minutes later, bread. This technique/new oven gave me the perfect crispy crust. It wasn't too thick or hard, just a nice crackle as you bite through it.

This morning I toasted up two thick slices of the bread. If you've never had toast made with good, fresh bread you're missing out. The warmth of the toast melts butter nicely, the outside is crispy and the inside is still slightly moist. Not much beats toast made from fresh bread.

Crock Pot Piperade

In our continued quest for easy weeknight cooking we still use the crock pot quite a bit. We've been cooking from a book called The Gourmet Slow Cooker by Lynn Alley. Yesterday we made the Piperade which is a traditional Basque pepper sauce that was served with chicken -- traditionally it would be served with eggs, but is often used with meat or poultry.

To accompany the piperade I baked bread for the first time in the new house. More on that later today.