Perfect for this summer heat! In June while visiting our daughter we were introduced to home made peach ice cream made in a Cuisinart ice cream maker. It was delicious – much fresher than anything in the stores. We purchased one for ourselves.
I’m now on my fourth ice cream batch. A batch is rather small – four servings, by most people’s standards, I would say actually two servings. I’ve made strawberry twice and vanilla twice. With my first batch I also made blackberry cobbler since blackberries were ripe for picking on our farm.
We wanted ice cream without eggs – lacto-vegetarian. This has been my base for vanilla. You can add fruit, chocolate, etc. to make different flavors
Vanilla Ice Cream
2 1/4 cups milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
I have been trying to use all organic ingredients. I have lately found the most sensational milk – as close to raw as you can get – Kalona Super Natural – http://www.kalonasupernatural.com/our-process/ It is hard to go back to even regular organic milk after tasting this milk. Put all ingredients except for vanilla into pot on medium heat, stirring until it just gets hot enough that you can see steam rising on the sides of the pot. Stir in the vanilla, pour into spouted container that you can cover and put in refrigerator over night. The Cuisinart container stays in the freezer between uses and should be in the freezer for twenty-four hours between uses. This is key to good ice cream – coldness during the churning process. Follow directions with Cuisinart. There are probably other ice cream makers out there, but this is the only one I’ve tried. I remember my grandfather using the old hand-cranked one, then my mom using the electric version.
Easy Blackberry Cobbler
1/2 c. butter 
1 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. salt
2/3 c. milk
1 (16 oz.) pkg. frozen blackberries, thawed or fresh (I really don’t measure here. I like lots of blackberries.)
Melt butter in a 2 quart casserole. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and milk in a small mixing bowl, mix well. Pour mixture over melted butter, do not stir. Spoon blackberries over batter; do not stir. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden brown.
J. Schlenker 