homemade mint ice cream without an ice cream maker

i made this recipe over the summer a few times, with the abundance of mint and not a thing to do with it this is what i came up with.

i used all organic ingredients but you can use conventional it would be the same.

1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup sugar in the raw
2 cups heavy cream
salt
2 cups mint leaves picked washed and cut
5 egg yolks

warm milk, sugar, and 1 cup cream and pinch of salt in small pot, add mint leaves and stir, cover and steep one hour.

strain into second sauce pan with 1 cup cold cream in bottom.

whisk together egg yolks in separate bowl and temper into hot liquid.

add remainder of mixture to eggs until completely integrated return to saucepan for heating.

warm over low to medium heat until mixture thickens scraping pan constantly.

pour custard like mixture through sieve into preferably a metal bow, i don't have a nice small one, so i used glass it worked fine.

the recipe recommends cooling over ice, i did the first time, but not subsequently.

let mixture cool, then add to freezer for one hour, take out and whisk every half hour until almost frozen then let freeze until solid throughout.

i added chocolate sauce to one batch it was delish however, i would recommend adding the chocolate later in the process as mine all sunk to the bottom.

i also added fresh organic strawberries i let some steep in place of the mint, and added chunks at the end, i would in the future omit the chunks as they got very icy and hard to eat. the flavor however was very good, i would do again with the strawberry flavor by steeping. 

i also used recycled pint containers from previous store bought ice cream for the final product. when ice cream was almost frozen i poured it into these containers and put them in the freezer for the final freezing.it worked out great.

family coop garden

i had this thought last summer while tending to my garden.  i have several family members in this area that all grow gardens in the summer, and some do better with certain items than others. so....why don't we create a family style coop. i mean by this everyone in the family grows only a few items and we get together often enough to have a swap when everything is ready.  even if we didn't it would be a good reason to get together.  my zuccinni come out great, and brett's uncle grows great green beans.  so why can't i just grow a few things and they grow a few things and it would make it easier on everyone. plus when i go to buy my plants at the beginning of the season i usually end up with to many of a certain plant because they are only sold in a three or four pack. like the zuccinni, i really only need one plant for myself. maybe i will try to talk the rest of the family into this for this summer?? i don't know if they'll go for it, as they enjoy the gardening as i do, it could be hard to give up tending to some of their favorite items?? i guess i will need to ask though to find out...to be continued!

chocolate tarts

i made these incredible delicious chocolate tarts for christmas eve and they were a huge hit.  i made them once more for new years eve, and have been craving them since.

the recipe was found in southern living magazine, i will share it when i find it again in my kitchen.

super easy

ingredients:
store bought pie crust
bakers semisweet chocolate
whipping cream
vanilla
salt
amounts to come....

fill mini muffin tins with small rounds of pie crust, i use the pampered chef tool, don't know what it's called, but it is wooden with balls on both ends, i will take a picture and post soon.  this tool is crucial in many of my favorite mini muffin recipes. bake for 10 minutes.

while that is baking finely chop the chocolate

heat whipping cream in pot, add chocolate to cream to melt let cook for a few minutes on medium temp just until melted and creamy.

let mixture cool 30 minutes

let tarts cool after they come out of the oven let rest for ten minutes then remove them from the pan and let rest while mixture is cooling.

pour cooled mixture into mini pie crusts, refrigerate for 1-24 hours the longer the better i found. i made them the night before and they came out with a great truffle quality to the chocolate.

top with fresh made whip cream, and enjoy, be careful though they are highly addictive!

my organic adventures

over the last 15 months i have dedicated myself to changing the way i eat and the way my family eats. i have been slowly switching over almost all of my pantry staples to organic.  i have not been sick in the last year nor has my son, other than a runny nose. thank goodness, i don't neccessarily attribute it to just orgnic food, but i am a believer that organic is better. better tasting, better for you, and better for the planet.

i also grew my first organic garden all by myself last summer and am looking forward to doing it again this summer. with us deep in the northeast winter right now, there is no signs of any fresh, organic food. so we have resorted to winter foods mostly, potatoes, carrots, etc.  i think i will try to can some more food this summer from my own garden for this reason!

my son eats primarily organic food, once in a while grandma will slip him something else, and myself as well. a little bit won't hurt. but i do make a consious effort to keep his diet solely organic, just for the fact that his body is much smaller, therefore, his organs are smaller and the smallest amount of pesticides can affect him much more than adults.  i would really love if other mothers were more exposed to this information, through there doctors or were instructed to at least speak to a nutritionist when they have small children, as there are very few guides on how to healthily feed  a small child! so many moms today are feeding there kids the wrong food, and themselves as well.  i'm not a saint i have an undesirable urge for a hot dog once in a while, but it's all about having the right knowledge and sticking to the basics that make for healthier living.

these are a few pictures i took a while ago of some of the homemade baby food i had made for him when he was younger.

i reused the containers i had gotten from the gerber organic premade baby food to store and freeze most of it, the others were frozen in ice cube trays and stored in freezer bags. this was super easy to do, it just took a little preparation, planning and time. but all well worth it, as my child was able to eat things other than the plain choices from the mass produced baby food companies. plus absolutely no fear of feeding him something that may have been contaminated or have high levels of lead as reported during this last year.

in case anyone was curious there were soy beans and yogurt, apples, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries, sweet potato, green beans with mint, peas fresh from my garden of course, plums and nectarines. i would only buy what i could find in the produce section that was organic and make a large batch everytime. cooking everything all in one shot made it easier, everything froze for up to 3 months, so it was gone much quicker than that to even worry about.

Turkey burgers

made these the other night and they were delish!!


ground turkey meat
dash of milk
sprinkle of bread crumbs
dash of rosemary
dash of thyme
mix together and grill


topped with
shredded carrots
american cheese
homemade tomato relish