Weeks like these deserve stress relieving treats. They deserve a treat that evokes memories of great times, great summers, great friends, and great loves.  A treat worth sharing! Cherish and celebrate those that are with us now.  Treat the ones you love. Treat yourself with….

Homemade ice cream.  Ding Ding Ding!!!!

I am typically pretty boring when it comes to ice cream flavors. A good homestyle vanilla is always my choice over a triple chocolate chunk or candy bar crammed scoop. I love the simplicity of a deeply intense vanilla ice cream. But step out of my way if fresh strawberry ice cream is available. I will knock down an old woman for it…just kidding…well, unless she had the last scoop. Am I right?

My favorite strawberry ice cream recipe is from the queen of simplicity, Alice Waters.  Her recipe calls for both heavy cream AAAAND half and half. Double yum. However, this time I used 2% milk instead of the half and half, and felt it was sufficiently creamy. If you can get your hands on a pint of fresh picked strawberries, this ice cream will scream SUMMER with no apologies. And you will be dancing like Beyonce with every bite that enters your mouth. Oh oh Oh oh Oh oh!

But don’t fret…I have a fix for those of us that either don’t have access to fresh strawberries or just can’t wait and gotta have it NOW.

*whisper* Use frozen strawberries.

Shhhhh. I’m serious.

Thaw out a package of unsweetened frozen strawberries (organic if possible) in the microwave or in the fridge. Throw them on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast at 400 F for about 20 minutes and voila…jammy strawberries that pack a super duper punch of strawberry love. Scoop the strawberries and jammy juice into a bowl and add a tablespoon of maple syrup or honey. Mash up the whole jammy strawberry goodness and allow it to cool in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.

After it has cooled, it can be added to the base recipe for vanilla ice cream provided below. Process according to the directions of your ice cream maker.

Although this recipe does take some planning, it is well worth it. So kick your heels up this weekend, make a fresh batch of ice cream, share it, and then take a nap in the hammock.  We all deserve it.

P.S. – Use these steps to make ice cream without a machine.

P.P.S. – For a dairy free version of this recipe, check out Sprouted Kitchen’s coconut milk version.

Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream (adapted from The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters)

Ingredients

• 1 lb of fresh or frozen strawberries
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 3 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup milk (I used 2%)
• 1/3 cup coconut palm sugar (or maple syrup, or honey)
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch of sea salt

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 F. If using frozen strawberries, defrost in microwave. If using fresh, quarter the strawberries. Place strawberries in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes. Place roasted strawberries and juice into a bowl and mash with the back of a fork. Allow to cool completely. This can be done in a day in advance.
2. To make the vanilla custard ice cream base recipe, place egg yolks in a heat-proof bowl and lightly beat, just breaking the yolks. In a heavy saucepan over medium heat, heat the milk and sugar to a light simmer. Add a few tablespoons of the hot sugar-milk mixture at time to the eggs to temper them until they are warmed.  Once the egg mixture is warmed, slowly add back into sugar-milk mixture. Cook the egg-milk-sugar mixture over a medium heat, stirring constantly until it is thickened and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and add cream, vanilla, and salt. Cool and then chill for several hours (or overnight) until cold. This is the vanilla ice cream base recipe.  You can proceed from here for just vanilla ice cream OR you can mix in fresh or roasted strawberries or whatever your sweet ice cream-loving heart desires.
3. Place a large bowl in the freezer and have it ready for the ice cream. For strawberry ice cream, mix the mashed strawberry mixture with the vanilla ice cream base mixture.  Add this mixture to the bowl of the ice cream machine and follow the directions of your ice cream maker. My ice cream maker takes about 20 to 30 minutes.
4. Immediately transfer the strawberry ice cream to the bowl that was placed in the freezer. Freeze for an hour or two to harden. Pull the ice cream out of the freezer and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.