Lemon Gelato

I seriously made homemade gelato.

I make ice cream all the time. My ice cream maker is one of my favorite appliances. It allows me to get really creative with ice cream flavors. And my family is sweets obsessed.

However, I've never made legitimate gelato. I tried just about every single flavor when M and I went to Italy a few years back. However, the whole "tempering custard" thing always held me back.

Until a recent trip to a local gelato shop in my neighborhood caused me to rethink my fears.

I'm not cheap when it comes to food. I hate food waste, and so I use up every single thing I ever buy (and get really creative with leftovers), but I spend a lot on high quality ingredients. I'm not scared off by $9 a gallon milk because it comes from a small, local creamery where quality is key. I don't cringe at a pound of ground beef that costs me $8.95 because it comes from a slaughterhouse with standards that would put most in the meat business to shame. I put forth a lot of effort researching what goes into our bodies. And it's worth every penny. I've always said that it doesn't matter how much we spend on what goes over our bodies or as roofs over our heads if what goes into our bodies and onto our skin is...pardon the phrase...crap.

But I draw the line at $6.00 for a 1/2c. of gelato, especially when I find out that the quality of the eggs and cream is no different than what a large scale producer of ice cream is using. What the heck is it about gelato that makes it so expensive? Is it the cream? Is it the number of eggs? Is it its fancy Italian name that makes suburbanites pay money because it looks like something they just have to have?

Only one way to find out.

Farm to Family Table had a lemon gelato recipe hidden in its blog, and since lemon is our family favorite, I decided to give it a try. The recipe below is AMAZING. A. MAZ. ING.

And I also decided to see if it was really worth the price of $6.00 for a half cup. See below the recipe if you are so inclined.

You need:
2/3 c. lemon juice (about 3-4 lemons, depending upon size)
Lemon peel from 3 lemons
6 egg yolks (save the whites for an omelette!)
1 1/4 c. heavy cream
2 1/2 c. half and half
1 1/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract


Cut the peel from three lemons that have been washed and dried well. Be sure to wash and dry off any juice that might have squeezed out onto the peel so it doesn't curdle the milk. Place in a small bowl. In a mixing bowl, add the egg yolks. Whisk in the heavy cream. In a medium pot, heat the sugar and the half and half over medium heat. Add the lemon peel. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat. Temper the egg yolk/cream mixture by pouring in a small amount of the warm sugar mixture, whisking constantly. Then gradually add the egg yolk mixture into the warm sugar mixture. Return to medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens and coats the back of the spoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Remove the lemon peels and refrigerate overnight. Once cool and ready to add to the ice cream maker, stir in the lemon juice. Add to the ice cream maker and mix according to the machine's instructions. If you want to impress someone and serve this for dessert, don't toss out those three to four lemons you squeezed for juice. Instead, scoop out the flesh and serve the gelato in the lemons. Fancy, right?


 Addendum: the cost of making gelato with really good quality ingredients - by me


Lemons (bag of 6 for $1.99) - $1.00
Egg Yolks (local farm, $3.79/dozen) - $1.90
Heavy Cream (local creamery, $5.00/pint) - $2.75
Half and Half (local creamery, $5.00/qt) - $2.75
Sugar (organic, unbleached, cane, $6.00/3 lbs) - $1.35ish
Vanilla (Madagascar, pure, $4.99/4 oz.) - $.10 (to be generous)

= $9.85 for a half gallon, which is equal to 16 1/2 c. servings, which means each 1/2 c, serving, made with very high quality ingredients purchased in small quantity (and not in bulk like most retailers), costs me SIXTY-TWO CENTS. 

I'm in the wrong business. 

Avocado Quinoa Bowl with Ricotta, Mint and Egg

Tuesdays, for as long as I can remember, have been Taco Tuesdays. And we've tried all sorts of recipes that fit into the "taco-ish" category - enchiladas, tostadas, taco pies, etc. However, even those recipes are getting old. And kind of unhealthy. I've started to feel like Taco Tuesday became Trashy Tuesday, our excuse to eat one cheesy, fat-laden meal a week under the guise of "celebration." 

Not that I mind those days. I would fight someone to the death for an amazing chimichanga. There's a place for that kind of decadence, but I knew there had to be a better way to savor the flavors of Taco Tuesday while opening our family up to new flavors and ingredients. 

This is another Farm to Family Table recipe, which borrows the flavors of cumin, onion, avocado, and a "rice-like substitute" (I have to call quinoa "round rice" to get my son to try it), into a very healthy dish. It's absurdly easy to put together, and it is both filling and light on the digestion (thank you, quinoa). 

The recipe below served two adults, one hungry nine year old, and a picky three year old. If you have heartier eaters, increase the quinoa and fry another couple of eggs. And one more thing - about the greens - I originally found this recipe when I was trying to find something to make with the beet greens and chard still frozen in the deep freeze from last summer's veggie share. It was only after I'd printed it that I realized it, too, might help solve the taco conundrum. However, use whatever greens you'd like or have on hand. Spinach will most certainly work, as will kale or even baby lettuces or salad herb mixes. 

You need:

1 c. quinoa

1/2 tsp. salt (plus more to taste)

4 oz. beet greens, roughly chopped

4 oz. rainbow chard, roughly chopped

3 tbsp. olive oil (plus more for sauteing and drizzling)

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1/2 tsp. cumin

10-12 mint leaves, cut into ribbons

1 tbsp. chopped chives

1 sliced avocado

crumbled ricotta

4 eggs, fried or poached

chive flowers, for those of you who like to garnish fancy, fancy

Rinse the quinoa in cold water. Bring 2 cups of water to boil in a saucepan. Add 1/2 tsp. salt and the quinoa. Bring to a boil for about 30 minutes until cooked and the kernels have popped open. Remove from heat and set aside.  In a saute pan, saute the greens with a drizzle of olive oil until just wilted. Add to the quinoa. In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice, 3 tbsp. olive oil, cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Pour over the quinoa and greens. Toss in the mint and chives. Top with avocado slices, ricotta, and eggs. Drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil and fresh ground pepper (and those flowers if you want to dazzle!)

Chocolate Pudding

We are doing our very best to make this a fun and special week. It's been an incredibly bizarre school year, and, to top it all off, the kids and I have different Spring breaks. Eek! So, I'm doing all I can to make after school time lots of fun - trips to the playground, games of catch in the back yard, and, of course, exciting and delightful treats for dinner and dessert.

Last night, I used up our colored Easter eggs by making these pretty darn cute egg chicks, with a side of peas and some leftover rolls from my mother in law. But we ate early and finished early, and the kids were hoping for a fun dessert. Let me say that pudding is one of our favorite desserts, but I have no patience or interest in the artificially concocted puddings you pick up at the grocery store, so I've been trying to find an easy recipe that works. This one definitely fits the bill. It was very easy to make. The original recipe calls for all ingredients to be at room temperature, but since I decided at the last minute to make the dish, I simply tempered the egg yolks with a little of the heated cream mixture before adding them into the pot.


You need:

2 tbsp. cornstarch
1 tbsp. cocoa powder
2/3 c. sugar
pinch of salt
1 c. heavy cream or half and half
3 egg yolks, at room temperature (save the whites for an omelette in the morning!)
2 c. whole milk, at room temperature
4 oz. semi sweet chocolate chips
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tbsp. vanilla
whipped cream for topping (optional)


In a medium saucepan, whisk the first four ingredients over medium-high heat. Whisk in the cream, then egg yolks, then milk. Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly. Once it starts to thicken, add the chocolate chips. Reduce heat, still whisking, and then add the butter and vanilla. Once the pudding is fairly thick (and remember that it will continue to thicken as it cools), turn off the heat and place into individual serving dishes. Serve warm, at room temperature, or cool in the fridge.

(makes eight 2/3c. servings)

Maple Pumpkin Muffins

It's Maple Season (or at least we hope it's coming with all this snow still hanging around)! That means we'll be spending the month of March trying out new recipes with syrup. We decided to start things off with a Saturday morning treat - Maple Pumpkin muffins. I had half a can of pumpkin in the freezer from the fall so we had all of the fixings for these great muffins. And they didn't disappoint!


You need:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. canned, pureed pumpkin
3/4 c. maple syrup
1/4 c. canola or coconut oil
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix wet ingredients in another bowl. Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Scoop into buttered muffin tins and bake for 25-30 minutes.

Greek Yogurt Cherry Waffles

C is obsessed with waffles. OBSESSED. He wants them ALL THE TIME. For breakfast. For lunch. Anytime. However, I've never understood the appeal of the frozen waffle. They look so dense and flat and boring. As a result, I'm always experimenting with different waffle recipes that are appealing and tasty. This was a great Movables recipe that uses flavored Greek yogurt as the flavoring base. They were light and fluffy with lots of flavor. Best of all, the freeze beautifully! Now THAT's a frozen waffle I can get behind.

You need:

3 large eggs

1 c. whole milk

1 c. black cherry Greek yogurt (or any flavored Greek Yogurt of your choice)

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. honey

2 c. flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs. Add milk, yogurt, vanilla, butter, and honey. Whisk until creamy. In a small bowl, mix the dry ingredients. Slowly add to the wet ingredients and mix until evenly combined. Cook according to your waffle iron's directions. 

Granola

THIS is a really crunchy, yummy granola.

We've started following "Farm to Family Table" on the PBS App, and as a result we've tried out a lot of healthy dinners and treats that are simple, clean, and healthy. The kids were bowled over by how good this granola looked, so we tried it out this afternoon. It did not disappoint, and it let me continue to cook through my freezer and pantry as we desperately attempt to have as little as possible left in the deep freeze when we move. NOTE: We doubled up on the fruit because of C's nut allergy.

You need:

2.5 c. old fashioned (NOT quick) oats
1 c. raw nuts
1 c. mixed dried fruits (I used dried cherries, cranberries, and blueberries(
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. applesauce
1 tbsp. coconut or vegetable oil


Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Mix the first seven ingredients in a bowl. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining ingredients. Add to the dry mix. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Spread the granola over the parchment in a single layer. Baker for 30 minutes, tossing every ten minutes.

Super Moist Banana Wee-Breads

Where did all of these bananas come from?!

Right. Thank you, Trader Joe's, for your fun-sized, kid carts.

Don't get me wrong - shopping with A and C is a lot of fun. We get up early every Saturday morning and head out together to do our shopping. They know each aisle well, and they can spot the hidden buffalo and pick out good looking avocados with enthusiasm.

Just don't shop with them when you are recovering from the flu. And bronchitis. And you can barely see straight. Because when you say, to yourself, "ok, so, we need bananas," you'll put a bunch in your cart. And so will your eldest. And so will your baby boy.

And then you have a lot of bananas.

They browned and ripened faster than I could eat them, and we had already indulged in enough gingerbread cookies to make a batch of V's banana bars. That's when I thought to turn, again, to The Mom 100 Cookbook. Because every mom has, at one point, been stuck with a lot of ripe bananas.

I've been making banana bread for years, but I'm always interested in new recipes that change things up a bit - different spices, different ratios - so I decided to tweak her "moist banana muffins" recipe a bit. The original calls for 12 large muffins, but I have this great Pampered Chef four-mini loaf pan which is great for freezing the extra three loaves for future munching, so I used that instead of a muffin pan and baked them for 30 minutes. However, if you want to make muffins, bake for 23-25 minutes. If you want to use one large loaf pan, bake for 45 minutes.


You need:
1 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
4 very ripe bananas
1/2 c. plain greek yogurt (or buttermilk or sour cream or heavy cream)
1/2 tsp. grated orange zest
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease your pan. In a medium bowl, mix the first three ingredients. In your mixer (set with the paddle attachment), mix the sugar and butter until well-blended. Add the eggs, one at a time, and vanilla. Mix in the bananas, yogurt, zest, and cinnamon. Slowly, mix in by hand your dry ingredients until just combined (don't over mix!) Pour into your baking receptacle of choice and bake according to what's above. Let cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan.