Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

“Ice cream is happiness condensed.” - Jessie Lane Adams 

Who doesn't love Ice Cream? And more so when you get to taste it fresh, right out of an ice cream machine the pleasure is just magnified manifolds.

Believe me!! There is nothing more delicious than having freshly churned ice cream. Its quite something else to watch the fresh pieces of fruits and cream, hypnotically churn in the ice cream maker and magically transform into soft creamy clouds of pure bliss right before your very eyes.

Its another sight to watch everyone standing transfixed around the ice cream maker, patiently or rather I should say impatiently waiting for the ice cream to finish churning before they could dig in with their spoons.

The best part of having an ice cream maker is that you can feel free to experiment with all the different flavours and combinations you could think of. And not to mention it is a great way to keep cool and beat the Texas heat.

Thanks to the high demand for fresh ice cream in my household, apart from strawberry ice cream, I have already got to try my hands on Blueberry-raisin ice cream, Banana-Strawberry Ice cream and a Mixed Berry Ice cream all of which turned out fantastic. Next on my list is to try out a Sorbet, a Gelato and Yogurt ice cream which I plan to do soon.

I had always aspired to buy an Ice cream maker in India but somehow never got around to buying one. Luckily I found this one in a garage sale, infact I remember this was my very first appliance that I bought here in America soon after we arrived.

We came to America literally with just 2 suitcases each in our hands which barely fitted our clothes and a few other important things. You can't imagine how frightening it is when you realise after staying in a blissful cocoon all your life, you have to give up all your comforts and begin life afresh all over again. its not easy!! Being always so passionate about cooking, over the years I had managed to get quite an impressive collection of things for my kitchen. Now my heart ached for all my gadgets, cooking appliances and baking things which I had to leave behind, amongst which was my precious Kitchen Aid mixer which my husband had gifted me on our Wedding Anniversary just a few months before coming here as at that time there was no plan of us moving out of the country.

Most of my kitchen collection had been painstakingly and lovingly collected piece by piece over the last 20 years of our married life and held a lot of sentimental value. With a heavy heart I disposed most of my kitchen stuff, some to charity, some to friends and some things I gave away to the maids who worked at my house. I found wisdom in my moms words when she told me that it was better to get rid of old things as when you come back you can buy newer and better things.

So when we reached here, we had to begin almost from scratch and I realised if I wanted to have a fully equipped kitchen with all the possible gadgets that were on my list, it would be impossible to buy everything new and also it would have been a long long wait. Thus began my journey of scouring classified ads for 'gently used' Kitchen appliances and gadgets and I must tell you I have struck some pretty good bargains.  Now within 10 months of our being here, I can proudly say that I have a beautifully equipped kitchen with every possible gadget and appliance a passionate baker (that's me) could think of and I can't tell you what a pleasure it is to cook and create in my kitchen. Its been hard when I began but I think I have reached the place I finally wanted to be in.

So for all you out there, even if things don't turn out your way, don't lose hope. I firmly believe there is always something better waiting for you in the wings. Reaching here with absolutely nothing with us we had never even imagined we would be able to rebuild our lives so quickly. But things work out for everyone and here we are!!

Here's to all the sweet memories I am looking forward to create in this beautiful new part of the world!!

 

Ingredients (recipe adapted from the Cuisinart Ice cream maker recipe book)
3 cups fresh ripe strawberries
4 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
11/2 cup sugar divided
11/4 cup whole milk
2 3/4 cups heavy cream
11/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method
In a small  bowl combine the strawberries with the lemon juice and 1/2 cup of the sugar.
Stir gently and allow the strawberries to macerate in the juices for 2 hrs.
Strain the berries, reserving the juices.
Mash or puree half of the strawberries.
In a medium mixing bowl, use a hand mixer on low speed to combine the milk and remaining granulated sugar, until the sugar is dissolved about 1 to 2 minutes.
Stir in the heavy cream, reserved strawberry juice, mashed strawberries and vanilla essence.
Turn the ice cream machine on; pour the mixture into the freezer bowl and churn till thickened about 20 to 25 minutes.
Five minutes before mixing is complete add the reserved sliced strawberries and let mix in completely

The ice cream will have a soft creamy texture.
If a firmer consistency is desired, transfer the ice cream mixture into an air tight container and place in the freezer for about 2 hrs.
Remove from freeze about 15 minutes before serving.