Balsamic Strawberry Ice Cream

The latest Iron Chef VMRCVM was Battle Balsamic Vinegar, as well as my debut as a cook rather than a judge.  My classmate, Jenny, and I took home the honors of winning that battle, and the dessert round was our strongest.  So I made it again tonight so I could share, but this time I altered it a bit for a lower fat version.  I'll post it both ways.  Enjoy!

Ingredients:

 1 quart heavy whipping cream (or half and half for the health conscious)

 24 oz frozen sliced strawberries

 fresh strawberries or mini semisweet chocolate chips, whichever you prefer

 balsamic vinegar (amount is up to you, but trust me, it's not a lot as this flavor is strong)

 1 ice cream maker (I have the kitchen aid attachment), placed in the freezer overnight

Directions:

 In a blender, add the entire 24 oz container of frozen sliced strawberries (I ran hot water on the outside of the container to make it easy to slide the contents out in one big chunk).  Add as much of the cream or half and half as you want, depending on if you want a strong strawberry flavor or a creamier flavor, but I wouldn't put more than a quart of either or you'll dilute the strawberry too much, and you need the strawberry to make the balsamic flavor blend well.  I added 3.5 cups (the quart minus half a cup) of half and half this last time.  You can add some of the cream, blend, taste, and based on that decide if you want to add more or not.  This recipe is all about how it tastes as you make it rather than measuring because that's just how I cook.  Blend together.  Add a TEENY splash of balsamic vinegar, blend, taste, and repeat as needed.  The idea is that the balsamic vinegar adds a tartness that really brings out the strawberry, but make sure you add enough to taste it, because the balsamic really adds a nice flavor that compliments the strawberry.  However, if you add too much, it can get a bit strong so you might want to dilute it with some leftover cream/half and half and some more strawberries.  Tasting throughout the process is key (you go through a lot of spoons, so I set aside a spoon that I never lick for the dipping, and dribble the blended cream mixture onto a spoon that I do lick without touching spoons to keep from contaminating the dipping spoon; unless you're just making this all for yourself, to which I say double dip away).  It should be cold since the ingredients were either frozen or refrigerated, so we're ready to make ice cream; if you're not ready, just stick it in the 'fridge until you are.

 When you've got a blend that you think tastes awesome, get the ice cream maker out.  While running on low speed (at least, that's how the kitchen aid works, you'll have to read the directions to your maker if it's different), pour in the soon-to-be-ice-cream.  Add sliced fresh strawberries or mini semi-sweet chocolate chips, or both if you so choose, as it's mixing.  After about 10 minutes churning away, it will be a soft-serve consistency.  You can get it right then, or transfer it into a freezer safe container (I use glad-ware) and put it in the freezer for a more solid-frozen treat.

Last step: OM NOM NOM!

Smelly Jelly Kelly

I've mastered the art of the smelly jelly, as well the art of being a poor graduate student, so it only makes sense to master the art of gifts on a budget.  Using jars, smelly jelly crystals, and fragrance oils found here, water, and some old food coloring that's too old for me to want to eat, but not too old to look pretty in stuff I can't eat, I made these:

Fragrance oils are $2.60 an ounce (about 30 mL), which contributes to 2 jars and a little extra for some lotion experimentation (I use about 14-15 mL per jelly jar).  A set of 12 jars (including the metal slitted lids and the plastic lids to keep the fragrance in until you're ready to use it) sets you back $14.29, but you could use any old candle jars or old jelly air freshener containers you have around, or re-use the 12 from this site (like I do) when your jellies dry out--just clean it out and make a new one.  One pound of jelly crystals only costs $6.75, and this is enough to make 80 jars.  So really, one jar costs about $2.56 to make.  And they smell awesome and like anything you want (there are TONS of fragrance options), plus they're really cute.  Score.

These fragrance oils can also be used in candles, which might be my next adventure in the summer.  If I can nail that down, I'd save a lot of money that currently goes to my candle obsession (though the air freshening smelly jelly jars do help abate that).

Even More Corgi in the Snow!

For whatever reason, Firefox/Google/something really doesn't want me to upload the 3rd corgi in the snow video, but here's the 4th:

Back in Action for Winter Break

Well, that was a rough semester.  I learned a lot, but they weren't kidding when they said that would be the hardest semester.  So now that I've beaten the hell out of my poor little GPA, it's time to chill the eff out for a month and regroup for the battle coming up for me that is Spring 2011.  And with no where to go but up, hopefully I'll be over the grade obsessing and back into showing what I actually know and can do.  Less stressing out and more kicking ass.  Look out, next semester, because I'm going to be on a rampage.  The battle to win back my pride begins in a month.

So until then, I've got a month of corgi-hopping in the snow, experimenting with new recipes, and more nom-inspired adventures to be had! Well, corgi hopping in the snow when we get some snow that isn't completely iced over, anyhow (though, I'm sure another snow storm is imminent).  Not to worry, while we wait for another decent snow (sans ice!), we can reminisce on last winter's adorable snow corgi adventures: (firefox spazzed out after uploading the first 2 videos, so I'll have to post the last 2 tomorrow)