Welcome to the wonderful world of Ice cream making. I do have to wonder if no cookbook author works from scratch anymore, but I'm not sure how much that would have saved me...but that's what best friends are for, and Curves pals, right?
So, I wrote down and bought all the ingredients for this Ice Cream. Honey was on hand, it usually is. I located Goat's Milk at Meijer, and there is a farm in Gladwin, about 20-30 miles away that will sell me some, but she needs notice. The health food store gave me her number. Greentree Food Co-op only sells goats milk in powdered form. I bought the milk at Meijer. I bought the vanilla beans there too...it was 50 cents cheaper and easier. I stopped at a local farm market in town, and bought the eggs. Then I read the entire recipe before I got started...(I learned this trick after a couple of long and drawn out recipes that left me eating dinner way too late). Mix first three ingredients in a large, heavy bottom saucepan. When milk is hot, remove pan from heat and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes to allow vanilla and milk to get better acquainted.
Discard vanilla beans, or put them each in half a bottle of McMaster's canadian whiskey and allow to infuse for a few weeks. Give one to your best friend for Christmas. Nothing says love like homemade vanilla. You may need a little more, I usually don't. But its good. And you get more bang for your buck...especially if you are on a budget.
Back to the Ice Cream...next you beat the eggs until lemony. I do not have a mixer, I used the blender...add them to the milk mixture slowly, stirring often so they do not curdle. Chill in the fridge two hours to overnight. Check. I do have a fridge...a fridge that's worth most of the rent payment;-).
"3. Freeze the ice milk in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's directions." Ice Cream Maker? Ice Cream Maker! I just said I don't even have a mixer...but an ice cream maker! Does this man think I'm made of money. I just dropped $15.00 on the ingredients and spent another $5 on honey two weeks ago. And now, where am I supposed to get an ice cream maker...oh, my. Well, at least I read it through first....
Deep breath...try freecycle. I offered to share the ice cream even...and no one offered one. So I checked Amazon.com for used...$20 and up, plus expensive shipping. Ugh...move on to e-bay. Don't forget the thrift stores. E-bay had some, but I kept getting out-bid. I'm still on a budget, wouldn't ya know. Thrift stores did not have any...I got a roasting pan from one...but not an ice cream maker. I did find a sno-cone machine...but expected this needed a real ice cream maker. I'm still at a loss.
I did check Meijers as well...they have most everything. I didn't see one my first time through, and thought maybe it was seasonal. The next time I went, I checked again: $30.00. If I squeezed hard, I might be able to squeeze it in...but I just wasn't sure I could do that.
I mention it at Curves along with my options. One lady told me her son has one, but he's in Ionia and she's not going down there until Tuesday and won't be back before Curves closes.
--If I get it, I'll still share the ice cream with him, I tell her.
Later, someone else did ask me about my luck in finding one.
--Not yet, I have a bid on e-bay, but you know how those can go.
--Well, there's one at a yard sale in Farwell, which is about 5 miles from me. It's $6.00.
--I should go get it, but I'm tired on a Thursday evening after work. I should get dinner.
--I can pick it up, its right on my way home.
--Thank you, I'll pay you back if you get it.
I did check Meijers as well...they have most everything. I didn't see one my first time through, and thought maybe it was seasonal. The next time I went, I checked again: $30.00. If I squeezed hard, I might be able to squeeze it in...but I just wasn't sure I could do that.
I didn't get to Curves on Saturday to check, darn my luck. And I ended up talking to Andrea on Friday. I'd been researching ways to freeze ice cream via the internet. Now, let me back up half a step out there...you might be wondering...didn't she make the ice cream in a coffee can as a kid. Some of you might even remember that I have child labor (nieces and nephews) I could borrow for this. I had the small, quart size coffee cans even. I did not have a large, metal maxwell house can...Folgers and many other brands have gone plastic, that may not be as useful. I priced out the coffee...$7.89 was the cheapest I believe. I was nearly kicking myself for not buying whatever Meijer had on sale last week, when I still had grocery money.
I considered the double baggie method, but didn't see that working out too well with ice cubes and rock salt.... In addition, that would require borrowing child labor as well, or putting James to work...and I wasn't sure how either of those would pan out. Finally, after calling my best friend, and reading about some areas online where they simply said, pop it in the freezer for 6 hours. Andrea suggested I remove it and stir it periodically. So, I bought a freezable plastic quart container, and made the ice and poured it in.
At Curves on Tuesday night, near the end of my workout, I spotted a box with my name on it...and the name of my ice cream angel...whom I may owe $6.00 for an ice cream maker and certainly some ice cream.
I stirred the ice cream the first night, a time or two, and the next morning...then forgot about it until tonight. I even drank the milk that didn't fit in the container.
This makes a very good, creamy sweet goats milk drink as well as ice. I do have more of a thinner texture similar to ice milk, but the flavor makes up for any lack of perfection in texture and technique. I will now have to get the stuff to try this recipe again, or maybe a cheaper recipe in my new ice cream maker as well. I could pimp out my vanilla beans again, but that may be a lot to ask of them...I could also add in a couple teaspoons to a tablespoon of my home-made vanilla and try the recipe that way...my options are endless...
But yes, I will definitely make this recipe again...Now, where to put the ice cream maker?
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