Raspberry Almond Ice Cream and Poached Peaches

This ice cream came to be after and incident with no cook freezer raspberry jam. I bought a large quantity of raspberries that were very ripe with the intention of making a pie or 2. I realized I had about an hour to spare on the raspberries, and that by the next time I could get at them they wold have gone bad. So I bought what I though was enough pectin and went to work. I disobeyed the golden rule of cooking and did not read the recipe first. I discovered that I did not have enough sugar and that I had not bought enough pectin and on it went. I ended up freezing what I made in jars as if I had made the jam correctly with the intention of using them for mousse, ice cream, coulis etc...

So first up with my failed freezer jam is ice cream. I have added a recipe for raspberry coulis as I expect no one to be in my predicament. Here is my go to recipe for vanilla ice cream which I use as a base for many other ice cream recipes:

Vanilla Ice Cream

500 ml / 2 cups 35% whipping cream
2 whole eggs
175 ml / 3/4 cup sugar
250 ml / 1 cup whole milk
5 ml / 1 t vanilla (I used almond extract)

Raspberry coulis*:
500 ml / 2 cups of fresh or frozen raspberries
125 ml / 1/2 cup sugar

*I used 250 ml / 1 cup of seeded failed raspberry freezer jam

In a large bowl whisk together 250 ml / 1 cup of cream, the eggs and 60 ml / 1/4 cup of sugar. In a sauce pan add the rest of the cream, the milk and the remaining sugar. On medium low heat bring the cream/milk mixture to scalding and remove from heat. While whisking vigorously pour the hot cream/milk into the cream/egg mixture. Pour the custard into the sauce pan and stir continuously with a wooden spoon cooking the custard over medium heat for several minutes. The custard will be done when a little steam rises from the custard and the custard has thickened slightly.

Remove from heat and strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Add the vanilla or in this case almond extract and stir. Chill in the refrigerator or use an ice bath to chill the custard quickly.

Coulis: Place raspberries in a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and press through with a rubber spatula. Add the sugar and stir to dissolve.

When the custard has thoroughly chilled add 1 cup of raspberry coulis and stir. Transfer to an ice cream maker and freeze according to the manufactures' instructions.

Yield: 1.5 liters / 6 cups

Note: When I have vanilla beans kicking around the pantry I add the seeds and pod of a bean to the cream/milk mixture. I remove the pod before cooking the custard.

For the peaches:

Poached Peaches

This is a Martha Stewart recipe. Because I am pairing the peaches with Raspberry Almond Ice Cream I wanted to keep the flavors of the poaching liquid simple so I used 30 ml / 2 T of Kirsch instead of wine and no other spices or flavours.

Negril, Jamaica

Just got back from a relaxing childless week in Negril, Jamaica. A very lovely island with a solid tradition of good food. Negril has a four story limit on it's buildings and lower cost hotels and motels abound. We stayed at the budget friendly Xtabi on the cliffs, but we were a short taxi ride from the famous 7 mile beach which is slowly being taken over by the large upper scale all inclusive hotels.

Breakfast was included in our stay at Xtabi, and I chose the Jamaican Breakfast 4 times out of seven. When I didn't choose it I wished I had. Every morning we ate on the terrace of Xtabi's hotel overlooking the Caribbean Sea.

Jamaica Breakfast at Xtabi, Negril

Ackee and salt fish (cod): Ackee is a tree growing fruit. Our waiter called it a fruit/vegetable. The ackee and salt fish are sauteed with onions and sweet peppers and the final dish is similar in taste and appearance to scrambled eggs. As I understand it ackee is not a pick and eat kind of fruit:

The fruit of the ackee is not edible in its entirety. Only the inner, fleshy yellow arilsseedweed, at the tips of the arils, and the bright red pod enclosing 3 or 4 arils are discarded. Ackees must be harvested, prepared and cooked properly. Ackee pods should be allowed to ripen and open naturally on the tree before picking. Prior to cooking, the ackee arils must be cleaned, washed, boiled and the water discarded: raw ackees and the inner red tissue of the ripe ackee arils contain potent alkaloid toxins (Wikipedia) are consumed. The shiny black seeds can be smoked in

Ackee

Calaloo: Calaloo can mean a dish which includes the green leaf from the spinach family or it can refer to the leaf itself. There is some confusion here and I wasn't able to untangle it. I love rapini and spinach (which taste a lot like calaloo), but never have them for breakfast. Dense greens on my breakfast plate seemed like a good way to start my day.

Fried plantain: Well known around the world, plantain is from the banana family but is larger. and quiet starchy. Frying slices of the unripened plantain brings out its' sweetness and a slight caramel flavor. Plantain is much sturdier than bananas and requires some processing in order to be eaten.

Fried dumplings: Our very efficient and friendly waiter Omar told us that the dumplings consist of flour, milk, eggs and butter. They are rolled and then deep fried. They were not greasy in the slightest, and I was not 100% sure they were fried until I asked Omar. The deep fried dumplings were very good and hard to share.

Every where we ate the food was prepared to order. This meant some waiting, and the mandatory sipping of a cold Red Stripe beer. Our dishes were always freshly prepared and made with pride.

Conch: I had never tried conch before visiting Jamaica. Think calamari in texture and flavour. I ordered seafood any chance I had and ate 3 different conch curry dishes at three different restaurants. Three Dives had the best: okra, onions, green peppers and tender conch in a mild curry sauce...yum! I also enjoyed conch fritters at Xtabi's restaurant.

Jerk Chicken, calaloo, rice and beans & Conch curry with fries at The Three Dives, Negril

Just Natural was a restaurant neighbouring our hotel and lucky for us: because we were on a strict budget (Xtabi is not an all-inclusive), and had to plan to eat out twice a day. For 17$US my husband I had a soup* (pumpkin), a main course, desert (pumpkin/rose water cake with key lime icing) and a Red Stripe.

*One local I talked to told me that he enjoyed soup every day. It seems to be a staple of the diet even in the blistering heat. I ended up flop sweating while consuming mine (takes some getting used to).

Lentil burger, seafood salad, a side of calaloo, garlic toast and fried plantain


Just Natural Terrace

Unripe mangoes, beach vendor, hotel vegetation

Sea Grapes

Tart and sweet with undertones of tomato
(Growing on Xtabi terrace and often eaten by waitstaff.)

Other things I noted about the food of Jamaica. Crazy for peanuts: Sweet peanut drinks, peanut ice cream, peanuts or their flavour were present in sweet and savory foods. I partook of a Peenie Wallie over ice which is a peanut cream liqueur...delicious if a little too sweet.

Jamaicans seem to eat year round what a Canadian would call winter food. Hot soups, heavy baked goods, thick sauces over stewed meat, rum cakes, porridge etc... We spent a day at the 7 mile beach and several vendors were strolling down the beach selling banana bread and muffins.

The influence of former British rule is most evident in the grocery store, but happily only the best of their cuisine is retained by Jamaicans, namely desserts. Indian influence: every menu had a curry on it. My husband had a delicious goat curry at the Charela Inn on the 7 mile beach. I partook of their famous homemade peanut ice cream. It was harder to find the Spanish influences in the food of Jamaica, but I imagine the strong presence of rice and beans were a part of it.

Of note: There is extreme poverty in Jamaica and the living conditions for many Jamaicans are treacherous and fragile. Inflation is high, and groceries are expensive. Electricity and gaz prices are high also. I was informed on a few occasions by locals that Jamaicans cannot afford to travel. Most cannot save enough in a life time to afford a plane ticket. When a Jamaican can afford to leave Jamaica to seek opportunity elsewhere they often send money home to help out family, and also try to bring family over. I urge people to visit Jamaica as Jamaica's economy relies heavily on tourism. I hope I have been accurate and respectful in this post on Jamaica. I would love to hear from someone who could fill me in on some of the foods I may have overlooked.

Smoked Duck Coucous Salad

This salad is adapted from a couscous salad recipe I have been using for over 10 years. It's a salad I often bring to potluck gatherings, and it is always a hit. My Chef at cooking school handed out photocopies of the original recipe that looked like it came from a cookbook to all the students in her class. We made it as a side dish, and I was astonished that such a simple recipe could have such complex flavours. It is a refreshingly delicious. I cannot name the source of my ragged photocopy, but an aunt of mine requested the recipe via email and I was able to find the exact recipe online. Ginger apricot couscous salad.

The version I present here is a main course salad for summer evenings like we have been experiencing lately. The strong orange and ginger flavours led me to choose smoked Margret de canard as the meat for this salad. I would also serve this salad happily with thinly sliced duck breast if smoked duck cannot be found. For vegetarians I suggest smoked tofu cut in long thin strips. I used roasted peeled pumpkin seeds here but toasted slivered almonds would do well as a substitute.

Smoked Duck Couscous Salad
serves 4-6

500 ml / 2 cups freshly squeezed orange juice
15 ml / 1 tbsp olive oil
15 ml / 1 tbsp minced ginger
5 ml / 1 tsp orange zest
250 ml / 1 cup medium couscous
Julienne:
1 red pepper
1 large zucchini
2 large carrots
1 medium red onion
Sufficient quantity apple cider vinegar
To taste sea salt
3 green onions, thinly sliced
100 grams / 3 oz Margret de canard (Smoked duck breast), cut into thin strips
large handful raw pumpkin seeds, toasted and cooled

In a medium sauce pan bring the orange juice, olive oil, ginger and zest to a boil. Remove immediately from heat and add the couscous. Cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Meanwhile in a small sauce pan bring about 250 ml / 1 cup of water to boil. Add julienned red onion an cook for 15 seconds. Drain onions and add back to saucepan off of burner. Toss onions in a splash of apple cider vinegar to turn the onions pink. Set aside. Add the julienned vegetables including red onion to a large bowl. Add warm couscous to the bowl and toss. Add a splash of vinegar if more is needed and salt to taste. Add green onion and smoked duck slivers and chill or serve at room temperature. Add toasted pumpkin seeds just before serving. Garnish with basil.

I am very thankful that my lavender bloomed early this year as I am about to leave on vacation and I hate to miss it! This year I was able to harvest 8 large bouquets which are know hanging in the stairwell of my basement. Lavender needs a cool, dry & dark place to dry properly. In the fall I will hand out lavender bouquets to friends and family, with a stupid grin on my face, while I proclaim that the lavender came from my garden. Ah summer.

Arugula on Pizza

Too hot to blog...too hot...thump. That's me falling over. There will be no baking in my kitchen today, and tonight food will be cooked outdoors again. But last week in cooler times we enjoyed pizza with arugula (otherwise known as rocket) scattered across the top. I lay the leaves over the pizza when it comes out of the oven and let the arugula wilt a bit. The arugula comes from our garden and its' peppery bite has long made arugula one of my favorite edible leaves. My daughter says its too spicy in a salad, but was happy to eat it over pizza. The tomatoes on this pizza are confit. I have styled a pizza with micro arugula and although the micro greens have less bite they are visually appealing. Baby spinach would also add a nice touch of green if arugula cannot be found.

The pizza dough recipe is my tried and true Joy of Cooking recipe. It makes 2 large pizzas.