What do you think? Is it Physalis?
I have been off on vacation, and truth be told, it has not been so relaxing for me. I am a naturally wound up guy, so relaxing is a bit of a hard thing for me to do. Panic attacks, fear of dying and the works. Goes to show you that your health is in your mind as well.
So, I have to learn to truly relax. I have not posted much in the last few days because I needed to get my mind off of cooking for a couple of days.
Truth is, I don’t have much in the way of hobbies other than cooking, and I guess that can be unhealthy. I guess my garden counts as a hobby, albeit a neglected one. Well, nothing takes the mind off a sharp chest pain like weeding.
Today I actually sat down and watched a couple of videos in an attempt to find out why my San Marzano tomatoes are not preforming like I would like. One plant totally is sucking wind, and the other is a bit overgrown. I found a cool, short video describing what to do – pruning your tomato plant to 2 lines. I hope I have not screwed my plant up too badly now.
My yard also looks like a jungle. I am sure the neighbors appreciate the work I put into ripping out the waist-high thistles, dandelions and other nameless wonders. All the dog manure is picked up, ready to go, and even the herbs are properly clipped.
I was in a corner of my lot cleaning out what looked like some weird vines when I stumbled onto something that blew me away. I use Physalis all the time, (AKA ground cherries, cape gooseberries,) and I was startled to see vines growing on the ground. Thing is, I never planted them before!
Here are some crappy pictures, can you all tell me if I am right about this?
Excuse the beer shorts... Here is a shot.
I am so excited, if I am right, accidental gardening is an awesome thing! Now to figure out how to make it grow better.
I recently posted an attempt to make an ice cream suitable for a diabetic. Here is another popular flavor, strawberry.
There were some pitfalls in the last batch, namely the graininess after the ice cream was spun. There were a few great comments to how to avoid that scenario, and it got me to thinking.
What if I used a natural thickener to set my ice cream? One could use stabilizers, algae, or gelatin to set up the ice cream. The idea is to replace the structure of the sugar in the ice cream so it does not freeze into a solid block.
Today I thought I would try my hand at using yogurt. The milk is naturally thickened by the bacteria in the yogurt, and it would also have a creamier profile.
I make yogurt regularly, and I have a great post on how to do that. There is a little fore planning for this recipe, unless you replace it with commercially prepared yogurt. Be careful to use a Balkan style though, as you don’t want a yogurt that is thickened with gums and gelatin. Look for something around 6 to 10% milk fat.
The other key to this recipe is using local fruit. If you just buy those disgusting huge strawberries that are pure white when you cut into the center, you need to add more sugar to coax the flavor out of them. I prefer to eat my sugar naturally, thank you.
I am lucky enough to live in Quebec, and I have a bit of strawberries growing in my back yard. I supplemented the amount by going to the local market. This year is a bit expensive for strawberries, as it has rained like crazy. In the end though, I ended up paying less than half than for the fake strawberries you see at the grocery store.
Blend strawberries, eggs, cream, yogurt, and Sugar Twin together with a hand-blender
Since I was going to use a hand blender today, I made this into a 1 bowl affair. It worked out pretty good, and my other half was not as vexed with the amount of dishes.
No graininess, and a couple of spoonfulls missing.
The mixture spun up really good, and there was no sign of the graininess like before. My son could not wait, so I had to give him a few spoonfuls to tide him over. That was a good sign.
Here's a trick: cover the top of your ice cream to prevent a skin from forming.
The ice cream held its own, and was a sucess. I was not so sure of the Sugar Twin, but in the end it turned out great. If you knew it was in there, you could tell. My wife and son ate it without complaint, so speaks volumes.
Wow, good enough for a Diabetic!
The next ice cream I am going to try out will have Stevia leaves for sweetening. For that, I will be making the most popular flavor of all, Vanilla!
Quebec Strawberry Ice Cream
Inspired by Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book pg 54
Serves: 8
Calories per serving: (4 ounces): 123.99
Carbohydrates: 7.26 grams
Ingredients:
- 1 pint fresh Quebec strawberries, hulled, chopped (you can use your own local strawberries, just please… local only!)
- 1 cup Sugar Twin
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 2 cups whipping cream
- 1 cup yogurt (preferably homemade or at least 6% milkfat)
- 2 free-range organic eggs
Method:
- Combine strawberries, Sugar Twin, and lemon juice together in a large bowl. Toss together, and place into the fridge to macerate for at least an hour, (or overnight.)
- Take out the bowl, add the cream, yogurt, and eggs. Grab your hand blender and blend the works until it is smooth. Some people prefer to have chunks in their ice cream. If that is you, go ahead and take out half first the strawberries at first, then add them back in the next step.
- Add your ice cream to your maker according to the manufacturer;s instructions. When the ice cream is ready, taste a few spoonfulls, then place it into a container, covering the top with plastic wrap before putting on the lid.
