GREEK YOGURT ICE CREAM

The season does not matter, it is ALWAYS an appropriate time for ice cream. I know there are a few wackies out there who are ‘not dessert people’, but ice cream… greek yogurt… cookie chunks and cinnamon? Come on. I will MAKE you a dessert person.

The original thought was to do a light, refreshing frozen yogurt. But somehow, seeing as it was Hugh’s birthday and all, we ended up with rich, creamy goodness with big chunks of fresh cookie strewn throughout. It seemed the best option, since I normally get scolded for digging out the cookies from our store bought cookies n’ cream. This was my turn to give back after all the caverns I’ve carved through many ice cream cartons past.

GREEK YOGURT ICE CREAM WITH GOODIES // Makes a rough half gallon // Ice cream maker necessary, organic dairy products preferable

2 Cups Heavy Whipping Cream

2 Cups Whole Milk

2 Cups Greek Yogurt

6 Extra Large Organic Egg Yolks

1 ½ Cups Granulated Sugar, Divided

1 Tbsp. Ground Cinnamon

2 Cups Fresh Chocolate Chip Cookies, Roughly Chopped*

Pinch of Salt

*Make your own chocolate chip cookies if you have time to spare. If you use store bought, Immaculate Baking Co. makes a natural product , as does Pillsbury with their new ‘Simply’ branding.

1. In a heavy saucepan, bring the cream, milk and one cup of sugar to a simmer. Stir to dissolve the sugar and scald the cream. Turn off the heat and let it sit a moment. Stirring to cool off.

2. In a large heat proof bowl, whisk the egg yolk with remaining half cup sugar. Add a half cup of the warm cream mix to the egg yolks and whisk to bring the temperature up as to not scramble the eggs. Add remaining cream mix to the yolks and incorporate.

3. Pour the mix back into the saucepan, and simmer on medium low and whisk periodically. The mixture should thicken enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon. About 10 minutes. Turn off heat.

4. In a larger bowl, make an ice water bath. Put the saucepan in the ice bath to cool to room temperature. Stir every once in awhile. This will take about ten minutes.

5. Add the cinnamon and greek yogurt and whisk well to combine. Put in the fridge to cool for a half hour.

6. While this is cooling, bake your cookies. Bake them a good two minutes less than normal so you get a very soft, delicate, almost raw cookie.

7. Pour the cold cream mixture in the ice cream maker, and turn it on. All makers are different, it will probably take about a half hour for it to firm up. Add in the cookies when it is the consistency of soft serve. Transfer to a container and freeze for a few hours to harden, or overnight. Stays fresh about 4 days.

PEACH CREME WITH GINGERSNAP CRUST

Sometimes there are weeks when a series of events, small as they may seem when isolated, get the best of you. I appreciate reading my favorite blogs, where their authors willingly discuss cooking failures just as poignantly as tough aspects of their lives that tug at heart strings. In an attempt to change the course of my week, I filled my room with fragrant white flowers and set forth on making this tasty treat inspired from a picture in Bon Appetit, as my heart melts for cookie crust. As for the rest of the week, it did not turn out as planned.

This recipe, my friends, is precisely why I consider myself more cook than baker. I don’t like measuring, and when it comes down to baking science, the ‘little of this, more of that’ tactic does not fare well. I changed the proportions to more creme fraiche and less lemon, not taking into account that those measurements explicitly stated in the recipe played a role in the final product. Who'd have thought? The proportions given in the recipe below, do not correlate with the melting mess we had to take pictures of. So should this intrigue you, your luck may be better than mine. I think this pie would be great for entertaining, as it's fridge/freezer time gives you good reason to do it in advance.

Chemistry faux pas aside, nearly half of the final product managed to make it's way into Hugh's mouth while he was shooting it. "Clean as you work," he says.

PEACH DISASTER WITH GINGERSNAP CRUST // The science of this pie, is that the lemon reacts with the milk products to help the filling firm up. So be sure to give it ample time to do it’s thing before serving.

The Crust //

10 oz. Gingersnap Cookies

3 Tbsp. Butter

The Filling//

1 14 oz. Can Organic Sweetened Condensed Milk, lowfat optional

½ Cup Crème Fraiche

¼ Cup Fresh Lemon Juice

1 tbsp. Cinnamon

1 ¼ Cup Ripe Peaches, Peeled and Diced

1. In a food processor, grind the gingersnap cookies. Add the butter and pulse to combine.

2. Press the cookie mixture evenly into the sides and bottom of a 9’’ glass pie pan. Pop this in the freezer while preparing the filling.

3. In a bowl, whisk the condensed milk, crème fraiche, lemon juice, and cinnamon together. Give the peach pieces a good squeeze in your fist to crush them up a bit, and add to the cream mixture. Whisk together. Add the filling to the chilled cookie crust.

4. Let the pie firm up in the fridge for at LEAST 4 hours. We put ours in the freezer, and then let it sit for a bit before serving.

OAT'NANA PUCKS

Last night, I was struck by how grateful I am to live where I do. Hugh took me swimming. A romantic early evening dip, as I never do this on my own accord. The air was warm and the ocean temp about 70 degrees. Deep blue and crystal clear. It had been FAR too long since I’d been out swimming. It ends up being quite a workout for me, treading water, as I am terrified of sea creatures chomping my feet off. Hugh made a good looking life saving device. The ocean is so vast, that it reminds me how small we are in this wild and precious life. It was calming and reviving at the same time; much needed. Regardless of where you live, I know that you’ve had those moments of being overwhelmed with gratitude. I may sound sappy, but if your heart is any bigger than a pea, thoughts as these have crossed your mind.

Bringing it back to the treats at hand, because you and I can both be grateful for these pucks of oatty goodness. I don’t bake cookies often because my greedy tendencies seem to surface every time I do... I intend to give most away, but once they are warm and sweet smelling out of the oven, I get protective and hoard them. I freeze most, to have them only when I really NEED a cookie. I manage to easily convince myself that I always NEED a cookie. These are so tasty and hearty, that I even NEED them around breakfast time. The good news: these lil pucks have no eggs, sugar or butter, but I assure you, they still taste like a treat.

OAT ‘NANA PUCKS // 3 dozen mini pucks

Adapted from 101 Cookbooks.

Heidi's recipe calls for almond meal, but I like nut crunchies. The almond meal does however, help act as a binder. So I added wheat bran. If you have gluten allergies, omit the wheat bran and use almond meal. Also note that these cookies can be a bit crumbly in texture. If that bothers you, add a beaten egg to the wet mix.

3 Well Ripened Bananas

2 tbsp. Good Vanilla Extract

¼ Cup Coconut Oil (olive oil works fine)

2 Cups Rolled Oats

1/3 Cup Wheat Bran

2/3 Cup Finely Chopped Almonds

1/2 Cup Unsweetened, Shredded Coconut

1 tbsp. Cinnamon

1 tsp. Salt

1 tsp. Baking Powder

¾ Cup Semisweet Chocolate Chips or Carob Chips

Oven to 350’

Mush the ripe bananas with a fork. Mix the wet ingredients together: bananas, vanilla, and oil. In another bowl, mix remaining dry ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and gently mix. Fold in the chocolate or carob chips. The dough will be loose. Here, my favorite line in her recipe, ‘don’t worry about it’. Ha.

On a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat, make mini balls, then give them a gentle smush to flatten them. I like them in balls, Hugh prefers them in pucks, shape as you wish. They don’t really change shape while baking, so spacing 1’’ between is fine.

Bake for about 14 minutes until puck or nugget is firm. Do not undercook or they will crumble.

Hoard.