Am I Cool or What? Part I

Trying to stay cool in the summer can be challenging at best. In the next few days I'm going to be having a little fun with this subject. As a desert dweller for over twenty years I think I now qualify to be "dishing" out some advice in this area! Today the advice is........eat lots of ice cream. Yes, you heard me......eat lots of ice cream. I know. I know. The calories. The sugar. All I can say is you gotta do what you gotta do!

Seriously, though, you can go lowfat low-sugar if you like, just go for the cold. Actually around here we're not big ice cream eaters......but that all changes in the summer. I have an aunt who lived for many years in a very hot area of California. She surprised me one day by saying that every once in a while she and her family just had big bowls of homemade ice cream for dinner! That's it. Nothing else. That was a new thought to me!......can you do that, I wondered? Evidently you can, so we've tried it a few times over the years...............if there's a "nutritionally sound dinner rule" about this I guess I've broken it. Still, if there's a time for breaking rules it's in the good 'ol summertime. Try it if you dare.

Be sure to stock up on several kinds of ice cream cones too. Here's my grandaughter Kylie enjoying a cone, but even if there are no young ones around your house it's a fun idea. Adults like ice cream cones too. You know how it's always a gracious idea to serve drop- in visitors a cool drink? Try offering them an ice cream cone! Remember, it's summer......you can break the rules.

Finally, it you ever run across this book by Ben and Jerry, the famous ice cream moguls, be sure to snatch it up. I got this in 1987 and I'm not sure if it is even in print anymore. There's even the recipe for the delicious "Cherry Garcia" in here. Today, since I'm participating in Lisa's "Tempt My Tummy Tuesday" and since this is the time of year for fresh peaches, I'll give you the recipe for fresh peach ice cream from the book.

Fresh Georgia Peach Ice Cream

The best way to capture the elusive flavor of summertime. We prefer small peaches because they have more flavor and less water than the larger ones.

Ingredients:

2 cups finely chopped ripe peaches, peeled if you prefer

1 1/4 cups sugar

Juice of a 1/2 lemon

2 large eggs

2 cups heavy or whipping cream

1 cup whole milk

To make: *Combine the peaches, 1/2 cup of the sugar, and the lemon juice in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours, stirring the mixture every 30 minutes.

*Remove the peaches from the refrigerator and drain the juice into another bowl. Return the peaches to the refrigerator.

*Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in the remaining 3/4 cups of sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minute more. Pour in the cream and milk and whisk to blend. Add the peach juice and blend.

*Transfer the mixture to an ice cream maker and freeze following the manufacturer's instructions.

*After the ice cream stiffens (about 2 minutes before it is done), add the peaches, then continue freezing until the ice cream is ready.

ENJOY!

(and be sure join me tomorrow for more "cool" ideas)

Don't forget to stop by Lisa's at Blessed With Grace for more delicious recipes.