Friday Favorite: Homemade Ice Cream
As I sat down last night at 10:30 once again with no blog post written drawing a blank, then Mr Chiots handed me a bowl of homemade black raspberry ice cream with some dark chocolate on top.
We’ve been putting that old fashioned hand crank machine to good use. Each week I mix up a batch and we enjoy some every night. I have developed my own recipe over time, one that works well with raw milk. It is essentially: cream, whole milk, egg yolks, a small amount of maple syrup or honey, and a dash of salt. Then we mix in whatever flavor we want. When I get a few spare minutes of free time I’ll be adding my recipe over on Eat Outside the Bag.
A few weeks ago I steeped 2 cups of the whole milk with fresh mint leaves from the garden for mint chocolate chip. The week after that we stirred in organic cocoa and a few shots of espresso. This week it’s wild black raspberries. You certainly can’t beat homemade ice cream. One of these days I’m going to try a recipe for savory ice cream. Since I don’t have a sweet tooth I find this idea intriguing, Mr Chiots however isn’t so keen on the idea.
Savory ice cream – would you love it or would it be too weird?
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Friday Favorite: Quotes
I’m a huge fan of quotes, though I’m sure this comes as no surprise to you given that each Sunday I post one. There are quotes scribbled on pieces of paper on my fridge, jotted down in the notebooks, copied and pasted into text files, and stuck to my computer with post-it notes. I even have a Pinboard dedicated to them over on Pinterest. Pairing quotes with photos is also one of my hobbies and you’ll find me often make them up in my spare time. Here are a few of my favorites:
Do you have a favorite quote?
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Friday Unfavorite: Talking on the Phone
Generally, I find myself in the glass half full category. I’m an optimist. Thus I have the Friday Favorite posts to talk about things I love. Every now and then, however, a dislike should make it on the list, so you can get an idea of a few things I don’t like.
I have a HUGE aversion to talking on the telephone. I’m not sure why, it’s just not really my thing – at all. It’s hard to remember a time when I wasn’t like this. Most likely it’s part of my introvert personality. When the phone rings I cringe, hoping it’s not for me, which thankfully it rarely is.
Lucky for me, Mr Chiots doesn’t mind talking on the phone. Thus he’s the secretary and makes most of our phone calls. Funny how it often works out this way, our spouses are skilled at those things we aren’t so skilled at.
Do you have any aversions?
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Friday Favorite: the Hand Hoe
One day, on a whim, I added a hand hoe to an on-line purchase. I’ve tried all sorts of hand tools in the garden and have been disappointed almost every time. Like my cobra head weeder, most of them are gathering dust.
Little did I know how much I would love this tool and how often I would use it. In fast, it’s probably my most used garden hand tool. Why do I love it so much?
It has a very sharp edge, which I sharpen a few times each season. This edge allows it to cut through tiny seedlings. You can drag the sharp edge and skim the top of the soil cutting off tiny seedlings as you go. If you get them small enough, they won’t come back.
Thanks Maybelline for asking in the comment section about what I use to sharpen my tools. I have used the Spyderco Tri-Angle Sharpmaker for 17 years for all my sharpening needs from garden tools to kitchen knives.
The pointed tip is great for digging up the entire roots of larger weeds. It can also be used as a small maddox for whacking at tough weeds to get them up. The pointed tip also allows enough precision to weed around plants, even if they’re growing fairly close together.
The shape of this tool makes it much easier on the wrist than a regular trowel. Weeding for a couple hours does not result in any wrist pain or strain. It also provides some much needed leverage when trying to “pop” tenacious weeds from their spots.
This is the tool you will find me using most often in the garden, especially when weeding. I will never be without a hand hoe in my tool shed! I noticed there are a variety of hand hoes on Amazon. One of these days I’ll buy another one or two of these other options for my garden toolbox. Now that Mr Chiots is getting more into gardening he might start making mine scarce.
What’s your favorite gardening hand tool?
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Friday Favorite: Sauerkraut
Eighteen pounds of sauerkraut, that’s how much I made 10 days ago. People keep asking me, “What are you going to do with all that?”. I’ll give a few jars away to friends, but we’ll eat most it. It will be on our plate every meal until it’s gone. The chiots will get some each morning as well. We even eat it for breakfast, head on over to Eat Outside the Bag for more about that and links to my recipe.
I must admit, I never thought I’d be listing sauerkraut on my Friday Favorites. Growing up my only experience with kraut was the stuff my grandma emptied out of bags on New Year’s Day. Then I discovered home made fermented kraut and liked it. After reading up on the health benefits and was amazed and liked it even more. Now that we try include it at every meal when we have it available I can say that I really, really like sauerkraut and love the health benefits it provides!
Are you a fan of sauerkraut and other fermented foods?
