Shout Out to My Mom, Part I

Last week my cute mom came out for a little visit and we did all things delicious during her stay, including a trip to the local farmer's market, where we couldn't resist picking up a small flat of strawberries. And they smelled so good. I mean, if smell-0-vision had ever made it past the dream phase, I would be permanently tuned in to fresh strawberry -- they smelled that good.

And since we had more strawberries than we could hope to eat in a lifetime, my mom showed me how to make strawberry freezer jam. I'm converted. It was really easy and it's SO GOOD.

And then of course, we made strawberry ice cream.

When I was little I always wanted strawberry ice cream for no other reason than its lovely pink color. I've been a pink girl for a long, long time. In fact, I remember distinctly being irritated when there were actual berries in the ice cream and would pick around them. I just wanted something delicious and sweet and pink on a cone.

I still adore strawberry ice cream -- it takes me back to when we would go out to Snelgrove's for what my dad would call a "golden deed reward." We had to do a golden deed, like say the prayer in Sunday School, or give a talk. Golden deed rewards are a currency of (a lot of) love around my house.

The finished product: strawberry ice cream drizzled with strawberry freezer jam. You should do this right now. Seriously.

Strawberry Ice Cream

Here's what you need:

* 1.5 C Heavy Cream

* 1.5 C Whole Milk

* 1 C Pureed Strawberries (You can do this with a potato masher if you don't have a food processor)

* 1 C Sugar

* 1 T lemon Juice

Here's what you do:

* Puree or mash your berries, then add the lemon juice.

* In a separate bowl, mix the milk and sugar until the sugar dissolves, about 2 minutes

* Mix in the heavy cream

* Churn in ice cream maker for about 40 minutes.

* Top with freezer jam -- I leave mine out on the counter for the duration of the ice cream making, and then it's pretty good and drizzle-able as a topping. (Does that mean I didn't make it right? I don't know, but it tastes good.)

Thanks Mom!