Cooking Baking Eating

Ah summer.

I loathe the heat of summer. Why can’t it just be WARM and not BOILING outside? My poor fair skin needs to hide from the sun and avoid it unless wearing a strong SPF.

But the heat is also the BEST time to make the ice cream. Home made ice cream. Minty fresh ice cream with bits of lovely dark chocolate nestled through it.

Now THAT is summer.

I never was a huge fan of this stuff until this batch. I backed off just a little on the mint, so it was just enough to make it a nice smooth, creamy and refreshing mint.

You don’t have to add the food coloring to make it the green color, but that is how my Husband remembers it, and that’s how its supposed to be. At least according to him. It also helps me remember what ice cream it is if I forgot to label it.

I have issues eating green things other than vegetables. Green salsa scares me, I won’t eat avocados, Mountain Dew is unnatural and split pea soup is something evil. I’m trying to get over the dislike of green mushy stuff, but I’ll just have to deal with the ice cream.

I also believe one reason I love this batch of ice cream is because of the type of chocolate I used. Since discovering the bulk foods area in one of the local stores, I found huge pieces of dark chocolate. It’s not the best chocolate but its pretty damn good. Instead of using formed chips this time I wanted something that felt a little more rustic, something inconsistent in size so that as your going through a scoop you might find a nice hunk of chocolate to munch on.

The ice cream maker I use is the attachment for my KitchenAid and it really works really well. The consistency coming out of the bowl is always like extremely soft serve, but it tends to harden up just fine in the freezer for a few hours. One positive thing about the consistency is how easy it is to stir in whatever else you want to add in.

And then the hard part comes… Waiting for it to freeze up enough to scoop and not just eat with a straw. But when that time comes, its beautiful!

And that bite is exactly why I love using roughly chopped chocolate in my ice cream. I’ve also noticed while eating this over the last few days is that it melts really quickly. I’m not quite sure why it would, possibly using too much cream? Or maybe its because it doesn’t get really firm in the ice cream maker? I’m not the “know-all” of ice cream so I don’t know how to make it like store bought but I like it just the same. Just eat quickly!

Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1/2 cup milk (I used 2%, what i had on hand)
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 teaspoon pure mint extract
• 1 pinch of salt
• 6-8 drops of green food coloring (optional)
• 1/4-1/2 cup chopped dark chocolate (or chips)

1. Add the cream, milk, condensed milk, and salt to a pot and heat until everything is smooth and incorporated. Remove from heat and let sit for 15 minutes.
2. Add the mint and food coloring.
3. When almost cooled, stick the mixture in the fridge for at least 3 hours, or until cold.
4. Add to the ice maker per manufacturers instructions.
5. When the mixture is at a soft serve consistancy, stir in the chocolate until fully incorporated.
6. Transfer the mixture to a freezer safe container and press a piece of plastic over the top of the ice cream. This prevents a leathery top from forming and helps to keep it fresh.
7. Freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.