Endless Ice Cream: Peach Basil Mascarpone

This is one of the first ice creams I dreamed about when I got my ice cream maker this past spring. I’ve been patiently waiting for those perfectly, drippingly ripe peaches that signify that the end of summer is inevitably near.

Well, my wait is over, and this ice cream is every bit as delicious as I imagined. If you have extra peaches, I recommend doubling up the roasted peaches and saving the extra puree to mix with your yogurt, oatmeal, or to toss with fresh raspberries.

Peach Basil Mascarpone Ice Cream

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Endless Ice Cream: Coffee Cookies and Cream

One of my favorite ice cream flavors is mint cookies and cream. Ben & Jerry’s makes a version that’s out of this world. I have no doubt that I will never top their excellent version, so I decided instead to pair cookies with coffee ice cream. This is an addictive (literally) marriage of some of the greatest things in life: coffee, sugar, and sandwich cookies. While I prefer Newman-O’s, Oreos or any other sandwich cookie will work just fine here.

Coffee Cookies & Cream Ice Cream

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Endless Ice Cream: Lemongrass, Coconut and Ginger

Ahh, lemongrass. One of my favorite flavors. Every once in a while they have stacks of fresh lemongrass stalks at the grocery store. I happily buy several stalks of it and use it in soups, sauces, and stir-frys. I recently read that you can turn supermarket stalks of lemongrass into your very own plant, giving a bounty of lemongrass whenever you want it. After tasting this ice cream I think I’ll have to start growing my own- I anticipate making this happening many, many times.

Note: If you’ve never worked with fresh lemongrass before, here’s a quick run-down of what you’ll need to do: Trim the root end from the bottom and the papery end from the top of the stalk. You should be left with a 2″ to 4″ piece. Remove the outer leaves one at a time until the leaves are no longer brownish or papery. The remainder should be about 1/4″ to 1/2″ thick. Grab a rolling pin, hammer, or anything heavy and sturdy. Beat the crap out of the pieces of lemongrass. This releases the flavorful oils. Finally, cut the bruised pieces into 1/4″ slices. You’re good to go.

Lemongrass, Coconut & Ginger Ice Cream

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Endless Ice Cream: A Soft Serve Elvis Would Love

The good news is you don’t need an ice cream maker. The other good news is this is a four-ingredient recipe. More good news: it’s fast, easy and super tasty. Well, it’s all good news! Get to making this dreamy dessert now.

You remember how I told you to preserve your browning bananas in the freezer? Well, it’s time to pull them out and put them to good use. Don’t have frozen bananas? It’s okay, just chop up some bananas and throw them in the freezer for a couple of hours. The rest is easy. Add a little cream. Toss in an Elvis-approved duo of flavors: chocolate and peanut butter (purists and Elvis enthusiasts can add a tablespoon of honey and some chopped crispy bacon). You’ll be gorging yourself in no time.

Banana Chocolate Peanut Butter Soft Serve

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Artsy Photo of the Day

Candy? Nope, peeled Chioggia beets.

Caffeinated Baking: Blueberry Coffee Tart

On a quick 2-day trip to Michigan I kept driving past all these signs and billboards for u-pick blueberry farms. I resisted until the drive home and made a last minute stop. I didn’t have enough time to pick my own, but I did have enough cash to pick up a 5 lb bucket of blueberries. The first dessert to come of the blueberry bounty was this mildly sweet tart. If you’ve had bad luck with crusts before, fear not, I’ll walk you through a (nearly) fool-proof way to make a light and fluffy crust. Or if you just don’t care or aren’t up to the task, feel free to substitute store-bought pie crust.

Blueberry Coffee Tart

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