August is the beginning of the bountiful harvest at the market. The stalls are packed with fresh fruits and veggies, in every colour of the rainbow. I’m like a kid in a candy store, wanting to buy everything in sight. Those are the moments I wish I had a large brood of children to feed, giving me an excuse to cook up a storm! Every summer I give myself a challenge. A few years ago, I realised I only ate raspberry jam, not really enjoying any other fruit jams, so I made myself cook up fruits as they came in season. Strawberry vanilla, sugar and spice plum, cinnamon peaches, concord grape jelly, crabapple jelly, apple butter… The pantry was stocked and I very proudly offered my jewels to friends and family. I have to say, I really did like other fruit jams, I just didn’t like the commercial variety! This year’s challenge is fruit ice cream. I am not a huge fan… But then a few weeks ago, I made that awesome strawberry gelato and this week, peaches with toasted almonds. YUM! Super simple, wash, cut, place in blender, then into ice cream machine and presto, superb summer treat! I didn’t even bother removing the skins, so bonus, extra vitamins and beautiful specs of colour. Wait till you see what I’ve though up for this weekend. Hint? It’s yellow and it’s sweet….. Ha! 🙂 So enjoy these precious moments while we’ve got them, gorge yourself with all those beautiful fruits and veggies, it’s the one time of year simplicity is where perfection lies…. Happy end of summer!
Recipe
4 cups ripe peaches, rinsed and cubed
2/3 cups simple syrup (1/3 cup sugar + 1/3 cup water, bring to a simmer for 5 minutes then cool)
2/3 cups cream
1/2 cup toasted almonds
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
Instructions
Place peaches and syrup in blender. Add cream and nutmeg and stir to blend. Place in the fridge until thoroughly cold. Place in the ice cream maker as per manufacturer’s instructions. When ice cream is almost completely frozen, add toasted almonds. Store in an airtight container in the freezer. Ice cream keeps for roughly one month, if you can resist the urge to eat it all up before! Enjoy 🙂
We are close to the end of strawberry season, and I’m eating them every chance I get! A true Montreal summer has hit us, heat and humidity and best of all sunshine 🙂 And who doesn’t associate ice cream as of th best hot summer enjoyments? Maybe because we all associate this cold desert with our childhood memories of excitement and anticipation. My favourite ice cream flavours generally tend toward chocolate and nut flavours, but as everything food related, I like to challenge myself and make things I wouldn’t necessarily order at a restaurant or cafĂ©. At first I wasn’t thinking of making ice cream, as I bought this big basket of strawberries , I was going over the dessert options using strawberries in my mind, eliminating all those that would be too heavy. I also am not very enthusiastic about turning the oven on in the summer heat. And being in surgery recovery, I don’t want to deal with weight issues because I’m eating all these rich foods and not really moving about much. Then, looking over different recipe books, i started to compare classic ice cream recipes versus gelato. The gelato is kind of a cross between a sorbet and ice cream, that kind of sold it! If you have an ice cream maker, it makes it very simple, it’s a matter of making a light syrup, blending ingredients, cooling them and then putting them in the machine. I must say, I am very pleased with the results. Now I’m imagining all the different gelato flavours I can make with the fruit coming into season soon… Stay tuned!!!!
Celestine Cooks for One 