You CAN Make Your Own Curry Powder—and Authentic Curry

What's the best curry powder? Why, it's the one you can make from scratch at home! Don't settle for some store-bought version that's been sitting on a shelf for lord-knows-how-many years. You can do it yourself too.

In India, everyone has their own version of curry and curry powder—like stew in the US or UK—each family makes curry differently. But here's my take.

I buy whole bulk spices and use a dedicated spice grinder (a coffee grinder that is only used for spice-grinding—so the flavors won’t mix). Remember—feel free to create your own variations. Enjoy!

Preparation
Gather your spices (you can buy bulk spices online cheaply) and assemble them in a large bowl. Toast them in a non-stick or heavy iron pan (such as Le Creuset) by stirring them lightly over medium heat (with NO oil). Toast just until your kitchen becomes fragrant and the spices turn a slightly darker shade--not until everything is crisped! Let cool and grind in small batches. (See Storage below.)

Curry Powder
1/4 cup black peppercorns
1/4 cup cardamom pods
1/2 cup coriander seeds
1/2 cup cumin seeds
1 stick of cinnamon (if desired)
A few cloves (if desired)
A scant handful of fennel seeds
Turmeric to taste (if desired)

There are dozens of other spices you can add to your original recipe: fenugreek, curry leaves (I use this for fish curry only), asafoetida, etc. But if you start with the most important ones: black pepper, cumin, and coriander--you won't go wrong.

Storage
Grind into a powder and store in a glass jar or some other container that will not impart a flavor to your powder (NO plastic!). I like those glass jars with the rubber seals and the flip-top lids--you can get them at Cost Plus World Market or a gourmet store such as Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table.

The Curry
When making your actual curry, always start with the ROUX--Use butter or ghee, large quantities of grated ginger root and garlic and pureed onion. Cook and stir until the mixture turns light caramel color, and then add your other ingredients (meat, veggies, spice powder that you made, etc.). Use several tablespoons of your fresh powder in your curry roux mixture and ENJOY! Don't be stingy with your powder—it takes a lot of spices to make a good curry! Cook only until the mixture tastes melded (e.g., you don't detect raw onion flavor and the meat is cooked through). You cannot make an authentic curry without starting from a roux. Just throwing in curry powder does not a curry make (oh, how few Western chefs understand this point).

Lastly—if you go through all this trouble—why not package your homemade curry powder and give it as a gift to other foodies you know and love? Makes a wonderful custom-made present!

Tumerica—Curry Fanatic

Tom Ka with Tofu (Or Tom Yam) Soup: The Perfect Fix for Flu Season, with Variations

When I went to Thailand and had this soup for the first time I think my whole world just flipped right over on me all at once--it was the most remarkable taste experience ever. The flavors just blew me away--piquant, sour, spicy, rich, amazing! You have to try it. And you can easily make either Tom Yam or Tom Ka with a simple substitution. This soup is simple to make, but what's tricky is having the ingredients on hand. Because I love this so much, I stockpile fish sauce, coconut milk and dried shiitake mushrooms (although the original calls for straw mushrooms). My hubby grows lemongrass in the garden year-round, and we have a lime tree that contributes a leaf here and there. You can make this without lime leaf and lemongrass, but add some lime zest to substitute. I think you are going to love this special and wonderful soup--one of the great wonders of the culinary world! And a quick fix when you feel yourself coming down with a flu bug. Nothing clears your head like the piquant vapors of this magical soup.

Tom Ka Gung with Variations

• 4 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 (12 ounce) can coconut milk (Not the reduced fat kind. Fat makes it taste DELICIOUS!)
• 2 cups chicken stock (I use the chicken stock paste that comes in little jars, Better Than Bouillon brand. It has no MSG and is all-natural. Plus, stored in the fridge, it lasts a LONG time.)
• 2 cups water
• 2 sprigs lemongrass, root (two inch sprigs, chopped into tiny slices)
• 1 kaffir lime leaf (or other lime leaf, tossed in whole--like bay leaves, you just fish them out before serving) (optional)
• 1 lime, juice of
• 4 garlic cloves (or more depending on your preference)
• 1 (19 ounce) package silken tofu, drained and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 cup shrimp (optional)
• 1 cup mushrooms (Any kind, such as white, shiitake, portobello, straw, white, etc. I mostly use shiitake because I keep a giant container on hand, but the most authentic is straw mushrooms, which you can find canned in the Asian section of grocery stores.)
• 1 teaspoon red chili paste (I like Sriracha brand. Add more to taste. If serving to kids--my five-year-old likes this soup--then add ketchup instead. A small amount of ketchup tastes good--trust me!)
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root

Garnishes

• Chopped cilantro
• Thai basil, for garnish
• Hot chili sauce, such as Sriracha
• Diced hot chili peppers

1. Add the coconut milk, chicken stock, and water to a heavy put, and begin to simmer while adding the other ingredients (except for garnishes and shrimp or other fish).
2. After the spices have "relaxed," add either the shrimp or chunks of salmon and stir only until cooked (two or three minutes).
3. Garnish and serve.

Variations

Vegetarian Soup Instead

* To make this soup vegetarian, substitute vegetable stock for chicken stock, and leave off the prawns. You've already got tofu, so that's a great protein source. Lastly, if fish sauce is a no-no, then substitute Bragg's Amino Acids (like soy sauce).

Tom Yam Instead

* To make Tom Yam instead of Tom Ka, do everything the same, except substitute more chicken stock to replace the coconut milk.

Black-eyed Pea Croquettes with Tomato-Basil Salsa

Beans, beans, good for your heart.
Beans, beans, they make you start—
Your happy life begins today,
So eat your beans—for health, I say.

Here I go again, defending the lowly bean, and urging, cajoling, and even guilting my readers into eating their beans. Why? Because I am convinced that the wonderful and versatile and inexpensive and plentiful bean is one way to fix the diets of many Americans--if not the diets of the world. Beans, with their heaping doses of protein (soybeans, lentils, and garbanzos) and their generous quantities of fiber (all beans!), are an almost perfect food, rivaled only by garlic, cabbage, and yoghurt. See World's Healthiest Foods for the most complete and mind-blowing information about all kinds about beans (and other wonderful foods).

I keep harping on beans because so few Americans eat much in the way of beans anymore. The food that lacks glamor, that's cheap and, well, has explosive associations, has fallen from favor over the decades. But the facts remain, if you add beans to your diet, you will immediately improve your diet--and over time, your health.Not to mention that when times are tough, beans go a long way. So give beans a try. Make a once-a-week commitment to serving beans, and then increase as you are able.

Meanwhile, here IS a glamorous bean dish. I found this on the menu at more than one trendy eatery while on vacation in North Carolina recently. This is my version of the dish. Easy to make--just takes a little planning if you make it from dried beans. You can serve with any kind of relish or sauce you like. We have heirloom tomatoes ripe and ready as well as fresh basil, so that's what I used. Another fun fact is that these black-eyed pea croquettes are fabulous the next day, tucked in lunches--they travel well as long as the sauce is not applied until just before you eat them.

Black-eyed Pea Croquettes, a la WhatEye8.com

1 pound (2 cups) dried black-eyed peas
6 cups water to cook the black-eyed peas
4 cloves crushed garlic
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Ground black pepper to taste
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup panko (Japanese bread crumbs--or other bread crumbs or flour)
1/2 cup cornmeal for dredging
Olive oil for pan frying

1. Cook the rinsed beans in a covered pot for 1 and a half hours, or until cooked. Drain and let cool. Mash the beans lightly--you still want to see some whole beans, but want enough mashed to make the mixture easy to handle.
   
   
2. Sautee the garlic in the olive oil. Stir into the beans, along with cumin, pepper, and salt to taste.
   
   
3. Add in the eggs and panko, adding extra panko if needed to bring the mixture to a nice texture that will hold its shape (up to about 1 and a 1/2 cups total).
   
   
4. Form patties in your hands that are about 1/2 inch thick. Roll in cornmeal, and put into the frying pan with enough olive oil to coat the pan. Allow to fry for about five to seven minutes per side--until cooked through and lightly browned. Serve hot or chilled--these are good both ways.

Tomato Basil Salsa
Chop garden fresh tomatoes, fresh basil leaves (or cilantro, parsley, oregano, or mint), and any peppers you would like to add. Squeeze in lime juice, and add salt and pepper to taste. Mix and serve as a relish for the croquettes.

Homemade Chocolate Truffles for That Special (but Reasonably Priced) Holiday Gift

Sure, there are chocolate bon-bons—those chocolate candies with mystery ingredients inside. But hard-core chocolate aficionados prefer truffles. Chocolate inside, chocolate outside—all the more chocolate to enjoy. But don't settle for the standard-issue truffles—go for the gusto by making your own—and then wrapping your delectable creations in food-safe tissue paper, placing in and an elegant box, and tying all with a festive ribbon. You have a perfect and elegant hostess gift or gift for a loved one that says, "Enjoy and be happy" with both heart and pleasure in the mix.

Homemade Truffles

Homemade truffles will not look as glamorous as ones you might find at a chocolatier, but they will be made with love—by you, and are therefore far more wonderful. Again, dress your creations up in elegant wrapping (Try Can Creations online and Cost Plus World Market [to check store locations] for wrappings for homemade food gifts) and deliver with pride.

Here's a quick and simple recipe—the results will astound both you and the object of your affections. Plus, there will be plenty left over to take to work and amaze everyone there. Enjoy! Recipe makes about five dozen 1" truffles.

1 pound bar of artisanal bittersweet baking chocolate. (Do not use chocolate chips—your truffles will not taste authentic. Search for gourmet bulk baking chocolate, like Ghirardelli or Callebout or Scharffenberger or Valrhona. If you live near a Trader Joe’s, definitely use their 72% cacao Belgian Pound Plus bar. Why Trader Joe’s? Because their gourmet bulk chocolate is only $4 per pound! And the taste is fabulous.)
1/2 pound white baking chocolate (the bittersweet chocolate is softened and rounded by the addition of white chocolate—my four-year-old calls this “making zebra chocolate”)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 of a stick)
1 cups heavy whipping cream (16 oz)
2 tablespoons fine liquor, such as Chambord, Limoncello, or my all-time favorite, Grand Marnier. (You can also substitute vanilla, but rest assured, even with liquor, your truffles will not taste alcoholy—the liquor blends in perfectly and acts just like vanilla, only with a twist. Your truffles will be safe for children to consume. Vanilla has as high an alcohol content as the equivalent amount of liquor, so your call.)
Shredded unsweetened coconut or chopped, unsalted nuts to roll truffles in. I recommend pistachios, cashews, hazelnuts, or macadamia nuts. Our family favorite is unsweetened coconut, which you can find at Indian stores or in gourmet or health food stores such as Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods. If you use nuts, make sure to get unsalted.)

Boil a few cups of water in a pot. Place a bowl (or another pot) over the boiling water (thus creating a double-boiler, if you don't have one). Melt the chocolates in the upper bowl, stirring to mix the dark and light chocolates (taste, if desired). When the chocolates are melted and mixed, add in the butter, water, liquor (or vanilla) and mix thoroughly. Add in a dollop of heavy cream, stirring it in well before adding another dollop. When the cream is well–mixed, remove the chocolate, cover the bowl, and refrigerate it for severl hours or until the mixture is firm enough to hold its shape (you may need to refrigerate overnight).

Spread out a sheet of parchment paper on the counter (or plastic wrap). Scoop up about a tablespoon of the chocolate and roll into a 1" ball, rolling between your hands to make a nice rounded shape (like making meatballs). Roll the truffle in a plate with the coconut or chopped nuts to coat the outside evenly. Place the coated truffle on the parchment paper. Continue in this way until all the chocolate is gone (be sure to sneak a few for taste-testing and quality assurance).

These simple truffles get such rave reviews, I’ve actually been offered money for them (I charged $2 each, but it’s up to you). The secrets are using the high-cacao content chocolate, and then adding in the white chocolate to mellow and sweeten the mixture slightly (but not too much—mildly sweet is most irresistible). That and the fancy liquor make these truffles a to-die-for gift.

Don't You Dare Buy Ready-made Stuffing for Thanksgiving!

Homemade Dressing for the Holidays

If You Can Sing "Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme," You Can Make Stuffing (dressing) from Scratch. Stuffing. Ahhhh. Maybe my favorite part of my favorite holiday. Growing up with four siblings, stuffing disappeared the fastest and was the most worth fighting over when it came to leftovers (if there were any). Who doesn't love stuffing? When I lived in Japan, where no one had a big enough oven to roast a turkey, even if they knew what one was or could afford to procure one—what I missed the most about American food was, not surprisingly, turkey with stuffing and cranberry sauce. Simple, yes, if you live in the states. Exotic and impossible if you life overseas. Now that I am back home, I serve my family a turkey-stuffing-cranberry meal about once a month—I cannot get enough of it.

Growing up in a large household, my parents wisely took some shortcuts when it came to cooking. And stuffing was one of them. I never had honest-to-goodness homemade stuffing until I was all grown up and discovered how to make it myself. What a thrill to realize how easy it is. And the rewards are GREAT—when you serve it, be sure to mention you made it from scratch. You will hear oohs and ahhs. No store-bought stuffing mix can compare in any dimension. You too can do this—have confidence. Stuffing is so simple to prepare, you will wonder why you never thought of doing it yourself before now.

One last note: I dined at a friend's house for a holiday party recenlty. He was so excited to have made stuffing from scratch, but it was the most gosh-awful stuff you ever tasted. He had just tossed in the celery and tossed in the other ingredients--with NO sautéeing, no herbs, no butter, and no chicken stock. The stuff he called stuffing was dreadful, pasty bread bits with hard chunks of celery. Don't let this happen to you.

Basically, stuffing is comprised of two steps: “Creating the Croutons” and “Sautéing the Savories.” And you hardly need a recipe. Once you know how to do it, you can whip stuffing up easily with no props. Are you ready? YOU CAN DO THIS!

Creating the Croutons
Take a loaf of bread that you find delicious—ones loaded with nuts and whole grains are wonderful for stuffing. Sourdough works great too. Anything but white bread (too fluffy—needs to be a bit sturdier). I'm a fanatic—I make loaves of "stuffing" bread to use (chock full of fresh herbs). But pick a bread you already like. Day-old bread is fine too. You will need about eight cups worth of croutons. If the loaf of bread is large, you may not need the whole loaf.

Cut sliced bread into strips and then again crosswise into ½ inch (1 cm) cubes. Place the croutons on a baking sheet without overlapping, if possible. Toast lightly in a 350 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Scoop all the croutons into a large bowl.

Sautéing the Savories
Chop up one large onion (sweet ones like Walla-walla or Vidalia are especially yummy for this) and about 6~8 stalks of celery (slice each stalk lengthwise first and then crosswise to make smaller pieces). Sauté the onions and celery in 6~8 tablespoons butter (use butter unabashedly, but start with the lesser amount and see if it needs more later, depending on the quantity of croutons you have), along with the following herbs (fresh if you can get them, and chopped coarsely): Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme. Does that sound familiar? It's part of the refrain from a Simon and Garfunkle song, Scarborough Fair. Yup. It's the herbal code for stuffing (and poultry seasoning). If you have a choice of parsley, use Italian flat leaf instead of the curly kind—but fresh is always preferable to dried. How much of each herb to use? Fresh, maybe 3 tablespoons each. Dried, maybe 1 tablespoon each. It's important to sauté the herbs so that the fragrance and flavor get infused. Add in about 1/2 cup of dried cranberries if you have them (makes it irresistible—sautéing plumps them). Once the onions are slightly translucent and no longer crunchy, remove from the stove.

Stir this sautéed herb mixture into the croutons. Add about 1 cup of chicken broth—slowly—so that you can gauge when to stop adding. (Keep jars of all-natural chicken stock concentrate in the fridge for uses such as these. I recommend “Better Than Bouillon” brand, by Superior Touch. You can get it at Trader Joe’s or other high-end grocers. Cubed bouillon is too salty and has too much artificial stuff, along with MSG. Chicken stock that comes in cans and cartons is good but too pricey.) This is the trickiest part—if you add too much broth, the stuffing becomes mushy. Too little and it's chokingly dry. Just right is slightly moist, with mouth “give.” Just right is not too crumbly and holds up on the plate. Add salt to taste (I especially recommend Vege-sal vegetable salt). And more melted butter, if needed. Toss lightly and serve as is or use about half to stuff bird. Keeps well for several days.

Notes:

— You can add variations for fun: toasted chopped nuts (pine nuts are fabulous, macadamias are decadent, chestnuts if you can get them, almonds if they are slivered thinly), chopped dried fruit such as apricots (go easy on the fruit and cut it small), other herbs such as marjoram or tarragon, etc.

— Some folks love cornbread stuffing. To make it, add chopped pork sausage to the sauté and use crumbled homemade cornbread (not that sweet kind like they serve at Boston Market—eyuck!) instead of wheat bread.

— Be sure not to use Pyrex when toasting your croutons in the oven. Like a doofus, I used a Pyrex pan as an overflow and voila! It exploded. I'm not the first person to have this experience, lest you laugh at me. I did a quick search and found an entire page on ConsumerAffairs.com dedicated to people who've had exploding Pyrex experiences. Just use a standard baking pan and you will be fine.

Easy Thai Salmon—Indescribably Lucious

An elegant Thai supper in half an hour? You betcha. Start your jasmine or any white rice now and begin the recipe below. By the time the salmon is ready, the rice will be, too. Lovely served with sliced tomatoes and green garden veggies. As an alternate, you can serve this with coconut rice (it takes a little longer to cook, but it's oh-so-rich--heavenly).

• 1 pound of fresh salmon
  
• Oil for the frying pan
  
  

MARINADE

• 2 tablespoons banana sauce (available at Asian grocery stores) or ketchup
  
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  
• ground black pepper
• 3 cloves garlic, minced

Preparation:

1. Make the marinade by combining all marinade ingredients together in a resealable plastic bag.
   
2. Place the salmon in the bag with the marinade. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
3. Lightly oil your frying pan and heat to medium.
4. Cook the salmon (and the marinade) a few minutes on each side.
5. If the salmon has skin on one side, remove it now (and feed it to your dog--good fish oil to make dog's coat shine).
   
6. Place cooked fillets on a plate, dolloping on the last of the marinade (the cilantro will have cooked nicely, and looks lovely on top).

Tri-tip into Bulgogi: From Blah into Bravo JUSTLIKETHAT

Chances are, if you have dined in a Korean restaurant, or are lucky enough to have Korean friends or family, you probably have already tasted bulgogi, a thinly sliced marinated sesame beef barbecue that is indescribably delicious. And, if you live in California, you have probably been served tri-tip barbecue so many times it's a ho-hum deal. Growing up on the east coast, I had never heard of tri-tip. But when I moved out west, it took only a week or two to encounter my first tri-tip.

Tri-tip goes by other names: sirloin or knuckle roast. Tri-tip is the corner piece that is cut off when slicing sirloin steaks. Usually not as tender as the rest of the sirloin, it is just as flavorful and takes well to marinating and grilling. Santa Maria barbecue is just that, marinated and grilled tri-tip. Not much to it, just sugar, garlic, pepper, and salt and the technique of slow-grilling. Why then the avid following of a simple barbecue style?

In the same way as tri-tip barbecue, bulgogi is the most common barbecue of Korea. Ho-hum to those who grew up there and ate it often, but lavishly exciting and exotic to the rest of us.

Tri-tip, bulgogi . . . what's the connection? Bulgogi recipes call for sirloin roast. And tri-tip is sirloin, only less expensive than sirloin steaks. If you have access to tri-tip from your local grocery or warehouse store, then why not, instead of serving the usual tri-tip barbecue, take a tip from Korea, where some of Earth's best barbecue comes from--and add a few more simple ingredients and slices, and voila! You've got irresistible bulgogi--to wow your friends and loved ones, with no more effort than any other barbecue. With bulgogi, you get a lot of wow factor for your effort.

• 2 pounds sirloin tri-tip, sliced thinly across the grain on the diagonal bias
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon raw sugar
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger root
• 3 tablespoons mirin sweet cooking wine
• 3 scallions, chopped (optional--if you substitute chopped white onion, the chances are good that the beef will be cooked before the onions are--raw onion is not yummy to most folks, so I’d either use scallions or skip onions altogether)

Serve with:

Chili paste, like Sriracha brand
Toasted sesame seeds
Green leaf lettuce leaves
Steamed jasmine rice

Arrange the raw tri-tip on the cutting board, and with a very sharp knife, slice across the grain in thin slices (1.8 inch or so). In a resealable large plastic bag, add the sliced tri-tip to the remaining ingredients. Let marinate, refrigerated, for at least 2 hours, or longer, if you have time.

Cook the beef in one layer in a nonstick pan, along with the marinade. Alternately, you could cut each piece of meat thicker--in 1/2 inch slices to make little steaks. Then you could grill those 1/2 inch bulgogi steaks on the grill--this is how we chose to cook it, but authentically, bulgogi is sliced thinly. Another option is to cut the meat into 1 inch cubes and then, skewer them and grill them on a grill.

Serve with steamed rice and allow diners to wrap each piece of bulgogi (if sliced thinly) in a lettuce leaf roll. If sliced thickly, then serve as is, with a salad.

Wow 'Em Summer Supper of Love: Pineapple Fried Rice

Summer. Hot. What. To. Make. For. Supper. Ugh.

How about something refreshing and Islandish. Maybe it's Thai--who knows?

Use my Basic Asian Fried Rice recipe, only throw in three cloves of garlic, and use vegetable oil instead of sesame oil. Skip the ginger, and add in crushed cashews, golden raisins, and chopped pineapple. Serve in the hollowed out pineapple shells. Guaranteed to wow dinner guests, and leave them sated in a light way.

Easy Gourmet: Homemade Ice Cream—How About "Lavender White Chocolate" Tonight?

Ice cream? You betcha! I love ice cream, just like everybody else. I love homemade, just like everybody else. I love saving money, just like everybody else. Well, I finally decided to put my passions where my mouth is. For Christmas, Santa (aka, me) brought our family an ice cream maker. I've wanted one for a long time. Now, ice cream makers come in three types: the kind where you add ice and salt; the kind where you store the container in the freezer and then plug it in; or the kind where you just plug it in. I found that the ice-and-salt kind makes ice cream that's a bit too soft. The plug-it-in kind works great but costs a fortune. So I chose the container-in-the-freezer option and bought a Cuisinart ice cream maker for about $50 (you can get them for about $35 now).

Ice cream is so ridiculously easy to make yourself; really, the only barrier is you. Plus, when you make it yourself, you don't add icky ingredients like guar bean gum and carrageenan, do you? Artificial flavors and colors? Didn't think so. You get pure-as-grandma's-sheets-hanging-out-to-dry ice cream. And surprisingly, homemade ice cream is a good bit cheaper to boot. So why not make it? Are you scared? Don't be—it's no big deal and the kudos-to-effort factor is huge (you get gigantic rewards in the way of oohs and ahhs with little energy in the making).

And probably the most fun thing I have found about having an ice cream maker is the chance to experiment. No reason to feel stuck to the same ol' vanilla, chocolate, strawberry routine, or the other extreme of rocky-road-über-chunk-cookie-dough-kitchen-sink flavor. You are the master of your flavors and with a few simple rules of thumb, you will be creating your own ice creams with exotic names like "Cherimoya Custard," "Blueberry with Blueberry Maple Syrup," "Lychee Sorbet," "Cranberry Candied Pecan" and collecting all the praise that you so rightly deserve.

So let's get started. The instructions below are for the Cuisinart ice cream maker. If you have a different size, adjust accordingly. The idea is that you are creating from rules of thumb and not cast-in-stone recipes. Dare to show flare! Invite some perpetual kids over and have fun!

Homemade Ice Cream Rules-of-Thumb

• Use a total of about four cups of dairy. The more heavy whipping cream you use, the richer your ice cream. The more whole milk you use, the lighter your ice cream. If you use all whole or skim milk, you do run the risk of having a crystallized effect (crunchy ice cream). Better ice creams are velvety smooth. I recommend using either some proportion of whole milk to heavy whipping cream or all heavy whipping cream. This is ice cream, after all. It's not a diet food—it's a food of love and joy and summertime and smiles. If dieting is a challenge, enjoy a smaller amount and feed the rest to your loved ones (this stuff is rich—you will not want to gorge on it). When you make small batches like this Cuisinart ice cream maker makes, there's not a lot left over anyway. So four cups total: I usually do three cups heavy whipping cream and one cup whole milk. You can also make half a batch, and then, eat only super-fresh ice cream
• Where you can cut back, diet-wise, is on the amount of sugar you use. Most ice cream recipes call for a humongous amount of sugar (1 cup or more for this amount of ice cream!). I recommend half that, or about 1/2 cup sugar for four cups of dairy. You could also substitute maple syrup, honey, stevia extract, and more, but use less if it's more sweet, e.g., honey is extremely sweet so you'd need less than 1/2 cup of honey. (Honey is surprisingly delightful in ice cream.)
• If you are using sugar, I recommend raw or turbinado sugar because it's the most nutritious and because it tastes heavenly! With sugar, though, you cannot simply throw it into the ice cream maker. You will have to "melt" the sugar before adding it (to create simple syrup). That way you do not get crunchy sugar granules to ruin the texture of your confection. To make simple syrup, put the granulated sugar in the microwave with a small amount of liquid (milk or fruit juice) and heat it until the sugar dissolves.
• If you are using chocolate and want the ice cream smooth, then melt it before stirring it in. When you stir the melted chocolate into the other ingredients, do so outside of the ice cream maker. If you take an ice-cold ice cream maker container and pour melted chocolate into it, your chocolate will immediately harden, and you’ll get crunchy ice cream (if that’s what you like, go for it!). But mix the chocolate with the dairy and then pour it into the ice cream maker for smooth, blended ice cream.
• Use about 1 tablespoon of either vanilla extract (which is basically booze and vanilla) or some other kind of liquor. Good ones are Grand Marnier, Limoncello, Rum, banana liquor, Frangelica, etc. Don't use too much liquor or your ice cream will get overwhelmed (unless that's the effect you desire!).
• Other ingredients are optional, such as fruit or fruit mixtures, dark chocolate, white chocolate, nuts, etc. But the important thing to remember is that if you are adding fruit, make sure the fruit is cut into small enough bits that if you bite on a frozen fruit bit you aren't going to lose a tooth. Smaller bits really are better. If you throw big chunks of fruit in, you'll regret it! The ice cream maker will not chop them up for you unless the fruit is very soft (like raspberries). I did this once with big peach slices and found it nearly impossible to eat—big fruit chunks in ice cream are rock-hard!
• If you like a custardy ice cream, then cook your beaten egg yolks along with a small amount of the liquid, stirring over low heat frequently until the egg mixture is smooth. Then add the egg mixture to the rest of the liquid—while still outside of the ice cream maker. Once everything is mixed thoroughly, add it to the ice cream maker. Mark Bittman, of “How to Cook Everything” fame—whom I admire and adore—believes no ice cream is real ice cream unless it has egg in it. He’s a purist. For me, custard ice cream (French style) is one category, and regular ice cream is another. I prefer regular, but, as they say in Japan, “Juu-nin, tou-iro.” Or “Ten people, ten colors.” In other words, to each his own.
• Feel free to dip a spoon in while the ice cream is cranking to taste if you need to adjust the recipe.
• After making your ice cream, freeze it for a while in the freezer before serving. Why? Because homemade is somewhat softer than store-bought ice cream. You may get a good consistency or you may not. But if you run the ice cream in the machine until it is finished—about 20 to 30 minutes, then freeze for an hour or so, you ice cream will be the perfect consistency—scoop-ready!

That's basically it! So here's my freebie to you—my own invention, I am proud to say—and so delicious it could win you admirers or even paramours. Certainly the neighborhood kids will follow you around expectantly after one taste of this! Enjoy.

Lavender White Chocolate Honey Ice Cream
Three cups heavy whipping cream
One cup whole milk
1 tablespoon culinary lavender seeds (you can get this online or at gourmet markets—lavender is great to have around for other savory foods and for lavender martinis—don’t tell the kids I said that)
1/4 cup of honey
1/4 cup of white chocolate (not "white baking chips," but REAL white chocolate, that is, cocoa butter and flavorings)
1 tablespoon of vanilla

1) Make a tea of a couple of tablespoons of hot milk with the lavender seeds. Let the seeds steep for a few minutes and then strain the seeds off (the seeds are too bitter to make a yummy ice cream addition, but the flavor they add is close to ecstasy!) and reserve the “tea” you created.

2) Melt the white chocolate along with about 1/4 cup of the milk and the honey on a burner at low heat, stirring constantly and removing when the chocolate is melted.

3) Add the chocolate mixture to the lavender tea and the rest of the cream, milk, and vanilla. Stir everything together and pour into the pre-frozen ice cream container.

4) Cover the ice cream maker and turn it on, letting it run for 20 to 30 minutes. After the ice cream is made, remove it to a freezable plastic covered container (Tupperware makes a great one—the Rock 'n Serve, medium deep) and freeze for an hour or so before serving.

Cool Summery Asian Noodle Salad on a Hot Day

Too hot to have something heavy and bready to cook or to eat. Too. Hot. Can't. Think.Ugh.

What to make for a summer lunch? How about cold Asian noodle salad? Cold noodles may not sound fabulous, but they are cooling--and if you use rice noodles, are not too filling. The perfect complement for light summery veggies. Now mix this one up and enjoy al fresco in the shade. Ahhh. Don't you feel better?

Gather the Goodies

1/2 package pad Thai rice noodle fettuccini. You can substitute other kinds of noodles/pasta. Prepare according to package directions, and then immediately run noodles in cold tap water until the water is cold. This will stop noodles from growing and keep them cool.

Sliced deli ham, shrimp, tofu, chicken--etc. whatever you have on hand Slice into thin strips to match the noodles

Sliced vegetables, such as carrots, summer squash, cucumber, etc. Again, whatever you have on hand. I enjoyed it with carrots and cucumbers.

Japanese ginger pickles, such as kizami--the spicy, dark pink kind. You could substitute other pickles as well--just slice into thin strips as well.

Lettuce, rinsed, drained, and cut into strips


Asian Restaurant Soy-Ginger Salad Dressing

o 1 tablespoon ginger juice , from fresh ginger

o 2 tablespoons soy sauce

o 3 tablespoons rice vinegar

o 1/3 cup salad oil

o 1 tablespoon sesame seeds

Assembling the Salad

Line each salad plate with a base layer of lettuce strips. In a large bowl, mix the drained cold noodles with the other salad ingredients. Whisk the salad dressing in another bowl and pour on the noodle-veggie mixture, tossing to mix. Mound the noodle veggie salad in the center of the plate, distributing the ingredients evenly for a nice presentation.