It seems right that I start this writing journey with a recipe and an anecdote about a Gorgeous Thing that represents great luxury from high civilisation: IceCream!
I grew up on a farm and the first 15 years of my life were without electricity. A 32 volt generator was run everyday to charge a battery bank for lights and the fridge but power had to be conserved. Our hot water was made by boiling water in a Copper!
It was a different world back then! No internet made communication slow and deeper. We wrote letters and waited on replies that came via the mail delivery twice a week.
I remember that for a special treat we used to all pile into the Blue Valiant Station Wagon and drive to the nearest town and the Road House where they sold Bricks of Ice Cream. They were literally brick shaped blocks wrapped in cardboard and Vanilla was the only flavour available.
I remember we drove home straight away to eat said Ice cream before it melted, ripping open the cardboard and sliced the brink into portions. The cardboard had children lining up to lick it clean! Delicious luxury!
Mum also made home made ice cream and sadly I cannot remember how right now but I have asked for the story of this miracle - In a house without a proper freezer this was an understandably rare event.
Albany was the place where we went for an annual holiday away from the farm. We started out being jam packed into Caravans - then the Emu Point Motel before becoming regulars at the Lilacs on Frenchman Bay Rd. This was a much needed break from the intense wheatbelt heat and farm routine and Ice Cream from Mr Whippy was the holiday treat.
Soft Serves that were probably jam packed full of chemicals and sugar nevertheless tasted like cool luxury in the hot summer. We used to go bottle collecting - keeping Australia Beautiful while raising funds for an ice cream.
Many of us are concerned about the pollution and poisons in our food so this easy recipe is a way to make a tasty treaty without preservatives. Plus it's quick and easy and is made in one bowl!
You'll need a 600 ml carton of whipping cream and a can of sweetened condensed milk - put this in the fridge so it is cold when you use it. First whip the cream until it is firm. I use a simple electric beater. Once the cream is whipped, fold in the can of condensed milk. Don't over mix this as you don't want to lose the airy texture.
The luxury of this recipe is in the flavour you can add and you put this in with the condensed milk. For a real treat I've used real vanilla pods which are gorgeous. Chocolate also works! I tried strawberries but they need to be mashed up and I was not a fan of the watery texture - Mango works but again you have to mash it up. I have an old fashioned potato masher and I use that until there are some chunks and some more mashed elements.
My new favourite is either mocha or coffee flavour. The trick is to make this mix before hand and chill it in the fridge. You want to make sure that you add a small amount of liquid to dissolve the coffee granules - too much liquid ruins the cream mixture - if you think of the amount of milk you put in tea - well that's too much! Think strong and pasty and fold it through the mix!
Then it's into the fridge. Use multiple containers with lids. Those takeaway food containers are pretty good. Depending on your fridge the chilling time can take from a few hours to overnight. The really smart thing is to have a nice generous sized portion to leave over night for your guests to gush over and make a couple of small tubs - ice cream addicts who can't wait overnight will thank me later! If you like your ice cream lovely and soft then crack open the fridge in a couple of hours or if you have self control then wait overnight!
It is highly recommended that you use your tongue to clean the spatula used to transfer the mix to the containers and the large bowl also benefits from being licked out with the help of a spatula! Don't forget the beaters can fit into a coffee mug which will enhance a coffee for the chef - it helps to save some of the condensed milk - clearly it's best to make this recipe when are alone in the kitchen.
Thank you for your reading time - I'll be back with Part Two on Mum's Home Made Ice Cream!
