Spent the morning at the garden shop...basked through the early afternoon...re-reading "A Year in the World"...and got a nice sun-kissed glow...then "played in the dirt" for awhile...coming in to make homemade (fresh) strawberry ice-cream.
Maybe the perfect sunny day!
Picked up a couple of bright Red Geraniums to nestle into a container of Dusty Miller...also seeded Red Poppies and hoping for the best this year. Last year they were doing fairly well...until Tucker-Cat decided they were growing in the very same spot he chose as his sunning spot and he sprawled in their midst. Smashing the lot of them flat. They did not recover. Sprinkled rose-moss seed...tiny and gun-metal gray...around the outer perimeter of the "frog spa". I love papery thin rose-moss flowering in a carnival of colors. I tend to be a "mover" when it comes to plants and dug and relocated some of my sempervivum (hens and chicks) that had overgrown as well.
Haven't heard a "peep" from the frogs yet this season...but the hummingbirds are back in force "thwit-thwitting" and letting me know in no uncertain terms that I've grown lax in my feeder duties.
"...no Joe, really...there used to this great little diner over there...must'a closed or under new management or somethin' "
It is good to see them back. Last year a family nested in one of my hanging plants. There are few things cuter than a tiny hovering baby "hummer" at the feeder.
The ice-cream is the first batch I have made since Bill died more than two years ago. The whole homemade ice-cream with mix-ins being this huge "thing" of ours in the summer time. Me mixing and measuring ingredients...him packing the machine with ice and salt and adjusting the paddle. Both of us sneaking a bit while it was still soft and only partially set. Good memories. Felt good to hear the familiar grinding as the thin aluminum churned against the salted ice. And spooning a dollop of the still soft ice-cream over fresh sliced strawberries. And hearing his laughter in my head when I ran out of ice while making it...because...well as he always pointed out- I tended to have a refilling the ice-cube tray deficiency...lol ~smiling~
Thought I would share Bill's recipe...which was actually his Dad's.
Bill's Basic Vanilla Bean Ice-Cream
(to which you can add almost anything)
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 vanilla bean split and scraped (discard pod)
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt.
Mix all ingredients well and pour in freezer canister of ice-cream churn.
Pack churn with ice/salt mixture to the top.
Churn until mixture is thick and frozen.
Pack into freezer safe container to have with your favorite mix in. (candy/chocolate/fresh fruit/cookie dough)
Also delicious plain.
Enjoy!
