Love Summer Fruits

Yesterday was another interesting day with still being on this fast, and wanting to create and cook - I ended up making ice cream and apple sauce in small batches to just keep myself occupied really. I find that I relax, am happy in myself and can think or process through things when I am busy working with food. 

First of all ice cream is something that I have been making for awhile and we have a small ice cream maker. The main reason we got this was because we had been all going without any ice cream for several years due to the fact that we don't eat cows milk, sugar or want the added chemicals of commercial ice cream.

There are companies out there who make ice cream from goat's milk however, it would have other ingredients that we did not like or need. Therefore, being resourceful, I started to make my own for our special occasions (such as summer!) and feast days. There is a feast day coming up soon at the beginning of August, and now the ice cream is ready for this celebration. 

When I first started out making ice cream I just researched what other people were doing and then improvised to fit our own needs - and it turns out very well. I make goat's milk ice cream using bananas, milk, jam and little else.

Yesterday I used 4 bananas, about 2.5 cups of goat's milk, 1//2 cup fresh peach jam and a tiny bit of raw agave syrup - mostly because I could not taste it to see how sweet it was. Otherwise I would not use the agave, but the jams I am making are mainly only fruit, some lemon juice and 1/2 cup of apple concentrate per batch of jam. They will not be overly sweet.

Then I decided to try my hand at making my applesauce recipe and canning it into the last remaining jars because I had apples that were not being eaten. I never liked applesauce as a child or at any other time - until I started making it myself. I think for me it has to do with the texture - if it's too much like baby food, I don't want it.

I also like applesauce that is warm and spicy with lots of cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger or allspices in it. So this is what I did - 8 cups of chopped apples, teaspoons of spices, tiny bit of lemon juice and cooked the apples into a sauce. They bottled up perfectly as well, in the jars that would not seal the day before, go figure! 

Now, when I open the cupboard there are a dozen jars lined up filled with jams and sauces - ready for the coming winter and changing seasons. It is a warm and fuzzy feeling for me and I truly feel right now these few remaining items that have been creeping into our diets will be eliminated once and for all.

Soon, I want to try my hand at making some chutneys and perhaps pickles as I get more adventurous  with my canning abilities. Last night Max came home with over 30 more jars, so I guess that was my green light to keep going with this. 

Keeping it real here in West Cork,

April

This is my ice cream maker - very simple little thing!

Here is a deep mixing bowl filled with the 4 ingredients of my ice cream