Homemade Ice Cream

Since the weather was getting hot, I decided baking time is over (for a while). I scoured the net for easy ice-cream recipes that I could make without an ice-cream maker. I try to avoid buying kitchen equipment that can only do one thing because I don't like clutter.

Anyway, I found recipes where you make a custard on the stovetop and then freeze, but then you had to check and whisk it every half-hour or so. I was feeling quite lazy to do that and just wanted a yummy and EASY recipe.

Then I found the holy grail. Who knew, just 3 simple ingredients could make a lovely vanilla ice-cream? And all you had to do was mix it and chuck it in the freezer for 6 hours before it's ready! No stovetop required. No checking in every 30 minutes. No nothing. So simple!

I decided to make just plain vanilla and if I wanted anything fancy in it, I'd just mix it in before eating. That way my ice-cream will be more versatile.


Easy Homemade Ice Cream without a Machine
Recipe from Kevin and Amanda (thanks guys!)

2 cups heavy cream
1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1 vanilla pod or 1-2 tsp vanilla extract

Pour the condensed milk into your ice cream container (I used one of the commercial ice cream containers I had in my cupboard), and then mix in the vanilla.

Whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Use a mixer if you have one. I was only armed with a large balloon whisk and metal bowl, so I got a pretty good arm workout. A blender works too (my friend tried it!).

Fold the whipped cream into your ice cream container. Cover and freeze for 6 hours or until set. I did it the night before and had a lovely ice cream dessert for lunch the next day :)

Everyone who tried the ice-cream could NOT believe the ingredients and they all agreed it was creamy and better than commercial ice-cream. It's amazing! Try it and let your friends think you had to slave away in the kitchen without an ice-cream maker :p

My father-in-law had a bowl and told me to throw away the recipe as it was ruining his diet. He didn't want me to make it anymore. Little does he know how simple it is. The ingredients are already etched in my brain :)

Chocolate Chip Cookies

My sister loves Nestle Toll House's recipe. While I was trying to find a better recipe, I stumbled upon this. It's the same Nestle recipe which uses 1/2 the butter! Anything that lessens butter but tastes the same should be good, right? So, I tried the recipe and fell in love. I'm going to forever use this! It's a keeper.

Interesting thing I learnt:

• Since it uses less butter, the cookies don't spread out much while baking. Thus, whatever shape you put on the pan prior to baking will come out about the same after it's done! I love that. So I get to shape it nicely or have a rustic look (because I'm just lazy :p), etc.

@nestlefoodie’s Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies 

Recipe from Chris Garboski, adapted from the Original Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe  (copied from La Fuji Mama - you can get the printable version from her site)

Makes 60 cookies  

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1 teaspoon salt 

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened 

3/4 cup granulated sugar 

3/4 cup packed brown sugar 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

2 large eggs 

2 cups (12-ounce package) Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips  

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  

2. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt.  In a separate large mixer bowl, beat together the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until the dough is creamy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating the dough well after each addition.  Gradually beat in the flour mixture.  Stir in the chocolate chips.  Scoop out rounded tablespoons of dough and place 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheets.  

3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden brown.  Cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes and then remove the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.

Yum! The same goodness with lesser fat and calories! Yay!

Cheesecake Brownies

I love brownies! They taste so good and you'll feel so bad for eating them. But once you finish the pan, you just crave for more. Sigh..

Sometimes just having brownies isn't enough, and that's when you need to have a delicious layer of cheesecake on top. Yum!

Cheesecake Brownies
I used the cheesecake recipe from Almost Bourdain and the brownie recipe from Desert Candy. I silently stalk these blogs (but now that I've linked them, they'll know who their silent stalker is :p).

1 stick (8 tbsp, 4 oz, 113g) butter
4 oz bittersweet chocolate
1 cup sugar (all white sugar, or half white/half brown sugar)
1 tsp vanilla
pince salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder


Cheesecake:
285 g (10 oz) cream cheese
4 1/2 tbsp caster (superfine) sugar
2 eggs

(I doubled the recipe and baked in a 9x13" pan for 35-40 mins.)

Preheat the oven to 350F, grease an 8" square baking pan lined with non-stick baking paper or aluminum foil. On top of a double boiler, or in the microwave, melt together the butter and the chocolate. Let the mixture cool slightly, stir in sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then fold in the flour and cocoa powder. Pour into prepared pan.

To make the cheesecake, whisk the cream cheese, sugar and eggs until smooth. Place large spoonfuls of the cheesecake mixture on top of the chocolate mixture and swirl with a butter knife.

Bake in the oven 18-20 mins. Immediately move the pan to the freezer or to an ice bath for about five minutes to stop the cooking, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes about 16 - 2 inch squares.

Hummingbird Cake

It seems like my earlier posts are all about health and vegetables. I may sound like a health freak by now but I'm actually not because I LOOOVE eating cake and ice-cream!

I baked my first cake when I was about 6 or 7. My sister and I had this children's cookbook which we pored over and made all kinds of cookies -- chocolate chip, honey, zebra, etc. We loved baking together with our mom and it was great quality time.

I hadn't been baking a lot in such a long time since then and only started again recently. Thus the reason for the existence of this food blog -- to keep record of the recipes I like and will refer to in the future.

My first attempt to start baking again had me reading a hummingbird cake recipe. It's really easy but you just have to get your butt to the supermarket unless you always have plenty of pecans, canned pineapples and bananas lying around your kitchen.

Hummingbird Cake
from Joy of Baking

1 cup (110 grams) pecans, toasted and finely chopped
3 cups (390 grams) all-purpose flour
2 cups (400 grams) granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup (180 ml) safflower, corn, or canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 - 8 ounce (227 grams) can crushed pineapple, do not drain
2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3-4 medium sized bananas)


Pecan Cream Cheese Frosting: 
1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces (227 grams) cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound box (454 grams) (about 3 2/3 cups) confectioners (powdered or icing)sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (55 grams) finely chopped pecans


Garnish: (Optional) pecan halves



Hummingbird Cake: 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place the rack in the center of the oven.
Butter or spray two - 9 x 2 inch (23 x 5 cm) round cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with a circle of parchment paper.

Place the pecans on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop finely.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon.

In another large bowl, mix together the eggs, oil, vanilla extract, pineapple, mashed bananas, and finely chopped pecans. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir until combined. Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared pans and bake for about 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. After about 10 minutes invert the cakes onto the wire rack, remove the pans and parchment paper, and then cool completely before frosting.


Frosting: In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), beat the butter and cream cheese, on low speed, until very smooth with no lumps. Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar and beat, on low speed, until fully incorporated and smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla extract and then stir in the finely chopped pecans.


To assemble: Place one cake, top side down, onto your serving platter. Spread with about a third of the frosting. Gently place the other cake layer, top of cake facing up, onto the frosting, and spread the rest of the frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Can garnish with pecan halves. Refrigerate the cake for about one hour so the frosting has time to set.

Serves 10 - 12 people.


Notes: 

• I tend to find that most frosting recipes online uses waaaaayyyy too much sugar for me! So I usually start with 1/2 cup and gradually add on from there. 
• I have done this cake with toasting the pecans and also without. They both worked fine and I couldn't tell the difference, but I'm no MasterChef.
• You can even make them in cupcake cups. Can't remember how many cups I got though.

Lazy Pasta Recipe

This only works if you have tomato soup already made.

From my earlier post on tomatoes, we see that when eaten together with broccoli, they work best against cancer. So I decided to make pasta with broccoli for a quick lunch.


Lazy Pasta Recipe

Pasta
Tomato Soup
Chicken or Prawn
Broccoli
* Optional - Bird's eye chili and/or Dried Chili (I like my pasta spicy)

In a pot of boiling water, cook the pasta you wish to make -- I made spaghetti.

Steam the broccoli for 5 minutes. I love using my rice cooker's steamer.

In a pan, heat some olive oil and cook the chicken or prawn with some chili, according to taste. Add in the tomato soup. Done!

To serve, place pasta in bowl. Pour the tomato sauce over and place the broccoli on top. There you have it, a healthy and quick meal.

Note: If you want a more spicier sauce, add in some chili sauce as well.

Tomato Soup

I bought a whole pack of organic local tomatoes at the supermarket the other day thinking that I would be using it. A few days passed by and I still haven't cooked anything using tomatoes. As they were getting riper and I had a whole bunch to use, I decided to make tomato soup.

Found these 2 recipes online 

• Garden Fresh Tomato Soup 
• Fresh Tomato Soup 

and decided to make a mix of the two :)

Feel free to use whichever recipe I linked above or my adapted version. My version would include a bit more garlic and no salt as I tend to omit salt in my recipes whenever possible. I also mixed in some roux as I've never tried that before and wanted to experiment with it. Just go with what works with your tastebuds!

Easy, Fresh Tomato Soup 

4 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped (about 8-10 medium sized tomatoes)
1 medium sized onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth (or veg stock or a mix of both)
1-2 teaspoons brown sugar, or to taste

* Optional - For the roux:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil. Using medium heat, cook the onions until translucent and then add the garlic. Cook for a few minutes but don't let it brown.

Add in the tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then allow to simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are soft. Add in sugar to taste and it's done!

* If you want the soup thickened, make a roux by melting the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour and mix it well. Stir constantly as you don't want the roux to burn. You will see the yellow color start to become darker. Cook until it is medium brown. If small black specks start to appear, it has burned and you will need to start over as it will give a bitter taste. Once it's done, whisk in a bit of the tomato soup and then stir in the rest.


Notes:

• Most recipes would require you to blend the soup but I prefer my soup chunky as it gives a rustic and more wholesome look. Okay, I'll admit that I'm a bit lazy as well.
• Having the roux thickened the soup and it really was nice, but it can also do without for a healthier soup.
• Or, you can add 1 cup of milk or cream instead for a 'bisque'.
• Had the leftover soup the next day and it was even more delicious!
• I would have added carrots and celery if I had them. Maybe about 1/2 - 1 cup each. If I did, I would have chopped them roughly about the same size to let it cook evenly. 
• If I felt I need some meat in the dish, I'd add tiny meatballs!

But, wait!

I also tried this method today and it's another way to get a thickened soup without doing a separate roux.

Easy Tomato Bisque from ehow.com.

I used the same ingredients as my recipe above. The ehow.com recipe is a bisque, so it calls for half-and-half. I'm just doing a normal tomato soup.

The alternative method:

Heat the olive oil. Cook the onions with sugar. Add in garlic and cook a little more. Add 1 tablespoon flour and stir constantly for 1 about minute.  Add in the chicken broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat. Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes until the soup has thickened. Voila!