Monday, April 11, 2011

You pick.

What happens when your kitchen sink clogs? You call your landlord. What happens when your landlord has the thickest Lithuanian accent and zero boundaries with his tenants?......

Landlord: What's this Cockroaches in your sink everywhere?
me: Cockroaches?! What are you talking about Cockroaches? Where?!
LL: Here, here, here and here. These ones, everywhere!!!
me: Oh. They're Lavender flowers.......for the ice cream.
LL: ...........................................................................................................................................................................
me: ...............................................................................................................................................................What....?
LL: You cook too much.
me: I know.
LL: When's your birthday?
me: May.
LL: If you don't have boyfriend by your birthday, I buy you cat.
me: umm.....thank you, but I.....I..... don't really want a cat.
LL: You have to. It's boyfriend or cat. You pick.
me: Is that in my Lease?
Lavender Honey Ice cream  
- adapted from The Perfect Scoop

1/2 cup of good quality honey
1/4 cup dried culinary lavender flowers
1 1/2 cups of 2% milk
1/4 cup of sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
5 large egg yolks

This recipe takes a little longer to make than regular ice cream, because it's all about infusing the lavender oils into the honey and then again into the custard. So with that in mind, heat the honey and 2 tablespoons of the lavender in a saucepan until the honey is warm. If your comfortable with your microwave feel free to warm it in there for a second and then allow it to sit for around a hour. Warm the milk, sugar and salt in a separate saucepan. Once warm pour into a large bowl and set strainer over the top. Pour lavender infused honey through strainer gently pushing flowers into strainer to extract as many oils as you can and discard used lavender flowers.  In another bowl, whisk together the egg yolks until smooth. Add them to the warm milk mixture and then once that's combined, pour the entire uncooked custard back into the large saucepan. Stir constantly over medium heat until the mixture thickens enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon or spatula. If you  have an instant read thermometer it should read between 170 - 175 F.
Pour the custard again through the strainer to ensure that you have a silky smooth custard and add cream and remaining lavender. Refrigerate overnight, allowing the lavender to make really great friends with the custard and the mixture to chill thoroughly. Sigh... I know.. Patience... What a bastard!
Think about waking up the next morning knowing you've got something fabulous waiting for you! All you have to do is strain the mixture again removing the steeped lavender and then follow your ice cream makers instructions. Voila!


I have a thing for culinary lavender. There's something about its delicate nature that makes it a little more refined than your average flavor additive. I always find myself sitting a little straighter and speaking a little softer when I'm consuming it.  Like I would be if I were dining with Julie Andrews and lets be honest, who doesn't want to dine with Julie Andrews?

....Maybe that's what I'll name my new cat..... sigh.....

x tash

p.s. it feels good to be back. Oh how I have missed you all :)

16 comments:

  1. I'd choose the cat!

    Love lavender ice-cream but haven't had it since 2008. Must change that! This look yummy.

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  2. haha how funny! I dont like the taste of lavender, we did lavender ice cream a few years ago for the shop..it was like eating perfume..bleuuuuur....we do get asked for it tho..but too nasty to make it again haha

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  3. omg, i have never heard of this. i didn't know you could really eat lavender! but i have heard that the smell of it attracts men, so maybe that is why your landlord had boyfriends on the brain!

    xo
    sami
    ps. check out my blog giveaway!
    http://glimpseofglamour.blogspot.com/2011/04/heart-over-head.html

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  4. haha!! awww, he likes you :)

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  5. Amazing. You have such a deliciously bizarre life, and I just love hearing these stories!

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  6. welcome back. missed ya! =)

    p.s. please don't get a cat.

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  7. I've never eaten lavender! Where would one buy culinary lavender flowers? How lovely and victorian!
    Your stories are a riot. Cockroaches! OMG Chirp you have a very animated hood.
    Cupcake
    xo
    (so happy you are back :))

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  8. This made me laugh out loud, and the ice cream sounds yummy.

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  9. how funny and precious! this recipe looks amazing and hoping that you don't have to get the cat :)

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  10. hahaha too funny! And this ice cream looks absolutely delicious. I can practically taste it. I haven't had lavender honey in far too long, the last time was a lavender honey creme brulee. So good!

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  11. Ice cream solves all the world's problems I think. And I love that your landlord is Lithuanian. So am I. But the only two phrases my grandmother taught me in the language were "I love you" and "Give me money". At least if I ever travel there, I can fall in love and rob banks.

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  12. Haha, love this post hon! You're funny :-D! This ice cream looks delicious btw.

    X
    MENNEPEN

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  13. one: that ice cream looks so delicious and i'm bookmarking this!

    two: hilarious story! your landlord sounds awesome. i love that he said you cook too much. you'd think that be a good characteristic to man, right?

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  14. haha! your landlord is hilarious. and that ice cream sounds delicious!! my favorite ice cream shop back home in san francisco has lavender-honey ice cream. it's oh so good!

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  15. lol aww your landlord is pretty funny though. Cockroaches EW that looks nothing like them lol.

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