I learned something last night: my dangerously powerful ice cream addiction can, through only a couple of degrees of separation, help BRIMS and other Charlottesville groups. That is, if I eat the Dave Matthews Band Magic Brownie flavor of Ben & Jerry's, from which a portion of the proceeds go to BAMA Works, the charitable arm of the DMB. BRIMS got a BAMA grant a few years ago...hmmm...wonder how much ice cream I'd have to eat to create another BRIMS grant.... (Though to be sure, the ice cream label says that the money goes specifically toward environmental projects, so I don't know if it gets funneled off to a different place in the foundation finances...presumably so, but still.)
The ice cream itself is delightfully palatable. Not my favorite B&J flavor, but the raspberry/chocolate/vanilla combination is definitely a winner. (Before ye ask, I can't quite figure out my favorite flavor--one for every mood, I suppose, and I never met one I didn't like, though some I like less than others.)
Still, I expect more of the proceeds go to the proprietors of the bodega around the corner than to BAMA. I certainly pay a premium for having more junk food within a block than anyone needs--this pint was $4.49. But it sure beats the hell out of the old 'hood, where it wasn't possible to get milk that hadn't spoiled. Just not possible. The only edible/potable things there were beer, Coke, potato chips, and Hershey's chocolate.
I'm such a yuppie.
In other ice cream news, I set out today to buy a Donvier ice cream maker. I think they were much more popular 10 or 15 years ago, but I always liked my grandmother's (and, in fact, was the only person ever to use the thing, I think). Very low-tech, but without having to deal with the rock salt and ice--the important piece of the Donvier is a cannister that you put in the freezer overnight. It's filled with some sort of coolant that freezes the ice-cream-to-be, and has a hand crank. Of course it would never work as well as the fancy yoke we used at the Institute of Culinary Education, but it would suit our purposes well enough. But alas--no dice. If I'm going to make the frozen wine thing before I go to Ireland, it'll have to be in a metal bowl in the freezer.
And in other consumer goods news: buying blank minidiscs these days is quite a feat. I still haven't succeeded, despite checking Best Buy, Circuit City, Virgin Megastore, and even Radio Shack, which I detest. The word on the street (literally) is that I should check with the sketchy places on 14th Street with the pay-to-play Atari and Nintendo games in front. Alas--iRiver and all those new(ish) gadgets aside, this time I really need the external data storage, since I won't be taking my computer to Ireland, and won't be able to download interviews, tunes, etc. until I return in August.
8 comments:
I should get myself an ice cream maker. You're reminding me I need to make my coffee ice cream again soon.
Mmmmmm. Coffee ice cream.
Mmmmmmmm indeed! What's your recipe? J & I agree that we don't have the $50 to shell out on an ice cream maker (that seems to be the going price for all models available, although I haven't checked eBay yet) right now, but eventually....
the dave matthew's ice cream is best enjoyed on top of a warm brownie. mmmmm.
Ok, to start with you'll need essentially to make coffee using a mixture of milk and cream instead of water. Bring 1 and 3/4 cups milk and 2 cups heavy cream to steamy near-boiling in a saucepan, and pour it over 3 tbsp. coarsely ground coffee beans. Use a French press if you've got one. Steep it for 4 minutes, then press or strain it and let it cool.
Beat 2 eggs with 1 and 1/4 cup sugar till well combined. Mix in the coffee-infused milk and cream and 2 tsp. vanilla. Pour into your ice cream maker and make it do its thing.
Damn, Rob, that coffee ice cream sounds dangerous. I think before I ever make it I'd have to take drastic measures, since whatever batch I make I'm gonna be immediately hoovering. Drastic measures I guess would be dropping about five pounds since that's what I'd probably put on after eating a batch of this. Unless I was able to reduce the recipe and make a micro-batch. But the limiting factor in the ingredients is the two eggs. Anyone know where I can buy half an egg?
Sounds like you'll just have to plan to hoover, John!
Any thoughts on how this would work with soy milk? That way, J could eat it, too.
If I were going to be here this summer, I'd try to figure out a good peach ice cream--that's something that never tastes as good store-bought. That, and strawberry, were the ones my grandmother tended to make, because she figured that the store-bought chocolate and vanilla was fine enough.
Ok, how about this. Substitute 2 cups soy milk and one of those tetra boxes of firm silken tofu for the milk and cream. Heat the soy milk, infuse it with the coffee, and beat the tofu and vanilla into it. Then beat that into the egg and sugar mixture and ice-cream-machineize it. I think that might work pretty well.
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