July 14, 2011
“My advice to you is not to inquire why or whither, but just enjoy your ice cream while it's on your plate. That's my philosophy." - Thornton Wilder
In the blistering heat of summer, there's nothing wrong with me that a little homemade ice cream won't fix, but that is not as easy as it sounds.
You see, last summer I inadvertently ran over our ice cream maker in our driveway.
I left the container there after making some homemade vanilla and forgot about it. Backed out of the garage in a hurried run to the grocery store, and whammo!
Holy smashed ice cream maker, Batman.
The only thing salvaged was the ice cream itself, certainly not my pride.
Fast forward to this summer when everyone in our household is beginning to hanker for homemade ice cream. There is one little problem, however. I neglected to mention to them the fact that we no longer have an ice cream maker.
Let us say I covered up the crime.
What to do?
Rather than go on a shopping expedition in the 100-degree heat of mid-afternoon, I decided to make homemade ice cream the quick and easy way using ingredients one already has in the house. Best of all, no ice cream maker is needed, just plastic bags.
It's a crazy recipe, this ice cream in a bag.
The downside is that the recipe makes only small batches, one or two scoops at a time. I figured I could make some of several varieties, such as vanilla bean, peach, strawberry, chocolate, and something fun like pineapple or banana ice cream.
Serve two or three scoops of different flavors in a bowl, add some fresh fruit and voila, homemade ice cream without an ice cream maker.
Here are the simple steps to follow if you want to try 'Ice Cream in a Bag':
For each scoop, simply use one-half cup milk, 1-tablespoon sugar, and one-half teaspoon vanilla. Put into a quart-size, sealable plastic bag. Double bag it with another one so the first bag won't break easily.
Put 4 cups of crushed or cubed ice and six tablespoons table or canning salt into a gallon-size sealable plastic bag. Add the sealed quart bag to the gallon bag with the ice and salt. Seal the gallon bag after getting rid of as much air as possible.
Wrap the bag in a towel and shake for 8 minutes. Remove the small bag, wipe off salt on the outside and scoop out the ice cream. Add fruit or syrup.
Who needs an ice cream maker anyway?
Sweet, delicious, creamy, and exceptionally cold ice cream in a bag. "Happiness condensed," as writer Jessi Lane Adams says of ice cream.
If anyone gets suspicious and questions where the ice cream maker is, I will be too busy to answer. "I'll have to get back to you on that," I'll say.
A writer named Uniek Swain came up with the perfect quip for this little pickle I'm in, and I'm using it:
"Unless your name ends in Baskin or Robbins, I really can't fit you into my schedule right now."
Reader's note: if you love ice cream and want to see a funny video about it, then search on YouTube for "Ira and Barry in "City Slickers (1991) - The Challenge". The sketch poses the question: what would be the perfect flavor of ice cream with this meal? Answer: Rum Raisin, of course.
