Peppermint Ice Cream Loaf (Or should that be Ice-Cream Loaf?)

Here it is!  One quick, final post for the year.  I thought I'd throw together an ice-cream loaf as it is stinking hot today (as YouTuber Emmymade would say - hehehe).  And in fact, she inspired me with her recipe for mint Viennetta!  Sadly, Mr P. does not like mint-flavoured anything so I will have to eat this all by myself.  Oh the tragedy!! :=)  

Mr P. did finish off the plate for me when I was putting the loaf back into the freezer last night.  Very brave of him, indeed.  He said he only managed it because there were wafers :=)  Now to co-erce my neighbours into taking a big (huge) slice of this!  

I know I've mentioned this before, but as a child, my family lived behind a butcher's shop in the mountains.  The butcher owned a goat, which he tied up in our backyard.  The goat would sometimes get off its tether (how?) and chew up mum's laundry on the outdoor washing line.  

There were not one but two outdoor loos (dunnies/toilets/outhouses) in the yard.  Surrounded by much, much mint growing wild.  You can imagine what we imagined the mint was doing!  It almost put me off for many a year, and I have never been able to bring myself to eat mint sauce.  Anyways, what a ramble.  Merry festive season to you all, my virtual and IRL friends!  See you in 2026, with bells on!!

for the peppermint lovers!  Delicious!

Sherry's Recipe:

Serves (maybe) 10-12?  (depends on the size of your slice)

Ingredients:

1 Litre/34 oz good-quality vanilla bean ice cream

1 tsp vanilla paste

1/4 tsp green food colouring

1/2 tsp peppermint extract   see Notes

2 Peppermint Crisp chocolate bars

2 mint Aero bars

2 Flake bars

250g./9 oz dark chocolate  (I use 70% Lindt), melted

2 x 125g./4.4 oz packets of chocolate wafer biscuits   see Notes

Chantilly cream:

200 mL/7 oz whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 Tbs icing sugar mixture

Method:

Start this recipe early in the day, or even better, the day before you want to eat it

Firstly, bring out the ice cream tub so the ice cream can get soft enough to mix the good stuff thru' it

Grab a loaf tin (mine is 23 x12 x 6 cm), brush a small amount (1/2-1 tsp?) of a neutral oil around the inside, and line with freezer film or plastic wrap, leaving a large overhang to fold over the whole shebang when freezing

Melt the chocolate in the microwave, and allow it to cool for 5 minutes or so

Spoon the ice cream into a large mixing bowl, add the vanilla, food colouring and peppermint extract, and stir thru' till beautifully green

Bash the heck out of the 2 Peppermint Crisp bars and one of the Flake bars (I used my cocktail muddler), into beautiful shards and chunks, and yep - stir 'em all in

Now start layering - spread a thin layer of the melted chocolate over the base of the loaf tin, then add a layer of the wafer biscuits

Next is a thick layer of the delightful green ice cream mixture, then another layer of the melted chocolate

On goes another layer of wafers, and ice cream, then place into the freezer for about half an hour, till the ice cream has firmed up a bit

And then top with the rest of the melted chocolate (you will probably need to zap it in the microwave again for a few seconds) and place back into the freezer for several hours, but probably best overnight

The next day, whip the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla, and smear all over your green loaf which you have turned out onto a serving plate (which can happily go into the freezer)

Top with the smashed-up Aero bars and the other Flake bar

Back into the freezer for a bit to firm up, then bring it out for about 10 minutes so you can slice it up!

minty goodness - just don't plant it out near an outside dunny (toilet) :=)

Notes:

Try a bit less of the peppermint extract if you're worried that it may be too strong for you (and more of the food colouring if you want it incredibly vibrant green!)

FYI, I used one whole packet of the wafer biscuits, and about 2/3 of the second one

No idea if these chocolate bars exist in other countries, but just buy something with lots of peppermint flavour and chocolate - Peppermint Crisp has "green mint crystals", which are delightfully crunchy (and sometimes bloody!  I have cut the roof of my mouth more than once on them)

 

ingredients gathered

oil and line your loaf tin with freezer film or plastic wrap

spoon the ice cream into a large mixing bowl

stir in the colouring, extract and choc pieces

layer with the melted chocolate and wafers

spoon in the ice cream mixture and the melted chocolate

add another layer of ice cream

cover with the freezer film and place in the freezer

then add the final layer of chocolate

and smother with the Chantilly cream and shards of chocolate bars

not half-bad!

Strawberry and Lime Refresher

Summer is just over the horizon (only 2 weeks away till the official start for us Southern Hemisphere peeps.)  So a refreshing and fruity drink is just the thing - call it agua fresca or a spritz!  Storm season has started early, and we've been having huge storms with hail and horizontal rain and winds.  So summer storm season is looking dodgy to say the least - eek! :=)   

FYI, I'm a member of the Tweed Regional Art Gallery which is just over the border in New South Wales.  We usually head down there three or four times a year.  So on our most recent excursion in October, we had lunch at the adjoining café/restaurant - where we had their housemade sodas (as they call them).  I loved the strawberry version I had, and decided to make my own, basing it on the citrus cordial I usually make. 

my version - so pretty! and so pink!

their version at Apex Dining

Sherrys' Recipe:

Makes 1 big jug:

ingredients:

1 cup (250 mL) simple sugar syrup, made with 1 scant cup of sugar and 1 cup water   see Notes

3 limes - zest and juice of 2 limes (= c. 50 mL/1.7 oz) and 1 lime for slicing - do the zesting then the juicing 'cos a floppy lime ain't easy to zest

c. 275g./10 oz fresh strawberries = 1 cup of pulp

1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

750 mL/25 oz sparkling water/mineral water for serving

fresh strawberries and lime slices, for serving

freeze-dried strawberries for serving (optional)

strawberries

Method:

First make the sugar syrup by stirring the sugar into the water (in a small saucepan) 

Stir till dissolved, then let it simmer gently for 4-5 minutes, and allow to cool right down

Hull the strawbs and cut into big chunks

Then purée them in a food processor or blender, and push them thru a sieve a couple of times (maybe 3 times) to get rid of the seeds and funny bits :)

Now grab yourself a big jug (glass is good 'cos you can see the pretty)

Pour in the sugar syrup, add lime zest and juice, the strawberry puree and the vanilla extract

Give it a really good stir with a muddler or a long wooden spoon

And add the sparkling water, then throw in the lime slices and freeze-dried strawbs.

Give it all another really big stir, chill it for a bit, and then serve in icy glasses

Leave out the sparkling water and add in some vodka and/or champers for an adult twist!

lime

Notes:

Use whatever sugar you fancy - I used white caster sugar, but you can use any kind you have

Obvs. you can use whatever fruit you have - this would be equally good with other berries, or citrus slices or your fave fruit - even a veg. like rhubarb!

ingredients gathered

make up your sugar syrup and let it cool

zest and juice 2 limes  (don't you just love my Japanese knife?)

purée your fruit

ready for the sieving

push the purée thru a sieve a couple of times (or 3)

ready for mixing

I made a small jug-full to begin with

it looks so pretty too!

yes it's very refreshing indeed!

I put some of the base drink in the fridge for later - just add sparkling!

Pistachio And Chocolate No-Churn Ice Cream aka Dubai Chocolate Ice Cream

I've read that it's becoming difficult to buy pistachios due to the Dubai chocolate craze.  Thankfully, I was able to buy a packet of shelled, unsalted kernels from a local (and expensive) grocer.  I'd thought about making an ice cream version, so I googled it.  Lots of versions came up, but some made a chocolate ice cream, to which they added the pistachio paste.  But I wanted mine to be green!

So this is my version of a Dubai pistachio and chocolate ice cream, using pretzels rather than kataifi.  To be honest, I couldn't be faffed finding the kataifi, and frying it up in butter!  "Salted pretzels will give texture and a bit of umami flavour", says I to myself.  (And you happily get rid of your aggressions with the bashing.)  So I made some chunky pretzel dust instead.  

There are a few steps to making this, but none are onerous, or particularly time-consuming.  You can do a bit at a time, or even some steps the day before.  Just whack it all together at the end, and freeze!  Be aware this is not a smooth ice cream, but has rather a grainy, and kinda/almost savoury facet to it.  But still delicious!

    

yep, looks fairly green, and a bit grainy :=)

Makes around 1.5L/51 oz:

ingredients:

70g./2.5 oz pistachios, toasted and chopped  see Notes

100g./3.5 oz pretzels, smashed with a muddler or rolling pin

200g./7 oz pistachio paste or cream  see Notes

40g./1.4 oz tahini   (I used hulled)

2 Tbs icing sugar  (for the paste mixture)

500 mL/17 oz thickened cream   see Notes

1-2 tsp vanilla extract   (I like lots!)

2 Tbs icing sugar (for the cream mixture)

a tin of condensed milk (395g./14 oz)

150g./5.3 oz chocolate bits/drops/buttons, or chop up a block!

Topping:

190g./6.7 oz dark and milk chocolate (your choice of % of each)

100 mL/3.4 oz thickened cream 

1-2 Tbs mascarpone (optional)

a handful (several tablespoons?) of toasted, chopped pistachios

a scattering of sea salt flakes (optional)

pistachios

pretzels

Method:

First toast your nuts (stir often) in a small frypan over a low heat, till they smell nutty, darken a wee bit in colour and start to make a popping sound - is that normal?  'Cos mine definitely popped!  And let 'em cool, then chop 'em up - as big or small as you like

Pretzel dust is next: take a big ziploc bag, tip in the pretzels, grab that muddler and whack 'em till you have a chunky dust: Do up the zip/seal first, you precipitate/reckless lot :=)

Scoop the pistachio paste and tahini into a medium mixing bowl, along with the icing sugar, and give it a whizz with your electric hand beaters - just to make a smooth(ish) paste/mixture

Now grab a large mixing bowl, pour in the cream, and add the vanilla and icing sugar

Give this a good whizzing, till you have soft but firm peaks - does this make sense?

Pour/spoon in the condensed milk to the cream (see how they reduced the size of the tin by 2 grams?  Cheeky!) and mix again till nicely combined

And spoon the pistachio mixture into the cream mixture, and give it another whisking till smooth

Stir thru' the chocolatey bits/drops/ chunks, the pretzel dust, and the nuts 

Spoon into your loaf tin lined with a generous amount of freezer film, or into an ice cream container with a lid (mine holds 1.4 Litres) - so I put the rest into a small container and gave it to our Persian friend who said it was soooo delicious, and made her day!

Pop into the freezer for an hour or so to firm up, before you add the topping - which you make by melting the chocolate and cream in a small-ish saucepan

Give it a good stir, and let it cool for a couple of minutes before adding the mascarpone, if using

Spread it thickly over the top of the ice cream (maybe even stir some of it thru the ice cream), scatter on the extra nuts and sea salt flakes, then back into the freezer (preferably overnight) till firm

Once again, I am letting you know this is NOT a smooth ice cream; it's kind of nutty and a bit chunky and grainy but delicious!

yes, you can use 2 of these, instead of the tin

Notes:

I suggest buying pistachio kernels that are shelled and unsalted

You can buy either pistachio paste or cream.  The paste is 100% nuts, with no additives so quite savoury in taste, while the cream has added sugar and oils 

I used thickened/whipping cream which has a minimum 35% milk fat - I had some leftover soft cream cheese too, so I added 2 Tbs, but not necessary at all!

Try this with your fave nut paste and nuts!  Be a rebel; doesn't have to be pistachios, 'cos they are dear, and may be hard to find

toast your nuts, baby!

and smash those pretzels!

ingredients gathered

whizz up the pastes and icing sugar

pour this mixture into the whipped cream mixture

I used white chocolate too!

melting the chocolate and cream for the topping

ready for the freezer

start scooping :)

rich and nutty, so scoop away :=)

Jaboticaba Jam

So, our jaboticaba tree fruited like a maniac on steroids the other week.  It is a Brazilian rainforest tree, happily for us planted by the previous owner of our house.  It fruits twice a year (though a friend said they knew someone who had a tree that fruits four times a year).  The fruit grows all over the trunk and branches directly, so it looks really weird!  (As you may have seen in my most recent post.) 

I invited a friend over to pick some fruit, as he is a keen jam-maker, and a very keen forager.  He came over with a large bucket and picked heaps, but it made little difference to the fruits on the tree.  Soooo many fruits!  And the bats and possums must have been having a feast.  Mr P. and I did some house painting just near the tree and were nearly overwhelmed by the fermenting fumes.  I imagine incredibly alcoholic!  So drunken, crazy bats flying over!

here it is before the fruit ripened in the next couple of days!

The whole thing was done and dusted in about five days; it flowered, it fruited and they fell off!  There might be another harvest at Christmas time.  I have bags of fruit in the freezer for more jam-making in the future, anyway.

Original Recipe by Sherry:

ingredients:

420g./15 oz of apples and/or strawberries – strawberries lightly mashed, and apples grated or blitzed in the processor    see Notes

80g.-100g./3-3.5 oz or so of whole jaboticaba fruits – skin on (‘cos that’s where the pectin lies)

400g./14 oz caster sugar – half raw and half white caster – or use all white or all raw sugar

Juice from one lemon – maybe 2 Tbs?

1-2 big tsp vanilla extract

¼ tsp rosewater

Big splash of spiced rum - optional, but delicious!

Method:

Put the fruit and sugar into a large saucepan and under a low heat, and bring to the boil while stirring, till sugar dissolves

Then turn up the heat, add the other ingredients, and boil rapidly for up to 10 minutes (watch out for splashes) – no more than ten, stirring often.  This stuff sets like concrete if you boil it too long!

Check for set from 8 minutes on!   i.e. – put a saucer in your freezer for ten minutes, spoon a small amount of the jam onto it, and if you can run your finger thru it after a few seconds, it is ready to go

Let it cool down a wee bit, so you are able to safely spoon out all the skins and seeds – tedious but necessary

Then spoon/pour the jam into sterilised jars (I put my jars in the dishwasher to get super clean!)

Keeps in the fridge – well, for ages!  Unless you eat it all first :=)

Notes:

I peeled my apples but you don't have to.  I used red apples 'cos they were lurking in my crisper, but you can use your fave apple!

If you have a lot of fruit still on the tree (and you will!), place them into a plastic freezer bag in a single layer (and you can freeze them for a couple of months, maybe more), and then when next making jam, let them thaw out and make the jam as above

tip the fruits and sugar into the saucepan

and let it boil! but only for 10 mins.! And stir it often

ooh it's so shiny and beautiful!

so delicious!

so enchanting! so mysterious! so pretty!

c. Sherry M.

Preserved Lemon Harissa

Last year our Tassie friends came up for a visit, and kindly gave us some organic Meyer lemons from their tree.  I turned some of them into preserved (salted) lemons, and there they sat in our fridge since last Winter.  (This was written a few months ago!)  So I decided to turn them into preserved lemon harissa.  'Cos I love to whizz things up in my food processor.  "So satisfying!" as a certain YouTuber (EmmyMade) often says.

I've adapted a basic harissa recipe from Taste.com.au, adding a few extra ingredients, like the preserved lemons, the rose petal powder and honey (and lemon EVoo).  Why not go big? :=)  So here we have it - the Sherry version.  

the result - 2 wee jars of paste

Makes 2 small jars:

ingredients:

2 long red chillies  (looks like I added some dried chilli flakes too)

2 green jalapeños

130g./4.5 oz (approx.) of preserved lemon rinds (no flesh)  see Notes

2-3 garlic cloves, chopped roughly

1/2-1 tsp sea salt flakes  

1/2 tsp ground rose petal powder (or dried rose petals) or a sprinkle of rosewater (maybe 1/8 to 1/4 tsp?)

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cummin

3-4 tsp EV olive oil, or 1 tsp lemon-pressed EVoo + 2 regular EVoo

1/2-1 tsp honey (optional)

1 tsp EV olive oil on top of each jar

Method:

Chop up the chillies and jalapeños, removing most (or some) of the seeds (all of 'em if you don't fancy the heat)

Throw the de-seeded little babies into your food processor (a small-ish one if you have it) or grab your mortar and pestle if you're going old-school

Put in the preserved lemon pieces, without the flesh, and the garlic, and blitz away

And add the rest of the ingredients (sans the last amount of EV olive oil)

And blitz!  till as smooth or chunky as you please

Spoon into small jars, top with EV olive oil, and keep in the fridge for a month or 2

Notes:

Use all red chillies, or your choice of chilli - green, whatever :)

Use more or less preserved lemon, as you wish

ingredients gathered

in go the chillies and jalapeños

and the preserved lemon rinds, and garlic

and the rest of the ingredients

spoon into small jars

and keep in the fridge for a month or 2

c. Sherry M.

I used the harissa in a chicken traybake one night.  I had about a kilo/2 lb of skinless chicken thighs, which I tossed in 3 Tbs maple syrup, 3-4 Tbs harissa paste, a huge splash of EVOO, and salt and pepper.  Baked at 185C for about 25 minutes.  Delicious!

and don't forget the veg.!

Mr P. is sick with a cold at the moment, not that he lets that stop him.  He's still working as per ...  I am feeding him up, and giving him lots of vitamins.  I made a preserved lemon hummus yesterday (I'll blog it eventually), and added lots of garlic to help kill the germs (just kidding) - but you never know!

He's convinced that the flu jab helps keep the colds at bay too.  He read recently that we need a second jab each winter!  Crumbs, when does it stop?  I am a pin-cushion already these days.  Wow, those shingles shots were a blast!  I reckon this harissa will kill 'em all too - the germs I mean.