Key Lime Pie Ice Cream

I had surgery on my foot last week- to fix my bunion.  I know, it sounds like a disgusting wart. I hate saying it, but I promise it is just a hereditary bone deformation that is fairly common.  Exciting stuff.

Not surprisingly, this has kept me out of the kitchen... I can't really even fix my own cereal.  (Thank you to all my family that has carried my chap stick, books, food and even my own body to and fro). Fortunately, my one-legged state of affairs has not put a damper on my Ice Cream Project.  Before I left Portland, I was able to whip up a luscious Buttermilk Fig Ice Cream.  I made a sweet jam with fresh figs and the buttermilk base was a satisfying balance.

After my trip back to Oklahoma for my surgery, I squeezed in one more batch of Key Lime Pie Ice Cream before I was wiped out on pain killers. It is just the right treat to enjoy by the pool as we soak up the final hot days of summer. I cooked a standard custard base and added sweetened condensed milk and Nellie & Joe's Famous Key Lime Juice after straining. If you don't have easy access to key limes, this is the juice to find.  To spin it, I hauled out my mom's heavy duty White Mountain Ice Cream Freezer. This machine is not for the faint of heart. It vrooms, clatters and requires a little arm muscle and grunting.  But it's worth it; touching the cold, steel canister brings back every giddy spoonful of homemade vanilla ice cream I ate growing up.  Most of the time I like my ice cream adorned with chunks, bits, swirls and sprinkles of pretty things, but there will never be a scoop as pure and perfect as rich vanilla ice cream freshly frozen. Silky smooth and quick to melt on a warm piece of chocolate sheet cake, still delicious as you slurp it out of the bowl. It is bliss, but I should be tempting you with the Key Lime Pie.

I stirred in bits of graham crackers when the base was frozen, made a quick dark chocolate sauce and gently swirled it in too. I just wanted a hint of the bitter chocolate throughout to complement, not dominate, the lime. After eating several spoonfuls of leftover chocolate sauce, I threw the ice cream into the freezer to set. A crew of family and friends have had the chance to taste, and I agree with their conclusion- it's just like key lime pie. 

I am getting antsy migrating between the couch and my bed, but I do have plenty of time to dream up ice cream flavors. I can put a bit more pressure on my foot now and should be able to balance long enough to stir together my next ice cream by the end of the week!