Introduction

If someone tells me I cannot do something, I usually take that as a sign that this is exactly what I can and must do. Ironically I wasn't a particularly rebellious child - except for the occasional tattoo, piercing or drastic dye job, but even those actions were often encouraged by my equally rebellious mother. With a good head on my shoulders, I always felt that I was the best judge of what I can do - that, and I like to prove people wrong.

With that in mind, I set out to prove ice cream wrong. More specifically this statement - "Process according to manufacturer's instructions" - the last line of nearly every sorbet and ice cream recipe and also a limitation that I wanted to put an end to. I'm sure not everyone's kitchen has found counter space for the bulky machine used to churn endless frozen desserts and said kitchens should have the same rights than those with a machine.

Can't we all just make ice cream?

Now here is a bit of a disclaimer - making sorbet or ice cream without an ice cream maker limits you a bit. I have yet to figure out how to recreate the standards like vanilla and chocolate, but if you like fruit flavors than you are set. If you are able, I do highly recommend adding an ice cream maker to your collection of appliances. Ice cream that is churned slowly will have a superior texture, but believe me when I say that when you try a taste of what I'm about to offer up, you too will be finding rules to break while devouring a bowl (or a glass) of this perfectly sweet and creamy frozen treat.

Raspberry, Honey & Black Tea Sorbet

• 1 1/2 cups frozen raspberries
• 1/4 cup honey, black tea simple syrup (recipe below)

Combine ingredients in a blender and process until smooth. You can adjust the amount of simple syrup based on your desired sweetness. The resulting product will be quite soft. Place in an airtight container then put in the freezer until firm. You may eat it "as is" or add some yogurt for a delicious smoothie.

Simple Syrup for Raspberry Sorbet

• 3/4 cups water
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 cup sugar

Bring to a boil. Turn off heat then steep two black tea bags for 5 minutes. Refrigerate until cold.

Peach Basil Sorbet

• approx. 1 1/2 cups frozen peaches
• 1/4 cup basil simple syrup (recipe below)

Process just as Raspberry Sorbet. You may also use an immersion blender for any of these recipes.

Simple Syrup for Peach Sorbet

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 large Basil leaves

Bring all ingredients to a boil. Refrigerate until cold. Keep the basil leaves in the syrup.

Raspberry, Honey, Black Tea Ice Cream

• 2 cups frozen raspberries
• 1/2 cup cream syrup (recipe below)

Process just as the sorbet.

Cream Syrup for Raspberry Ice Cream

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 black tea bags

Bring all the ingredients to warm in a small sauce pot until the sugars have dissolved. Refrigerate until cold.

Peach Basil Ice Cream

• approx. 2 cups frozen peaches
• 1/2 cup basil cream syrup (recipe below)

Process just as the sorbet. If you want the ice cream to have a more pronounced basil flavor, process the ice cream with 1 or 2 of the steeped basil leaves.

Cream Syrup for Peach Ice Cream

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 5 large Basil Leaves

Combine all the ingredients in a small sauce pot and heat gently just until the sugar has dissolved. Refrigerate until cold.

Some more tips...

All of the sorbets and ice creams will be a bit soft. Pop them into the freezer for an hour or two, then you are ready to serve. You can adjust the sweetness to fit your palate. At one point I thought the Raspberry Sorbet was sweet enough, but it wasn't processing very well in the blender (I was using a very old and cheap one) so I added a touch of water to get it going again. An immersion blender also works.

Use your imagination to combine different flavors. As berries and fruit are coming into season, don't forget to stock your freezer so that you can have fresh summer fruit sorbets and ice creams all year long.

I made a delightful float using the ice creams and ginger ale. I floated some of the frozen fruits and served with a twisty straw (a must). A sophisticated twist on a classic.

Enjoy!

About Ashley E. Rodriguez

Food became my life while living in Italy. Growing up I was fortunate to have been brought up around a mother who intuitively knew how to cook, and just by being around that, it rubbed off on me. But it was in Italy where I truly began to appreciate the power of good food.

For me food is so much more than following a recipe in order to reach a desired product. As much as I enjoy that tasty product and the process in which it was created, my personal infatuation with food focuses on the aspects that go beyond satisfying a bodily hunger. I am completely and utterly obsessed with food because of its effect on the people who consume it, grow it, produce it, enjoy it, and live for it. Food is culture, it nourishes our bodies, it is passion, it is hard work, and for many it is their livelihood.

My culinary career has been primarily pastry focused. I worked under the Captain of the winning American Coupe du Monde team (the Olympics of bread baking) at the Essential Bread Baking Company in Seattle, WA. From there I went on to Los Angeles where I studied under Sherry Yard (Executive Pastry Chef for Wolfgang Puck's restaurant empire) at Wolfgang Puck's famous Spago restaurant in Beverly Hills. While working with Sherry, I also assisted her with her second book, Desserts By The Yard.

I moved back to Washington State and began my pastry business, fulfilling all sweet needs. You can see my work in numerous publications including Seattle Metropolitan Bride & Groom. Currently I am focusing on training my two young boys to have distinguished palates. You can also find me writing, teaching and creating a television program on the subject of real, good food.

Photographs copyright by Gabriel Rodriguez. Used with permission.