Fantastic Foodie Friday

I haven't posted in two weeks! This is partially because I keep telling myself I am not allowed to until I do my homework. That's only sorta worked for me...

Anyways, Here I am!

I make a lot of new recipes. Usually, not a day or two goes by that I don't try out something new. Today I tried THREE new recipes! I thought I would share them with you.

What's on the menu?

Tuna cakes

with

Marinated White Beans

and

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream

for dessert

This first recipe comes out of having beans sitting in the pantry and not knowing what to do with them.

Marinated White Beans:

I found the recipe over at Budget Bytes, a foodie blog I have been loving recently. She has lots of great, frugal, and different recipes to try. The only changes I made to the recipe she posted was to add more lemon (gotta love lemon!) and I used great northern beans that I boiled myself instead of a canned version.

Even J* thought these were good, and he doesn't really like beans.

After finding this recipe, I needed something to go with it. I knew white beans are often paired with tuna, so I tried to find a tuna cake recipe to try. I used this one over at Simple Recipes. I don't have a picture of this one - after picking J* up from work I was too tired, hungry, and cranky to take a photo. This too was good. If I make it again I think I would add a little more dijon mustard though!

And...

For the real star of the show...

Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream!

I have been craving ice cream lately. Actually, let's just face it - I always want ice cream, even when I am not pregnant. However, pregnancy makes the craving WAY WORSE! Since I was going to the store today I thought I would make my own ice cream in my ice cream maker. Yep, that's right, I have an ice cream maker. My grandmother has given me some awesome appliances!

I thought I would try out the recipe for strawberry ice cream, since it's a favorite for both of us.

First, start off with a bunch of strawberries. I got a huge box on my Costco run today. You will need three cups of sliced strawberries. 

 After the strawberries have been sliced, gently mix them together with four tablespoons of lemon juice and a half cup of sugar. Pop the mixture in the refrigerator for about two hours. My Cuisinart ice cream-maker cookbook calls this macerating...

Macerate - to soften or decompose (food) by the action of a solvent.

That's a new term for me, I always thought you did this just to make it juicy and yummy and extra sweet. 

Mmm, sugary strawberries! There they are, in all their macerated goodness...

Now it's time to reserve that yummy liquid and puree some of the sliced strawberries. It's really up to you how much you puree. I asked J* if he wanted a little or a lot of strawberry chunks, he said a little so I pureed 3/4 of the strawberries. 

The trick I have found, after trying to make ice cream several times, is to make sure everything is ice cold. That means besides the ice cream mixer being frozen, I also freeze the mixing bowl, measuring cups, storage bowl and the utensils. All the ingredients go in the fridge before hand as well. Making ice cream calls for a little forethought. Otherwise, it just doesn't turn out correctly!

First you want to beat together one and a half cups of whole milk with one cup of sugar. Once the sugar is dissolved, pour in two and three-fourths cups of heavy cream. 

Pour in the strawberry puree and one and a half teaspoons of vanilla.

Now, it has to churn for 20-25 minutes. When there are about 5 minutes remaining, add in the sliced strawberries.

At this point it's ready to eat even though it is a soft serve consistency. Once you freeze it in an airtight container it becomes more like an ice cream you would buy at the store.

There you have it. A fantastic foodie Friday!

Can you tell I have started practicing with my new camera?! J* shoots landscapes, I shoot food :)