Chocolate Recipe of the Week Agave-Sweetened Chocolate Ice Cream About 1 quart (1 liter) Since the custard is made without sugar, keep an eye on things as it will cook rather quickly. You can either use a flame-tamer or cook the custard in bain-marie, a bowl set over a pan of simmering water, to avoid overcooking if you've never made a custard before. And because I don't like washing dishes, I use the same saucepan for cooking the custard that I used for dissolving and blooming the cocoa powder, I simply scrape it as clean as possible and use it again for making the custard. If you're concerned about the quantity of agave nectar here, you can reduce the amount to ½ cup (120 ml) if you wish, although it's texture and taste is exactly right for me. 10 tablespoons (155 ml) agave nectar 2 ounces (55 g) unsweetened chocolate, very finely chopped 1/3 cup (35 g) unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Valrhona) 3 cups (750 ml) half-and-half*, divided 5 large egg yolks pinch of salt 1. In a small saucepan, warm the agave syrup with the unsweetened chocolate over the lowest heat possible, stirring constantly, until the chocolate is melted. Remove from heat and transfer mixtures to a large bowl. Set aside. 2. In a medium saucepan, add 1½ cups (375 ml) of the half-and-half and whisk in the cocoa powder. Cook over moderate heat until the mixture begins to bubble, then simmer for 30 seconds, whisking frequently, making sure to break up any clumps of cocoa powder. 3. Remove from heat and scrape the mixture into the bowl with the chocolate-agave mixture. Stir them together, then set a mesh strainer over the top. 4. Add the remaining half-and-half to the saucepan with a pinch of salt, turn on the heat, and when warm, slowly pour the warm half-and-half into the yolks whisking constantly, then pour the warmed yolks back into the saucepan. 5. Cook, stirring constantly over moderate heat, until the mixture becomes steamy and thickens. If using an instant-read thermometer, it should read about 170-175F degrees. (76-79C). 6. Pour the mixture through the strainer into the chocolate mixture. 7. Stir, then let cool a few minutes until tepid. Once it's not super hot, whiz the mixture in a blender for ten seconds until it's smooth and velvety. (Never blend very hot liquids in a blender, since it creates a hot vortex and can cause the liquid to blast out of the top.) 8. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator, then freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Or follow my step-by-step instructions for freezing ice cream without a machine. *If half-and-half isn't available where you live, just substitute equal parts of heavy or whipping cream and whole milk mixed together to equal 3 cups (750 ml). I got this recipe from David Lebovitz. It is super good. And we here in the southwest love agave. |
| Ruby Jane's Mama says....... (quirky, murky, low maintainence, high rise) |
| a minute to think |
| The Dreamers; by Theodosia Garrison. The Gypsies passed her little gate, She stopped her wheel to see. A brown faced pair who walked the road, Free as the wind is free; And suddenly her tidy room A prison seemed to be. She watched the footer Gypsies pass; She never knew or guessed, The wistful dream that drew them close, The longing in each heart, Some day to know a home like hers, Wherein their hearts might rest. |
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| Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast. ::: Lewis Carroll ::: |
| How do we nourish the soul today? The battle between body and soul is greater now than it ever has been. The material world, to which our body is drawn, is in a period of unprecedented prosperity....But at the same time, our individual and collective soul is starving for nourishment. We need to feed the soul more than ever, and education and virtue are food for the soul....The key is not to thwart the battle between body and soul, but to understand its purpose, to be at peace with the challenge. Once the body recognizes the soul's dominance, and makes peace with its twin brother, the tension can be properly harnessed. The body then becomes a force that propels the soul to a greater place than either one could reach on its own. This harmony between your body and soul carries over to the world at large, helping to unite the body and soul, the matter and spirit, of the entire universe. Understand the symmetry and rhythm of your own body and soul...keys to meaning and happiness. So the next time you look in the mirror, ask yourself: What have I before me? I recognize the body, but can I detect my soul within? I pay attention to all my bodily needs, but am I giving my tender soul equal attention? And finally: I know what I need. But do I know what I am needed for? ..taken from the teachings of "the Rebbe" |
| tragedy. We know we must laugh again. We did not deserve it but are Virginia Tech. We do neither does a child in not understand this in Africa dying of AIDS, but tragedy. We know we neither do the invisible did not deserve it but children walking the neither does a child in night to avoid being No Africa dying of AIDS, but neither do the invisible captured by a rogue children walking the open heart and hands to night to avoid being captured by a rogue army. Neither does the and innocent and baby elephant watching his community be than devastated for ivory; neither does the We are Appalachian infant killed in the middle of the night in his crib in the home his father built with his own hands being run over by a boulder because the We land was destabilized. No one deserves a tragedy. We are Virginia Tech. " Tech. The Hokie Nation embraces our own with open heart and hands to those who offer their hearts and minds. We are strong and brave and innocent and unafraid. We are better than we think, not quite what we want to be. We are alive to the imagination and the possibility we will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears, through all this sadness. We are the Hokies. We will prevail, we will prevail. We are Virginia Tech. " Nikki Giovanni, April 17, 2007 |
| "If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves." Thomas Edison |
| Mother Teresa's Anyway Poem People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered; Forgive them anyway. If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives; Be kind anyway. If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies; Succeed anyway. If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you; Be honest and frank anyway. What you spend years building, someone could destroy overnight; Build anyway. If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous; Be happy anyway. The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow; Do good anyway. Give the world the best you have, and it may never be enough; Give the world the best you've got anyway. You see, in the final analysis, it is between you and your God; It was never between you and them anyway. [Reportedly inscribed on the wall of Mother Teresa's children's home in Calcutta, and attributed to her. However, an article in the New York Times has since reported (March 8, 2002) that the original version of this poem was written by Kent M. Keith.] |
