I worked a lot in the garden. I gave up on the Golden Detroit beets planted back in April which had sprouted a few weak seedlings, and I also pulled the plug on the Bloomsdale spinach which had twice as many but just as lame seedlings. I didn't mind because now we're onto tomato territory and the space was needed. When you work with seeds you don't mind so much losing the buck and change. When you buy seedlings, well! I bought a few simple annuals the other day and said no more! Fourteen dollars later. I guess I just don't like to spend a dime, do I?I planted some swiss chard, sugar baby watermelons and a squash--Sunshine? Kabocha?--that I saved from a big, dark orange specimen from a local farm back in October. Normally, I don't like squash but this one was special: nutty with a rich sweetness and when pureed it has an incredibly velvety texture. Hope it grows.
Things are looking fuller as the season warms up, but still not enough for my liking. The currant bushes already have little green berries on them. Some of the fruit I planted this season were dwarf apricot and plum trees, two each, five rhubarb plants, ten raspberry and two elderberry bushes. It sounds lush but right now they're all just twigs with a splash of green on them and lots of high hopes.
The big food extravaganza this weekend was ice cream and sorbet. I have broken out the ice cream maker and now that I'm pregnant I definitely think I'll be using it all summer. This weekend's forays included Nutella ice cream and blueberry sorbet. Sounds complex and gourmet of me, right? Well, the Nutella recipe is the easiest thing in the world. From Clotilde originally, and then taken from the Amateur Gourmet blog, I'll make it even easier: take a 12 oz. can of evaporated milk and a 13 oz. jar of Nutella, beat them together until smooth, put in your ice cream machine for a half hour, chill two hours. I can only eat one scoop at a sitting because it's so sweet. The blueberry sorbet was easier. I have some blueberry puree on hand--good stuff, real blueberries and no high fructose! I poured three chilled cups of it into the maker for a half hour and then chilled overnight. Holy blueberry, it was good.
I feel rich having those two decadent desserts in the freezer. The reason why I never used the ice cream machine all that much is 1.) ice cream is very fattening, and 2.) making it yourself is often more expensive than buying it. Heavy cream is very expensive. Yet another reason why I liked these two recipes. Although, I did get the blueberry stuff for free (secret!) and I'll bet it would have cost a pretty penny.
