Annalena tries not to repeat herself in these blog entries. She succeeds most of the time, but not always. Today, after making a batch of lemon verbena ice cream, she checked to see if she had posted it and, to her surprise, she did not. Rather, back in 2008, in September, she wrote of a berry soup with lemon verbena ice cream and wrote "I shall not present the lemon verbena ice cream recipe here."
Good heavens, what was I thinking? You MUST have this recipe and I shall present it.
Even though some of you are going to deem it elitist. I am going to address this first.
Annalena's blog has come in for some criticism lately, which she feels is unfair. The underlying tone of it, is that the blog and the recipes are elitist. The reasons are somewhat odd, and I shall go into them, after some general remarks.
Those of you who feel this is an elitist blog, are right. If looking for the best food, cooking sustainably and seasonally, and being willing to spend more on certain foods than is usual makes one elitist, this is an elitist blog.
No one winces more than Annalena does when she pays more for antibiotic free, organic meat. But it is NOT about the fact that she is paying that price. She winces because, the mother of six, living on food stamps, SHOULD be able to give this food to her children. And she can't, because it's too expensive. The meat at the supermarket, treated heaven knows how, is 1/4 the price of the stuff Annalena buys.
There is something wrong there. In Annalena's mind, it is downright criminal, and our government plays along. Subsidies to larger farms make it possible for them to charge as little as they do. Go to Europe. See what food costs.
It is horrific to Annalena that, if you put up a greenhouse in Washington state, you are given a tax break, because you are making more food available at a bad time of year to people. If you do that in New York, your property is reassessed and your tax basis goes up as do the taxes you pay.
Meanwhile, children are eating junk food and soda for lunch because the vegetables are not available or too expensive? HUH?
But these are bigger issues. Let me approach the personal ones. I use heirloom beans. I use them because they are better, period. You can find them at a farmers market, or you can buy them via the internet. This blog, if you read its purpose, is about seasonality and the farmers market. Yes, you can choose to buy and use the standard store variety beans... or ricotta... or milk, and argue "after all, other people who know better use them." Well, Annalena has spoken to those people "who know better," and you know what? IF they had access to the stuff to which Annalena has access, they would use it. When they are told "well, it's a subway ride away," they shrug their shoulders and say "I'll go to the supermarket."
But Annalena is an elitist.
One of my recipes came in for criticism recently, because it called for cooking too much of an ingredient than was going to be used in the recipe and most cooks wouldn't want to do that.
Au contraire. It's called leftovers. Let me see a show of hands: who makes enough meatloaf for one meal? Who buys a Thanksgiving turkey just big enough to feed people without leftovers? And while there are pie pans available that will make enough pie for two (or one) serving, how many of you have those?
Do I make my point? On the issue of cost, again, let me see a show of hands: how many of you buy the fancy drinks at Starbucks? How much are they? 3/4 dollars? how many of you drink more than one of them a day?
Ok, s o you spent six bucks on coffee. Paying 4 bucks a pound for beans is too much? Well, if you filled a thermos with coffee from your home one day a week...
See what I mean?
I hope I have made my point. Criticism to a point is valid. Think about your criticism before you voice it though. Annalena bites back.
A recipe for homemade ice cream is probably elitist per se. Not everyone has an ice cream maker. As I have said before: buy one. They cost 40 dollars. How much was the last pair of shoes you didn't need, even if you got them on special. This recipe calls for lemon verbena. You won't find it at the grocery store. You will find it at the farmers market. Get on the train and go. Or, ask a cook at a restaurant. You can find it. If you have a garden... GROW IT. I regret not being able to do so. I wish I could. And when you make your own ice cream, such as this one, here is the list of ingredients: cream, milk, sugar, eggs, lemon verbena. Take a look at the label on even "all natural" ice cream. Do you ever wonder what "natural flavors" means? I do and I know. Move to organic ice cream. Taste it.
No, it is NOT as good as the other ones. So, yes, if eating well is elitism, call me an elitist. Buy me a button with a big "E" on it. And I will continue to eat well, cook well, and smile while I'm doing it.
To make this ice cream, you need 2 cups of heavy cream, a cup of milk, a cup of fresh lemon verbena leaves, packed loosely. You also need four egg yolks, and a cup of sugar. The cup of sugar may be too much for some, and cut back if you like.
Combine the milk, cream and lemon verbena in a pot. Bring the liquids just to a boil, turn off the heat, cover the pot and leave it alone for half an hour. Come back and taste it. If it is tasting close to being as strong as you would like it, you're ready to continue. All you need do is add your sugar, and the egg yolks, and stir, constantly, over low heat, until you have a thickened product. It should coat your spoon. Let this cool, with the lemon verbena in the custard. When it comes to room temperature, remove the herbs, and let the custard cool. Then, use your ice cream maker to finish it off.
This is best with other things: cooked blueberries for example , or nectarines, or other, fruit based ice creams or sorbets. I really like it with nectarine ice cream, or sour cherry sorbet.
So, ragazzi, if the diatribe above offends, I apologize somewhat. I do try to limit the blog to cooking and only cooking, but issues have come up. We can certainl chat about them, if the comments are not offensive. If they are, as administratrix, Annalena shall remove them post haste.
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