Beyond its prime? HARDLY. Blueberry cheesecake ice cream

This one is for  those of you who have ice cream makers, but fear for making custard, and also, for folks who have fruit in their refrigerator that has gone just a bit beyond, well, let's say optimal conditions.

Today, at the farmers market, Annalena's personal vegetable goddess Nevia returned about 20 containers Annalena had used for bringing Nevia lunch.  When she got them home, Annalena found that one of them was filled with blueberries.  BUT... these were, shall we say, a bit overripe. Annalena tasted, and found them a bit toward the vinegar end of things.  Also soft, and probably not suited for use as lunchbox fruit.   Later that day, when visiting Nevia to pick up sauce tomatoes (the soft ones that won't sell), she learned that those blueberries were supposed to have  been given to her... a week ago.  Ms. Nevia, a perfectionist if there ever were one, was horror stricken.  She urged Annalena to throw them away.  BUT... the strega had other things in mind.

See, when fruit looks a bit far gone,  (a BIT... NOT rotten and stinky)... don't toss it.  Cook it.  You can filter out the truly bad stuff, and then you can fix what is left.  Frequently, it doesn't take much. Today, it took sugar, water, and lemon juice.  That is all.  And the result is a blueberry sauce that you can use, as is, or in the cheesecake ice cream, which follows. The recipe is from one of Annalena's gods, David Lebovitz, and his book "The Perfect Scoop." Annalena  (surprise surprise) modified it, and she'll tell you what she did.

First, let's make the blueberry sauce.  For every two cups of berries, you will need a quarter cup of sugar, or a bit more if they are not really perfect.  Mix them together in a pot, and over low heat, cook them, stirring, until the berries begin to give up their liquid.  It will not take long:  blueberries do have a tough little skin (why they seem to SNAP when you eat them), but four minutes is plenty. The sugar crystals do the job.

While that's happening, mix together half a tablespoon of cornstarch, a tablespoon of cold water, and a tablespoon of lemon juice, for every two cups of berries.  (If, by the way, you have more than a quart of them, don't keep increasing.  Annalena found that doubling the quantities was fine for her six cups of berries).  Stir that liquid into the berries,  and then let the mass come to a boil.  Let it boil for a minute, take it off the heat, and let it cool.

Now, to the ice cream which, ragazzi, is as simple as simple gets.  You need 8 ounces of cream cheese (and here, gang, Annalena suggests you use the one that's "so spreadable it's incredible.  And she's NOT talking about any of her friends - although she COULD be).  Cut it into pieces.  Put it in food processor, together with a cup of creme fraiche (or sour cream, as the original called for), a half cup of milk (or half and half, as per the original), 2/3 cup of sugar, and the peel of the lemon you used above.  Just take big pieces.  The food processor is going to do the rest.  Turn it on and let it work for five minutes, max.

You've got your ice cream base, carini.  You can freeze this and make cheese cake ice cream, plain.

OR.... remember that blueberry sauce?  Well... when the ice cream is just about ready, you can start layering amounts of ice cream, and sauce, and alternate.  This is nice, and it will give you something that serves up as sauce and ice cream.  OR... just before the ice cream is done, stir in some of the sauce.  As much as you like.  And then let that work.  (Annalena likes it both ways.. THE ICE CREAM ).

And that's it, ragazzi.  Bad turned into good. Bad turned into REAL good.  Trust Annalena on this one:  you will feel like you are eating a truly frozen fruit cheesecake.  If this is up your cul de sac, well, get churning.

We shall continue with desserts next time, ragazzi, as Annalena makes another olive oil cake.  You will be amazed at the simplicity.  And if you get around to making it, how good it is.