photo by hundrednorth

]]> http://www.kungfoodie.com/edible-eatable-totoros/feed/ 2 http://www.kungfoodie.com/peach-frozen-yogurt/ http://www.kungfoodie.com/peach-frozen-yogurt/#comments Fri, 29 Jun 2007 10:05:33 +0000 Kat http://www.kungfoodie.com/peach-frozen-yogurt/ Recipe for starting the summer off right….

1. one bag of uber ripe farmer’s market peaches
2. a gifted jar of manuka honey from New Zealand
3. one deliciously sweet cookbook by an American dude living in paris
4. three hours of passionate hands-on ice cream making instructions
5. one borrowed Mega Ball ice cream maker
6. thirty eight years of ice cream cravings

As Spring was gearing up and heading into Summer I simply couldn’t resist falling into the ice cream craze. Knowing that David Lebovitz would be doing a book tour for The Perfect Scoop (his new frozen desserts cookbook) I waited on pins and needles for him to arrive in Berkeley. If you’re not familiar with David be sure to drop by his blog…his adventures as an expat in France has kept me laughing for over two years now.Of course the wait was worth it and enjoying a taste of Chicory Chocolate Chip ice cream from Berkeley’s Ici was the icing on the cake….errr…scoop. Photos here.

The Perfect Scoop is 246 pages of easy to understand info and recipes that will have your mouth watering in 60 seconds flat. I’m amazed at how simple some of his recipes are, and the flavors combinations are just insanely wonderful. David doesn’t skip anything making sure to include recipes for sorbets, frozen yogurt, sherbet, granitas, plus sauces, mix-in treats, homemade cones and an array of ‘vessels’ like ice cream sandwich cookies! I have to apologize to all my friends for talking about nothing but ice cream for the last two weeks.With a pile of lovely ripe peaches on hand my first recipe to conquer was Peach Frozen Yogurt on page 90. Instead of using refined sugar I decided to give it a go with manuka honey (a dark honey from New Zealand which has a rich heady taste).

Talk about sexy…this is peaches XXX.

Since I don’t currently own an electric ice cream maker I borrowed a  low brow ice cream maker from the awesome Shuna. Silly? Maybe a tiny bit. Fun? Yes! It was incredibly easy to use. Of course my boyfriend had to point out that I earned extra nerd points for rolling it around while watching Youtube videos. Uh, they were cooking videos sweetie…really, I swear.Want to guess what flavor comes next?

Photos by Kung Foodie,
at the Eggbeater Ice Cream Class

[RSS readers: click through for the photo slideshow.]

In many ways this is my favorite time of year in the Bay Area….slow rainy days, lush green hills, cherry tree blossoms, and flashes of sunshine. Everything is hinting at Spring but the wetness makes for a perfect excuse to spend the weekends indoors with friends whipping up batches of homemade donuts.

Our crush-worthy neighbor and blog friend Shuna let us loose in her kitchen last Sunday, and Drew went to town creating some insanely divine sugar and spice mixes that we rolled those hot little pate choux puffs in. Who ever thought fried dough could be so good? Oh wait, I guess (ahem) lots of people already do. Duh.

Edible photo goodness from left to right.
[view all the Donut photos]

whip cream
black sesame & salt
raspberry & tayberries
curry & ginger
vanilla & cardamom
cocoa nibs & mesquite

I have to say this was one of my all time favorite food experiences. I don’t think i’ve ever sat down and tasted spices right out of the bottle, at least not this many in one shot. There was a lot of talk about what might work well together. My beloved (he shall now forever be known in our house as the Mix Master) managed to create some amazing blends grinding them up in a little coffee grinder.

I really enjoyed the curry and ginger dip topped with a small bit of raspberry…but the most divine flavor was the mesquite powder with cocoa nibs. I can’t even begin to describe this taste other than to say it was so wonderfully intense it had me making noises that got everyone blushing.

I told D he needed to start bottling this RIGHT NOW! He could call it ‘Earth’s Passion’ or ‘A Taste of Sin’ and people would secretly hoard it using it every morning in their coffee or on their cereal, then walk around all day with a smile on their face. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? A spice blend that could save the world…or at least make a lot of people happy.

It was truly the most perfect way to spend a rainy Sunday.