Ice Cream in a Zipper Bag
Late September in most areas means Fall, with cooler weather, colorful leaves, and aromas of pumpkin spice latte. Here in South Louisiana, it's business as usual: Temperature and humidity both in the 90's, and the only thing pumpkin spice I may be interested in is ice cream!
Homemade ice cream was a real treat in my childhood. My earliest memory of hand-churned ice cream involved visits to my grandfather's "farm."
Papa had 150 acres of land in rural St Tammany Parish. He called his property "The Farm" despite the fact that it grew nothing but pine trees and giant spiders. He had a small one-room house on the property, one of those World War II prefabricated "hutments" which was formerly used as housing by workers at the Higgins Shipyard. He had the tiny shack moved onto the property in 1951.
My family and I would drive out there on a Saturday or Sunday over the summer, meet up with aunts, uncles, and cousins, and spend the day exploring the woods. A portion of the Tchefuncte River ran across the property. We would hike out with a picnic lunch to a swimming hole where Papa had created a sandy beach of sorts. Back at the little house, Papa would pull out an old ice cream maker, and all the kids would line up to take turns at the crank. The reward was a velvety, creamy dessert, well worth the labor involved.
These days, fancy equipment takes the struggle out of homemade ice cream. Bowl inserts can be stored in the freezer. Ingredients, basic or elaborate, are added to the pre-frozen bowl, put into the machine base, and at the push of a button, the thing churns itself!
However, you do not need fancy equipment! You can make a single serving of ice cream in a zip-top baggie in five minutes!! Pumpkin spice included! The added perk of a single serving: No gallon of temptation taking up freezer space!
Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream in a Baggie
1/2 cup half & half
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cinnamon
1 Tbsp canned pumpkin*
Mix all ingredients together and pour into a sandwich sized zip-top bag and seal.
Fill a 1 gallon sized zip-top bag with ice cubes and sprinkle 1/2 cup salt over the top. Nestle the smaller baggie into the ice, and seal.
Now, shake the bag! You may need a towel, because it will get cold! Literally in five minutes, open the ice bag, remove the smaller baggie, rinse briefly under cold water to remove the salt, and serve!
The recipe can be easily adjusted. Don't like pumpkin? Use chocolate, or cookie dough, or coffee, or crushed cookies. The possibilities are endless!
*What to do with a 14oz can of pumpkin? I portion it out in 1/4 cup increments into a muffin pan, freeze, and store the nuggets in the freezer for later use. Thaw and add to pancake batter, or smoothies, or scones, or as an egg substitute in sugar cookies!
Homemade ice cream was a real treat in my childhood. My earliest memory of hand-churned ice cream involved visits to my grandfather's "farm."
Papa had 150 acres of land in rural St Tammany Parish. He called his property "The Farm" despite the fact that it grew nothing but pine trees and giant spiders. He had a small one-room house on the property, one of those World War II prefabricated "hutments" which was formerly used as housing by workers at the Higgins Shipyard. He had the tiny shack moved onto the property in 1951.
My family and I would drive out there on a Saturday or Sunday over the summer, meet up with aunts, uncles, and cousins, and spend the day exploring the woods. A portion of the Tchefuncte River ran across the property. We would hike out with a picnic lunch to a swimming hole where Papa had created a sandy beach of sorts. Back at the little house, Papa would pull out an old ice cream maker, and all the kids would line up to take turns at the crank. The reward was a velvety, creamy dessert, well worth the labor involved.
These days, fancy equipment takes the struggle out of homemade ice cream. Bowl inserts can be stored in the freezer. Ingredients, basic or elaborate, are added to the pre-frozen bowl, put into the machine base, and at the push of a button, the thing churns itself!
However, you do not need fancy equipment! You can make a single serving of ice cream in a zip-top baggie in five minutes!! Pumpkin spice included! The added perk of a single serving: No gallon of temptation taking up freezer space!
Pumpkin Spice Ice Cream in a Baggie
1/2 cup half & half
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cinnamon
1 Tbsp canned pumpkin*
Mix all ingredients together and pour into a sandwich sized zip-top bag and seal.
Fill a 1 gallon sized zip-top bag with ice cubes and sprinkle 1/2 cup salt over the top. Nestle the smaller baggie into the ice, and seal.
Now, shake the bag! You may need a towel, because it will get cold! Literally in five minutes, open the ice bag, remove the smaller baggie, rinse briefly under cold water to remove the salt, and serve!
*What to do with a 14oz can of pumpkin? I portion it out in 1/4 cup increments into a muffin pan, freeze, and store the nuggets in the freezer for later use. Thaw and add to pancake batter, or smoothies, or scones, or as an egg substitute in sugar cookies!
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