White nectarines are my favorite stone fruit.  I discovered them a few years ago and I seek them out every summer.  The skin is smooth, the flesh is soft and juicy, and the fruit has a mild sweetness and tartness in each bite.   I recently found a table full of white nectarines are the farmers market.  I love slicing them up and eating them over yogurt or on top of cereal.  During my most recent trip to the market I bought so many that I had to use them up faster than I could eat them.  So I made sherbet!  This sherbet is light, sweet, and tart just like the fruit.  A small amount of milk gives it a subtle creaminess, and leaving the skin on the fruit gives the sherbet a beautiful pink hue. Pretty and tasty, what could be better? Enjoy!

During my latest trip to the grocery store, I decided that it was about time for another pint review! As I was browsing through the frozen food aisle, looking for an intriguing flavor of frozen goodness, I spotted a pint of Ciao Bella Gelato.  Until now, I thought that Ciao Bella only made sorbets.  I have tried several of the sorbets and found the pints to have a very bold flavor and smooth texture.  Needless to say my interest was piqued when I saw two pints of gelato on the shelf - Key Lime Graham and Malted Milk Ball.  I am not a big fan of malt and I am a huge fan of lime, so the choice was obvious.  Into the cart it went.

You are probably asking yourself two questions right now: What does that title mean? And why is Lindsay talking about breakfast?

I have chosen to participate in a Foodbuzz Top 9 Takeover fundraising event to support the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund.  Electrolux and Kelly Ripa are hosting this event (hence the title).  For every banana split recipe posted by a Foodbuzz featured publisher, Foodbuzz will donate $50 towards the research fund!  So why not participate?  This is an ice cream blog after all.  You can help raise money too by building your own virtual banana split on Kelly Ripa's website, Kelly Confidential.  Check it out and help support a great cause.

On to the second part of the title - Breakfast of Champions.  I find this phrase is used to represent many things, but usually it is a sarcastic representation of a breakfast that is not so good for you...like beer or dessert.  This week I decided to make a Cereal Ice Cream and pair it with fresh fruit to make the ultimate breakfast banana spilt.  The sweet and robust flavor of the ice cream (along with a little bourbon) will remind you of a spoonful of cereal and milk, and it is the perfect accompaniment to crunchy cornflakes, fresh blueberries and bananas.  Top it with a cherry and you have makings of a Breakfast of Champions!  Or lunch or dinner, who cares?  Throw caution to the wind and enjoy this ice cream any time of day.  I would eat this everyday, if I could get away with it!  Enjoy!

Have you ever eaten a fresh fig?  Before moving to the South, I had never even seen them growing on a tree, let alone taste a fresh fig.  And now I have have a fig tree growing in my backyard!  I have discovered that fresh figs are sticky, juicy and sweet.  I love them and the birds love them (and they also continue to make a mess of my yard with them).  I believe the figs in my backyard are called Brown Turkey Figs.  They have a subtle sweetness that is not too rich, and I detect some floral notes as well.

The figs have been ripening for about two to three weeks.  I have been enjoying them straight off the tree, but I have also made some puree for jam, homemade fig newtons, and ice cream.  I found a recipe for Fig Ice Cream in David Lebovitz's book, The Perfect Scoop.  It was a very simple recipe and an easy way to use ripe figs.  The result was a rich ice cream with a subtle sweet taste, reminiscent of a fig newton, and a creamy texture punctuated by the tiny fig seeds.  It is a little rich for the heat outside right now, but all in all, a darn good scoop.  Enjoy!

Independence Day is just around the corner.  Grills will be lit and people around the country will enjoy the company of friends and family while biting down on hamburgers and hot dogs, potato salad, and other classic American recipes.  What are your plans for the holiday weekend?  Watching the fireworks?

During my childhood, my family and neighbors would get together and travel to a local church to watch the fireworks.  The church had a large plot of land that was across the street from where the fireworks were ignited.  There was plenty of room to run around and play with sparklers, and the view was spectacular.  Every year we would brave the crowds to see the sparkles in the sky.  And every year the tree line between us and the fireworks grew taller.  As the trees grew, the kids grew older, and we became less interested in fireworks and more interested in hanging out with friends.  It was only in college, when I began missing the nostalgia of home, that I was interested in watching the fireworks once again.  I came home a few summers and watched from a spot near the fireworks field.  It was not quite the same, but each boom and burst of fire continued to make me smile. 

This year, I plan to stay home in New Orleans and have a small picnic with my husband and maybe a few friends.  We will probably grill and some pretzel salad may be in order. And later we will head to the Riverfront to watch the fireworks and I will once again be reminded of the memories of home.

To celebrate Independence Day, I wanted to make a scoop that reminded me of summer.  Nothing reminds me of summer more than taking a juicy bite of candy-sweet cantaloupe.  Stick some bright orange pieces in a big bowl with dollop of whipped topping and I am good to go.  Dare I say, I would eat this over ice cream?  Maybe.  But why not have the best of both worlds? 

Cantaloupe sorbet is simple to make and offers the same taste as biting into a fresh piece of melon, only colder.  Lime adds a subtle tartness to this sorbet.  Perfect for a hot summer day!  Enjoy!

Cantaloupe Sorbet

In my world, summer equals travel.  Friends to visit, weddings to attend, vacations to plan, and trips to the beach.  Living far away from my family means even more trips these days.  A few weeks ago, I travelled home to Maryland (once again) to visit family and attend a wedding.  The trip was a nice break from the heat and humidity of New Orleans (even though it was 80 degrees in my hometown and everyone was complaining it was "muggy").  My husband and I even had time to run the Bel Air Town Run 5K.  I never ran this race when I lived at home so it was kind of an accomplishment.

Given my love for ice cream, my parents insisted that we visit a local creamery while I was in town.  Broom's Bloom Dairy is a farm that sits on a wide open space in Bel Air, Maryland.  It is nice to see that farms like this one still exist given the ongoing growth and development that my hometown has experienced over the past 20 years  The original farmhouse dates back to the 1700s, but only recently did the Dallam family (who has taken care of the farm for 9 generations) decide to start raising cows to milk.  A few years ago they began making ice cream.  The ice cream was originally sold at local farmers' market and quickly became a hit among townspeople. 

I warned you I would be sharing a lot of blueberry recipes.  Okay, maybe only two ended up on this site, but there were a lot more in my kitchen.  This recipe has been on the to-do list ever since I knew I would be picking blueberries.  The tart lemon and sweet blueberries form a perfect combination in each tangy bite.  Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams, one of my favorite ice cream shops, serves this flavor and it has always been one of my favorites.  I was very excited when Jeni decided to publish a make-your-own version in her Food & Wine feature in 2008.  I have made the recipe several times since its publication and it is super easy and super delicious.  I hope you enjoy making the recipe as much as I do.

A word of warning:  If you are hoping that this yogurt will be lower in fat than typical ice cream, think again.  Yogurt is used in this recipe for the tangy taste, not to lower the fat.  I would not recommend using low or no fat yogurt, as the yogurt will get very icey.

Summer is upon us and to many people the warmer weather conjures up cravings for ice cream.  Now to me, ice cream is a year-round treat that I willingly consume when its 4 degrees or 94 degrees F.  But given that ice cream tends to be the most popular during the hot and humid months, I have put together a list of my favorite summer scoops.  Below you will find a roundup of recipes that take advantage of the abundant summer produce and are cool and refreshing.  Enjoy!

This sorbet is seriously one of my best scoop creations yet.  Fruity, full of citrus, with a hint of mint, and smack of rum, this sorbet tastes exactly like the real thing.  If you live in New Orleans (like me) you may have visited the St. Joe's bar from which this sorbet is inspired.  At this bar they muddle fresh blueberries and mint into mix of sugar and alcohol for a truly refreshing drink.  With all of the blueberries in my fridge after picking my own, how could I pass up the opporutunity to make an equally refreshing scoop?

I hope you enjoy my version of the Blueberry Mojito.  Eat a scoop by itself and you will be more than satisfied, but I also suggest topping it with some fresh blueberries and mint or serving it with a side of Mint Ice Cream for a double treat.  Enjoy!

Although the south is lacking in some of my favorite produce (apples, corn), berries are plentiful.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the strawberry season and now blueberries are finally available.  A few months ago I heard from a coworker that there are several farms in Mississippi that allow you to pick your own blueberries.  Pick-your-own is a great way to get lots of fruit for a cheaper price.  I anxiously waited for the blueberry season to begin.

If you read this blog regularly, then you know how much I enjoy frequenting the local farmers' markets.  I was perusing the market the other day when I came upon a blueberry stand.  The farmers were sampling two different types of blueberries, which tasted slightly different but were equally sweet and full of flavor.  The nice boy who handed me the blueberries explained that the farm is organic and offers pick-your-own.  Where do I sign up?