We love to experiment when it comes to ice cream flavors. Our first experiment, Lavender Ice Cream (recipe posted on June 9, 2007) was a resounding success. Since the bees and the heat have made our huge lavender crop no more than a wonderful memory, we are always in search of new "excuses" to get out the ice cream freezer. This particular recipe freezes really well without the grainy iced texture 
of many homemade ice cream. So after the ice cream is churned, we simply put the entire metal canister in the freezer and enjoy it until it is gone. Our second experiment...a Middle Eastern flavor concoction imagined by John Alexander...wouldn't churn and turn into ice cream. Evidently the entire cup of pine nuts that he added to his Cinnamon, Honey, Lemon Ice Cream with Pine Nut flavor somehow interfered with the freezing process. After letting it churn for more than an hour, we simply poured it into a container, forgot about it in the freezer for the rest of the day, and VOILA!!!! It froze and we enjoyed every spoonful. Who knows what happened?Back to last week's Farmer's Market and an idea for ice cream. I am quite taken with the scent of lemon verbena, much in part due to the divine fragrance of an Anthousa diffuser that I purchased in Greensboro that marries lemon verbena, freesia, and lily of the valley. So, when I asked a vendor at the market who was selling herbs and flowers about a particular herb that looked unfamiliar, I was delighted when she told me that it was lemon verbena. As I rubbed a leaf between my fingers, the aroma was unmistakable. It came home with us and I substituted the lemon verbena leaves and zest of two lemons for the lavender blossoms in the Lavender Ice Cream recipe. Served with Pistachio Shortbread from the August issue of Bon Appetit, Lemon Verbena Ice Cream was more luscious than we ever expected. Now the boys and I are ready to say that it is an even greater favorite than the lavender....More ice cream adventures are sure to follow along with plans to plant lemon verbena in our herb garden next year!
On the way home from Rainbow Meadow Farms yesterday, John Alexander, Melissa, and I stopped at the Renston Homestead on the way back to Greenville. Lots of freshly picked veggies awaited us as we pulled in, including fresh tomatillos, patty pan squash, zucchini, green peppers, and the most beautiful grape tomatoes that we had ever seen. If I thought that the strawberries that they sold here weeks ago were gorgeous, these tiny tomatoes were equally stunning to the eye. While we brought blueberries, onions, and squash home with us, the best thing we left with was pictures of the animals that Steve McLawhorn keeps for all to admire and enjoy.
The "stars of the farmyard show" were definitely the piglets who had grown at least a foot since we were here two weeks ago. They first hid under the chicken nest boxes until we came close enough for them to run out into the chicken yard where they spend their days. They ran straight toward their "kiddie swimming pool" and jumped right in...enjoying the water and "smiling" gleefully. No sooner had they douse
d themselves before they ran toward us, dodging chickens and ducks in their paths...These "bacon-to-be" candidates were still jumping and playing among their many chicken companions. Outnumbered, but seemingly unaware, they skulked back underneath the shade of the nest boxes..snorting like full grown pigs. Before we left the Renston Homestead, we visited the goats, peacocks, and rabbits housed in the barns near the road. The baby goats, born just weeks ago, had grown big enough to lose their umbilical cords and rabbits snuggling in their cages looked to us for "niblets" or perhaps an escape into Mr. MacGregor's garden. We left admitting that, while there are 
many other riches in the world, farms like this one are "rare jewels" that are disappearing right before our very eyes. How fortunate we are to leave such a farm with warm tomatoes and veggies in tow having walked among real farm animals who know what it is like to wake to the crow of a rooster and dine on real bugs for dinner.
My copy of Diet for a Small Planet is decades old. The author, Francis Moore Lappe, was so "on target" then. Her daugher, Anna, has been in the news lately and is often featured as a guest columnist in many papers. Her recommendations for how each of us can "take the bite out of climate change, by considering some greenhouse gas-lowering dietary guidelines" are fascinating.Read them and see what YOU can do.... Here is the link:http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/311991_nutrition18.html
We approached a cluster of white canopied tents at the end of the waterfront about 9:30am and were so surprised at what we found. Most of the vendors were "backyard gardeners" selling small quantities of only a few vegetables and herbs. Scanning the small array of selections, we spotted the shiitake mushroom growers and quickly shared our story of trekking to the waterfront to buy their wares. They reported having thirteen pounds of shiitakes to sell and we chose a select 8 ounces to take home with
us. As we perused other selections, we found beautiful fresh fish, scallops, shrimp, and cleaned blue crabs from Washington Crab & Seafood, Inc. A huge ziploc bag of cleaned blue crabs went for $10...and we left with her last bag of cleaned crabs. No crab recipe was on our docket for the week, but knew that there would be no problem in making a change to concoct the infamous Blue Crabs, White Sauce, and Pasta that my sister, Dana, and her husband, Skip, cook for us when we visit them in South Jersey. Last, in addition to buying fresh red radishes and white Daikon radishes from another gentleman, we bought jars of homemade Peach Salsa and Raspberry Jalapeno Jam from a family owning a small farm-based enterprise called Petals and Produce. Every vendor we encountered thanked us for coming and invited us to next Saturday's Summer Festival. In addition to an expanded Farmer's Market and more seafood fresh from local waters, arts and crafts would be for sale. We knew that we would be back!
of many homemade ice cream. So after the ice cream is churned, we simply put the entire metal canister in the freezer and enjoy it until it is gone. Our second experiment...a Middle Eastern flavor concoction imagined by John Alexander...wouldn't churn and turn into ice cream. Evidently the entire cup of pine nuts that he added to his Cinnamon, Honey, Lemon Ice Cream with Pine Nut flavor somehow interfered with the freezing process. After letting it churn for more than an hour, we simply poured it into a container, forgot about it in the freezer for the rest of the day, and VOILA!!!! It froze and we enjoyed every spoonful. Who knows what happened?
