When I originally came up with this ice cream, the year was 2009, which seems like a long, long time ago, in so many ways. Absinthe had been banned in France since 1914, blamed for a host of societal ills, even being accused of causing people to go crazy (which has since been debunked; most blame additives added to cheap absinthe, which caused brain damage),โฆ
Once again, I found myself with an overload of fruit. Sure, I like pears and apples, which showย up at the market on the cusp of autumn. But I want summer to last as long as possible. So when I see good nectarines, peaches, and plums lingering at the market, I pack my market basketย to the brim,ย carefully making sure the delicate fruits arenโt going to getโฆ
Iโm not a huge beer drinker. I joke that I only drink beer if Iโm on a sunny beach in Mexico, thinking that someone willย take me up on that to prove it. So far, that hasnโt happened, so I may need to change my tactic. While I figure out another way, one thing I am sure of is that thereโs no shortage of beer inโฆ
Some people donโt have a big kitchen, or a lot of kitchen equipment. I think I have everything thatโs available, and at some point, may start an equipment rental business to drum up some extra cash. Iโve had friends (French and American) desperate for things like angel food cake pans, muffin tins, rimmed baking sheets, and even an ice cream scoop in every possible sizeโฆ
Iโve had a long love affair with Chartreuseย liqueur, even before I visited the monastery back in the 1990โs. We were led through a somewhat terrifyingย display of hooded monks (not real ones, fortunately, but long-face replicas), the kind you see in historical or agricultural museums in France that are meant to depict a historical representationย of something, even drying prunes โ likely for educational purposes, but alwaysโฆ
When asked about my โdesert islandโ dessert, it takes me about a nanosecond to respond, and I invariably reply that itโd be ลufs ร la neige, otherwise known as โSnow Eggs.โ Itโs one of those classic French desserts that, even though Iโm not French, I have a deep fondness โ and a sense of nostalgia โ for. When I order it in restaurants I amโฆ
The other day, while minding my business, taking a casual stroll about town, I suddenly realized that Iโd written โBonne anniversaire,โ or โHappy Birthday,โ in French, here on the site. Itโs an honest mistake because the happy (or bon, er, I mean, bonne) expression is pronounced bonneanniversaire, rather than bon (with a hard โnโ) anniversaire, because, as the French would say, itโs โplus jolie,โ orโฆ
My life seems to have, as they say in modern-speak (or whatever you want to call it), a โlong tail.โ Which means that what I do today, or did in the past, will continue to have meaning. Fortunately, thatโs not true for everything (I can think of a few incidents in the past that are better left back thereโฆ), but something thatโs stayed with meโฆ
I was always on the frence about fruit-based ice cream made with eggs. Yes, you got that right. I wrote โFrence,โ which is my subconscious speaking (or writing), most likely because Iโve got both France โ and fresh strawberries โ on the brain these days. After rhubarb, strawberries are the first sign of spring at our markets. And while there are plenty of different typesโฆ
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