Peach Dessert

I have wonderful memories of sneaking into the orchard, picking the perfectly ripe peaches off the trees and savoring every bite with the sweet juices dripping down my arms as I sat in the shade of the peach tree.  My mouth is watering...

My mom would make this dessert every year when the peaches were coming on.  I don't have a peach tree so I don't think about making this very often.  I just talked with her the other day and she mentioned making it and I remembered how much I loved it.  So in the spirit of I-rarely-follow-a-recipe-exactly, I've made some changes.

The original recipe calls for 2 cups powdered sugar, 2 eggs and 1/2 cup butter in place of the Bird's Custard.  I used to not care about eating raw eggs, but now it bothers me.  So I used the custard.  I found it in the baking section or next to the pudding and jello.  If you can't find the Bird's, Jello and Junket both make a custard.  Two small packages either should work, but it won't be as good.  :)  Also, I didn't have whipped cream so I used coconut milk.  It works basically the same.  Refrigerate a can of coconut milk for a few hours.  The cream will separate from the coconut water.  Carefully spoon the cream off the top, put it into a bowl and whip it as you would whipped cream.


18 oz pkg vanilla sandwich cookies
1 recipe Bird's Custard
6-8 fresh peaches, peeled, pitted and slices
1 pt whipping cream OR 15 oz can coconut milk

Crush cookies in a ziptop bag.  Pour crumbs into a 9"x13" baking pan, reserving 1/2 cup for garnish.  Make custard according to directions on can.  Pour custard over crumbs.  Layer peaches on custard.  Whip cream, but don't add sugar.  Spread whipped cream over peaches.  Top with remaining cookie crumbs.  Refrigerate for about 2 hours and enjoy!

Whipped Ice Cream

I was in an experimental mood today.  I wanted to make ice cream but didn't want to use eggs.  I haven't had the best of luck with a cooked custard ice cream.  It always tasted eggy to me.  So I wondered what would happen if I whipped the cream beforehand?  It has a nice creamy texture without the eggs.  I love it! I'm going to try this again with half the cream and twice the milk.  I'll let you know how it goes!  :)

Makes 2 quarts

1 pint heavy cream
1 small package vanilla pudding
1/2 cup superfine sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
pinch salt
1 cup whole milk

Whip cream in a large bowl until stiff peaks form.  Pour whipped cream into ice cream maker.  Add remaining ingredients.  Mix ice cream according to directions.

Homemade Yogurt

1 gallon milk
1 cup powdered milk
1 cup sugar
8 oz plain yogurt

Remove milk and yogurt from refrigerator. Fill double boiler with water and place spoon (I use an immersion blender) and thermometer in water. Place inner (milk) pot upside-down on top of water pot. Bring water to boil and allow utensils to sterilize. Dry milk pot, spoon and thermometer with paper towel.

Pour milk and powdered milk in inner pot and mix well.
(Milk composition may be adjusted to achieve the desired fat and solids content. Often dry milk is added to increase the amount of whey protein to provide a desirable texture. Ingredients such as stabilizers are added at this time.)

Heat milk to 185°F for 30 minutes, 195°F for 20 minutes or 203°F for 10 minutes; stirring occasionally.
(A high heat treatment is used to denature the whey proteins. This allows the proteins to form a more stable gel, which prevents separation of the water during storage. The high heat treatment also further reduces the number of spoilage organisms in the milk to provide a better environment for the starter cultures to grow. )

Fill sink with about 4-6” cold water and add some ice cubes. Place inner pot into the water and stir to cool milk to 110°F.
(Cool milk to 110°F to bring the yogurt to the ideal growth temperature for the starter culture.)

Add plain yogurt to cooled milk and stir well to distribute. Place pot in oven set to 108°F and let milk sit for 3-5 hours.
(The milk is held at 108°F until a pH 4.5 is reached. This allows the fermentation to progress to form a soft gel and the characteristic flavor of yogurt. This process can take several hours.)

Add sugar* and mix well. Pour yogurt into container with well fitting lid and place in refrigerator to cool.
(The yogurt is cooled to 44°F to stop the fermentation process.)

Add desired fruit or flavors.

*For starter for next batch, remove 1 cup of yogurt. Add sugar to remaining yogurt and mix well.

Greek style yogurt or yogurt cheese:
Place a double thickness of cheesecloth in a colander and the colander over a bowl. Carefully pour yogurt onto cheesecloth. Cover with towel and let sit for about 2 hours.

Mango Ice Cream

I actually wanted to have a mango smoothie, but it basically was just ice cream.

But WOW!!  Simple, Easy and Delicious!

1 mango, peeled, seeded and sliced

2 cups vanilla ice cream

milk

In a blender, mix ice cream and mangos.  Add milk to desired consistency.  Enjoy!!