Once again, it is National Ice Cream Day this weekend! Lots of scoop shops & restaurants get in on the action and offer free frosty treats. We celebrate the event by making our own ice cream.

Since the long ago days when Eric was first in school, his family had gotten together with other families that lived on their street and celebrated the 4th of July together. Besides the steamers & mussels, burgers & dogs, the festivities included making ice cream. The ice cream maker was the hand crank churn version that was first patented in 1843 by Nancy Johnson, an American woman. An outer wooden bucket filled with alternating layers of ice and rock salt surrounded an inner canister filled with the ice cream base. The layers of salt and ice lowered the temperature of the inner canister enough to slowly freeze the base within it. A hand crank on the outer bucket turned the dasher in the canister and churned the ice cream. After about a half hour of steady turning of the crank by the dozen or so kids in attendance, the soft serve vanilla ice cream would be ready.

We may have upgraded to an electric ice cream maker, but we still prefer to make our own ice cream instead of running to the store to buy it. Cherry Vanilla is the version we are making this weekend, my father-in-law’s favorite flavor.

Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream

Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream (adapted from allrecipes.com) Prep Time: 15 minutes, Churn Time: 20-30 minutes, Chill Time: 4+ hours, Makes 8 1/2-cup servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups (10 ounces) fresh or frozen pitted cherries, cut in half

Directions:

Combine the cream, milk, and sugar in a bowl. Stir them together until the sugar is completely dissolved.

Combine the sugar with the cream and milk.

Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts.

Stir in the extracts.

Add the cherries to the bowl.

Add the cherries to the mixture.

Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Add the mixture to the ice cream maker.

Churn the ice cream.

Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze it for at least 4 hours before serving.

Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container.

Awesome!

The perfect Summertime treat!  ~Linda

Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream (adapted from allrecipes.com) Prep Time: 15 minutes, Churn Time: 20-30 minutes, Chill Time: 4+ hours, Makes 8 1/2-cup servings

Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup milk
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 cups (10 ounces) fresh or frozen pitted cherries, cut in half

Directions:

Combine the cream, milk, and sugar in a bowl. Stir them together until the sugar is completely dissolved. Stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Add the cherries to the bowl. Pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer the ice cream to a freezer-safe container and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving.