Death by Ice Cream

I came home from work with a mental checklist of what needed to be completed tonight.

Dishes - check
Feed myself - check
Make lunch for tomorrow - check
Knit - not checked yet

I got sidetracked. Really sidetracked. You could say that I planned my deviation from my checklist. I was the one, after all, who put the ice cream maker bucket in the freezer this weekend. I was the one who bought the heavy cream.

I really wanted ice cream. I was in my gnome leggings, glasses on, hair in a bun. There was not a chance I was getting back in my car for ice cream. Homemade ice cream isn't ready in a day so why bother?

And then I pulled out the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Recipe book my sister got me with my first ice cream maker. And a light shone down right on the French Vanilla recipe (technically, it was the sun through my skylight but I'll believe otherwise for now). I had all the ingredients and I still had my bottle of Mexican vanilla from....wait for it, my trip to Mexico.  Serendipity!

The only thing that worries me with the B&J's recipes is their penchant for using raw eggs.  I mean, I drink egg nog with the best of them but it's pasteurized so I usually don't worry. My family made homemade egg nog one year, with about a dozen raw eggs and lots of bourbon. But ALL of us were too scared to drink it so we gave it to one of dad's friends. He didn't die.

I went ahead and whipped 2 eggs into a "light and fluffy" state of mind all the while getting an arm cramp. I'm in IT, I don't really do this type of physical work. Next up was sugar...beautiful sugar. A couple teaspoons of the gorgeous Mexican vanilla came next. Vanilla has fooled me in the past, with that unbelievable aroma and horrific taste. Yes, I tasted vanilla as a child (and as an adult. Don't judge me). I added in my cream and almond milk and completed the mix.

Into the ice cream maker we go. I stared at it swirling around for a bit then went to read the paper until the timer dinged. That was a terribly long 20 minutes. Now, homemade ice cream does not immediately set up. It's kind of a loose soft serve. But if you are lucky, the mixture that is still clinging to the sides of the frozen bucket form a layer of real, frozen ice cream.

And this is the best ice cream I've tasted in a long time.

Will the raw eggs kill me? I hope not, but if it does, I shall die happy.