I Scream...for Low Carb Ice Cream!!!!

I've been away for longer than I thought!  Let's just say, "I've been busy..." and leave it at that!

I'm still busy, but I'm busy and I miss blogging...so, here's the latest obsession of mine....low carb ice cream!

I had my first of this when my BFF, Melinda, made some for me up at the cabin one weekend.....it was SO delicious!!!  We did notice that her recipe was less sweet the more frozen it was, so I thought about it and here's my adaptation of her recipe....

For the base I use 8 eggs, 3 cups of half and half, 2/3 cups of Splenda, 1 tablespoon of vanilla.

I started by separating the yolks from the whites....I've seen this done a lot of different ways, but I just put the whole egg in my hand and allow the whites to just fall off!

Do what you want with your egg whites....I pitch them.

The next thing I do is add 1.5 cups of the half and half to the eggs....

...and mix!

Then add the vanilla....

Then the Splenda (or whatever sweetener you prefer).

Meanwhile, I heat the remaining half and half just until you see the smoke start to rise off of it....not too much or it will curdle!  Then add a few tablespoons, one at a time, in order to temper the eggs and not cause them to cook or separate. 

 Then I add the rest, mix well and put it back on the stove on medium low and stir and stir......

...and stir until it begins to thicken enough to coat the back of a spoon....like this...

 

For this batch, I melted a stick of butter and let about a cup (more or less, if you like) of pecans...

....then added them to the egg/half and half mixture and set the pan into an ice bath...

 

Once it's cooled to room temperature, I put it into my Cuisinart ice cream machine....

 

 

...and let the magic begin....

 

After it started to get really thick....you can tell when it's ready because it STOPS getting thicker...then I put it into a tightly sealed container and put it in the freezer.

And then I stalked the freezer until it was frozen enough to eat.....

 

...and then I did......eat it....

 

And then I made chocolate...

 

 

And now my life will never be the same again.....









My Favorite Go To - Herb Crusted Salmon

One of my favorite places for lunch is the Nordstrom Cafe....I've never had anything there that wasn't delish!  But one of my fave's is the Salad Nicoise with Salmon!  Ever since the first time I had it, I've obsessed over it.  I went through ALL of my Nordstrom cookbooks (which are awesome, by the way) and I couldn't find the recipe!  Then one day I had a brainstorm.....I looked at their recipes for SALMON........and THERE is was!  Now go figure!

So today I ran into a friend at the grocery store and I mentioned I was making this salmon....it seems I'm not the ONLY one who loves this salmon!  I promised I'd send the recipe....only one problem....I don't follow recipes.....uhhh....I have NO recipe!

So, that meant I had to "blog" about it (<<>>)!  I love my blog(s) (yes, plural).....only  I'm a late life business bloomer and I'm busier now that I have ever been, hence no time to blog.  But this time I promised.

So, I had my favorite lady at the Farm Fresh counter cut me a beautiful piece of salmon....

When I got home, I rinsed it, blotted it dry with paper towels, then used my boning knife (or any danged knife that will cut!) to remove the skin.

The next thing you do is spread on some mustard.....BUT....not just any old mustard......MAILLE mustard...the best mustard in the world. 

 Well, my world anyway.  It's French, so you know it's amazing.  There is the traditional and there is the whole grain.  I typically used the traditional...but while at Shelby's we used the whole grain and it was awesome!

The next step is to chop up the herbs for the "crust".  I normally use basil, oregano and thyme, but you can use ANY combination of the three, in addition to rosemary.  I also add some parsley.

I make sure to dice extra.....this herb combo is the best and can always be stored......

because it is wonderful on chicken, beef or even in a nice vinaigrette..and it keeps for quite a while! 

Once you have the herbs chopped, you sprinkle them over the mustard that you have slathered onto the salmon.......

..The next thing I did was prep my veggie of the night....asparagus.....my fave....my vegetable weakness.  And I'm always happy that most people thing that the tiny thin ones are the best...because they leave the fat, buttery meaty ones for me.....

They are so delicious that I do very little to them before "grilling" them.  I just drizzle a little olive oil over them and sprinkle them with truffle salt, the most expensive stocking stuffer I've ever purchased....

Then I grill them.....well, kinda......actually we're out of propane!  BUT.....my girl taught her Momma something....grilling on the stove!  Whooda thunk!  I have never grilled on anything except a grill....and we are GRILLERS.  We have multiple grills.....gas, electric, ancient...you name it, we have it.  But we're into quick tonight, so I yanked out the grill pan that Shelby recommended (and I bought under her watchful eye!)....and I p-grilled my asparagus...

Meanwhile....my salmon is in the oven (my small Breville oven....because, after all, there's only the two of us!).....

cooking at 375 degrees for approximately 12 minutes (based on size of fish).....

As always, the salmon was delicious....the asparagus was especially delicious because it is, after all, the spring.....and asparagus is ALWAYS best in the spring!

The only thing that has ever bothered me about cooking any kind of fish at home is the smell.....sometimes fish smells like....well....fish!  Salmon typically isn't smelly...unless it's bad...and in that case, don't eat it!  But if you're wondering what the candlelight was in the background....it was my answer to "smells" from the kitche.  It's a wide glass cylinder, filled with coffee beans....then I added three votive candles, lit.  As they warm up, the coffee beans fill the house with that "first thing in the morning" smell.  And I swoon......

This recipe is for you, Diane......please tell me you'll try it....and please tell me you'll let me know how much you love it!

Low Carb Cream of Chicken Soup

Melin and I are working very hard to lose a little weight the low carb way, but it's winter and I just love soups!!! I was messing around on the internet and found a recipe for Cream of Chicken Soup....I "souped" it up a little to make it my own, but it was absolutely delicious!!

4 skinless chicken thighs, diced

1 bunch green onions, diced

1 tsp onion powder

2 cloves minced garlic

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup diced mushrooms

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven, then add the chicken...don't move it around until it comes up fairly easily. You want it to brown well for extra flavor. After you turn it the first time, then add the remaining ingredients. While the chicken is browning and the green onions and mushrooms are cooking, add the following to a blender/processor and puree and set aside:

1 cup cooked cauliflower

2 egg yolks

3 ounces cream cheese

1 cup heavy cream

After the chicken is browned, add:

4 cups chicken stock/broth

After the stock is heated, add about 1/4 of the stock mixture to the pureed mixture, then add the whole thing to your stock pot and gently simmer until it thickens....then chow down!!!

This soup is fabulous!!!!!!