You scream, I scream, we all scream for ice cream! Ice cream is especially a warm weather favorite. You don’t have to head down to the corner store to pick up a pint. You don’t even need an ice cream maker. Here’s how you can do your own ice cream at home without a churner. You will want to start out with a simple recipe like vanilla before you move on to more exotic flavors. Here are the ingredients for one quart of vanilla ice cream. 1 cup (250ml) whole milk A pinch of salt 3/4 cup (150g) sugar 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise 2 cups (500ml) heavy cream 5 large egg yolks 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1. Heat the milk, salt, and sugar in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk with a paring knife, then add the bean pod to the milk. Cover, remove from heat, and infuse for one hour. 2. To make the ice cream, set up an ice bath by placing a 2-quart (2l) bowl in a larger bowl partially filled with ice and water. Set a strainer over the top of the smaller bowl and pour the cream into the bowl. 3. In a separate bowl, stir together the egg yolks. Rewarm the milk then gradually pour some of the milk into the yolks, whisking constantly as you pour. Scrape the warmed yolks and milk back into the saucepan. 4. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom with a heat-resistant spatula, until the custard thickens enough to coat the spatula. 5. Strain the custard into the heavy cream. Stir over the ice until cool, add the vanilla extract, then refrigerate to chill thoroughly. 6. After forty-five minutes, open the door and check it. As it starts to freeze near the edges, remove it from the freezer and stir it vigorously with a spatula or whisk. Really beat it up and break up any frozen sections. Return to freezer. 7. Continue to check the mixture every 30 minutes, stirring vigorously as it’s freezing. If you have one, you can use a hand-held mixer for best results, or use a stick-blender or hand-held mixer. 8. Keep checking periodically and stirring while it freezes (by hand or with the electric mixer) until the ice cream is frozen. It will likely take 2-3 hours to be ready. Transfer the ice cream to a covered storage container until ready to serve. This recipe has been adapted from The Perfect Scoop]]>