Various Culinary Mishaps

[tyellas]

Today is one of those "nothing right, stay under rock" days. There have been various social mishaps. One friend has forgotten her manners and been rude to a mutual friend -grits teeth-. Another asked me for advice on her planned course of action regarding a mining company's expansion near her house. She then told me why all of my recommendations - talk to a lawyer, avoid long emotional rants, talk to a mine rep before demanding millions in compensation - were wrong under the circumstances.

I wanted a break from this heavy work/freelance computer time I've been doing, so I tried some cooking, but nothing has gone right in the kitchen either. First, my pickles are going slower than last time. This would be OK if I hadn't promised someone a jar tomorrow. Second, a batch of parsley-mint pesto came out just fine, except it made barely 1/4 a cup, so I can't use it as a food-gift replacement for the pickles. Third, I tried making pomegranate chocolate-chip ice cream today, after reading paeans to it online, and noticing $1.50 pomegranates at a farmer's market.

Juicing a pomegranate was not difficult, but the prep was tiresome, and one pomegranate produced a generous 1/3 cup of juice, recommended in some recipes. So I gave it a try.

Problems so far:
* This is taking forever to firm up. It must be the juice acidity: I noticed this with some Meyer lemon ice cream recently, too.
* Some ice crystals are happening. That's a sign that there's not a good ratio of H2O to fat going on, and it's a common fruit/juice ice cream problem. I thought I fixed it with my milk/cream ratio, but I guess not.
* The fresh pomegranate juice oxidizes from ruby to burgundy - this must be why citrus is part of some pomegranate ice-cream recipes. My ice cream is a light purple more than a purplish-pink.
* It is insufficiently pomegranate-flavored. Haagen-Dazs uses pomegranate concentrate and elderberry juice in theirs, Sheer Bliss seems to be doing what I'm doing.

Next time, juice from 2 pomegranates and full cream. I may even leave out the chocolate chips - they make the ice cream look handsome, and make it more-ish in spite of its problems, but they'd be fine sprinkled on afterwards, too.

Comments

[jilba.livejournal.com]

I know nothing about ice-cream making, so can't make suggestions...
as for the pickles, perhaps just tell the intended recipent you're having a problem with them requiring more time.

You've had a bad day, though, for sure!

[tyellas.livejournal.com]

It got better when I visited some baby alpacas. But as I was visiting them in their paddock, I got stung by sandflies NINE TIMES. I did learn that icing sandfly bites immediately helps a great deal.

[(Anonymous)]

I can see how visiting baby alpaca (which are just sooo cute!!) would improve your day no end. Being bitten 9 times by sandflies you could certainly have done without!

[jdemorae.livejournal.com]

I wish I had even a quarter of the culinary creativity you do. I've never mead homemade ice cream (I can't even make bread. I do, hoever, make excellent organic doorstops.)

Sounds like it's been a rough one. Here's to hoping things even out. All the suggestions you made to your friend regarding the mining company seem like common-sense, I'd probably have taken them in that situation. (Though I would've twittered, due to anxiety over Official Phone Calls [TM], but that's my weirdness.)

Is it difficult to make homemade ice cream? My kitchen (and fridge) are so tiny, my freezer usually has only the ice cube tray and a single serving of fish. If it's possible to make small batches, it might be something I'd tackle.

[tyellas.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you. I have to say that, if you have minimal freezer/kitchen space, making ice cream is best left to the experts. The one thing it does require is space in your fridge and freezer. Then again, you do live where you can buy pomegranate ice cream!

[dragonlady7.livejournal.com]

I have had some ice cream failures in the past as well. Always, later, I've realized that for some reason, I didn't have enough fat in the mixture.
Once I 'fixed' this by removing the mixture from the ice cream maker and setting it in the freezer in Tupperware for an hour or so while I re-chilled the machine's bowl again. It turned out kind of icy though.

It's a bummer when the hobby you turn to for consolation doesn't work out, though. I definitely sympathize.

[tyellas.livejournal.com]

My great ice cream failures include:

* Not mixing melted chocolate with milk correctly so that the chocolate separated into needle-sized shards, giving the end result a most peculiar texture and a strange not-chocolate taste

* A batch of chocolate - peanut butter ice cream that refused to freeze, then turned into a big quiescently frozen Fudgesicle (eaten anyway by a male roommate who said it was "just fine"

* Almost setting a kitchen on fire while toasting macadamia nuts

[rednikki.livejournal.com]

I'm suffering similarly. A loaf of bread collapsed, I threw my back out reaching for the salt when starting a second loaf, and money is tighter than I'd like (temporarily, but frustrating because Valentine's Day is coming up). So I'm there with you.

We so often seem to be in synch in these ways. Maybe there's something to that astrology stuff. (Or maybe it's just coincidence.)

[tyellas.livejournal.com]

Ouchie! I hear what you're saying about Valentine's Day, but I know you'll come up with something fantastic and sexy and memorable that isn't too spendy.

You may have a point about the astrology stuff.

[snottygrrl.livejournal.com]

today was nice, thanks for booking another table for us.

and that vid i told you about is here (http://slum.slashcity.com/lum/eyecandy/). needs to be downloaded to watch, but it is pretty cute.

[tyellas.livejournal.com]

-huggles you- I will definitely download that vid! (It's a homemade music video all about...The One Ring!)