Lemon Verbena Sheep Yogurt Ice Cream

By popular request, I’m posting a variation on my Lemon Verbena Sheep Yogurt Ice Cream, which you may have tried if you came to my pop-up restaurant last Summer. Why sheep’s milk, you ask? Sheep’s milk has a higher fat content and a slightly sweeter taste than cow’s milk. If you’re like me, and sheep’s milk cheeses tend to be your favorites, then this ice cream will be worth the ingredient treasure hunt that may be required. Of course you can follow this process with regular cow’s milks whole yogurt, but there’s a thickness and sweetness that comes with the sheep’s milk that can’t really be replicated. It’s now fairly easy to get sheep’s milk yogurt at whole foods all throughout the U.S., which was the final push I needed to prompt this post. (Getting actual sheep’s milk itself is another matter altogether. If you can, consider yourself lucky.) That said, Lemon Verbena Sheep’s Yogurt Ice Cream is a fun foray into ice cream making, and you don’t even need a machine. You do need to plan ahead, because when ice cream making without a maker, there’s making and chilling the custard, freezing the base, blending the base, and freezing … Continue reading

Mail Order Herbs

While I was home in June, I saw the very beginning of my dad’s herb garden. Things were just taking off and I cut the first of the lavender just in time for my Lavender Lemonade from my French Croquet Party. Things took off, and of course, Dad has more than he can use. So imagine my delight when I receive huge a huge box of sage. And thyme. And most of all, lemon verbena. Since it’s hard for me to grow here, and expensive for me to buy, my dad sweetly grows it for me and mails it. Here it is dried and ready for tea, and ice cream, panna cotta and of course my Lemon Verbena Smash.Imagine the simple syrups for cocktails, such as the September Wedding: Pineapple Sage. I can already taste the beginnings of a thyme bases cocktail for October. Apples or pears, people? Best of all, throughout the year, as I cook and use up the wonderful herbs dad sent (and I’m told there’re lemongrass stalks on the way) I get to think about him and all the work that went into his garden this year. And though we’re miles apart, we’re sharing recipes and … Continue reading