And it's so good! Rosemary and goat cheese ice cream topped with a white raspberry and strawberry jam sauce. Yummy!

I didn't have enough white raspberries so I improvised with some strawberry jam. The added color and flavor are a nice addition without being over-powering.

Ice Cream Recipe:
1 C milk
2 C heavy cream
1 1/4 C honey
3 egg yolks
4 oz. goat cheese
1.5 oz cream cheese
1 tbs sea salt
3 sprigs rosemary (fresh)

Sauce Recipe:
1 C whole white raspberries
1 heaping tablespoon of strawberry jam
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Directions:
Ice Cream
Heat milk, honey, and whole sprigs of fresh rosemary on stove until almost boiling. In a separate bowl, mix goat cheese and cream cheese and salt. Add cheese mixture and boil until the mixture is even. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks. Ladle hot milk mixture into egg yolks, along the side of the bowl, mix to temper the eggs. Add the egg and milk mixture back to pot and heat about 5 more minutes (until milk coats the back of a spoon). Strain mixture through sieve into a large ziplock. Add heavy cream, zip, and squish the bag to mix. Cool in freezer to at least room temperature, then add to ice cream maker according to manufacturer directions. (NOTE: if you don't have an ice cream maker, just keep the mixture in the ziplock in the freezer and smooch (that's the technical term) periodically, until you get ice cream.)

Sauce
Heat all ingredients in a saucepan and allow all water to evaporate, the sauce should be thick. It will be gelatinous when cooled, so drizzle while warm.

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Olga is coming to town tonight visiting me for the weekend since she can't make it for for my graduation and Jeff's birthday is on Sunday.  Now that I'm done interning and I don't have any finals, I had time to make little sweet somethings to mark the occasions.

My best batch of Strawberry Ginger ice cream yet! Made with honey instead of sugar.

And Mini Cherry Cheesecakes. Yes, they are baked in a jar and highly portable which will be handy this weekend.

You can get these 4 oz. wide mouth jars from major grocery stores (wide mouth is important, the opening doesn't taper with the sides). My mom used to make these in foil cupcake papers with cherry and blueberry pie filling. My favorite part is the Nilla Wafer crust.

Mini Cheesecakes:

350 degrees, 15-30 mins

Nilla Wafers (and 2 tablespoon melted butter for jar option)

(2) 8 oz.packages of cream cheese

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon lemon juice

2 eggs

Can of pie filling (or you can make your own by combining 1 pint of berries to 1 cup of sugar and a couple tablespoons of water boiling until sugar is melted)

For the crust, if you use the foil liners, just drop a whole wafer into the cup. If you use the jars, crush the wafers in a ziplock bag (about 20 for 12 jars) and mix in the melted butter, press into the bottom of the jars with your fingers. Mix the rest of the ingredients until light and fluffy.  Fill cream cheese mixture into ziplock bag, cut tip and pipe into the cups or jars.

Bake for 15 mins for foil liners, or 30 mins for jars uncovered. For either, let the top get a bit golden. The mixture should not stick to a toothpick when inserted into the center of the cake. Add fruit mixture to the top once the cake is done baking.  For the jars, add lid and tighten while hot to seal the lids. (Use an oven mitt, the jars will be hot)

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I know I've been slacking off on updating, but to be honest, "my life outside of law school" has been non-existent, no exaggeration. When I'm not doing stuff for work, I'm catching up on stuff for school. It's been a constant tug of war for the last two weeks. Now I'm finally caught up (not ahead) with school work, and my motion for work is behind me. Yesterday, I treated myself to a great deal on a new Cuisinart ice cream maker! I love yellow in the kitchen, it's my bright, happy place!

I wanted my first ice cream recipe to be exotic but recognizable. Inspired by my trip to NY exactly a year ago, I made strawberry and ginger ice cream. It turned out Fan. Tas. Tic. The fresh pungent ginger is sweetened with fresh, bright strawberries. Making your own ice cream is like making your own rice krispies treats, once you make it yourself, store bought taste so wrong! I don't think I'll buy ice cream again!

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Today marks the beginning of my birthday month, yes month. There are a lot of fun birthday treats heading my way in the next few weeks. How about some roasted game hens to kick off the festivities.

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Who doesn't love fresh cold fruit covered in warm, drippy, dark chocolate sweetened with coconut creme? This is one of my favorite chocolate fondue recipes. It's quick, easy, and a chocolate lover's dream! Even if you don't like coconut, the depth of flavor of the rich dark chocolate is the real star.

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To continue with the health kick, I made a delicious, healthy breakfast.

Garlic sauteed spinach with sea salt and a little bit of garlic hoisin sauce, topped with a fresh egg.

Two bags of spinach yields 4 ramekins. Sauté crushed chopped garlic in garlic olive oil until golden. Add washed, dried spinach to pan and and cover to wilt (about 2 mins). Add a drizzle of garlic hoisin sauce to mixture. Transfer the spinach mixture, drained, into a greased ramekins ( I used roasted garlic olive oil) and crack an egg over the top. A little more sea salt and bake for 20 mins at 375 degrees. (This will yield a medium center as shown below. Leave it in about 6 minutes longer if you don't like a runny yolk.

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Today was the first sunny, warm, perfect day of the year, at least, the first I've enjoyed this year. Something about the sunshine and warmth makes me crave healthy, fresh food. The idea of smoothies have always turned me off. I don't enjoy blended bananas, or yogurt--the whole thing is just not that enjoyable. A few months ago, my friend Nicole introduced me to acai bowls. The smoothie part is made with the berry and apple juice, instead of milk, yogurt, or banana. It's topped with fresh fruit, and crunchy granola.

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