Blueberry Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate and Chocolate Sauce #SundaySupper

It’s been far, far too long since I have felt technologically suited for a Sunday Supper posting. Now that my computer is back, I am thrilled to be able to participate again!

This week’s challenge hosted by Stacy of Food Lust People Love and Tara of Noshing With the Nolands? Share recipes with ingredients that are hunted or foraged.

Now, I know, many of you won’t think of blueberries as being foraged. But, follow along …

Beautiful summer day. The Dear One and I are tired of being in the garden every day (and, trust me, the garden nightmare dream hadn’t yet begun).

Let’s do something fun, says I.

Hey, great idea, says the Dear One. I have just the thing. Blueberry picking!

Now, I’m not quite sure what sort of romantic notion I had in my head about blueberry picking, but, trust me, after this that notion was dispelled!

We get in the car and we drive. And drive. And drive. Long, winding rural (what is more rural than rural?) Maine roads. We’re either headed for something that will be a lot of fun … or he’s taking me out into the woods to kill me!

We turn off a main(ish) road and onto a dirt road. Now we’re going deeper and deeper into the woods. I realize I am a simple city girl, but even I know blueberries don’t grow in the woods! The theme from Deliverance is dancing through my head.

We pass a ramshackle house with at least a dozen kids outside and dogs and cats and cars in all array of decay. Thinking to myself, this isn’t going to end well for me! I had lines from Eddie Izzard and his wonderful bit about the Druids and Stonehenge running through my head, “I don’t even know where I live now!” The children asked if we needed blueberry rakes or boxes (ah, we’re in the right place) and to just keep going … and going … and the road is becoming more and more narrow … and going. And SUDDENLY this tiny narrow “road” opened up into acres upon acres of blueberry fields.

WOW!

Shirtless, shoeless, (dirty) bearded man ambles over to the car explaining where to pick and points further down the road.

Pull over, hop out of the truck (yes, I said truck), grab some buckets, the blueberry rake (of which we have just one) and take off.

For those of you that don’t know … and, really, unless you live in rural Maine or New Jersey, why would you know? .. this photo is of a blueberry rake. It looks like a dustpan with a comb attached to it. You bend over, scrape it through the low blueberry bushes and pull up. You pick dozens of blueberries at a time. It’s fantastic.

Drawback. We have one. Apparently, it’s one of those tools that fall under the ‘MAN’ category. Much too much for you to handle, little lady … HARRUMPH! I’ve decided to go with the Dear One being chivalrous. Yes, that must be it. I walked around taking pictures. Picking blueberries by hand. And just looking around.

I think it’s better to pick them by hand. A lot of them get smushed with the rake and a many more leaves and twigs end up in your buckets.

Now, a little blueberry trivia (bet you didn’t know there was such a thing) … those big fat blueberries you find in the supermarkets, mostly from New Jersey, are high bush blueberries. The tiny ones, often the ones you find frozen, referred to as wild blueberries, and mostly from Maine, are low bush blueberries. These were low bush blueberries.

That’s the Dear One out in the middle of the field raking away. I believe I was sent back to the car to fetch water.

Completely exhausting, back breaking. Messy. You’re turning violet, Violet, colored fingers. Even with the down side, we now have 10 1-gallon freezer bags filled with wild blueberries in our freezer downstairs. There were more, but Smoothy Girl breaks into it, I’ve made this ice cream, muffins, drinks, etc.

Would I do this again? Oh, hells yeah!

This ice cream is great to make … NO EGGS. It’s very easy to put together. A little cooking of the blueberries, a bit of blitzing in the blender, mix, cool, voila! The color is fantastic. The taste amazing. Next time, at the suggestion of my pal Lisa, I may add some sort of crumble to the top before serving. I suppose making it a deconstructed blueberry pie! Even the picky people have been digging into it!

I do think the chocolate sauce is unnecessary, but it don’t hurt!

Try this with a scoop of blueberry ice cream, a scoop of chocolate ice cream, some of the chocolate sauce and frozen blueberries!

Ice Cream

• 1 1/2 C heavy cream
• 2 1/2 C Maine wild blueberries (like Driscoll’s)
• 1 C sugar
• 1/8 t salt
• 1 C whole milk
• 1 T fresh lemon juice
• 3 ounces bar dark chocolate, chopped into small chunks (or 1/2 cup of mini semi-sweet morsels)

Dark Chocolate Sauce

• 2 C heavy cream
• 2/3 pounds (11 ounces) dark chocolate chips or bar chopped into small pieces
• 2 1/2 T light corn syrup

Ice Cream

Mix blueberries, sugar, and salt in a heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool 20 minutes. Puree in a blender. Stir puree together with heavy cream, milk and lemon juice. Chill in refrigerator overnight. Pour into an ice cream maker and freeze according to manufacturer’s directions. Swirl in dark chocolate by pouring small chunks into machine during last 5 minutes of freezing.

Dark Chocolate Sauce

Bring cream to a boil. Remove from heat and add chocolate and corn syrup. Let sit until chocolate melts, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir until smooth. For warm ice cream topping, allow sauce to cool 10 minutes before serving. Otherwise, allow sauce to cool to room temperature.

 

Check out these recipes from this week’s Sunday Supper Movement … On the Hunt!

Spread it on Thick

• Homemade Mascarpone from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Sugar Plum Fairy Jam from What Smells So Good?
• Porcini Compound Butter from Nosh My Way

Nibbles and Sides

• Baked Rice with Mushrooms from Basic N Delicious
• Brie Blackberry Bites from Family Foodie
• Foie Gras Bites from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
• Miso Risotto from Crazy Foodie Stunts

The Main Event

• Bourbon Butter Venison Bites from The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch
• Fennel Frond Pappardelle with Rabbit, Muscat, and Cream from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Juniper Berry Crusted Venison from Curious Cuisiniere
• Korean-style Tripe from kimchi MOM
• Lapin au Cidre – Cider Braised Rabbit from Food Lust People Love
• Maple Bison Blueberry Burgers from Noshing With The Nolands
• Rabbit Braised with Kalamata Olives and Prunes from The Texan New Yorker
• Spicy Sausage Pasta Skillet from Nik Snacks
• Wild Venison Sausage Gravy from A Mama, Baby & Shar-pei in the Kitchen
• Turkey, Wild Rice and Mushroom Casserole from Recipes, Food and Cooking
• Wild Boar Pacific Rim Sliders from Peaceful Cooking
• Wild Venison Kitchen Sink Chili from Lifestyle Food Artistry

Sweet Treats

• Blueberry Ice Cream with Chocolate Sauce from From the Bookshelf
• German Fruit and Nut Bars from Magnolia Days
• Grilled Bananas/Toast Topped with Chocolate and Cheese from Brunch with Joy
• Lemon Blueberry Scones from Killer Bunnies, Inc
• Raspberry Muffins from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Pumpkin Spice Puppy Chow from Pies and Plots
• Ultimate Chewy Brownies from The Perfect Brownie
• Vanilla Poached Tamarillos from Manu’s Menu
• Wild Blackberry Scones with Lemon Glaze from The Foodie Army Wife
• Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Topped Waffles from NinjaBaker.com

Join the #SundaySupper conversation on Twitter on Sunday! We tweet throughout the day and share recipes from all over the world. Our weekly chat starts at 7 p.m. ET.  Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag and remember to include it in your tweets to join in the chat. To get more great Sunday Supper Recipes, visit our website or check out our Pinterest board.

Would you like to join the Sunday Supper Movement? It’s easy. You can sign up by clicking here: Sunday Supper Movement.

Bruschetta

Hello, computer, my old friend

It’s nice to type on you again

Brian fixed you, oh, so sweetly

Back on my desk, oh, so neatly …

It’s been a really long slog trying to get my iMac fixed! It just froze and died one day while I was still living in Brooklyn – it’s been dead for over one and a half years!

I tried to have it fixed while I was still living in Brooklyn. Really, I did. Brought it to the Apple store. Sadly, I have only 2 kidneys to give up and the cost would have required 4 kidneys. I found an Apple authorized dealer. HUZZAH! He could fix it for $600. Well worth it, I thought. A new computer would have cost me at least twice much. And then the phone call. Well, you see, says he, there’s far more wrong with the computer than we thought. Aside from the Logic Board, you need to replace the flaggity gimboboo and the lala hosinfeffer. We’ll have to tack another $600 onto the original estimate.

WHAT? Are you kidding me or what, says I. No way. As the time approached for me to move, I considered throwing the darn thing away. Really, it’s a planter at this point. The Dear One, so much more level headed than I, interjected and said, bring it with you in the move. I’, sure we can find someone in Maine to fix it for far less.

Okay.

And it sat.

And it sat.

And it sat some more.

Sigh …

The girls get together for breakfast quite frequently. Occasionally, the boys join us. One morning my friend Jenn’s husband joined us. I was lamenting about having to use only the Dear One’s laptop and how difficult it’s been to blog on the laptop. One, it’s so TINY. Two, it’s not mine and I wasn’t comfortable. I wanted my lovely, big, pretty iMac back! WAAAAAAHHHHH!

Jenn’s husband, the wizard Brian looked at me and said, Bring it to me. I can fix it.

It took a number of months with the summer and traveling and renting of houses and stents, but one day he calls  … he says to me … it’s done. Come and get it!

Well, I wanted to just fall off my chair!

And here I am. Back at my beloved computer, happily typing away, knowing I have a ton of blog posts to catch up on.

Please, dear followers, if you’re still out there, don’t judge the random out of order, spring, summer and fall posts you’ll read pouring out of here!

Brian, you are a genius and a dear friend. Thank you so much for fixing my computer and getting me back on track!

So, back to the Bruschetta … this may be the most requested recipe in our house. Long day, company  coming, misunderstanding, Bruschetta solves it all. Sadly, the Dear One is a little camera/social media shy. If he weren’t I would add a photo of the ginormous smile that spreads across his face every time he eats this.

It’s so easy to whip up. Even with the sins of off season tomatoes, this is wonderful. The rest of the ingredients sort of hide that flaw.

This Bruschetta was made with tomatoes straight from our garden … oh, so was the onion, garlic, and basil!

• 1 baguette
• 4 plum tomatoes, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 C diced sweet onion
• 1/2 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• 1 T extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing baguette
• 1/2 T balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 450. Slice the baguette. brush both sides of each slice with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt. In oven until golden.

Mix all other ingredients in a bowl.

To serve, either put a spoonful of the tomato mixture on each toast or the toasts on a platter and the bowl of the tomato mixture beside it and let everyone help themselves.

Enjoy!

Yes, it’s that easy!

 

Watercress Composed Salad with Citrus Dressing ~ March Daring Cooks

I haven’t been living in one place for a long enough period of to really concentrate on joining any cook-alongs. It’s been over 6 months with this back and forth stuff! I’m so excited t his month to not join one of The Daring Kitchen’s challenges, but TWO!

For March’s Daring Cooks’ Challenge, Ruth, Shelley and Sawsan asked us to totally veg out! We made salads and dressings, letting the sky be the limit as we created new flavors and combinations that reflect our own unique tastes.

I’ve always made my own dressing. Probably because my mother always made her own dressing and my grandmother always made her own dressing. I will occasionally buy a dressing in a bottle, if I want a quick marinade for something, but otherwise I just find them … hmmm, ICKY! Thick and gloppy and off-tasting.

This challenge was right up my alley!

Many, many moons ago, Erie and I went to a Spanish restaurant in Queens (the name escapes me at the moment and perhaps she will chime in and let us know). We had the most wonderful composed salad – and I was surprised as I’m not usually a fan of composed salads.

Since then, this is my go to company is coming, steak themed dinner, salad. It’s simple with lots of great ingredients.

• 1 bunch watercress
• 2 hard boiled eggs
• 2 plum tomatoes
• 1 can hearts of palm
• 1 shallot
• juice from 1/2 an orange, lime and lemon
• 3 t extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 t oregano
• s&p

NOTE: I used plum tomatoes, use whatever tomatoes make you happy.

Wash watercress thoroughly and cut off stems. Place watercress on a platter

Quarter hard boiled eggs into wedges.  Scatter over watercress.

If using Roma tomatoes, cut into wedges. If using other tomatoes, cut into chunks. Scatter over watercress.

Slice hearts of palm into 1/4″ rings. Again, scatter over watercress.

Thinly slice shallot into rings. Scatter over salad.

In a bowl, whisk together citrus juices, oregano and s&p to taste. While whisking, stream in olive oil. When ready to serve salad, drizzle dressing over the top.