Beach Sunset & Ice Cream

As my regular readers know, I love it when I come across people and places with strong ice cream connections.

One place I wrote about last year that seems to abound with ice cream kiosks, ice cream parlors and large ice cream display cones is Zandvoort, a delightful beach resort in the Netherlands. One of the best ice cream display cones I have ever seen was there - a smiling polar bear holding a giant ice cream cone of chocolate and mint choc chip ice cream! Read more about the bear and where I found him on my big ice cream cones post.

If you ever get the chance to visit the Netherlands, especially in the summer months, then Zandvoort is a great place to visit for a day trip or weekend.

The reason for writing this post is that I just came across a fantastic video of a summer sunset filmed on Zandvoort beach. It's a wonderful, relaxing piece with a soundtrack only of what was happening live at the time - the natural sounds of a busy summer's days coming to a close (during which no doubt many an ice cream cone had been eaten!) and the gentle sound of the sea lapping up onto the beach.

This kind of thing is what makes the Internet so enjoyable and such a positive means of sharing good experiences. Let's have more please!

View the Zandvoort video

Animals Love Ice Cream Too!

We know that humans love ice cream - but what about animals? I already knew from my own experience as a child that dogs love ice cream (not that it's good for them to eat too much of course) because my Yorkshire Terrier Josie and I would often share an ice cream cone together - I would eat the main part and break the bottom off for her as a mini cone with a little scoop of the ice cream in it! My Mum's pet Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Holly, also had a great fondness for ice cream and a friend once told me about her cat having the same passion .. but what about other animals?

I decided to do some research and was amazed at what I found. There are clearly many, many people whose pets love ice cream; from dogs of all kinds and sizes to cats but also rabbits, horses and even birds! Not only that, but the way in which these animals eat ice cream varies enormously. Some cats refuse to eat ice cream directly and insist on using a paw to scoop it up - a bit like when we humans use a plastic ice cream spoon to eat out of an ice cream tub!

I came across some great video clips of animals eating ice cream, some of which are really delightful and funny - if you're interested in looking at them there's a dedicated page on ice-cream-recipes.com called animals eating ice cream.

Homemade Ice Cream - The Easy Way

There's no question in my mind that homemade food is always the best - being able to select the ingredients yourself and having it fresh just when you want it, but that is providing you have the time. After all, many recipes require time and patience often with a several step process involved. So what do you do if you don't have much spare time but still want homemade food? Well, with ice cream there are a few quick and easy recipes you can use.

Here are the quick and easy ice cream recipes that I've found work well:


vanilla ice cream
chocolate ice cream
banana ice cream


The banana ice cream recipe is a particular favorite in our house. I recently made a video of me making it in our kitchen so you can see just how quick and easy it is. Visit this page to view the video (my vanilla ice cream making video is also on there)
http://www.ice-cream-recipes.com/ice_cream_videos.htm

Vanilla Ice Cream

The most popular ice cream in the world is vanilla ice cream yet when you first consider the facts about vanilla it’s hard to see where the appeal comes from.

For example:
- The vanilla bean is not a fruit but from a climbing orchid
- It’s classed as a spice
- It’s visually very unappealing - dark, long and thin in appearance
- When first picked it has no fragrance at all

Not the kind of characteristics you would imagine for such an immensely popular and indeed valuable commodity.

So why is vanilla ice cream so popular? In my view you’ll find the best answer in making your own homemade vanilla ice cream. The taste is quite simply unique – a blend of sweetness mixed with a hint of spice, a slight fruitiness yet somehow floral as well.

There are different recipes for making vanilla ice cream. Whether you use actual vanilla beans or vanilla essence, whether you opt to use a custard base or just cream and condensed milk (quick & easy recipe), you’ll come out with a delicious tasting ice cream every time. A tribute to the unique appeal of vanilla.

Try one of my 2 Vanilla ice cream recipes

Watch the video – Making Vanilla Ice Cream

Making Homemade Ice Cream

Say the words: “Ice Cream” to just about anyone and you’ll get an instant positive reaction – anything from a smile to a few words of praise to profuse extolling of its virtues! Let’s face it …. we love ice cream. Here at ice-cream-recipes.com I’ve been writing about ice cream and researching its many facets for some years now and I’ve yet to run short of new ideas and information to bring to my readers. I suppose it’s because making ice cream is great fun and something you never get bored with. There’s always new recipes to try, new ways to present what you make and even different ways to making ice cream. For example:

Using an Ice Cream Maker
If you want to make your own homemade ice cream on a regular basis, prefer to serve it fresh as soon as it’s made and can afford an electric ice cream maker, then this is the way to go.

I wouldn’t be without mine! Basically, it freezes as it batches taking from just 20 to 40 minutes (depending upon how soft or hard you like your ice cream). To me there’s lots of advantages to having an ice cream maker – here’s my list.

Using a Bowl and Your Freezer
This is the way most people made their ice cream before electric ice cream makers came along. Once you have your ice cream recipe mixture prepared you just need a wide topped bowl, use of your freezer, lots of arm power for regular beating of the mixture and a few hours spare for the freezing process. See my dedicated web page for full details.

Using Rock Salt & Ice (better done outdoors than inside the house – also great as a fun project for children)a) the smallest and simplest method is to use 2 plastic, zippable bags, one smaller than the other. Put your ice cream ingredients into the smaller bag, zip it up and then insert that inside the larger bag with rock salt and ice in between the bags. Roll the whole thing around for about 20 minutes, allowing the rock salt and ice to freeze the mixture. b) same as above but on a larger scale using 2 empty, cleaned food tins (1 larger than the other) that have separate and re-sealable lids. Mix your ingredients in the first, smaller tin and seal tightly using tape to ensure the lid is firmly sealed if necessary. Place this inside the larger tin and pack the rock sale and ice in between the 2 tins. Seal well. Roll around for about 20 minutes.

Whatever method you choose of making ice cream, it’s an enjoyable experience, made all the more wonderful by being able to enjoy what you’ve produced.

The Fun of Ice Cream is here to stay!
Watch our Vanilla Ice Cream Video