Renee’s Page

(from perezhilton.com)

Looks like power producer Dr. Luke - the supposed pop hit ‘maker’ - is in trouble again. He was accused last year of ripping off (and not crediting) the Rubinoos’ I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend and turning it into the Avril Lavigne hit Girlfriend. Everyone borrows or samples and it’s acceptable for the most part. You just can’t claim to have come up with it on our own!

Here’s a way to have some indoor fun with the kids this weekend… I just tried this out last night, and the kids went wild for it!!

This recipe is enough for one child (or adult!), so that each child can make their own.

1/2 cup milk or half and half
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon sugar
4 cups crushed ice
4 tablespoons salt
2 quart size Zip-loc bags 
1 gallon size Zip-loc freezer bag

Mix the milk, vanilla and sugar together in one of the quart size bags. Seal tightly, allowing as little air to remain in the bag as possible. Too much air left inside may force the bag open during shaking. Place this bag inside the other quart size bag, again leaving as little air inside as possible and sealing well. By double-bagging, the risk of salt and ice leaking into the ice cream is minimized. Put the two bags inside the gallon size bag and fill the bag with ice, then sprinkle salt on top. Again let all the air escape and seal the bag. Wrap the bag in a towel or put gloves on, and shake and massage the bag, making sure the ice surrounds the cream mixture. Five to 8 minutes is enough time for the mixture to freeze into ice cream. Eat right from the bag or scoop into cups! Even crush up a chocolate bar to sprinkle on top.   

Tips
Freezer bags work best because they are thicker and less likely to develop small holes, allowing the bags to leak. You can get away with using regular Zip-loc bags for the smaller quart sizes, because you are double-bagging. If you plan to do this indoors, use gallon size freezer bags.

Coffee Can Ice Cream
An alternative to the baggie method is to use coffee cans. The recipe is the same, and may be doubled or tripled because the coffee can can hold more liquid than the baggies. Put the mixture in a standard size coffee can and seal with the plastic lid, then place that can inside a larger “economy size” can. Pack the large can with ice and salt, and seal with the lid. Kids can roll the can back and forth on the ground (outside - the condensation will drip) until the ice cream is set. The time required to set the mixture will vary depending on the number of servings in the can.

What does the salt do?
Just like we use salt on icy roads in the winter, salt mixed with ice causes the ice to melt and the freezing point of the ice is lowered. Water will normally freeze at 32 degrees F. A 10% salt solution freezes at 20 degrees F, and a 20% solution freezes at 2 degrees F. By lowering the temperature at which ice is frozen, you create an environment in which the milk mixture can freeze at a temperature below 32 degrees F into ice cream.

Cool, huh… and yummy!