Dragon Fruit

Rating: *****
Nickname: +20 Against Dragon Attacks

Cheryl and John were in Miami last week and brought back a lot of dragon fruit. I'd never seen it before, and it's neat stuff. Once you peel off the "scales," the inside looks like a hot pink kiwi, though the taste is sweet and not so acidic. I found an easy ice cream recipe for it at The Gourmet Mama, so Cheryl and I made a batch to take to our gaming group tonight.

We used 4 dragon fruits, but I think they may have been smaller than the Gourmet Mama's, since the ice cream didn't come out quite as intensely pink. (We didn't measure the actual amount once it was mashed, to compare for sure.) But it still tastes absolutely delicious. It makes me think of strawberries and cream, though that's probably because my brain doesn't really know the taste of dragon fruit well, so it latches on to the nearest approximation. The kiwi-like seeds give it little crunches, but in an enjoyable, unobtrusive way.

If you ever find yourself in possession of some dragon fruit, make this ice cream. It's awesome.

Chai

Final Rating: *****
Nickname: Please Chai to Control Yourself

I made this on Rowyn's moving day, as an afternoon reward for everyone who helped shift furniture and whatnot. The full story of both iterations can be found here: A Tale of Two Ice Creams.

I started with this Elise.com recipe, but I was a bit random on spices. Put in cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, cloves, then numerous shakes of pre-made "chai spice."

Version 1 ***:
Followed above recipe, but with 4 egg yolks instead of 6. Still too eggy. Very thick and custardy, which didn't seem appropriate for the flavor.

Version 2 *****:
Simplified and left out eggs entirely. Steeped spices then tea in 2c regular cream and 1c milk. Strained and stirred in sugar. Chilled and froze.
This comes out much lighter and more melt-in-your-mouthier, and therefore all around better. Do this again for other tea-related recipes.

They're both yummy, though. This was my mom's favorite flavor, and prompted a quote from Rowyn's mom along the lines of "this is the sort of thing that makes you believe in heaven."