Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream

Just in time for the summer solstice, I give you one of the most delicious homemade ice cream recipes. Of course, it's a little hard to rate homemade ice cream, as I've never met one I didn't like. This one I especially love because 1. it uses rhubarb (technically a vegetable!) and strawberry, 2. I found the recipe in a magazine and saw it was submitted from someone from my hometown!, 3. I was able to sub lower fat ingredients with great results.

If you have an abundance of rhubarb, this is a really fun and different way to use it.

I adapted this recipe quite a bit for my own preference. The original recipe can be found here.

Start by combining the rhubarb and 1/2 cup sugar in a small saucepan.



Add the water, and bring the mixture to a boil.



Reduce the heat; cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the rhubarb is tender.

Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, combine the remaining 3/4 cup sugar and salt and add the milk.



Heat this mixture, stirring constantly, to 175 degrees. It will be foamy and bubbly - if you don't have a candy thermometer, just let it boil hard for a few minutes! It will be fine...

Remove the milk from the heat and add the cream



and the vanilla.



Then transfer to a bowl or large pitcher and refrigerate until completely cool.

Now back to the rhubarb. Once it's tender, remove from the heat and sprinkle the gelatin over the top.



Sprinkle the cinnamon over and let gelatin and cinnamon stand for 1 minute, then stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved. Stir in the marshmallows (this is a fun addition!).



Refrigerate this mixture until completely chilled. When the cream and the rhubarb mixture are both cold, remove from the fridge. Add the chopped strawberries to the rhubarb mixture.



Then combine the fruit and the cream in a large measuring cup



so you can pour it into the ice cream freezer.



Freeze the mixture until it is well frozen, but will likely still be soft. Trasfer to a large bowl and freeze an additional 2-3 hours for "hard" ice cream consistency. I especially love that this recipe scoops out easily even after being frozen hard.

Welcome, summer!

Get more inspiration at the Krazy Kitchen, Mouthwatering Mondays, Tuesdays at the Table, Tempt my Tummy Tuesday , Me and My Sweets and Tasty Tuesday.

Strawberry Rhubarb Ice Cream

2 cups diced fresh or frozen rhubarb, thawed if frozen
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup water
1 packet unflavored gelatin
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup miniature marshmallows
1 cup chopped fresh strawberries
1 cup milk (2% or fattier)
1/4 tsp salt
2 1/4 cups half and half (I used low fat 1/2 and 1/2 with good results!)
1 tsp. vanilla

In a small saucepan, bring rhubarb, 1/2 cup sugar and water to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until rhubarb is tender. Remove from the heat; sprinkle with gelatin and cinnamon and let stand one minute. Stir until gelatin is completely dissolved. Cool to room temperature; stir in marshmallows. Refrigerate until cold.

In a large saucepan, heat the milk, salt and remaining sugar to 175 degrees. Remove from heat; stir in cream and vanilla. Refrigerate until chilled.

Add the chopped strawberries to the rhuubarb mixture, and combine the fruit and cream in a large measuring cup. Pour into the ice cream freezer and freeze until desired consistency. Transfer to a freezer safe bowl and place in freezer for additional 2-3 hours until completely hard. Makes 6 cups.