Ice Cream and Cobbler

Today was the day. I took my new ice cream maker for a spin. I used my tried and true vanilla ice cream recipe (from my "Ben and Jerry's" ice cream book.

I like the new machine. It's just as loud as my old machine, but a little easier to use. The lid has a much bigger opening for pouring in the ice cream base. It also has a larger capacity. When the ice cream was finished, it was also easier to scoop out into a container- I didn't waste as much.

I decided to use the last of the rhubarb in my freezer and make some cobbler. The filling was 1/2 lb. of strawberries, hulled and quartered, plus about 2 cups of sliced rhubarb. I mixed the fruit with 1/2 c. of sugar and 1 Tbsp. of cornstarch. I let it sit for a few minutes, then stirred and added about 1/4 c. of port. While that sat and festered, I mixed flour, oats, sugar, salt and pepper and pecans together, then poured on enough melted butter to stick it together. I put it in the freezer for a few minutes to firm up. I poured the filling into a greased 8x8 brownie pan, then crumbled the flour mixture over it. It baked at 375 degrees for the better part of an hour. I started watching it after 30 minutes, but it took longer to get brown and crispy on the top.

The cobbler made the perfect foil for the ice cream. The tartness of the rhubarb was perfect against the creamy sweetness of the ice cream. I like the picture I took because you can almost see the little speckles of vanilla in the ice cream.

I think the next flavor of ice cream I'll try will either be green tea or espresso. Which one do you prefer??