Chicago is finally warm and my new place actually feels like home - a stark contrast from my old apartment: a walk up with creaky floors, barely any furniture, no air condition (not that i needed it) and too much empty space. This place is smaller and homier and I actually have a TV and a plant! The kitchen is even tinier than the last one but has more storage and a dishwasher(!). You know you’re ‘adulting’ when you are grateful for your dishwasher and get excited to buy coasters.
But the best part of it all is the location. Evanston is beautiful and quaint but so quiet, almost too peaceful. I love the sounds of the city. I can hear them all the way up here on the 11th floor. I’m also pretty certain that this street has the most number of people with dogs which is amazing.
We celebrated the first week of moving in with everything that screams celebration: champagne, takeout from The Halal Guys, Sprinkles cupcakes and 7 whole days of binge watching Stranger Things with 4 pints of Jeni’s ice cream laid out in front of us.
Ice cream is one of those things that can be as luxurious or as easygoing as you want to make it. It’s fuss free in that you only need a pint and a spoon and nothing else, except maybe a friend to share the guilt with or a movie. It can also be an expression of art in its plating, and creativity of flavors. You could go to Fig & Olive and have their delicious olive oil quenelle with a pistachio honeycomb brittle and chocolate dust. But also, you can open a pint of Jeni’s gooey butter cake ice cream on the couch. In all its forms, ice cream is worthy of the glory.
A little while ago I made mango ice cream and served it to my grandmother (who, by the way, has high standards and is generally a dessert-rejector) with crepes. The recipe combines a few components but feel free to make just the ice cream if your family is easier to please ! :P
Mango ice cream
Ingredients:
2 large mangoes (alphonso)
1 can condensed milk (You can use less than 1 full can if your mangoes are already too sweet)
220 ml cream (refrigerated)
Process:
Take the flesh of 2 large, ripe mangoes and puree it.
Pass it through a mesh strainer to get rid of the fibrous bits.
Pour 1 can condensed milk into a large bowl and mix in the pureed mango and set aside.
Create an ice bath in a tray. You can do this just by putting lots and lots of ice in the tray. Place a large mixing bowl in the ice bath.
Pour 220 ml heavy cream into the bowl and whip to stiff peaks using an electric whisk.
Fold the whipped cream into the mango-condensed milk mixture using a spatula.
Pour the mixture in a dish and wrap in cling wrap. Set in the freezer for about 8 hours or overnight.
For the crepes, I used this recipe.
Serve ice cream with crepes, and drizzle with lime caramel and toasted coconut flakes.