White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Ice Cream (#63)

I was tidying the pantry cupboard the other day and came across a secret stash of macadamia nuts from our November getaway to Maui.  November has always been the prime time for the Official Taster and I to sneak away — it’s the greyest, wettest, and absolutely most dreary month in Vancouver.  Ordinarily, we’re the type to throw on our backpacks and head off to explore unfamiliar places.  But the past Fall had been such a whirlwind of activity for both of us that, this time around, we needed a wheely-suitcase holiday.  Maui it was then.

A recursive sunset from our hotel in Lahaina, Maui.

Of course, any trip to Hawaii requires loading up on macadamia nuts.  (Travel tip: forego the overpriced gift shops!  Your best bet is to buy your mac nuts at Costco or Walmart.)  These rich, buttery nuts are a bit of an indulgence.  They’re loaded with fat and calories, but they’re oh so tasty when whirled into white chocolate ice cream.

Load up on these bad boys when you’re in Hawaii!

Yum!

Toss your New Year’s resolution out the window and whirl up a batch of ice cream!

White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Ice Cream (Makes about 1.25 L)

2 eggs
1/4 cup white sugar
3 cups half-and-half cream
Pinch of sea salt
8 ounces quality white chocolate, finely chopped
3/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts (I used lightly roasted and salted ones)

Ginger Ice Cream (#10)

This recipe is inspired by a trip to Hawaii that Tavis and I were on five years ago this week.  Having both been Geography majors, when we were choosing which Hawaiian island to visit, we figured we must choose the one with the most to offer in terms of natural geography — active volcanoes, massive mountains, and the best representation of the world’s climate zones and flora.  Big Island!  The plan was to circumnavigate the island, spending a few nights in Kona, on the western side of the island, and a few nights in Hilo, on the eastern side.

Lava on the road in Volcanoes National Park, Big Island, Hawaii

We flew into Kona on Air Canada’s last direct flight of the season, which meant there were less than twenty of us on board (nice!)  Kona itself was all right, nothing special I would say — a typical, touristy surf town.  Hilo, in spite of its rain (it’s the third rainiest city in the US, and yes, we did get caught in a couple of afternoon rain storms), we loved.  There was a great authenticity to this little town.  Unlike Kona, Hilo felt like it had real people, with no resort development and hoards of tourists — old Hawaii, if you will.  It was great chatting with local people.  One woman we spoke with said we absolutely must try the ginger ice cream at Hilo Homemade Ice Cream, a local ice cream parlour.  We did and, indeed, it was amazing, amazing, amazing!  It was the perfect combination of sweet and tangy, with a little kick of heat.

Make sure to use fresh ginger for this recipe.  Don’t think about using the powdered stuff!

Fresh ginger from Granville Island

Ginger Ice Cream  (Makes about 1 L)

Adapted from Gourmet, November 1998

3 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup peeled, finely grated fresh ginger
3 cups half-and-half
1 teaspoon vanilla