Fresh homemade lavender ice cream accompanied by tender grilled peaches. A delicious combination perfect for a hot summer day!
A Trip to the Union Square Farmers Market
It doesn’t happen often, but once in a while Alissa and I get a weekday off together. This typically happens in the summer and lucky for us it was a Monday so the Union Square Farmers Market was open. We decided to make the trip. To people who do not live in the NYC area, this might seem like an easy task because we do live within the Five Borough radius. In all honesty, It’s usually horrible.
One hour and 15 minutes on two different hot and smelly subway trains later, we found ourselves in the very crowded Union Square. We walked through several people involved in pick up chess games and even more people with megaphones speaking their minds before we found the farmers market we were looking for.
Now you might be asking why we go through all of this just to get fresh vegetables and fruit… Well, you probably haven’t been to this farmer’s market. One tent after another of some of the freshest and often rarest produce us city folk can find. The vendors compete with each other for the attention of the thousands of people who pass through this area hourly, often by trying to have the lowest price and best-looking displays.
Some vendors will even set up hot plates and cook their product right there in front of you. Demonstrating what you could do with their produce if you take it home. Mountains of fresh peppers of all colors and bushels of fresh herbs as far as you can see fill your senses. It’s just wonderful.
Aromatic Lavender
This particular day, was hot and humid. It was rather uncomfortable actually, so we decided to split up to find different items on our wish list a little faster. As I was walking back from buying a bag of Shishito peppers, I was hit with the most pungent smell of lavender I think I have ever experienced (please excuse me I have not had the honor of visiting the Seattle area lavender fields)!
It was without hesitation that I had to go to the source of the aroma and buy a bag of dried lavender. I thought about buying fresh but ultimately decided it would be fun to use it sooner rather than later and I didn’t want to wait for it to dry.
The long trip back home was fortunately shortened by our intense conversation about fresh vegetables and herbs. We were planning. Most of the ideas we were bouncing off of each other involved the lavender. Maybe because its powerful smell kept reaching us every once and awhile, even in the very muggy NYC subway.
It’s Time for Lavender Ice Cream with Grilled Peaches!
Our decision was ultimately to make the recipe you have here. A lavender ice cream with yummy grilled fresh peaches. We had also acquired the peaches from the same fruitful trip.
The subtle taste of the lavender and the smoky yet sweet taste of the fresh summer peaches is an amazing combination. We highly recommend this refreshing summer treat! We hope you enjoy it as much as we did that day after our long trek to the farmer’s market. Enjoy!
Lavender Ice Cream with Grilled Peaches
- Prep Time: 2 hours 30 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 2 hours 40 mins
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Simmer, Churn, Grill
- Cuisine: American
Description
Fresh homemade lavender ice cream accompanied by a tender grilled peach. A delicious combo perfect for a hot summer day!
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Whole Milk
- 2 Cups Heavy Cream
- ½ Cup Sugar
- 2 Tbsp Vanilla Extract
- ¼ Cup Dried Lavender Flowers (Food Grade)
- 2 Fresh Peaches
Instructions
- Place milk, heavy cream, sugar, and lavender in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stirring constantly until bubbles form at the side of the pot. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Allow to cool and steep for one hour. Stir occasionally to reincorporate the lavender.
- Strain through a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth to separate and discard the lavender. Place cream in the refrigerator for an additional hour to cool.
- Pour mixture into your ice cream maker and churn until ice cream is done. It should take approximately 15- 20 minutes. Place in a freezer safe container and freeze until desired consistency is obtained. We prefer to let it sit overnight.
- Before you are ready to serve and eat your ice cream, now it’s time to grill the peaches!
- Turn on or light your grill. Wash and quarter your peaches and discard the pit. Coat with a thin layer of olive oil.
- Place the peach slices on the grill for about 4 minutes per side. You should see grill marks left on the pieces and they will soften slightly when they are done.
- Serve the ice cream with the peaches. We added more lavender for the pictures, but there is no need because the flavor will be more than evident in the ice cream.
- Enjoy on a warm summer day!
- Leftover ice cream can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Keywords: Lavender Ice Cream, Grilled Peaches, Summer Dessert
