Low Carb “Old Fashioned” Pumpkin Ice Cream II - The Pumpkining

I consider my first attempt at pumpkin ice cream an abject failure. It wasn’t bursting with flavor as I had hoped. I had better results using pumpkin ice cream flavoring, but it still bothered me that I couldn’t make a “proper” pumpkin ice cream. A reader left a comment on that original blog entry that inspired me to give this another try and I’m super happy that I did. This version is outstanding! Please disregard the previous one.

Low Carb Spicy Banana Brownie Ice Cream

I stumbled on this flavor combination thanks to Snoqualmie Ice Cream. The “spicy” in the name isn’t referring to peppers. It’s cinnamon. I decided to use real cinnamon in my low carb conversion due to the uneven results with cinnamon ice cream flavorings that I’ve obtained recently. Therefore, you must use a cooked ice cream base. The instructions below specifically use my Philadelphia-style base because that’s the only way I attempted it. I’ll leave it as an exercise to the reader to attempt a French-style custard base version of this flavor. The main difference will probably the amount of flavorings.

Alarm monitoring without the central station

My county’s police force is tired of responding to false alarms. They now require a $50 per year registration fee and will fine the homeowner $100 for each false alarm. How they determine a false alarm is highly dubious. Imagine a burglar attempts to gain entry though a door or window in your backyard but gets scared away from your alarm’s siren. The cops get called to the home by the central monitoring agency, but there’s no demonstrable evidence of a break-in like broken glass or a damaged door jam. “It must have been a false alarm,” the police will surmise. Ding! Pay $100. Actual break-in attempts are rare, so I can no longer allow my alarm monitoring service to automatically dispatch the police. What’s the point of even having central monitoring if I’m too afraid to have the police sent to my home? Quite frankly, the monitoring service is an anachronism. Most people carry cell phones pretty much anywhere they go. A simple text message or e-mail sent from the alarm system would obviate the need for central monitoring altogether. Alas, my alarm system is an older model that does not have that capability. Fortunately, I’ve come up with an inexpensive way to add it.

Low Carb Scotchy Scotch Scotch Ice Cream

The inspiration for this flavor was thanks to a limited edition Ben & Jerry’s ice cream by the same name. It’s butterscotch ice cream with a swirl of butterscotch variegate. Sounds delicious, but it’s certainly not low carb. No worries, Ron. I can fix that for you.

Low Carb Bangkok Peanut Ice Cream

I found this ice cream recipe from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams. It was included in her book and checked off all the boxes for a low carb conversion.

Jeni explains her inspiration for this ice cream:

For years, there was a rivalry in the North Market about who had the best pad Thai. One shop’s sign said “Best Pad Thai in the Market,” which was answered with another shop’s “Best Pad Thai in Columbus.” One of the battling merchants was a young Thai woman named Nida. Hers was everything pad Thai should be: fresh and light, exquisitely spiced, and slightly sweet with layers and layers of flavor.

As the debate heated up, I decided to throw my hat in the ring. Using locally produced all-natural peanut butter, ground toasted coconut, and cayenne pepper, I created Bangkok Peanut Ice Cream and, with tongue firmly in cheek, touted it as the “Best Pad Thai in the World!”

For more authentic flavor and a lighter finish, add a bruised lemongrass stalk and 4 “coins” of ginger during the boiling stage, then remove before whisking in the cornstarch slurry.*

* Jeni’s sweet cream base uses cornstarch since it binds water molecules. Making ice cream is much easier when you don’t have to worry about excess carbohydrates.

Bluetooth music for older car stereos

I have a ten year old car with a stock stereo system. It includes hands free calling using Bluetooth, but it does not support music being piped into the system that way. Instead, it has a set of RCA audio and video jacks and a 12V cigarette lighter port hidden in the center front armrest. It seems like a poor design, but the intent of this auxiliary input was for a portable DVD player. I guess they thought there would be a big demand to play movies on the navigation screen when the vehicle is parked. (The video is disabled when driving, but the audio continues to work.)

Low Carb Lemon Almond Crème Fraîche Ice Cream

This recipe was inspired by Lindsay Clendaniel from a recipe on her blog. She uses a mixture of heavy cream and sour cream with lemon zest and almond extract. I decided this was a perfect opportunity to try making an ice cream using crème fraîche instead. Crème fraîche has a higher fat content, is thicker, has a richer flavor, and is less tangy than sour cream. I also added sliced almonds at the end of the churn, because...well, why the heck not?