Backseat Adventure - Cowboy Trail

A few weeks back, with Hubby out of town and the weather not quite warm enough for picnics, the girls and I headed out on an adventure. We left the house unsure of where to go. We followed the sunshine to the Cowboy Trail. 

Taking in the towns of Millarville, Turney Valley, Black Diamond and Longview the Cowboy Trail snakes South of Calgary through the foothills alongside Peter Lougheed Provincial Park. To the West you have the Rocky Mountains. To the East you have Prairies and ranchland. In front of you there is entertainment, small town love, and plenty to make you smile.

What we found that day...

A phenomenal breakfast, just incredible, at the Chuckwagon Cafe in Turner Valley. Also discovered there was meat off sales. Not booze, but meat, sold over the counter. And it was damn good meat.

Something else discovered in Turner Valley - sumo wrestling.

Found in Longview - quite possibly the world's best beef jerky. I haven't tried all the world's beef jerky, but this place may indeed live up to their advertised claims.

Also realized on the Cowboy Trail is the proliferation of these lame cowboy cutouts.  We get it folks.

While we did pass a number of working ranches along the way, the only horse we rode was this one.

I particularly enjoy matching garbage and scenery.

Limited access to the Sheep River in Black Diamond, at least as far as crutches go. But we did get a little walk and the girls weren't too disappointed that they couldn't throw rocks.

An old fashioned soda shop in Black Diamond, Marv's. A bit disappointing that the ice cream was Nestle or some general brand and their carbonated ice cream machine was being cleaned, but my saskatoon berry sundae was still good. And as far as kids are concerned, all ice cream is good.

That despite the apparent challenges of parenting with limited mobility and a travelling Hubby, it isn't that hard to get out of the house and have an adventure with your kids.

Cardamom Ice Cream

Save for a few days over Easter and our wedding anniversary I've been single parenting the last two weeks. What I wouldn't do for beer and chocolate every single night. And intravenous caffeine first thing in the morning. But it's just another week in an absolutely crazy month. And all you can do is put one foot in front of another, type another key, cook another meal, and eat another bowl of ice cream.

Yes, another bowl of ice cream. For every day that I remember to buy cream when I steal a moment to buy groceries I dream about ice cream. Okay, that's a slight overstatement, but only slightly.

Once I called my neighbour over to save me by digging through the mess in the basement (I can still can't make my way to the basement yet) to find the base of the ice cream maker I could make my dreams come true. Cardamom ice cream here I come!

And oh, did that ice cream do it for me. It's quite rich. Ridiculously rich. And while I doubted the cardamom taste when making the custard it came through perfectly in the finished product. Adding rhubarb was a way to tease myself into spring (despite the snow storm we got this week) and soften the richness of the ice cream.

Cardamom Ice Cream with Lightly Stewed Rhubarb

(Adapted from delicious March 2010)

Serves 6 (or 1 tired mom over a few days)

Ice Cream

1 cup heavy cream

1 1/4 cup milk

1 cinnamon stick

8 cardamom pods, lightly crushed

5 egg yolks

2 tablespoons sugar

300 ml can of sweetened condensed milk

Rhubarb

6 stalks rhubarb

4 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 tablespoons water

1. Steep the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods in the cream and milk. Bring to medium heat in a saucepan. Just before it boils turn off the heat and let it sit for an hour. Strain and discard the spices.

2. Whisk the eggs and the sugar until pale. Add the infused milk/cream, whisking constantly. Pour into a clean saucepan and cook over low/medium heat, stirring, for 5-8 minutes until thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat, add the condensed milk, and pour into a clean bowl or jug. Cover with plastic wrap directly on the surface and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

3. Churn in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. Pour into a freezable container and freeze until firm.

4. Half hour before serving chop the rhubarb and combine with the other ingredients in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat for 3-5 minutes until the rhubarb is soft but is still holding it's shape.  Set aside to cool.

5. Serve ice cream on top of cooled rhubarb.

Lemon Frozen Yogurt

For sittin' on the porch and pretending it's summer.

This is about the laziest dessert one could make, aside from cutting up fruit and pretending it's a treat. Of course, it only works if you own an ice cream maker. That's not true, you could just stick a container of yogurt in the freezer, but you'll miss the churning and the joy of soft serve fro yo as it comes out of the ice cream maker.

Recipe:
Take a carton or two of your favourite yoghurt such as Liberte Mediterranee Lemon. Dump it in a frozen ice cream maker. Turn on. Eat when frozen. Dream of green grass, ocean breezes, and blazing sunshine.

Atrophy

It seems that your quads are the first muscle to atrophy when you wreck your knees. Despite the layers of insulation covering those large muscles of mine it is quite noticable that they aren't so large anymore. Neither are my calves. But sadly, my ass is still as big as it ever was. Needless to say, ice cream is probably the last thing I need right now.

But oh how I need ice cream. The last 6 weeks have certainly screamed out for comfort food. My mom make us pyrohy, we've eaten countless bowls of pho after The Monster's dance class, managed more than one batch of cookies, and indulged in a heck of a lot of beer during the Olympics. Not once, however, have I been able to convince Hubby to buy ice cream. Bloody diet nazi.

So I added heavy cream to the grocery list. Ha Ha! Combined with the very large bar of bittersweet Bernard Callebaut chocolate in my cupboard and I got him back. The girls and I set out to chop chocolate, dissolve cocoa, cook a lovely custard, and anticipate the ice cream. They were diverted from cooling time and the churning with snow play.

I did save the first taste of ice cream for an Olympic hockey game.  At least my brain hasn't atrophied. Kids and a bowl of cold ice cream means nearly a period of peace for Hubby and I. It worked so well that we used it repeatedly throughout the Games. Minus the bowls I snuck for myself.

The recipe I used was absolutely phenomenal.  It was so decadent and rich, and just perfect. In truth, it was exactly like a frozen pudding. With a bit more effort on my part I could have enjoyed it with a brownie and salted caramel sauce. The knees however can't hack that much work yet. And my ass can't handle that much in the absence of a good workout.

With thanks to David Lebovitz and The Perfect Scoop.  I followed the recipe word for word and it was perfect. And thanks to Tara at Seven Spoons for the photo inspiration on that top picture.