Homemade Ice cream with Mastic and Candied fruits

Bonsoir Food adventurers!


Last saturday afternoon as usual weekend tradition  we were watching some documentaries/films at home. And suddenly both of us started to crave for ice cream! Vassilis has offered to go and get some from nearby supermarket but I was not fancy really. Cause first of all I don`t like supermarket ice creams. Also since last July which my food allergens reaction has been figured, I had only once which was 6 months after at Cineworld.


For my taste ice cream should be Italian Gelato style. So far in Glasgow there is one shop which is located in West End and called `3 Steps to Heaven`. Well you definitely feel you are in heaven after first spoon of ice cream when placed in your mouth. I would highly recommend whoever will visit Glasgow definitely should pop in to this small but tasty ice cream parlour.


Anyway getting back to our saturday afternoon again, after checking out fridge and finding necessary ingredients in there then I decided to make our home made ice cream. It is very easy to make it but needs to placed in the freezer at least 3-4 hours before serving. This time I made it with some mastic flavour and as last moment my darling requested to add some candied fruit pieces too. Honestly turned out was good combination. But instead of mastic flavour you can replace with any kind of flavour like vanilla, chocolate, caramel, rosewater etc. and small pieces of fresh or frozen fruit, chocolate drops, nuts pieces or small chunks of turkish delight!


So anybody fancy for home made ice cream now ? And let`s do it.


4 egg yolk
100 gr sugar
300 gr double cream
300 gr milk
30 gr mastic
100 gr candied fruit(orange peel)


As first step place a metal cake tin in the freezer to get ready. If you have ice cream machine place the metal bowl of the machine in the freezer.


Then pour cream and milk into saucepan with mastic pieces and placed in medium heat over the stove. Mix time to time. When it starts bubbling let it boil for a couple of minutes more. At the same time in a separate bowl whisk egg yolks with sugar till make them creamy and fluffy. Then pour the boiled cream-milk mixture slowly over the egg-sugar mixture and whisk to well. Return the mix on saucepan again over the medium heat. Mix with spoon till the mixture will start to thicken. When it`s thicken take it off from fire. In a bigger bowl place ice cubes and fill 2/3 of cold water and place the saucepan over the water. This is quick cooling process which will stop the cooking while still the saucepan is hot and the mixture will cool down quickly. It will take 10 mins approx. Take cake tin/ice cream machine bowl from freezer. Then pour the mixture in it.


If you are handling with ice cream machine please follow required handling time and programme. If you are handling like me without machine so place the tin into freezer again. And every between 30-45 minutes churn the mixture. Best way start from sides and upside down into middle. Make this process at least three times in a row. Then you will realize at the final process your ice cream is really settling.


For serving prepare hot water in a cup. Put your ice cream scoop into cup and let it stay for couple of minutes. Then scoop your home made tasty ice cream and serve it with any topping you like. Yummy isn`t it ?

Bon appetit!

Veggie Lasagne

Hello Food Adventure followers :)


Hope all of you getting over winter blues soon. Mother nature already started to showing her signs for spring time. So it`s awakening and cleaning time recently. And also just before Easter it`s a kind of detoxing period.


Almost two weeks ago Lent period started which is for the followers of lent this is the period abstain from meat and dairy products until Easter. And  I have convinced my fiance to keep up on the strict lent this year which I feed him with hearty vegan dishes, usually he is not very much keen on! As both of us coming from Mediterranean origin that is so easy to prepare tasty vegan dishes with Mediterranean way of cooking with Middle Eastern flavours. 


Well I would like to share couple of my easy cooking and delicious recipes which you can adapt to your own taste maybe with  replacing couple of ingredients. Here is one of my recipe - 


Veggie Lasagne :  


1 medium size Courgette
2 medium size Aubergines
2-3 peppers
1 medium size onion
200 gr mushrooms
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
500gr chopped tomatoes/passata
50ml olive oil
100gr feta cheese(optional)
200gr grated mozzarella cheese or sliced cheddar cheese
Lasagne sheets


First, chop the onion to chunk size. And follow to chop courgette, aubergines and peppers almost same chunk size. Cut half the mushrooms. Then put your saucepan on medium fire with olive oil in it. When the oil warmed up first put chopped onions and caramelized them for 3-4 minutes. Add all veggies and mix them with onions and sauté/cook for 10 minutes. They don`t need to cook well. When they are ready take of from heat and add seasoning(salt & pepper). 

While the veggie filling is getting a little cool off you can switch the oven on 170C and
prepare baking casserole. Cover the bottom of the baking casserole with little amount of tomato purée/passata then place one layer lasagne sheets to cover the dish completely. Then spread half amount of  cooked veggie mix to cover lasagne sheets. Crumble half of the feta cheese over the veggie mix. Then put another layer of lasagne sheets again. Repeat the same process  with spreading rest of veggie mix and crumble feta cheese all over. Then cover again with lasagne sheets. And pour over all tomato puree then cover the top with grated cheese or cheese slices. Then place in the oven to cook for an hour. We found this dish very yummy, hope you will like it too. 

Bon appétit!