Our house is one hundred and two years old this year. We have had it for just under a year, and have been living here only since Christmas. Yay for renovations! Less than 1% of the time this house has been standing has it been ours. I wonder about the people who were here before us often.

Did they love our awesome little house as much as we do now? Have any previous occupants been as scared of the basement as me? What were they thinking when they drywalled over the window in the bathroom?

We find hints about previous people living in our house often. When Mister checked out the attic we found a stack of ladies magazines from the 50′s (recipes from which will one day follow). Someone at our house must have enjoyed a game or two of marbles, because when we pulled off the deck, which was in a mostly decrepit state, we found a gaggle of marbles underneath. Mister jackhammered out and pulled up the cement sidewalks around our house, because they all channelled water towards the house rather than away, and we found some very interesting objects used as rebar, including two chairs, a trailer hitch and electrical stove elements. The people who lived here before us certainly were resourceful, but also must have been at least a little bananas. Drywalling over windows, partially converted knob and tube electric systems, amputations to support beams and patio stones sandwiched between layers of concrete using furniture for support have not made fixing up the house easier, that’s for sure. What were they thinking, who were they, where are they now?

It was a stupendously hot day the day that Mister and a few friends got most of the sidewalk removal done, so I got out our ice cream maker and made them a treat. This is a recipe from the veritable ice cream queen and fellow intrepid culinary adventurer, Trish.

Banana Ice Cream

(recipe from Trish)
Ingredients

3/4 Cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbsp lemon juice
3 bananas
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 Cups coffee cream

Directions
  • In a large bowl, mix together the brown sugar, salt and lemon juice.
  • Peel the bananas and cut them into one inch pieces.
  • Force the banana, a few pieces at a time, through a fine mesh sieve using the side of a metal spoon. This will be a laborious process, but it is very worth it.
  • Scrape the banana puree from the underside of the sieve into the bowl, mixing to combine it with the sugar mixture.
  • Add the cream, stirring to blend.
  • Pour directly into an ice cream maker and freeze until desired texture is reached (~20 minutes).
  • Place in the freezer for about an hour in a resealable container, so that it will harden up a bit for better scooping.
This ice cream, being a Philadelphia styled ice cream, is fantastically easy because there is no custard to make and no chill time before going into the ice cream maker. You take your cream, sugar and fruit, put them together, and have ice cream! Getting the bananas through the sieve was a bit of work though.
The ice cream has a great velvety creamy texture, and the banana flavor really does shine very true. As is noted on Trish’s recipe, this ice cream is definitely a keeper.
Mister says that this is his favorite ice cream I’ve churned out yet. He says it is the best banana ice cream ever, and that it really deserves chocolate sauce.