Plentywood Herald

Jack Frost's Ice Cream Freezer

Winter, to those of us who live in a flat country, or who have weak ankles, is too much of a trial. Without some hills for coasting, or without being able to skim over the ice on skates, the white season offers no thrills, but chills.

But the other day when the northern blasts were whipping about our back porch and winter's icy fingers had clutched the milk and cream which the dairyman had left, I had a thought and a thrill. If Jack Frost is such a good milk freezer, why not use him for an ice cream freezer? And so I did!

Now winter for me is entirely changed. Every cold day is welcome, and I anxiously scan the thermometer in the hopes that the temperature will be below zero so that we can have ice cream for supper or a chilled fruit cup for a party luncheon or frozen fruit salad for dinner.

This is the discovery I have made—that any of those frozen desserts which fortunate housewives make in their electric refrigerators, I can make on our back porch in zero weather. Probably you may have known this all along, so if you'll be bored, read no farther.

An out-of-doors cupboard will afford the housewife an opportunity to make all sorts of frozen desserts and chilled cocktails and salads. And if she will look through her recipe file and cook books and watch for the rules saying "pour into mold and pack in ice and salt," she may use the same proportions, pack into a baking powder or coffee can and set outside for nature to do the freezing. The following things have worked successfully on our back porch, try them on yours:

Coffee Parfait
1 cup strong coffee; 1 egg; ½ cup sugar; 1 cup whipping cream.

Make a custard of the coffee, egg and sugar, by cooking the three ingredients together over hot water and stirring constantly. Cook until it will coat a silver spoon and no longer. When the custard mixture is cool, fold into whipped cream. Pour into a coffee can and put out of doors to freeze. This will serve six people.

Prune Ice Cream
1 cup prunes; 1½ cups cold water; 1 cup sugar; 4 tbsp. lemon juice; 1 cup heavy cream; ½ tsp. salt.

Wash prunes and soak in cold water over night. Cook in same water very slowly until soft. Remove stones and put fruit pulp through sieve or puree strainer. Add the sugar, lemon juice, salt and heavy cream which has been beaten until stiff. Then place in mold, put out of doors to freeze. Makes six servings. Dried apricots or peaches could be used in place of the prunes.

Chocolate Mousse
2 squares bitter chocolate; ½ cup sugar; ½ cup cream; ½ cup milk; 3 tbsp. boiling water; ½ cup sugar; 1 tsp. vanilla; 1½ cups whipping cream; ½ tbsp. granulated gelatine.

Melt chocolate, add sugar and gradually cream and milk. Stir over fire until boiling point is reached, then add gelatine dissolved in boiling water, sugar and vanilla. Strain mixture into a bowl set in a pan of ice water. Stir constantly until thickens, then add remaining cream beaten until stiff. Mold, and put out of doors to freeze.

Orange Cream Sherbet
1½ cups sugar; 1 cup orange juice; ½ cup lemon juice; 2 cups milk; 1 cup whipping cream; few grains salt.

Mix sugar and fruit juices and add gradually milk and cream. Then salt. Place in molds and put outside to freeze. Other fruit juices, such as grape juice may be used in place of the orange and lemon.

Frozen Fruit Salad
½ cup diced bananas; ½ cup diced oranges; 1 cup diced peaches; ½ cup chopped nuts; ½ cup white grapes or white cherries; ½ cup sugar; 2 tbsp. lemon juice; 1 cup whipping cream.

Whip cream, fold in fruit, nuts and lemon juice. Put in container. If weather is freezing set out of doors and freeze. Serve in a cup-like leaf of head lettuce and garnish with a dressing made of equal parts of mayonnaise and whipped cream. Makes six servings.

Of course any of these frozen things may be packed in ice and salt instead of letting Jack Frost do the freezing, if you wish to serve them during warmer weather.

It will take three or four hours to freeze these desserts, depending on how thick the container is. I find it most satisfactory to put the ingredients together in the morning and set out to freeze. Then there will be no uncertainty as to whether the mixture will be stiff by evening.

Any of the ices which need to be beaten such as water ices and milk sherbets are not very satisfactory frozen the back porch method. But dishes which have whipped cream or a custard or gelatine as the foundation are delicious.