The Secret to Perfect Homemade Ice Cream

I have a problem. It's a serious problem, one that has cursed my thighs and waistline since I was five.

I am Robin King and I am an ice cream-aholic. 

There. I said it. I love ice cream. Cones, sundaes, shakes, with or without toppings, it doesn't matter. I love it. My favorite ice cream of all time is HOMEMADE! My problem is so bad that I currently have 3 different ice cream makers and I'm always on the lookout for another.

Luckily, our Delicious Reads book this month, The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker, gives me the perfect excuse to pull out my ice cream makers and gain a few pounds. One of the characters in the book, Mahmoud Saleh is an itinerant ice-cream vendor in 1899 New York. Now we all don't need to be old school like Saleh with an old fashioned ice cream churn, but EVERYONE can have successful homemade ice cream.

An old-fashioned wooden ice cream churn
like Saleh used in The Golem and the Jinni (source).

Since I've been around the block a few times when it comes to homemade ice cream, I'm going to give you my best kept SECRET to the perfectly creamy homemade ice cream. It's not the mixer. It's not the cream or sugar. It's not the milk or the vanilla. It's the . . .

SALT!!

Yes, I said SALT. 

Now I'm not talking about the pinch of salt that you add to the actual ice cream. I'm talking about the ROCK SALT that you use with your ice in your ice cream maker. The salt isn't as important as how you use it. In fact, to save money, I buy one of those big 50 pound bags of water softener rock salt for about $5 and keep it in a 5 gallon bucket. It keeps for years and you don't have to worry about how much you use. Because the real key to homemade ice cream is all about using A LOT of rock salt.

All of you science geeks out there know that the reason we use rock salt is to lower the freezing point of the ice to freeze the cream. Now every ice cream maker is a little different, but here is my rule: for every 3 inches of ice, add 1/2 cup of rock salt.  Just keep layering until you reach the top of your canister, but don't cover it.

If you pack the salt and ice correctly (and add a layer as the ice melts), you should get perfectly creamy ice cream in 30-45 minutes for a 4-6 quart canister. Just follow the instructions that come with your ice cream maker!! If you want ice cream that works for a cone, don't forget the RIPENING & HARDENING STEP. This just means that you remove the beater, put the top back on, cork/plug the hole at the top, put more ice and salt around the canister, and cover with a towel.

Here's a good guide as to how much ice and salt you need:

Freezer Size	Ice for Making	Ice for Ripening	Rock Salt Making	Rock Salt Ripening
4 qts.	10 lbs.	5 lbs.	2-1/2 cups	2-1/2 cups
5 qts.	15 lbs.	5 lbs.	3 cups	3 cups
6 qts.	20 lbs.	5 lbs.	3-1/2 cups	3-1/2 cups

Now you may be thinking this all sounds a bit complicated, but once you've done it once, it is super easy and fun. And yummy! 

But, Robin, you may be asking, what about for those of us that are too scared or lazy to use ice and salt. Can we still enjoy homemade ice cream? Why, yes. Yes, you can. In fact, one of my favorite ice cream makers is a 1.5 quart ice cream maker that requires no ice or salt. The bottom part stays in the freezer until you are ready to use it. It has a special solution that freezes perfectly every time. All you have to do is put in your ingredients. It is ready in 20-25 minutes and makes enough for 2-3 people.

My favorite no-ice-no-salt Ice Cream Maker!

So what is my secret for using an ice cream maker like this? Use the instructions that comes with it!! I have found that if I use the recipes that come with my maker and follow it to a T, the ice cream is perfect every time.

My favorite recipe is this one (I double, triple or quadruple this one depending on the machine I use:

Easy Vanilla Ice Cream

(for 1.5 Quart Capacity)

1 1/2 cup whole milk

3/4 cup sugar

dash salt

1 cup half and half

1/2 cup whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine milk and sugar. Stir with a wire whisk until sugar is dissolved. Stir in half and half, whipping cream and vanilla. Pour into canister and freeze. 

**If you want to do an Oreo or Candy Bits flavor, just add 1-2 cups AFTER the mixture is thick (I usually do it the last 2-3 minutes). For fruit flavoring, like Strawberry, I like to add 2 cups of pureed fruit at the beginning and then at least 1 cup of chunks AFTER as well. For chocolate ice cream, combine 3 ounces of chopped semisweet chocolate with the milk and sugar, put in the microwave for 2 minutes and stir. Return to microwave in 30 second intervals until the chocolate is melted. Then stir in the half and half, whipping cream, and vanilla. You may want to refrigerate it before using the ice cream maker.

Now pull out that ice cream maker (or borrow one) and make at least one batch of ice cream this summer. Your spouse will thank you, your kids will lick their bowls, and your waistline, well, it will keep you warm in the winter.

Source

XoXo, Robin

P.S. For those awesome people that made it to the bottom of this post, you get to be the first to know that I will be doing a COVER REVEAL next week for my book Remembrandt which will be coming out Fall 2014!!

I Have an Announcement

No, I'm not pregnant. We're not moving. I'm not going back to school (yet) and no one is graduating from anything.

But...

I have butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it. Are you sitting down? 

I just signed my first writing deal! A publisher wants to publish my 1st book, Remembrandt (a young adult romantic suspense novel). Whoo hoo!!

I sent Walnut Springs Press my manuscript over 18 months ago and a few months back they contacted me asking if it was still available. Three weeks later I signed the contract!

Now before you all think I'm going to be famous and have movie deals or clothing lines and a fan club, let me clear it up for you. It is a smaller publisher. The book will be available online in print or electronic form (Amazon and Deseret Book) and at local bookstores, mostly Deseret Book, Costco and any others that accept books from Brigham Distributing.

I am hoping this is a step in the right direction in my writing career (can I call it that yet?). I'm just super excited that a publisher actually liked my book and wants to get it out there for me. If things go well, they would also like to publish more books in this series.

The past few weeks have been a little crazy with meeting the publisher, going over contracts, and helping prepare sample covers and ideas (all while taking care of 5 kids, no biggie). I even did a photo shoot for the book cover.  The next few months will be filled with revisions and grueling edits.

My First EVER manuscript all printed out, crisp and clean.
From what I hear, it will soon be plastered with pen marks, pages ripped and torn out, and tears shed.

If all goes as planned, Remembrandt should come out this November. THIS NOVEMBER! It's all a little fast and I am really nervous, but it's my foot in the door and I'm hoping it will open up my writing opportunities for the future.

Wish me luck!

Robin

Delicious and Healthy 4th of July Foods

As you all know by now, writing and reading are two passions of mine. I also LOVE food. I've always believed there is a healthy relationship between books and food. Palatable pages and delectable foods, one cannot exist without the other. Or can they?

With Independence Day around the corner, family and friends coming over to celebrate the big day, you may not have time to pull out The Goldfinch to finish those last few pages (Delicious Reads June book) or crack open The Golem and the Ginni (I get to moderate this book for our July book club!). But you HAVE to make time for that 4th of July food that will make everyone's mouths water. Now I know you want to wow your guests with your PATRIOTIC creativity without adding extra pounds. Here are some of my favorites:

Who doesn't like a salad that has a burst of flavor and color? This Red, White, and Blue Summer Salad is a crowd favorite and light on the calories.

Aren't these Red, White, and Blue Deviled Eggs fabulous looking? Everyone loves a classic deviled egg--adding some food coloring to make these into a bright holiday food will delight your guests and your mouth.

Blue Berries & Watermelon

Simple, fast, and healthy!

You can't have a 4th of July meal without the "rockets red glare." Not only are these Rocket Dogs tasty, but you can use turkey hot dogs (I love the Sara Lee brand!) and low fat Pillsbury dough to make these on the healthy side.

Use your cookies cutters and turn your watermelon into stars for a Patriotic Fruit Salad.

Or make them into 4th of July Wands. I know my daughter would love to wave these around before eating them up!

Why not make your vegetable tray fit the holiday as well? There are plenty of red and white vegetables that would make this American Flag Vegetable Tray perfect for your table. Make your own dill dip with fat free sour cream, light mayonnaise, and fat free cream cheese to keep the calorie count down. Or just buy a premade dip to make this fast and easy.

No one can resist this Festive Fourth of July Trifle from Craftaholics Anonymous. To make it even healthier, use fat-free sour cream and sugar-free jello. 

**Start this one a day or two in advance so each layer can set up properly**

There are so many healthy salsas out there. Why not make it red, white, and blue too? This Blueberry, Strawberry, and Jicama Salsa will add a little spice to your party. Buy some blue corn chips or multigrain baked chips from Costco. You can also make your own healthy chips by cutting corn tortillas with a pizza cutter, spray lightly with cooking spray, sprinkle with salt, and place them in a 400 degree oven for 8-12 minutes.

 I hope you enjoy your Independence Day this Friday and if you do have time, check out some recommendations of Summer Reads from my friend Brooke to make your day perfectly delicious.

Robin

My Favorite Children's Book Author: Kevin Henkes

As many of you know, I love books. Read 'em. Write 'em. Collect 'em. I know our society is moving into a digital age and I love technology, but there's something about books that makes me happy. About 15 years ago I discovered this fabulous children's book author and illustrator, Kevin Henkes. His fun and quirky books teach lessons and usually make my kids and I laugh.

My favorite of his books is Julius, the Baby of the World where the main character, Lilly, learns to appreciate her new baby brother when she has to stand up for him.

Several of his books have mice as the main characters, including Lilly, which was the feature character at the Children's Book Festival this year.

I want a purple purse too!

To find out more about Henkes and his books, check out my article, Children's Book Author Adults Will Love on Delicious Reads, where I include excerpts, quotes and a video from Henkes.

Writer's Workshop: How Lying Makes You a Better Writer

Stephen Colbert probably didn't know it at the time he coined the word in 2005, but TRUTHINESS is what fiction authors live, breathe, and bleed onto every page we write. Without our verisimilitude, the worlds and characters we create wouldn't be believable.

Verisimilitude, you say?

Now I bet you are all thinking that the above word is a little too long and not at all useful, especially in everyday talk. I recently attended a writing conference that had a class entitled Verisimilitude. I tried to avoid attending the class, but accidentally walked into the wrong room and felt awkward leaving, so I just stuck around. Boy was I glad I gave it a chance. Deren Hansen was the genius teacher leading the class.

So what is verisimilitude and how can it help you become a better writer? First off, let's do a little defining here:

So truthiness and verisimilitude are one and the same. They are the poker face. And in writing, they make us all liars. Writing fiction is just a step removed from lying. Now that you know that truth, how can being a LIAR-LIAR-PANTS-ON-FIRE make you a better writer?

First of all, you have to realize that in every novel you write, you are essentially acting as an illusionist. I recently read Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold. In this fabulous book, Carter the Great is able to convince the audience of his magic through his skills as an illusionist. Many of his great tricks required months of planning and building contraptions that mimicked a reality for the audience. Everything in his act had a purpose from the way he dressed or flicked his wrist to his beautiful assistants--everything perfectly orchestrated to draw the audience's attention. The audience would watch his shows and really believe in his magic. The funny thing is that most of the magic really happened in their heads. In essence, Carter was the greatest verisimilutudist of his time (or maybe I should say that Gold is?).

Stories, like the best lies, are based on truth. As a writer, we need to come up with a Truth Center to make our lie effective. Just like an illusionist, we have to plan our world and our characters. Do wands create magic? Does John love ice cream? Do the two moons of Elga rise at dinner each night? Answering these questions will make our Truth Center. As our story unfolds, we must stick to the rules we have created in our Truth Center.

Does that mean that we have to tell every detail? No, we just select the interesting and cut out the boring stuff. Let the readers fill in the rest. Howard Tayler (Schlock Mercenary) has said, "The monster you imagine when I say something goes bump in the dark is far scarier than anything I could describe." Less is always more.

What we can do to increase verisimilitude:

1. Postpone reader gratification
2. Defy their expectations
3. Show counter-intuitive effects
4. Establish characters capable of heroism and cowardice, making it harder to predict what they will do
5. Establish a pattern and then break it. This causes as much tension for the reader as it does for the characters
6. Readers, like fish, need to be coaxed to the climax with cycles of tension and release. Reader worry powers the story engine.

We all love roller coasters (most of us, anyway) because we know they are carefully engineered to bring us back to the gate. A story, like a roller coaster, follows the same path, but readers want to feel as though anything in the context of the narrative is possible. We don't want to be told exactly where we are going, we want to experience the ride. To do that, we have to follow the Rules of 2:

1. Every non-trivial element should be brought to the reader's attention at least twice
2. Every character should have the potential and opportunity to make at least two choices.

Make what you are writing appear easy. It is hard to have verisimilitude if the writing is poor. Good writing, like the experienced ballerina who split leaps high in the air, should appear effortless and invisible. Hansen says the best way we can do this is by using competent wordsmithing.

Some other wordsmithing tips:

1. Stick with simple forms of speech tags - he said, she asked. They shouldn't distract attention from the dialogue.
2. Adverbs should only be used in speech tags to modify the act of speaking ('said loudly', NOT 'said spitefully')

Make sure your numbers add up too. Someone is going to check your facts. Anytime there are critical details, make sure you are accurate. I recently went to a book launch where author Brodi Ashton was talking about her book, Everneath. Apparently she had the distance between Park City and another city wrong in her book. She hates it when people bring it up. Obviously it hasn't ruined the success of her book, but those readers that notice it are taken out of the story for a minute or two because that verisimilitude wall broke down. Author is the root of the word "authority". As an author, you are saying you are the authority on what you have written. Make it so (as Jean Luc Picard would say).

AUTHORITY

Readers need to believe you know what you are doing. You don't need to be an expert, but you need to do you homework. You don't have to write just what you know. You DO have to know what you write. What do you do if you don't know the details? Don't cover up the scandal. Acknowledge it and move on so that the reader doesn't think you made a mistake.

At the end of the day, remember that truthiness can be hardwork. Perception is everything. Now get out there and start lying, author! If someone catches you in a lie, just tell them you are working.

20 Mother's Day Gift Ideas For Your Book Lover

In collaboration with Delicious Reads, I put together this list to delight that book lovin' mom of yours!

Mother's Day is just a week away. If you're like me, you've probably been thinking about getting that literary mom of yours a thoughtful gift to show her how much you love her.  You've probably even realized that the $10 potted plant staring at you as you walk into Walmart probably won't cut it as the kind of unique present your mom deserves. What do you get the wonderful woman who seems to always know what to get you? Look no further! Check out these creative gifts that are bound to bring a smile to her eye and, dare I say, maybe a tear drop or two of delight.

20 Mother's Day Gift Ideas for the Book Lover:

1. Personal Library Book Embosser - For a bibliophile, there's no greater pleasure than sharing beloved books, but no crueler pain than losing them for good. Press your personalized embossing stamp to all your books to make sure they make it home. 

2. Bathtub Caddy with Reading Rack - Perfect for an evening bubble bath with a good book for complete and total relaxation. Pair it with some bath salts to give your mom a home day at the spa.

3. Book Locket Necklace - This beautiful detailed brass book locket is one of the latest additions to the Secret Message Locket line of jewelry. Highly detailed with floral and leaf engravings this locket includes a strip of accordion folded parchment paper so you can personalize this lovely piece for your special mom.

4. Creative Ways to Organize Your Home - If your mom loves to read, then she probably needs to get organized so that she fit more books on her shelves. Wherever you need small-scale storage solutions - from the kitchen to the bathroom, the bedroom to the study - you will find a stylish, crafty solution in this book.

5. Fables and Feathers Duvet Cover - Read between the sheets! Currently sold out from Anthropologie, but you can create your own by scanning the pages of her favorite book and making a custom duvet cover through CafePress! 

6. Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson - Does Jane Austen grace the shelves of your mom's library? If you have ever seen your mom gushing over a young and lake-soaked Colin Firth, she will love this clean romance that is reminiscent of Pride and Prejudice. 

7. Vintage Book iDock - For the bibliophile on your gift list: this repurposed tome holds a hidden iPhone or iPad charger. From Rich Neeley Designs, who are inspired by a love of vintage books.

 

8. Hand-Woven Palm Carryall Gift Set - With a beautiful bag to carry her favorite books, this set includes essentials for a quick getaway or relaxing retreat: Includes a Hand-Woven Palm Carryall, Calepino Blank Pocket Notebooks and Hand-Poured Travel Candle. 

9. Mr. Darcy's Finest Earl Grey - If your mom can't get enough of the Regency Period and loves a good spot 'a tea, this gift is for her. She'll take pride in her refined side with Mr. Darcy's special Earl Gray. An exquisite black tea accented with chocolate, bergamot and fine silver dragees. Touches of elegance befitting a gentleman, and gentlewoman.

10. Paddywax Library Boxed Glass Candle Collection - The Paddywax Library Collection pairs exquisite fragrance with a quote from a literary great. 

11. Book Scarf - Have her show of her great taste in books with these fabulous scarves filled with words from her favorite book. Reading is fashionable!

12. The Great Gatsby Bowtie Necklace - Your mom will party like Jay Gatsby with this quirky bow tie necklace presented on a postcard print featuring a quote from The Great Gatsby.

13. Ideal Book Shelf Prints - These beautiful prints to hang on your wall or place on a desk can reflect your mother's reading style. You can also have a custom art painted with books from her own shelf!

14. Personal Library Kit - Want to lend out your favorite books, but worried about getting them back? Revive old-fashioned library circulation techniques for fun and book retention with our classic bestseller!

15. One Line a Day - Let your mom bring to life her inner-writer. This classic memory keeper is the perfect way to track the ups and downs of life, day by day.

16. Book of Tissue - Now she can read her favorite tear-jerker and wipe away her sorrows with this unique tissue box.

17. Book Dust Jackets - FREE! Download these fabulous book jackets for your mom (and maybe for yourself as well). Give her a new book creatively covered with these fun dust jackets or print her off several to cover the books already on her shelves.

18. Twisted Pages Book Art - She loves to read - why not give her decor to match her love? These fabulous vintage books are rescued from the landfill & handcrafted into a letter or symbol of your choice.

19. Book Lover's Scrabble: “Good friends, good books….this is the ideal life.” – Mark Twain The Book Lovers Edition of Scrabble features 2 ways to play including traditional Scrabble fun or custom play with a novel twist allowing players to earn bonus points for literary words. Your mom will love this gift if you promise to join her for game night. 

20. Floating Book Shelves - For an ultra-minimal look, this bookshelf mounts to the wall and becomes invisible behind a stack of books, giving the books the appearance of floating in mid-air. 

Show your literary mom how much you love her and unique she is with these great gift ideas for Mother's Day this year. 

Robin