“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well”. Virginia Woolf 

I started writing this post with the intention of sharing the Rice Noodle Salad I made for lunch with friends on Wednesday but then I realised I didn’t note down how I actually made the salad.  You see when it comes to creating dishes, it mostly comes down to convenience and subconsciously what I’ve been reading on the blogsphere. For example few weeks ago my work colleague mentioned an ice cream she tried few years ago (lemongrass and ginger) which made me start to think about tea, then thai food but how I’m not a fan of curries especially during the summertime even though Wellington summers are extremely mild compared to the Northern regions. I can’t recall where this whole train of thought was going but it ended up in a self hosted lunch with friends.  The dish: Thai Noodle Salad with lemongrass coconut ginger ice cream with lime syrup

The noodle salad was fresh, summery with hints of coriander, mint, toasted peanuts, sesame crusted tofu and very lightly drizzled with a homemade lemon sweet chilli sauce. If I create this again – would anyone be interested in the recipe? I’d probably be more consciously aware with measuring and noting things down  and so on if I knew that someone else may be inspired by my limited culinary skills. AND the ice-cream – pretty much 5 gold stars in terms of first time ice cream making skills.

Coconut, lemongrass and ginger icecream (adapted from Nordjus) 

5 lemon grass stalks
370ml coconut milk ( I used a standard can of coconut milk which came to about  400mls)
3 egg yolks (whoops used the whole egg, don’t think it made much difference)
90g caster sugar ( I was a bit liberal with this one and added a bit 10g more)
10ml cornflour (2 teaspoons)
120ml double cream ( for NZ readers -regular cream worked just fine)
finely grated rind of 1 lime

8 slices of fresh ginger cut into quarters

For the lime syrup

70g caster sugar
70g water or in my case of not knowing how you convert water into grams – enough water to cover the bottom of the pan
1 lime, thinly sliced
30ml lime juice ( I used lemon juice. Limes are expensive yo.)
Cut the lemon grass stalks in half lengthways and bruise them with a rolling pin or any other heavy object, I used a watermelon. Go figure. . Place in a saucepan with the ginger , add the coconut milk and bring to just below boiling point. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for about half an hour. Remove the lemon grass and ginger if you want . I left some of the ginger in to give the ice cream a bit more POW.

Whisk the egg yolks in a bowl with the sugar and cornflour until pale. Gradually add the coconut milk, whisking constantly.

Return to the saucepan and heat gently, stirring until the custard thickens. Remove from the heat, strain into a clean bowl and leave to cool. Chill.

Stir the cream and lime rind into the custard. Churn in a machine until thick. Freeze. ( or If you know the process on how to make ice-cream without a machine, I’d be interested in learning how)

To make the syrup, heat the sugar and water in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves. Boil for about 5 minutes without stirring. Reduce the heat, add the lime slices and juice and simmer for another 5 minutes. Cool.

Drizzle the syrup over the ice cream and then serve with fresh mint as a garnish.

images from weheartit

p.s I’m currently trying out themes for the blog as I’m currently annoyed that the previous one totally messed up my lists.