Ice Cream (in a bag)

We have an abundance of mint. Apparently, its the one thing in our garden that the rabbits have no interest in, or maybe we have so much that they can't seem to put a dent in it. I've been cutting and drying it for tea for a month now. That, however, can only get you so far.

I came across a recipe for mint chocolate chip ice cream last summer. We don't have a ice cream maker so that never was attempted. Then I read this post and thought we'd give it a try. Who knew you could make ice cream in a bag. An attempt to hang on to these last days of summer.

I was surprised at how cold the bag of ice and salt got. The directions I found said five minutes till you had ice cream. Ours didn't work like that. I had put at least triple their recipe amount into our bags, guessing that makes the difference. We worked on that bag for over half an hour, until our hands were nearly frozen. It was still milk shake consistency at best. I tossed it into the freezer. Went back to it every hour to massage it a bit. It was a thick chunky milk shake by bed time. My hopes were not high as I went to bed.

By morning it was done. We tried it after dinner that night. And it turned out good. Much different flavor than store bought mint ice cream. A good, natural, vivid mint taste. Pretty perfect with chocolate chips.