Weekly Photo Challenge – Texture

 

peach and blueberry crisp with salted caramel ice cream...hmmmm
peach and blueberry crisp with salted caramel ice cream…hmmmm

Texture – the way a food or drink feels in your mouth – smooth, crispy, crunchy, chewy….

MW_textureThat’s Merriam-Webster’s definition, but like most words we use we end up having a working definition of the word. To me texture means many things, it’s the way I wear clothes, to the way our house is landscaped, but I love to cook, to create, and have fun but the food on the plate needs to have a different texture and different feel when you eat it.

the ice cream maker - salted and iced
the ice cream maker – salted and iced

B ordered a new ice cream maker for the cottage and she has made a couple of batches, but I wanted to try something adventurous and yesterday afternoon I whipped up a batch of Salted Caramel Ice Cream. I followed the recipe and let it chill. I had never used the ice cream maker before, B and her sister had made the first couple of batches, so I had to read and re-read the instructions to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. I patiently added the ice, then the rock salt, then more ice, and more rock salt. The machine churned and churned and slowly it began to slow down and I knew it was ready. I tasted it and it tasted rich, creamy, sweet and salty, but the texture needed to be firmer for later in the day.

I finished a few chores and began to prepare dinner – ribs, baked, beans, and corn on the cob. Usually, I am the camp cook, but B joined me in the kitchen and she whipped together the peach and blueberry crisp. Cooking dinner took longer than I expected and we finally sat down to eat just after sunset, there was enough light to see, but it wasn’t the plate appeal – seeing the food, but the tastes and textures of the food that made dinner good. Pork ribs sweet savory and smokey with hint of spice, gnawing every bite off the bones. Corn on the cob buttery, salty, crunchy, wet, and sweet. Baked beans with crispy bacon on top sweet, hot, slightly spicy, and smooth underneath.

ribs_plate
dinner – corn on the cob, ribs, and baled beans

B’s crisp was out of the oven and ready to eat, but we were all to done from a day on the lake to sit down and eat it. Plus, our guests arrived – my nephew and his girlfriend and their new puppy – from Ohio and the visiting ensued. Ivy and the puppy met and wanted to play. The kids wanted to play with the puppy, especially O. And we all wanted to visit, catch up, and talk about plans for Saturday and Sunday.

This morning, I spooned out some crisp, gently reheated it in the microwave, and scooped out some of the ice cream. It was delicious. I can’t wait to share with everyone today.

It’s our last Saturday up North and we pack up and leave sometime tomorrow. We have some packing, some cleaning, some chores, and whole lot of fun to squeeze in before now and the time we leave. Today is gonna be a great day, it’ll be layered in all sorts of textures – fun, work, duty, and more fun. Making the days Count, one day at a time, one big bite, one small bite, one savory bite, and one slow bite at a time.

What is one of you favorite summer foods?

Today’s post is in response to the Daily Post’s Weekly Photo Challenge – prompt – at Word Press.  The week’s prompt is “Texture.” This week, share a texture found in an unexpected place. It could be made of natural materials, as in these images, or with man-made objects.

This is a great opportunity to look at the world in a slightly different way — along with looking at things from new angles, zooming very far out or very far in are both great ways to create texture and pattern in photos.

Have a creative day!

Natalia

11 thoughts on “Weekly Photo Challenge – Texture

    1. the crunch was crunch and ice cream cold and smooth – there were a couple of crunch bits in the cice cream because not all of the caramel dissolved – it was sweet and cold, too…. and good! I’ll have to make another batch…

  1. yeah i’d say most of my younger freinds have never even played with or heardf of the old ice cream makers ….aalthough i see urs is electric 🙂 when kids we used to flip a coin to see who would have to go the first round of churning the mix to become ice cream 🙂 …dad used to chip in cry ice also with the ice to make it extra special , and well, wasn’t good ice cream if it didn’t have some raw vanilla frum mexico wed buy when down there 🙂 ah but memories of the machine long long ago,,, make me wanna go pull out da ice kreme maker now 🙂 ..mmmmmmmmmmm Q

    1. My wife got the ice cream make because we had one and then we didn’t – it must’ve been discarded because it didn’t work… anyway she remembers making ice cream with her dad and wanted to relive some of the memories… it’s been a good and not so good summer as we lost him in June. He was a great man and positive influence on us all, and he made a great ice cream. Thank you for swinging by – have a great week!

    1. Margaret 0 We don’t have damsons (I had to look it up) that I know of… and they look wonderful. We are not far from the ‘sweet fruit coast’ of Lake Michigan – peaches, cherries, and blueberries.. the season brought some of the sweetest fruit in years…. next we have apples in late summer\early fall….. then winter sets in… and it all starts anew.. the ice cream was a hit, but you could only hgave a little – too rich and a tad bit salty but it complimented the crunch well.. have a great week and enjoy an evening with a bowl of summer pudding. Clay

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