People Who Pick Berries Are Nicer

...claims the lady who owns our local raspberry patch.

I, uh...yell, er, I...was not...so nice to my kids that night.
So. Maybe we should go back.

La la, catch a few pics, then it was down to business. I'm not going to lie, I was there for the cheap produce. Hayden kept signing for 'more' until she figured out how to just pick it herself. That girl went to town. Abbey insisted on her outfit. I wouldn't wear wedges to work in the fields, but what do I know.

Ah...the bounteous supply. I also grabbed some local honey--have you heard the theory that it helps with allergies? I'll give it a shot.

I have too many plans for the two quarts of berries we picked. But the fan favorite has to be pairing it with delicious, homemade lemon ice cream. {Or for The Ville folk, Erin's Lemon Ice Cream :) }

Combine whole milk and sugar and heat over medium heat. Heat until hot but not simmering. Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Slowly pour half of the heated milk into the egg mixture, rapidly stirring the eggs with a wire whisk as you pour (like you would make pudding). Add the egg mixture into the remaining milk, slowly pouring and whisking the milk as you pour. Heat and stir mixture on medium-high heat until it reaches 160°. This should only take 4-5 minutes.
Cool and pour into a metal ice-cream maker canister. Chill in the fridge. Then stir in creams, vanilla, and lemon extract.

*The secret to good homemade icecream is the ratio between salt and ice. For every 2 inches of ice, add a layer of 1/4 c. rock salt. (A ratio of about 5 cups ice to 1 cup salt.)

*It's important to heat the icecream mixture to 160° like the recipe outlines. Heating an egg mixture to 160° will kill all salmonella that might be present in the eggs. This process doesn't change the taste or texture of this delicious icecream.

I make this recipe differently. But I'm giving you Erin's directions because she's the lemon ice cream queen.

In other news, it must be noted that The Abster learned how to swim this week. Not the "I can throw you in the deep end and you'll make it safely to the edge so the lifeguards at the club will let you go off the diving board" sort of swimming, mind you. But she'll jump a few feet out, sink like a rock, and furiously kick those little legs until she gets back to the steps. It makes me so, so happy to see her trying.

Also note: I think I can open my own pumpkin patch this fall!
Also. I think if I'm not careful, it will take over my yard and eat my children.