Good Times & Vanilla Ice Cream

The weather here has turned sweet and we feel as if we can finally welcome spring definitively in all its glory. The flowers, which have been patiently waiting for the right signals, are confident enough to begin their blooming.

It is a tremendous pleasure to be out on the terrace in the sun. Rick was thrilled and surprised to hear me say one day that I intended to spend the entire day doing nothing much but sunbathing, sketching and whiling away my hours on the terrace. This is entirely out of character. But who could resist?

What else to sketch, but the colorful mutabilis roses? They are such show-offs!

I have been engaged in a certain amount of spring cleaning which, for me, always involves some furniture rearrangement. Doors and windows are left open, which makes the household tasks seem all the more pleasant.

I have enjoyed greeting our clients, brewing tea, serving breakfasts and making dinners. When the markets are so full of fresh fruits and vegetables, making meals is a real pleasure.

I often serve Marie-Claire's tarte for dessert - simple, but beautiful and tasty.

Often I also make homemade ice cream. There is no comparison between what you can make at home and what you buy at a supermarket. If you have an ice cream maker, there is hardly anything easier or more delicious than a simple vanilla ice cream.

Put 375 ml of milk and 375 ml of heavy cream in a pan and bring to a boil. You can add a vanilla bean or coffee beans to flavor the mixture. Once boiled, leave to cool (remove beans once the mixture is cooled). Beat 7 egg yolks with 170 g of caster (very fine) sugar until fluffy and very pale yellow. When milk and cream mixture are sufficiently cooled, but not cold, add to egg mixture and combine. Leave this in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours then put into an ice cream maker. An electric machine takes about 20 minutes to turn your creamy mixture into delicious ice cream.

I have a Krups ice cream maker and I'm very happy with it.