Another of the treats of summer was making ice cream, cracking up the big block of ice and taking turns with the crank—hard work that was rewarded by getting to lick the dasher when the ice cream was ready. Today we can buy convenient small ice cream makers that allow you to put the freezer bowl into the freezer so there’s no chopping of ice and the churning goes much faster. I particularly like making my own ice cream because I can use pure ripe seasonal fruits and berries and pure cream, without all the additives of candies and cookies that go into the commercial varieties today. Also, it’s a good way to preserve berries if I’ve been tempted to stop at a nearby farm where you can pick your own—and I inevitably pick more than I can eat up.

　　

Ingredients

1 cup mashed strawberries or peaches (peeled and pitted) or other berries and fruits

　　3 to 4 tablespoons sugar

　　1/2 cup heavy cream

　　1/4 cup light cream

　　

Step 1

Put the bowl of your ice cream maker into the freezer 24 hours ahead (I usually keep it there all summer).

　　

Step 2

Mix the mashed berries or other fruit with 3 tablespoons of the sugar, then taste critically and add more if you like. Stir in the creams and pour everything into the icy bowl of the ice cream maker. Follow the manufacturer’s directions for freezing.

　　The Pleasures of Cooking for One by Judith Jones. Copyright © 2009 by Judith Jones. Published by Knopf. All Rights Reserved.Judith Jones is senior editor and vice president at Alfred A. Knopf. She is the author of The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food and the coauthor with Evan Jones (her late husband) of three books: The Book of Bread; Knead It, Punch It, Bake It!; and The Book of New New England Cookery. She also collaborated with Angus Cameron on The L. L. Bean Game and Fish Cookbook, and has contributed to Vogue, Saveur, and Gourmet magazines. In 2006, she was awarded the James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. She lives in New York City and Vermont.