August 15, 2015 is National Honey Bee Day. To some this may seem like an insignificant reason to celebrate, but honey bees are actually extremely important to our agriculture. Honey bees pollinate as many as 400 of our crops. Imagine a world without honey bees - a world where cross-pollination of many of our foods wouldn't occur naturally with the help of those small workers. Grocery stores and farmer's markets would be lacking fruits and vegetables like asparagus, apples, carrots, avocados and kale.
On August 15th, celebrate and thank these important creatures by indulging a little bit in this sweet, honey-filled treat.
Honey Bee Ice Cream
Ingredients:
- 2 cups 1% milk
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1-2 tbsp honey
Directions:
- In a small bowl, whisk the ingredients until the sugar is well mixed and mostly dissolved.
- Using an ice cream maker, churn the mixture for 25 minutes, or until thickened. (Or according to the directions specific to your ice cream maker.)
- About a minute before turning the machine off, slowly drizzle the honey into the bowl. Don't allow it to mix for too long - or the honey will disappear. You're looking for the swirls to stay in tact. Alternatively, when the ice cream is done, you can fold the honey into the mixture using a rubber spatula.
- Store the mixture in the freezer (in a freezer-safe container) for at least 2-3 hours before serving.
Enjoy on a warm day!
Kelsey is a graphic designer, blogger, and runner from New England. She's a lover of adventure, food and mornings. In addition to running her blog Spice & Dice, Kelsey's latest ventures are designing a cookbook and training for a marathon.
