No Cook Chocolate Ice Cream

The problem with some no-cook ice creams is that they can be icy after they're done, but you won't have that problem with this one.

The huge advantage to doing a no-cook ice cream is that you don't have to wait as long for it to cool down before you churn it. If you have all the individual ingredients chilled, you could churn it immediately, particularly if your ice cream maker has a compressor.

If you've got a freezer-bowl model, you might want to give the mixture just a little refrigerator time, but an hour is probably sufficient.

Since the chocolate syrup is the main flavor in the ice cream, use one you like. I used Hershey's.

No-Cook Chocolate Ice Cream

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup chocolate syrup
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Whisk all of the ingredients together to combine.

If the ingredients aren't cold, refrigerate until fully chilled. Or, if you have an ice cream maker with a compressor (rather than a freezer bowl) you can churn right away.

Churn in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.

Transfer to a storage container and freeze until firm.

Watermelon and Peach Salsa

Oh my gosh, this salsa is good. You need to try it!

This started as a what-if, and I have to admit that I was a little bit skeptical of my own idea. I've made fruit salsas before, usually with mango or peach. But ... watermelon?

It totally worked.

Not only did it work but it was oh-my-gosh amazing.

The interesting thing was that as the mixture sat, it exuded a bit of liquid and the watermelon seemed to get a little denser, in a very good way.

I just can't say enough about how ridiculously good this is.

I made a pretty small batch because there are only two of us, but this could easily be doubled or tripled or quadrupled for a party.

And of course, adjust the heat to your liking. If you want to add more heat right off the bat, leave the seeds and ribs in the jalapeno. Or just add the other half of the pepper.

Watermelon Peach Salsa

1 tablespoon finely diced onion
1/2 jalapeno cored, seeded, and finely diced
2 teaspoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup cubed watermelon (about 1/4-inch pieces)
1 peach, peeled, pitted, and cut in bits about the same size as the watermelon
1/4 of a red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut a little smaller than the watermelon

Put the onion, jalapeno, lime juice, and salt in a small bowl while you prep the rest. The lime helps mute the sharpness of the onion and at the same time it picks up some of the heat of the jalapeno so it can mingle better with the fruits.

Add the watermelon, peach and bell pepper (I used red, but yellow or orange would look nice as well).

Stir to combine.

You can certainly serve this right away, but I think it improves with a little time to rest and let the flavors mingle - at least an hour, if possible.

The fruit exudes quite a bit of juice, so you can drain some of it before serving - but don't get rid of all of it, since there's a lot of flavor in that juice.

Slider buns

I watch a lot more videos online that I want to admit to. A lot are on Facebook, and more are on food sites. And YouTube, of course. But there aren't many that I like enough to keep. And fewer that I want to host on this site.

But when I saw this one, I thought it was too tasty not to share. Not only are the buns amazingly beautiful, but the technique is a little different that what you might have seen before. But not so different that you couldn't do this at home.

I hope you enjoy!

Have a great weekend!