Introduction
(by Ashley McIlwain)

If you’ve been around long, you know about our Table For Two feature. We share recipes for you to try out and enjoy with your spouse and family because nothing brings people together like good food! In some ways with our busy lives buzzing, we have lost the art of meal-sharing. We are running in too many different directions all of the time to manage landing in the same spot at the same time for a meal. And it’s a shame because dinner time is one of the best times to connect and recharge your relationship with your loved ones.

Here at Foundation Restoration, we want to encourage you to take back dinner time. Gather round that dining room table with those you love, and enjoy a delicious meal, meaningful conversation, laughter, and memories. You won’t regret carving out that time to connect with your spouse and children.

Though Table For Two took somewhat of a hiatus recently, we are back with brand new recipes for you to whip up. My friend Chef Loryn Purvis has generously agreed to share her talents and tasty culinary concoctions with us, and we couldn’t be more thrilled! Not only is Loryn a hard-working mama to her two beautiful kiddos, but she is also the loving wife to her husband, BJ of nearly nine years. It’s been wonderful to see how she has continued to serve her family while also sharing her love and passion for cooking with the world through her online meal planning website Menu Therapy. Here she helps busy parents and serious home cooks alike, prepare meals using whole-foods and fresh ingredients.

It truly is an honor to have Loryn sharing her gifts and talents with all of us in our Table For Two feature! We know you will love her stories and recipes, and we believe that you, your marriage, and your family will be blessed as you come together and connect with each other at the table.

And … if all of this wasn’t exciting enough, to kick things off, Loryn has generously offered to give away a year-long subscription to Menu Therapy! So, make sure you keep reading to get your hands on a delicious recipe and to find out how you can get entered to win!

 

By Loryn Purvis

This has been the year that my husband and I have finally put the “in sickness and in health” part of our marriage vows into practice. Thankfully neither of us is actually really sick; I was just on pregnancy bed rest for the last 2 ½ months. During that time my husband, BJ, has taken care of our two year old son and me all day, everyday. It’s been kind of insane! He has continued to work full time, prepare dinner for the family, keep our house as clean as humanly possible, and so much more. He has seriously been a rock star, and I don’t know how we would have managed without his awesome attitude and caring nature. Kellan, our brand new baby, Allie, and I are very lucky to have him.

One weekend in the midst of all of this craziness, he took our son to the local strawberry field to pick some berries. Cutest thing ever! Of course I so wish I would have been able to go with them, but it’s really all about the experience for Kellan and he always has the best time with his daddy! I sent them out the door with two empty baskets and anxiously awaited their return. Two hours later a very proud little boy marched through the door carrying a basket full of beautiful strawberries and sporting a huge smile.

“Look what I brought for you!” he beamed.

BJ followed behind with the second basket of bright red berries. I could smell their sweet scent from the couch! We quickly washed up a few and tasted the treasure. They were so juicy, sweet, and soft enough to easily bite right into, but not mushy. I doubt there’s a more simple pleasure than the taste of freshly plucked strawberries. I knew right away what we needed to do with them. It was an unseasonably warm weekend so homemade strawberry ice cream seemed like it would be a winner … and it was!

From my seemingly permanent perch on the couch, I coached BJ through the homemade ice cream making process. We started out with an ice cream base made of half and half, sugar, a vanilla bean, egg yolks and finished with heavy cream. I’ll admit, I jumped up off the couch and tackled the yolk-whisking part as I was less than confident that BJ’s effort was getting them to the fluffy state they needed to be in. (Whew! That was a work out for a girl who has been sedentary for two months!)

Once the base chilled, we stirred in about a pound of pureed berries and then let the ice cream maker do its thing. After only a half hour of churning it was ready to go into the freezer. This is the KEY to good homemade ice cream. Sure, you can go for it right out of the maker. That’s what most people do. But that’s also why most people’s homemade ice cream is really soupy and never makes it to the creamy, firm texture you expect from ice cream. We let ours freeze overnight, but if you can’t wait that long, I would suggest at least 3 to 4 hours for better results.

This was some seriously good ice cream. I enjoyed a small bowl every night until it finally ran out and even shared bowls with our Life Group. It got rave reviews … especially the texture. They couldn’t believe it was homemade!

You may or may not have a strawberry field from which to pick your berries, but I bet your grocery store is starting to stock some good looking berries. Give those a shot or use this same ice cream base with a fresh fruit that does grow in your neck of the woods. I promise it won’t disappoint!

strawberryicecream

Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups half-and-half
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 whole vanilla bean
  • 9 whole large egg yolks
  • 3 cups heavy cream
  • 1 lb. strawberries, hulled
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  1. Stir half-and-half and 2 cups sugar in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Split the vanilla bean, scrape out goodness inside, and add it in. Heat the mixture until it’s hot but not simmering or boiling.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the egg yolks vigorously with a whisk until they start to lighten in color and get fluffy. You can use an electric mixer but be careful not to overdo it.
  3. Using a ladle, slowly drizzle a bit of the half-and-half mixture into the egg yolks, whisking continuously. This is called “tempering” the egg yolks and will bring them up to a warm enough temperature so that when you add them to the hot half and half the eggs don’t scramble. You can do this again for good measure if you’d like.
  4. Pour the tempered yolks into the saucepan with the rest of the half and half mixture and stir gently with a wooden spoon for 2 to 4 minutes, cooking it slowly until it’s thick enough to coat the spoon.
  5. Pour the entire mixture into a bowl through a fine mesh strainer. This will get rid of any eggs that might have accidentally scrambled. Nothing is worse than ice cream with bits of scrambled egg mixed in!
  6. Add the heavy cream to the bowl and stir gently to combine. Refrigerate this mixture for 2 hours.
  7. Meanwhile, combine the strawberries and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a blender. Puree until smooth. Pour the pureed strawberries into the chilled custard mixture and stir to combine.
  8. Now pour this mixture into your ice cream maker and churn according to the manufacturer’s directions. Transfer it to a freezer-safe container and freeze it for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.

TFTGiveaway

This giveaway has ended!

Congratulations to our WINNER … Lori!!!

Table For Two Giveaway Terms:

 PLEASE READ INSTRUCTIONS CAREFULLY to ensure eligibility! LEAVE A COMMENT below on today’s article to get entered to win our Table For Two Giveaway (EVERYONE MUST LEAVE A COMMENT TO GET ENTERED). For additional entries do one or more of the following (most items are clickable to take you where you need to go), AND MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE WHICH YOU DID IN YOUR COMMENT BELOW!!! If you have already done any of the items listed below (for example, you “liked” us on Facebook prior to this giveaway), make sure to still include which you did in your comment below (ALL ENTRIES WILL BE VERIFIED, so please be honest)!!!

  1. LEAVE A COMMENT on this post!
  2. LIKE FOUNDATION RESTORATION on Facebook
  3. LIKE MENU THERAPY on Facebook!
  4. FOLLOW FOUNDATION RESTORATION (@FndRestoration) on Instagram
  5. FOLLOW MENU THERAPY (@MenuTherapy) on Instagram
  6. FOLLOW FOUNDATION RESTORATION on Twitter! (Include your Twitter username in your comment – i.e., @FndRestoration)
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  10. SIGN UP to receive the free FOUNDATION RESTORATION e-newsletter!

Entries must be received by Monday, May 11th at midnight Eastern Standard Time. Winners will be selected randomly and notified by email. Make sure to add info@foundationrestoration.org to your contacts to ensure delivery of the email. Winner will have 3 days to respond before winnings are forfeited.

 

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