Homemade Blackberry Ice Cream

Yesterday I dusted off the ice cream maker to make our first batch of ice cream for the summer. Since we had blackberries on hand from last week's trip to Green Country Farms it was perfect to use them up in a batch of ice cream. Ah, what a little bit of heaven for the taste buds! If we had this sitting in the freezer all the time I'd probably gain 20 pounds! My oldest son is already asking me to make another batch sometime and we still have plenty left from this one. But I hear the peaches have already shown up in the farmer's market and fresh peach ice cream also sounds like a piece of summertime heaven to me. We have one more batch of blackberries in the freezer, so I am sure we will be having another batch of blackberry ice cream before the summer is over.

I keep thinking about Ohio and Mom and Dad. I would love for the boys to go berry picking with their Papaw, and then we could whip up a batch of ice cream to share on their back porch while listening to the sounds of a summer evening. Maybe the boys could even help Dad make a batch of blackberry jam to take home with us so we could savor our visit long after we return home. But, sadly, it doesn't look like a trip to Ohio is in the cards anytime soon. 

Blackberry Ice Cream

3 cups blackberries

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

2 1/4 cups half and half

1 vanilla bean or 2 tsp vanilla extract

Place berries in a food processor bowl and puree. If desired, run berry mixture through cheesecloth to remove seeds (recommended). Set aside. 

In large bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk and half and half. If using, split vanilla bean in half and scrape seeds into mixture. If not, add vanilla extract and mix well. Stir in berries and pour into ice cream maker. Freeze according to manufacturer's directions.