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Lewis Smith Lake Alabama | Smith Lake Alabama

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6/26/2018 1 Comment

RECIPE - Southern Style Summer Vanilla Ice Cream - Homemade & Churned

Picture
Ingredients with fresh berries - pottery and charm provided by Sandra Heaven and Diane Sharron - local Arley artists who do gorgeous custom pieces and sets. Please see our former blog on these incredible artisans.
The first big ripe juicy blackberries were hanging from the vine last week near our driveway, and we just could not resist.  There weren’t quite enough for a cobbler, a crisp, or a pie; but there was just enough to toss whole onto some fresh homemade vanilla ice cream for a sumptuous summer dessert.  So we got prepared with all the ingredients, and got to the task.
 
This is a recipe that is a variation of about three inherited from different friends. Combining them helped us settle on a recipe that suited our tastes quite well – please feel free to vary as you like (some use ½ & ½ instead of heavy cream, and others even opt to use coconut milk or almond milk instead of regular fat milk - all are good replacements, go ahead and experiment).  
Now this recipe does not call for egg yolks, which makes a heavier, more custard style of vanilla ice cream which we like for colder seasons with pies, but this one is a bit lighter in feel and the fresh light base gives you endless possibilities for making any flavor your heart desires with toppings.  We just happen to love it with fresh berries and fruits.  
PictureIngredients - pottery and charm provided by Sandra Heaven and Diane Sharron - local Arley artists who do gorgeous clay creations - they design custom pieces and sets. Please see our former blog on these incredible artisans.
INGREDIENTS
​

2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 ¼ cups whole milk (not reduced fat)
½ cup white granulated sugar
¼ cup light brown sugar
a pinch of salt
2 t pure vanilla extract
optional - add ¼ to ½ t vanilla bean powder (or fresh scraped vanilla bean paste from 1 vanilla bean).  Use your judgment in amount to boost your vanilla flavor to desired level.

INSTRUCTIONS
  1. In a large saucepan over medium to lower heat, combine heavy cream, whole milk, light brown sugar, and granulated sugar.
  2. Stir well, dissolving the sugars completely.
  3. Allow the heat to distribute through the mixture well by stirring until you see a thin line of froth at the edges of the pan.  Important – do not boil the mixture – it will ruin.
  4. Once you notice a thin frothy/foamy line at edges of pan, take off the heat immediately, and place the mixture into a large glass measuring cup bowl with a spout – any heavy glass bowl with a spout should work – for ease of pouring the mixture eventually. 
  5. Let the mixture cool only slightly and stir in slowly the vanilla extract and the powder (or fresh scraped vanilla bean paste).  
  6. Stir in and dissolve the pinch of salt.
  7. Cover this mixture well with plastic wrap, we even float a piece of wrap onto the top of the mixture to avoid any kind of “skin” and then wrap the top of the bowl again in plastic wrap for a double wrap.
  8. Refrigerate from 4 hours to overnight – just be sure it is very cold.
  9. Remove from fridge and follow the directions on your brand of ice cream maker carefully. A brand that is recommended often is a Cuisinart.
  10. After churning the ice cream for about 30 minutes or so (whatever your churn directions advise), pour ice cream into an ice cream container and freeze overnight if you like a hard-packed style ice cream.  We enjoy both the soft-serve texture right out of the churn the 1st night and the frozen version the next night - so we usually do 2 rounds of the recipe.  
  11. Serve right away with whole or chopped fresh fruit, like peaches or cantaloupe, or serve with your favorite berries or combination of berries of your liking:  strawberries, blueberries, blackberries or raspberries.  We served ours with whole fresh blackberries and used our spoon to smash and stir them in.  My mother used to take half of whatever berries we had and coarsely chop them, add a little sugar (like a tablespoon to a cup of chopped berries).  She'd softly stir in the sugar, and place that mixture into the refrigerator for an hour or so to marinate and chill.  She'd serve both the marinated with the fresh chopped for a mix of textures with the rich ice cream.  Do whatever you like!  
  12. Makes about 6 large servings per recipe, or 8 medium.
Picture
Ingredients - pottery and charm provided by Sandra Heaven and Diane Sharron - local Arley artists who do gorgeous clay creations - they design custom pieces and sets. Please see our former blog on these incredible artisans.
Recipe provided by The Hanna Family, 07/4/18.  
1 Comment

6/12/2018 1 Comment

Smith Lake Local - SPOTLIGHT - Artist - SCOTT BROWN (and Smith Lake Small Business)

Picture
Scott and Sharon Brown
Scott has a love of boats, water, and architecture which makes painting on the lake all the more enjoyable. He is generally a landscape artist, with paintings including traditional watercolors as well as line and wash, where ink is used along with watercolor. ​
Picture"Triple Creek Marina" by Scott Brown
​Scott Brown is an artist of two minds. On the left side of the brain, Scott has been a computer nerd for nearly four decades, and along with his wife Sharon, own and operate a computer support business in the Huntsville/Madison area. On the right side of the brain, Scott is a watercolor artist, spending almost every weekend with Sharon in their Crane Hill home on Smith Lake where he does most of his painting. Their love of the lake is hinted at in the business name, Ryan Creek Technology.

You can see more of Scott’s work by following @scottercolors on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest, or by visiting his website https://scottercolors.com.  

Scott is also an exhibiting member of the Huntsville Art League in the Lowe Mill Arts and Entertainment Complex.  

​For commission information, visit https://scottercolors.com/commissions/.  

AND. . . we'll have more to tell you about Scott Brown in the future, so stay tuned!  
1 Comment

6/5/2018 1 Comment

Smith Lake Local - SPOTLIGHT - Singer, Songwriter, Artist, Actress - JESSICA BAKER

PictureJessica Baker @ Lewis Smith Lake in Alabama, June 2018

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Jessica Baker moved to Alabama from Florida about 10 years ago, landing near the Hanceville area.  Her family has a lake house on Smith Lake near Smith Lake Park, so they are here quite often, and will soon be moving to the Cullman area full time.  She says that she has always been in awe of the beauty of the lake since discovering it, and we're sure its beauty provides some needed relaxation and inspiration for her highly artistic soul to flourish.  She recently sent us a picture on Instagram to share, and we took notice.  She had a link for a released song on her feed.  We listened, and we loved it, and that led to us needing to know more. 

Picture
Jessica Baker @ Birmingham Botanical Gardens, April 2018
PictureJessica Baker in a WBRC Fox 6 News commercial #raycommedia
It turns out that Jessica is an amazingly talented singer, songwriter, artist and actress.  She is a powerhouse singer who is often tapped to sing the national anthem at events, festivals, sports arenas, etc.  She learned to sing in church, and her career just bloomed from there.  From the time she first sang publicly at the age of 13, she has steadily become an incredible versatile talent.

Jessica has worked in the commercial and film industry, appearing in several different feature films. The arts are obviously what she gravitates towards, there is an undeniable strong pull there.  Most recently she recorded and has released her debut hit single "Ashes".  Her goal through her music is to bring hope, inspiration and encouragement to all her fans.  This debut single nails that perfectly.  We are listening and we want more.  


This new emotional song "Ashes" is definitely one you'll return to often, we love it.  Here is the link to the official music video for this single "Ashes" that you may have heard on local stations very recently:   https://youtu.be/Mk3FBbyCWTY - ENJOY!

Jessica says she likes to sing a mixture of things, older and newer, and can sing anything from Elvis, to Sia, to Creed.  Now that's a wide variety of interesting music.  We bet she has quite an eclectic collection of songs for an entertaining set indeed. In fact, she has recently been working out her vocals and practicing for sets at DeSoto Caverns, so she is ready to show out.  Wouldn't you love to hear Jessica sing some of your favorites or even some more beautiful originals?  
Picture
Picture
Jessica Baker @ 88.5 JFM in Guntersville, AL while streaming her single "Ashes", April 2018
Please check out our local songstress when you have time, you'll be glad you did.  We hope our Alabama businesses take notice as they prepare their weekend line-ups and add Jessica into their mix of live music very soon.  And, she's also available for TV, commercial or film spots - she's a natural!  Look for a future issue for more information about our Smith Lake talented artist, Jessica Baker.  We love supporting local talent in every way we can.  

You will find Jessica on Facebook as @imjessicabaker and Instagram as @itsjessicabaker or by website at https://www.jessicabakerofficial.com.
“I feel so blessed to be able to pursue my dreams as a singer, songwriter and as an artist. I truly believe when you are given a gift or a talent, the only way to find fulfillment and purpose in your life is to share it with others."
​- Jessica Baker. 
1 Comment

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