With 4th of July in full swing, the US is celebrating Independence Day. Since the the only American I know of in my family was my great-great-great-grandfather (so I’m only 1/32 of American descent), this day has never been of much significance to me. What I do relate to are celebrations — Christmas, birthdays, New Year’s Eve, when I was younger St. Martin’s Day and Fastnacht (German for Carnival; equivalent to Mardi Gras) and now Lunar New Year and Eid al-Fitr, even if my family didn’t adopt these customs.
When it comes to celebrations, my favourite part is always the food; specifically desserts. I love to bake and make desserts and celebrations are always the perfect occasions for these. That’s why recipe and food science books belong to my absolute favourite types of non-fiction books.
What do you like best about celebrations?
Do look out for Georgie’s post where she chose to honour Independence Day. Also, if you’re participating in Mise-en-scène, remember to leave your link to your photo in the linky widget down below!
Wow, I’m impressed that you can trace back to your great-great-great-grandfather. I think family history is fascinating, and it’s less common to see someone living outside the U.S. with an American ancestor several generations removed, rather than the other way around. Where did he emigrate?
I’m 100% in agreement with you about food being the best part of holidays. I guess that’s not a surprise, since we both like to bake. :) Thanksgiving is an amazing holiday, because it’s all about food and family, rather than presents or religion. I (culturally) celebrate Hanukkah and Passover, which are also excellent food holidays, and of course Christmas desserts are classics.
Have you made anything from the gelato book yet? I’ve been experimenting with coconut milk-based ice cream and am really please with the results. Nothing compares to high-quality gelato, though!
Yay to all the food! :D Ooh. This reminds me, I love baking challah. The round braided loaf always looks absolutely stunning. I’ve not tried making any gelato yet. I want to but my freezer’s not all too ideal for it, so I’m saving up for an ice cream machine with compressor. How do you make ice cream at home?
Yes, challah is wonderful. My attempts have only been moderately successful, though. The braiding looks nice, but I haven’t achieved that perfect, airy texture yet.
I inherited a Cuisinart ice cream maker from my aunt (an older version of this: https://www.cuisinart.com/products/ice_cream/ice-30bc.html). It’s simple but works well. All I need is to freeze the inner bowl overnight, and then obviously store the ice cream once it’s churned. Does the compressor mean that you can keep the ice cream frozen in the machine itself, rather than storing it in the freezer once it’s been churned? With the coconut ice cream, I just make a basic “custard” using canned full-fat coconut milk, arrowroot powder, vanilla, and a liquid sweetener. Then I churn it and freeze it. Easy and delicious! But you still need freezer space.