LIME CARDAMOM FROZEN YOGURT

The girls I work with are filling me up and making me better than I was five months ago before I met any of them. I had no idea when I took this job that I would also be saying yes to so many new friendships with wonderful people. I know really loving the people you work with is a gift and it's not one I'm taking for granted.

Here's a quick run-down:

Jenna has taught me the art of making Chemex coffee, caring for terrariums and is helping me get better at yoga poses. She is also always rubbing oils on my arms that really are magical.
Morgan has a fashion blog that makes me want to step up my #ootd everyday. I know if I actually put thought into my outfit, Morgan will notice and compliment accordingly.
Sarah is making me into a real adult. We take finance classes together on Monday nights and learn about budgeting, insurance, retirement and other things that have always seemed pretend and legitimately far off to me.
Christie balances me out from Sarah and keeps me young. We perform the choreographed dances from High School Musical and Hannah Montana in the break room and keep each other up to date on all things 1D. She also has mad crafting skills and teaches me the small & easy things I can actually do.
Rachel has made me appreciate games. I've never played as many board games/card games/ dice games/ app games/etc. as I have since I met Rachel. She makes me want to improve my trivia knowledge and step up my competitiveness in the best way.

There are approximately 15 other girls that I won't write about in this post, but they each bring joy to my workday every day and I'm learning from them all in different ways.

This post would not have happened if it wasn't for Rachel. Not only is she a great game partner, she could also run my end of this food blog and it wouldn't miss a beat. Rachel cooks as much as I do, but she is always trying new recipes and challenging herself to make new* things. (*read: hard things that I would never try making by myself.) I'm grateful for her confidence in the kitchen and encouraging me to make things that I subconsciously deem outside of my skills set.

I told Rachel a few weeks ago that I wanted to make a curry, but that I also had zero experience making Indian food. The next day she came into my photo studio with two cook books, a menu planned, and an ingredient list in mind. She showed me the recipe for a vegetarian curry with potatoes and carrots and a lime frozen yogurt that she said would pair well for dessert. I said yes to everything before even looking at the recipes, because this girl knows what she's talking about.

I have never owned an ice-cream maker nor did I know the first thing about making frozen yogurt, but Rachel's expertise made the process seem effortless. The only suggestion I would give is to double or triple or quadruple this recipe — it's so delicious you won't know when to stop eating. (Also, everyone will want a bigger serving than just the two scoops pictured in these photos.) This recipe comes from the "Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home" cookbook that includes more than 100 recipes for ice cream flavors I've never even begun to imagine. Lime Cardamom frozen yogurt is described as follows, "Tart lime gives way to the tang of yogurt; cardamom, with notes of citrus and pine, adds a blunt floral perfume." I'm convinced cardamom can make anything taste better and that citrus/ fruity ice cream will always be my favorite — this combination is so delicious.

Maybe one day making ice cream will be simple and seem like second nature to me, but until then I'm sure I'll be asking lots of questions and learning as I go (about all the big & small things in life). That's what this season of life seems to be all about lately, tackling new things that I have little experience navigating. That's why I'm grateful for these girls and how they teach me, grow me, challenge me, walk with me and encourage me further on — ice cream making and all.

ADVANCE PREP —

For the strained yogurt:

Fit a sieve over a bowl and line it with two layers of cheesecloth. Pour the yogurt into the sieve, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours to drain. Discard the liquid, and measure out 1 1/4 cups of the strained yogurt; set aside.

PREP —

For the lime syrup:

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest from 3 limes in large strips; reserve. Halve the limes and squeeze enough juice to measure 1/2 cup. Combine lime juice and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolved the sugar. Remove from the heat and let cool.

For the frozen yogurt base:

Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry. Whisk the cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

COOK —

Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar, corn syrup, and lime zest in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch mixture.
Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

CHILL —

Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese until smooth. Add the 1 1/4 cups yogurt, the lime syrup, and cardamom and whisk until smooth.
Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

FREEZE —

Remove the lime zest. Pour the frozen yogurt base into the frozen canister and spin until thick and creamy.
Pack the frozen yogurt into a storage container, press a sheet of parchment directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.