My parents gave me loads of raspberries from the garden this weekend, so I spent much time creating a raspberry sorbet. I tried a creamy version, a passionfruit injected version, a vanilla bean version, and a lemon-vodka-raspberry version. I’m liking the two-at-a-time ice cream machine, if you can’t tell.

The passionfruit was by far the best tasting, although I would make the lemon version again too.

Now, there must be something about raspberries that alter the freezing properties of a sorbet — all these sorbets didn’t freeze like I expected them to (only one had alcohol!), even after hours in the freezer…..hmmmmm….

After crying over the prices of (even used) pacojets, I bought a new ice cream maker in the style ‘ala Justin. Yes, I’m admitting that his version of ice cream maker was more reliable than mine. I really despise having to put the vessels in the freezer beforehand, but in turns out that my old type (where you fill a basin with ice and salt) simply isn’t reliable. The temperature/freezerate of the ice cream depends too much on the ambient temperature, and the ratio of ice/salt/coldwater that is in the basin. This is true to the point where if it freezes too quickly, you end up stripping the gears as it tries to turn (hence me needing a new ice cream maker).

So my new one is this put the vessel in the freezer days before hand and then spin the ice cream type. But mine does two at a time, so there.

This was not meant to be a blog in the style of Joker (hint, clue, hint), so I apologize for the nearly 1 month delay since posts.

Today I am watching USGA golf being played about an hour north of here. I think it’s cool that WI has major golf tournements now. I’m waiting for one of the player to find one of my dozen or so lost balls from playing that course. Actually, there are two courses at whistling straits and I haven’t played the one the pros are on this week. Too expensive.

In the past month, well, not much has happened. I’ve been pretty busy at work getting a new system up and running, learning the new features and trying to figure out how we are going to use them. There’s sort of an idealism around our companies written processes, that trying to fit an off-the-shelf tool into them is tough. Too many people think along the lines of “the process can’t poossibly be changed, then we won’t be in compliance, oh no!” When the truth is that compliance is much simplier than we make it out to be (not that we’re great at it), and our processes, generally speaking, are written because of one persons best practices. There are tons of other companies out there that make similar products that get by without “GE-strength” processes. Anyway, now that I actually have some pull, things are much easier to change than at my last job. It also helps that the process owner is a friend

This week was relaxing, nobody was at work, and I stayed home and did a few things today, so it feels like a long weekend. Family picnic tomorrow, should be fun. And HOT!

On the house side of things, we got a gate across our driveway which completes the back-yard fencing project form last year. the dogs love having the whole back yard to themselves! I bought a timed sprinkler and grass seed to fill in the dog-spots, but no results there yet. I also planted two pear trees in my backyard. If “lawns” we’re so important when selling a house, I’d tear out all the grass and have a little farm in the back yard. Especially with some of the genetically engineered plants, we up her in ‘da north can have fruit trees. For now, I’ll settle for my grape vines and pear trees.