will power

I recently heard an intriguing lecture on “Neuroscience and the Law.” I gathered at the beginning of the lecture that this very young and energetic PhD was not an advocate of free will (based on his extensive study of the mind’s strong roots in the physical anatomy of the brain). He presupposed that enough of our drives are inaccessible that free will, if it exists, may be a bit player (so much happens under the security clearance of our choosing).

I began to wonder, in the representative democracy of my brain (or your brain), which influence prevails most often? If in the neural parliament sat the gamut of political parties (say, the long-termers, the immediate-gratifiers, the lovers, the reasoners, the dictators), whose voice is the loudest?

Salted Caramel Ice Cream with Cocoa Brownie Chunks

hard not to eat all these before they go in

ready to churn

$$ this is about all you need $$

Time-out from the esoteric. This lecture happened at noon. Noon as in lunch-time…or ice cream time if there is a good gallon in your freezer. Sometimes I wonder how strong my free will actually is when I am holding a spoon and an open container of ice cream.

this ice cream is rich $$$

2 cups whole milk

1 tbsp + 1 tsp cornstarch

3 tbsp cream cheese, softened

½ tsp fine sea salt

1 ¼ cups heavy cream

2 tbsp light corn syrup

2/3 cup sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

In a small bowl, mix 2 tbsp milk with cornstarch to make a smooth slurry. Set aside. In a separate (medium) bowl, whisk cream cheese and salt until smooth. In a measuring cup with a spout, mix the cream with the corn syrup. Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

Heat the sugar in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat until melted and golden amber in color (to do this effectively, add the sugar and then don't touch with a spatula until there is a full layer of melted and browning liquid sugar on the bottom with a small layer of unmelted white sugar on top. When the melted sugar edges start to darken, use the spatula to push the edges to the center to help everything finish melting. When it looks about like the color of a penny, turn off the heat.

Once caramel is removed from heat, stir constantly and add a bit of the cream/corn syrup mixture to the caramel (warning: it will fizzle and pop!).  Keep adding the cream a little bit at a time until it is all incorporated.

Return the pan to medium-high heat and add the milk. Bring mixture to a rolling boil and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the cornstarch slurry.

Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high and cook for 1 minute until slightly thickened, stirring with a heatproof spatula. Remove from heat.

Pour in the cream cheese mixture and whisk until smooth. Pour the hot mixture into a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and seal before submerging in the bowl of ice and water. Allow to stand, adding more ice if necessary, for 30 minutes or until cold (I put the whole bowl in the fridge).

Pour liquid (or cut off the corner of the ziplock) into ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer instructions. Before you pack ice cream into a storage container, gently stir in brownie bits*. Freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

*Brownie Bits

I made half a recipe of Best Cocoa Brownies (off epicurious or you can search this blog). Make sure to half the cooking time as well.

Disclaimer: On a more humanistic/spiritual scale, I definitely believe in free will. How else can my loves of God and man matter?