Mixed Berry Ice Cream

A few weeks ago we found an old hand crank ice cream maker in an antique store in Evans City, PA.  It definitely shows its age but appeared to be completely functional.  We put it to the test for the first time today with fantastic results!  I had to run out mid-cranking to get more ice, and it took about 35 minutes of cranking to get the finished product.  I'm happy to say that the wait and the work was worth it because this is literally the best ice cream I have ever tasted.  Our minds are racing with all of the possible ice cream flavors we can make.  For this batch, we used 2 c of blackberries from the farmer's market and 1 c each of red and black raspberries from our road trip to Triple B Farms in Washington County today.

Mixed Berry Ice Cream
Adapted from Eggs on Sunday

2 pints heavy cream
1 1/2 c sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
4 c mixed berries

1) Mix cream, sugar and vanilla in a medium-sized sauce pan.
2) Heat slowly while stirring to dissolve sugar.
3) In a blender, combine cream and berries; pulse until well blended.
4) Place mixture in refrigerator until cool.
5) Make according to ice cream maker instructions.