There is only so much strawberry jam, crumble and fruit salad you can make when your garden is producing fruit faster than you can eat it.
Plus, with food prices rocketing, it's important to make the most of every bite.
So, when I found myself with a glut of homegrown strawberries, I decided to turn them into something a little more indulgent: homemade strawberry ice cream.
I used the Lakeland Ice Cream Maker 1.5L, which is currently part of the Lakeland half-price sale, bringing it down from £44.99 to just £22.49.
That immediately caught my attention because I've always fancied making my own ice cream, but didn't want to spend a fortune on an expensive machine.
Was it worth £22.49?
Absolutely. For me, this is where the Lakeland half-price sale makes the machine particularly tempting.
At £22.49 instead of £44.99, it is much easier to justify buying an ice cream maker, particularly if you have a garden full of summer fruit or simply fancy experimenting with homemade desserts. It's pretty much the price of four tubs of full-price premium ice cream, but you have it forever.
The 1.5-litre capacity is generous enough for sharing, while the machine is simple enough that I didn't feel like I needed to be an expert to use it.
I also liked the built-in overheat protection, and there's a three-year guarantee for extra reassurance.
How I made strawberry ice cream from scratch
A word to the wise - you need to pre-freeze this clever gadget - which caught me out the day I received it. Instead, I popped it in the freezer overnight and picked up the recipe again in the morning.
Then, I prepared my strawberry ice cream mixture, poured it into the machine and switched it on. That's pretty much all there was to it.
One of my favourite features is the transparent lid, because I could watch my strawberry mixture gradually thicken as it churned. There's also a handy opening in the lid, so I could add extra fruit while the machine was running without having to stop it.
The built-in motor moves smoothly from left to right, helping create an even texture, while the aluminium cooling bowl does the hard work of chilling the mixture.
And it wasn't long before my glut of strawberries had been transformed into a creamy homemade dessert.
It's part of the Lakeland half price sale - browse the whole range here, but be quick as products sell out.
How did it taste?
Delicious. Using strawberries I'd grown myself made it feel even more satisfying, and I loved being able to control the flavour and ingredients.
Next up, I'm going to try plums, to use up a big bowlful my neighbour gave me.
If you've been tempted to try homemade ice cream, I'd definitely take a look while it's half price at Lakeland.
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