3/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup finely chopped strawberries

1. Finely chop 1 cup of the sliced strawberries and set aside. Sprinkle the sugar over the remaining strawberries in a medium mixing bowl. Let stand for 30 minutes and then process the strawberries in a food processor fitted with a steel blade until completely smooth. Pour it through a fine sieve, if you prefer no seeds.

2. Combine the cream and milk in a medium saucepan and scald on medium-high heat. Remove from the heat.

3. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs until frothy. Slowly add the sugar and vanilla, and beat until thick and pale lemon-colored.

4. When the cream and milk are scalded, gradually whisk 1 cup into the egg mixture. Whisking, gradually pour the egg mixture back into the cream and milk in the saucepan.

5. Cook slowly over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is thick enough to coat a wooden spoon, 5 to 10 minutes. Do not overcook or the mixture will curdle. Remove from the heat, strain into a medium mixing bowl and cool.

6. Add the pureed strawberries to the custard and mix well.

7. Pour the custard mixture into a chilled ice cream machine and churn, following the instructions, until the ice cream begins to thicken. While the machine is running, add the finely chopped strawberries. At this point the ice cream will be firm but not hard. Either put it in the freezer to harden or serve it immediately.

Advance Preparation: This may be prepared eight hours in advance through Step 6 and kept in the refrigerator. Note: This recipe may be halved to make 1 quart.

(Diane Rossen Worthington is an authority on new American cooking. She is the author of 18 cookbooks, including "Seriously Simple Parties," and a James Beard Award-winning radio show host. You can contact her at www.seriouslysimple.com.)