Tag Archives: Ice cream

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Sundaes

Posted on June 29, 2014 by | 1 comment

Hello, and happy summer to you all! As you know, SensitiveHusband and I recently bought a house and moved, and we just sold my condo. So as you can imagine, my free time has been spent moving boxes around. I also find myself doing a lot more laundry since my washer and dryer are just off of the kitchen, which makes moving the clothes around so much easier. It’s weird, I actually find myself making excuses to just do another load of laundry! I bet that feeling will wear off eventually.

peanut butter ice creamHowever, I have still been trying new recipes. And this one for peanut butter ice cream is so delicious and creamy, you won’t even notice the lack of dairy, refined sugar, or gluten. It is rich and satisfying, especially if you pair it with some hot fudge sauce!

How did I uncover this gem of a recipe? My friend MaryAnn sent me a link to the Gluten Free Goddess web site with a simple note attached – “You MUST make this! AMAZING!” Since I like ice cream, and this recipe seemed to be receiving a ringing endorsement, I thought I would oblige.

sundaeI made two changes to the original recipe. First, I doubled it. If the ice cream was really going to be this good, I better make a sizable batch. And secondly, I substituted the brown sugar with coconut palm sugar. The recipe went off without a hitch and when I sampled it, I was overjoyed. So far I have made this ice cream twice, once for SenstiveHusband’s birthday (hence the candle in his sundae), and once for a family party. And I already have all of the ingredients for another batch.

Ingredients:
2 14-oz. cans organic coconut milk, chilled
1 cup coconut palm sugar
1 cup organic natural peanut butter
1 dash sea salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
6 tablespoons dark chocolate shavings (or grain sweetened chocolate chips if you can handle gluten)

Preparation:
Prepare your ice cream maker ahead of time by freezing the canister overnight. Now is a good time to chill your coconut milk in the fridge too.

Combine the chilled coconut milk and coconut palm sugar in a blender and whip until the sugar is dissolved. Add in the natural peanut butter and vanilla extract. Whip just until the mixture is creamy and frothy.

Set your freezing canister in place and turn on the ice cream maker. Pour the mixture into the freezing canister.

Add in the shaved dark chocolate.

Churn until frozen; at 30 minutes it should reach a thick, soft-serve consistency.

Scoop into a freezable quart container, cover and freeze.

hot fudge sauceUpon sampling this peanut butter ice cream, you may find yourself craving a sundae. If this is the case, try this recipe for Homemade Bittersweet Chocolate Syrup from the Nourishing Gourmet. Plus, it’s Paleo; gluten, refined sugar, and dairy free!

And if you need to top it all off with some whipped cream (not dairy free, but gluten free and refined sugar free), you can check out my recipe.

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Minding the Vitamix – Part 4/Finale: Chocolate Ice Cream

Posted on April 20, 2013 by | 1 comment

Chocolate Ice CreamThe alternate title for this blog post is: See you soon, old friend.

MIL and FIL returned from their trip and wanted to tell us about their travels…along with seeing their new Vitamix blender! I kept it good company while they were away by making turnip and potato soup, strawberry muffins, and spinach hummus. But I knew I had to try my hand at one more item before handing the appliance over…and that was a recipe for chocolate ice cream. The Vitamix cookbook had a recipe that looked fairly easy, and it only required me to substitute the sugar with maple syrup. There are only six ingredients needed and the time between measuring the ingredients and trying a spoonful of dessert is about five minutes. The result is what I would describe as a cross between a frozen ice and a gelato. It’s a refreshing treat that you can garnish any way you choose.

So now the Vitamix blender has been delivered to MIL and FIL’s house. Although I will offer to keep it company the next time they travel so I can try some new concoctions. See you soon, old friend.

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1/2 cup unsweetend cocoa powder
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups ice cubes

Preparation:
Place all ingredients into the blender in the order listed and secure lid.
Turn machine on and slowly increase speed to High. You may need to use a tamper to press the ingredients into the blades.
In about 45 seconds, the sound of the motor will change and four mounds should form.
Stop machine. Do not over mix or melting will occur. Serve immediately.

I am sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free…and am happy to be featured too!

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Breaking News: Dessert Poll Results, Bite Taken out of Cookie Price Index, Favorite Flavor Survey

Posted on June 2, 2012 by | Leave a comment

Happy June everyone! Or perhaps not so happy after yesterday’s unexpected jobs report from the U.S. Department of Labor. Analysts were disappointed to see that only 69,000 jobs were created nationwide in the month of May and the unemployment rate rose to 8.2%. This information shows that the nation’s economy continues to recover ever so slowly from the recession that ended more than two years ago.

However, there is a glimmer of hope, particularly for economists who also like to bake cookies. I just calculated the 2012 Q2 SensitiveEconomist Cookie Price Index, which shows a drop of 17% from the previous quarter. Thanks to decreases in the prices for organic whole wheat flour, agave nectar, and grain sweetened chocolate chips, the price to bake a batch of my chocolate chip cookies declined from $13.37 to $11.40. The only ingredient that saw an increase in price (of 4%) was the local honey.

This price index result is running contrary to the latest U.S. consumer price food index, which saw a 0.2% increase in March. However, if we take a deeper look at the components of the U.S. index, there are similarities. The U.S. index saw prices for fruits and vegetables, cereals, nonalcoholic beverages, meats and eggs, and other miscellaneous items all increase – yet those foods (except for the eggs) are not included in the recipe for the chocolate chip cookies. The U.S. food index component that saw a decrease was dairy – which is included in my recipe as butter. The U.S. index does not track the prices of many organic or natural ingredients like agave nectar – so that is why the indices diverge.

Speaking of cookies…thanks to everyone who participated in my dessert poll, either at the CTVegFest or online. I tallied the 54 responses and have declared that Ice Cream is the favored dessert of the respondents, garnering 25% of the votes. This was followed by Cookies with 19%, Brownies with 15%, and Pie with 13%. For all of you ice cream lovers, there are two good recipes on this blog: one that requires an ice cream maker (Peach Ice Cream) and one that does not (Banana Chocolate “Ice Cream”). These are great to try as summer gets into full swing.

Now it is time for a new survey question: what is your favorite dessert flavor? Please participate by visiting my blog’s home page, clicking on your favorite dessert flavor, and clicking “vote.” Is chocolate really the king of dessert flavors? Or will strawberry, mint, or another fine flavor win in the end? I look forward to seeing what emerges from the data.

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The Economy is No Peach, But This Ice Cream Sure Is!

Posted on August 9, 2011 by | 11 comments

My alternate title for this blog post was: “Tired of waiting for QE3*? This peach ice cream will ease your mind!” What a week to be an economist with food sensitivities – there is certainly no shortage of reading material!

At our most recent picnic celebrating family togetherness and my sister-in-law’s birthday, my MIL created a delicious homemade peach ice cream. In her first batch she used regular sugar as the sweetener, and in the second batch she used honey. They were enjoyed greatly, and those who tried both did not notice a difference in taste. Now that’s a positive indicator!

MIL’s Homemade Peach Ice Cream (Adapted from Joy of Cooking)
4 ripe yellow peaches (or 2 pounds)
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/2 cup skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.  Lower in peaches and poach for 1 minute. Remove and slip skins off under cool running water. Discard pit and put peaches into blender.

Blend peaches with half of the honey. Swirl until smooth, 1-2 minutes.  Chill an hour or more.

Mix in separate bowl: cream, milk, remaining honey and vanilla.  Chill an hour or more.

Churn:  Give cream mixture a good stir.  Pour into an ice cream maker and churn until thick (about 15-20 minutes).  
When almost frozen, pour in peach mixture and churn again until thick.  Enjoy immediately, OR pack into an air tight
container and freeze.  Let warm 10 minutes at room temperature before scooping.  Best if used within two weeks.

As shown in the photo, the sugary and sugar-free versions of this delicious ice cream look quite similar.

*QE3 refers to the potential third round of quantitative easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve. It is an economic stimulus approach by which a central bank purchases bond assets, either government or private sector, in order to depress medium to long term interest rates and to encourage investors to spur the economy by putting their money elsewhere.

I am also sharing this recipe with Simply Sugar and Gluten Free, Something Swanky, Joy of Desserts, Two Maids a Milking, Beauty and Bedlam, This Chick Cooks, The Lady Behind the Curtain, Food Trip Friday and Sweet as Sugar Cookies.

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