Rich, Dark, Complex and Creamy Chocolate Ice Cream

Cruising facebook one evening after work this week and, to my surprise, my dear David Lebovitz, dessert blogger extraordinaire, posted this chocolate ice cream recipe.

Now let’s get one thing straight right away. I love ice cream. Not just like, not just fancy but L-O-V-E. So much so that in a job interview when I was asked to share something about myself I said “My absolute favourite food is ice cream”… to be fair I was 15 years old and it was my first job interview. I got the job BTW, maybe they thought I was quirky?!? Understatement of the century.

In any case, I went to the grocery store got my ingredients and turned my apartment kitchen into a creamery. What I liked about this particular recipe was that it didn’t require egg yolks as I always find that eggs complicate the ice cream making process because they have to be tempered and I always seem to cook them in doing so.

I have the Cuisinart ICE-50BC Supreme Ice Cream Maker which, in my humble opinion, offers the best bang for your buck if you’re going to be making ice cream at home. No pre-freezing is required and you can make batch after batch after batch. This recipe took about 35 minutes to freeze.

The ice cream was to die for. It was rich, dark, complex and oh so creamy (just how I like my men). It even tasted like a gelato sold by a nearby shop called “Sexy chocolate”. Even my partner exclaimed that it was the best ice cream I had ever made!

The recipe is originally from the book Jenni’s Splendid Ice Creams at Home. Looking at the Amazon preview, this book looks like a real gem. Maybe a Christmas gift for yours truly? Just putting it out there!

Coconut almond herbal salad dressing... a raw vegan treat!

Lately I’ve been on a raw food kick. Not because I need to lose any weight or recover from any horrible disease. I just think incorporating more fruits and vegetables in one’s diet makes a lot of sense. I’ve been inspired by a lot of YouTube personalities who keep me energized with new recipes and words of wisdom on a weekly and sometimes daily basis.

Here’s a recipe for Coconut Almond Herbal Salad Dressing by YouTube’s Dan McDonald “The Life Regenerator”.

A tip: I purchase young coconuts from a little produce shop in China town but you can sometimes find them in conventional grocery stores. Look for coconuts that are free of mold and brown spots!

Start by making coconut almond yogurt:

2 cups of soaked almonds

2 cups of young thai coconut meat

2 cups of young thai coconut water

1 scoop of probiotic blend (can be purchased from the health food store)

Blend the ingredients together in a high speed blender and let it sit a room temperature for between 3-6 hours.

Next, blend the following ingredients until smooth:

2 cups of coconut almond yogurt

1 whole avocado

1/2 cup raw olives

juice from 2 lemons

6 dates with pits removed

4-6 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons cumin

2 teaspoons of sea salt

1 bunch dill

1 bunch cilantro

1 bunch basil

1 hot pepper (optional)

Water from 1 young thai coconut (add until desired consistency)

And voila - raw vegan delight!

Check out Dan’s video below:

Thanks Dan!