We All Scream for N'ice Cream!

Thanks y'all for the outpouring of support and kinds words for Datsun. Losing him was so hard, but y'all make it a little easier to deal with. The best way to move on is to get back into a schedule, so I'm back to my regular blogging tonight with a review that I'd planned for last week but postponed due to crappy, sad life stuff.

There's a new vegan ice cream book out just in time for summer, and it's filled with homemade ice creams, popsicles, banana soft serves, milkshakes, and ice cream cakes and cookies.

I received a galley copy of N'ice Cream: 80+ Recipes for Healthy Homemade Vegan Ice Creams a few weeks back, and I've had a chance to try a couple recipes. I've reviewed a number of vegan ice cream books over the years, and as far as I remember, all of those have required the use of an ice cream maker. Now, I do have an ice cream maker (two, in fact!). But I'm kind of lazy, and I hate dragging the makers out and doing the whole ice and salt deal. Plus, my big one is pretty cheap, and it gets stuck about midway through ice cream-making.

But N'ice Cream — by Saveur Award-winning Finnish authors Virpi Mikkonen and Tuulia Talvio — features methods for making both instant and non-instant ice creams without a maker. And while some of the recipes do include maker instructions, any recipe in the book an alternately be made without one! And some recipes don't call for one at all!

Since I'm lazy, as I've already pointed out, I opted to try two recipes that don't call for a maker. I have some popsicle molds that don't see nearly enough use. So I figured I'd put them to work with these super-simple Coconut Water Coolers.

These have just three ingredients — coconut water, kiwi, and strawberries. The recipe calls for blueberries too, but I'm going camping soon, and I didn't want to buy too much fruit that would I wouldn't be able to finish before the trip. Anyway, these were so refreshing. I helped Cassi move on Sunday, and it was hot outside! So afterwards, I grabbed one of these to cool off. The frozen coconut water really hits the spot.

I picked the Coconut Sundae from the Instant Ice Cream chapter.

This is basically a banana soft serve made with full-fat coconut milk and maple syrup. The ice cream base is yummy, but it's the peanut butter caramel sauce that really sets this off. The sauce is made by combining peanut butter, maple syrup, and almond milk. I whipped up more than the recipe called for on accident, and I couldn't help spooning more and more onto my sundae as I worked my way through it.

When I first poured over the sauce, I thought, this sundae could use some texture – maybe cacao nibs or peanuts or something. But after a bite of the cold cream and sweet PB caramel, I understood why this didn't have any garnish. It's so amazing and creamy, and you really don't want anything standing between you and that caramel sauce.

Throughout the summer, I plan to try more simple recipes from this book. The recipes are made with whole foods, so they're pretty darn healthy for frozen treats. The ice creams and shakes have a base of banana or coconut milk or cashews (and some use all three), so nothing artificial or bad for you. It's like health food ice cream! On my list are Creamy Tahini Popsicles, Raspberry-White Chocolate Ice Cream, Salty Caramel Popcorn Ice Cream, Chocolate Creamsicles with White Chocolate Glaze, the Caramel Peanut Ice Cream Cake, and the Mint Chocolate Chip Sundae.