The GREAT RAW CHOCOLATE Ice Cream Experiment…

Tags

AIP, AIP Reintroduction, Autoimmune Protocol, Chocolate Ice Cream, Dairy Free Ice Cream, Ice Cream, Paleo

I’m currently on the Autoimmune Protocol, a nutrient-rich elimination diet that removes foods that irritate the gut, cause gut imbalance and activate the immune system. You can read more about the protocol and why I’m doing this here. 

Without ice cream, there would be darkness and chaos. (Don Kardong)

Today is LM’s birthday.

Happy Birthday, LM!

I’m sure I don’t need to tell you just how difficult it is to find just the right birthday present for that special man in your life. Well, any male over the age of 15, really. And LM is considerably older than 15. So, because I was having zero joy finding just the right gift for my beloved, I bought myself an ice cream maker for his birthday. More specifically, I bought myself the ice cream maker attachment to my gorgeous tangerine Kitchen Aid mixer, which I had been eye-ing off for a g e s , and needed a good excuse to acquire…

Photographic evidence…
(Image by TSL)

Here’s my self-talk logic behind that decision: “I can’t find ANYTHING for LM’s birthday… I can’t even take him out to dinner because of this $?@# restrictive AIP caper that I’m on…  Bugger… I know! I’ll make him an extra special meal… He’d really love a special treat and he hasn’t been able to enjoy ice cream since we discovered his allergy to dairy… What if I made him some dairy-free ice cream..? I guess I’ll need to buy that Kitchen Aid ice cream maker attachment-thingy, then. It’s for LM, after all… “

See, it was LM’s birthday present – sort of!

So, I bought the ice cream maker on Tuesday. And then, just like magic, I seemed to come across all these helpful instructions for how to make dairy free ice cream. First, there was the fabulous Beth from Tasty Yummies with her tutorial on ‘How to Make Dairy-Free Ice Cream‘. She was the first one to suggest the addition of gelatin as a binder. Inspired. But, her bestest-looking vanilla ice cream contains nut milks. A no go for me at this stage.

(Image from Beth at Tasty Yummies)

…and then, the über talented Jen’ from Predominantly Paleo posted about her latest collaboration with Vivian from The Real Food Guide. An e-book on ice cream for followers of the Autoimmune Protocol. That is – free of all the potentially inflammatory ingredients that traditionally make up ice cream that we ‘AIP-ers’ have to steer clear of – think eggs and cream! Of course I had to get me a copy of that book!

Ice Cream for AIP Peeps!

Armed with my trusty tutorial from Beth AND helpful e-book care of Jen’ and Vivian, of course it would only be sensible to make a practice ice cream before we actually get to the special birthday dinner, yes?

Also, if I’m being honest, I couldn’t decide which ice cream to make. Mint Choc-Chip sounds like heaven to me, but I know it’s not really LM’s bag. Neapolitan Stacks sound a m a z i n g, but perhaps a tad fiddly for a practice round. I was leaning towards a tried-and-true chocolate ice cream…

…and, since I’ve now been on the second round of the AIP for over a month and am free of my symptoms AND I seem to have a reaction to carob (which means no Carob Ice Cream) AND chocolate is one of LM’s favourite flavours (also mine!), I decided to amalgamate the tutorial base recipe for vanilla ice cream and the carob ice cream recipe from the e-book to make my own version of raw chocolate ice cream.

If it worked, LM would be happy AND I could count cacao as my first reintroduction test*…

And, you know what?

It only 1/2 worked…

I subbed in raw cacao for carob and it tasted pretty good in its pre-churned state. Once the ice cream machine had worked its magic, I was excited. The taste was good – perhaps not Italian chocolate gelato amazing – but a solid ‘good’. The texture was impressive, too.

And, I think, if we had eaten it right then and there, I would have been happy. Instead – since it was 3 o’clock in the afternoon – I popped it into the freezer so we could have it as dessert.

After dinner, I removed it from the freezer and it was OBSIDIAN rock hard! No leaving it on the bench for 15 minutes to come to temperature for this baby. It took a solid 45 minutes AND even then we were chipping away at it. So – not entirely successful.

BUT! I am not giving up! Tonight I will follow an actual recipe to the letter and make trusty vanilla ice cream. I think we’ll make dairy-free ice cream sundaes – with whipped coconut cream and raspberry sauce. Watch this space for an update!

…stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot oftener, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more and cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. (Robert J. Hastings, Tinyburg Tales)

*On the upside – no reaction to last night’s chocolate indulgence (yet). YAHOOO!

The Easiest (Healthy) Ice Cream Recipe in the World!

Tags

AIP, Autoimmune Protocol, Dairy Free, dessert, Frozen Banana Ice Cream, Gluten Free, Healthy Dessert, Ice Cream, Paleo, Sweets

(Image by TSL)

I’m currently on the Autoimmune Protocol, a nutrient-rich elimination diet that removes foods that irritate the gut, cause gut imbalance and activate the immune system. You can read more about the protocol and why I’m doing this here.

“Bursar?”
“Yes, Archchancellor?”
“You ain’t a member of some secret society or somethin’, are you?”
“Me? No, Archchancellor.”
“Then it’d be a damn good idea to take your underpants off your head.”
(Terry Pratchett, Lords and Ladies)

There is a secret society. Only, it’s not that secret. It’s a society of people who know a wee something about a magical transformation that occurs when you freeze a banana and then whiz it up in your blender or food processor. These people know as long as they have a peeled & chopped banana or two in their freezer, they have the makings of amazingly delicious AND healthy desserts at any time. Which is a good thing if you live with LM – he likes dessert for breakfast!

I’m not kidding – it’s THAT good and THAT easy. Your kids won’t even know it’s not ice cream.

Cherry Cinnamon Ice Cream
(Image by TSL)

My kids are normal. If they could eat burgers and fries and ice cream every day, they would. And so would I. But that doesn’t sustain us. (Michelle Obama)

Michelle Obama doesn’t know about the secret society.

There are limits to what a girl (or boy) can do for dessert on the autoimmune protocol (AIP). Oh, there are complicated, labour-intensive numbers that you can make for a special occasion. But, for everyday, not much beats this wee ‘I can’t believe it’s not ice cream’ number.

And, while on the AIP, I’m limited with what I can add to my base mix. But, now that I’ve discovered the marvels of banana ice cream, I’m looking forward to what I can do post-reintroduction of nuts, dried fruit, alcohol, spices and chocolate…

The Easiest Ice Cream Recipe in the World

• Servings: 1 per banana
• Time: 5 minutes
• Difficulty: easy-peasey
• Print

(Image by TSL)

Ingredients

Base Recipe

1 frozen banana p/person (I freeze mine individually, peeled and broken into 4 chunks)
1 Tablespoon coconut cream (optional, but adds to ‘creamy’ mouth feel. And, if you happen to have some left over whipped coconut cream, all the better)

Cherry Cinnamon Flavour

5 – 6 frozen cherries p/person
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon p/person

Method

1) Throw all your ingredients into your blender or food processor. Blitz until blades stop chopping through the fruit. Stop the machine, take a spatula and push the mixture down the sides. Repeat until mixture resembles ice cream with a soft serve texture.

2) There is no second step. It’s ready!

E N J O Y !

I Say FEIJOA, You Say GUAVA PINEAPPLE…

Tags

42 Below, Feijoa, food, Fruit, Ice Cream, New Zealand, Pineapple Guava, Thomas Dux

Feijoa
(image from here)

Feijoa: (the fruit) maturing in autumn, is green, ellipsoid, and about the size of a chicken egg. It has a sweet, aromatic flavor. The flesh is juicy and is divided into a clear gelatinous seed pulp and a firmer, slightly granular, opaque flesh nearer the skin. (Wikipedia)

Today, I’m feeling a little nostalgic. It’s LM’s fault, only he doesn’t know it. He took me to Thomas Dux this morning, and they had feijoas! I was almost beside myself (and not because they were $1.50 each!) This news quite possibly means nothing to you, unless you happen to be a Kiwi living in Australia. Kiwis grow up with feijoas. It’s quite common to have a feijoa tree or two in your garden. I’ll even go out on a limb and say that in New Zealand, they are more common than kiwifruit (when in season). When I was visiting a couple of weeks ago, I bought a bag of about 15 perfectly ripe feijoas for $3 at the farmers market. I ate them all myself. I love them. But in Australia, they are as rare as hens teeth.

Feijoa
(Image from here)

Are you familiar with feijoas?

They are also known as Pineapple Guavas (or Guavasteen). According to our friends at Wikipedia, the plant “is an evergreen shrub originating from the highlands of southern Brazil, parts of Colombia, Uruguay, Paraguay and northern Argentina. They are also grown throughout Azerbaijan , Georgia and, (of course), New Zealand.*

While distinctive, the flavour is seriously difficult to describe. Wiki’ says it “is aromatic, very strong and complex, inviting comparison with guava, strawberry, pineapple, and often containing a faint wintergreen-like aftertaste.” LM hates the flavour, with quite some passion. And, it is true, people do tend to either love or hate feijoas.

Feijoas. They’re like chokos**, only not as tasty! (LM)

Given their exorbitant cost here, I only bought two this morning. And, I made sure I enjoyed every last morsel of feijoa flesh that I scraped out with my teaspoon. Heaven.

42 Below Feijoa Vodka
(Image from here)

In New Zealand, there’s a whole cottage industry around feijoas. You can buy feijoa ice cream. 42 Below has a yummy feijoa infused vodka. There are recipes galore for chutneys and baked goods.

If LM was just a touch more open to the wonders of the feijoa, I might make him this wee number I found at Adventurous Me, Gluten Free…

Feijoa Cream Coconut Pie
(Image and recipe can be found here)

I’ll leave you with this illustration I found on the inter-web…

Feijoa Write Up
(Source Unknown)

* Apparently, feijoas are occasionally to be found as landscape plants in the far Southern United States, in regions from Texas to Florida, and southern California, though fruit set can be unreliable in those locations.

**Also known as chayote

 

Pat and Stick’s most excellent ice cream adventure…

Tags

Auckland, Australia, Brisbane, Canberra, Farmers Markets, food, Gourmet, Home Made, Ice Cream, Ice cream sandwich, Melbourne, Pat and Stick's, Photos, Small Business, Sydney, Travel

One of the wonderful things about going to the Farmers Markets every week is that you meet some fascinating people in the business of a-makin’ and a-growin’ great food.  LM laughs at me, but I love the opportunity to chat to the people directly responsible for the produce I am buying (and then eating).  I have been known to share a recipe (strange but true, Shira!) and I know I go back to the stalls and spend more where I have established a level of rapport with the providore.

Last week was no exception – the boys from Pat and Stick’s were dispensing their wares at Eveleigh. I had absolutely zero intention of picking up any form of ice cream on Saturday but then we bumped into Stick (who is a very tall and extremely happy and chatty chappy) who was doing the selling when we strolled by…  (we bought four sandwiches AND were on the receiving end of a great dry ice story)

Here's Stick himself at Eveleigh (pic' taken by the lovely ChocolateSuze)

The Pat and Stick story is a goody.  The boys are mates and got to chatting over a few beers.  They share a love of food and, after agreeing that the ice cream offerings in Australia (at the time) were pretty ordinary, started mucking about in their home kitchens with a Breville ice cream maker.  Out of this, the idea of their ice cream sandwich business was born. They chucked in their jobs and started up, initially just selling at markets.

They are committed to using only the finest ingredients like Belgian chocolate, real vanilla beans, espresso coffee, real butter, and fresh Australian milk and cream. In their words, “you won’t find any preservatives, artificial whatevers or fake fillery. It’s real food, made by real people, right here in Australia.”

Flavour combos are delish’:

Pat and Stick's ice cream sandwich combo's (they have since added a Peppermint Choc-chip number to the range)

There is something extra appealing about two good mates who are clearly so enthusiastic about their product.  They have a great wee vid’ about their history:

Now, if you live in Sydney and have yet to try a Pat and Stick’s ice cream sandwich, get thee to a stockist at your earliest convenience…  If you live in Melbourne, Brisbane or Canberra, there’s a list of where you can buy these gourmet ‘Eskimo Sammies’ (aka ice cream sandwiches) on the Pat and Stick’s website (here).  AND, if you happen to live in Auckland, you can get a Pat and Stick’s at Sarge’s, a well cool-looking Airstream at Britomart. Everyone else, Pat and Stick have yet to achieve world domination, but it does give you another reason to come and visit sunny Sydney!