Cool and Creamy: The Craving for Ice Cream

As I mentioned earlier, ice cream is one of my very favorite treats.  Gelato.  Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia, Peanut Butter Cup or Vanilla, Carmel, Fudge with a touch of sea salt added, Molly Moon's Strawberry or Beecher's Cheddar (yes, it is fabulous-especially with apple compote on top). Mmmm. There's something about the creamy coolness of ice cream and gelato that's hard to replace.

I'm not usually a big fan of kitchen gadgets and appliances but I decided in this case the investment in my health (and sanity) was worth it.  I bought an ice cream maker.  I found a nice, relatively small Cuisinart ice cream maker on the internet that got good reviews.  It cost about $64 including tax and shipping.  It's the kind where the bowl chills out in your freezer.  It does take up some room but you can put other things like bags of frozen veggies inside if need be.

I started looking for ice cream recipes with no sugar or sweeteners and no dairy.  Not so easy to find.  I found no dairy but sweeteners and no sweeteners but dairy.  I'm going to keep looking.  I'll let you know what I find.  But this new appliance was dying to be tried out so I had to come up with something quick.

My first foray into ice cream making was pretty simple.

So here's what I made up.  Not sure it fits the letter of the law on my diet but I think it's pretty darn close.

Pina Colada Ice Cream

2 15 oz cans regular coconut milk
1 8oz can crushed pineapple in its own juice (no sugar or syrup added)

Blend the coconut milk to thoroughly mix in the solids at the top of the cans.  Add the pineapple and juice.  Mix well.  Chill in refrigerator for several hours.  (I'm not sure you have to take this step but it make the ice cream process quick and easy.)

Place the frozen bowl onto the ice cream maker. (Don't take the bowl out of the freezer until right before you're ready to use.) Place in paddle and cover with top.  Start the machine.  Add the coconut pineapple mixture through the hole in the top of the ice cream maker.  Churn for 10-20 minutes until ice cream is the consistency of gelato.  (Two cans overflowed the bowl a little as the coconut milk froze.  It was a little messy but it worked.  If you have less than a 1 1/2 pint capacity or you want a little less mess, try it first with just one can and half the pineapple.)  If you want your ice cream firmer put it in the freezer for a bit.  This does get quick hard in the freezer.  I put it in the microwave for about 30 seconds on 30% power to soften it up a bit to scoop out.  If you do this though check frequently as it's a small difference between softening and turning into a soupy liquid.

It's not as sweet as some ice creams but the flavor is good and I find it satisfies my desire for something cold and creamy.