Cashew Nectarine Popsicles

I do actually have lots of new savoury dishes to talk about, but can't be bothered talking about cookedmeals when I'm sooooooooo hot.

So this is  actually supposed to be cashew peach popsicles but apparently I don't know fruit at all because I accidentally grabbed nectarines and it wasn't until I went home that I realised. I went ahead with the recipe anyway and they were still delicious but I bet peaches would be much better.

Cashew Nectarine Popsicles adapted from Veggie Wedgie:

3-4 Nectarines

30gr raw cashews

2 tbsp agave syrup (adjust according to taste)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Soak the cashew in some water for 1 hour to soften them. Roughly chop nectarines. Place all ingridents in blender. Blend on high until well combined.

Makes 3 small popsicles.

Pour the mix in ice pop molds and freeze for at least 4 hours.

It still had some tiny cashew chunks which I liked, I like a bit of texture in icecream or popsicles. I enjoyed these but next time I will actually make these with peaches instead.

Pina Colada Ice Cream

I've been waiting for an excuse to bring out this pineapple bowl

We got a pineapple in our food co-op a few weeks ago and so after a little googling I come across this recipe on Jeroxie, I didn't have any limes or shredded coconut though so I ended up going with a recipe with only 3 ingredients.

Piña Colada Ice Cream from Elana's Pantry

• 1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk
• ¼ cup agave nectar
• 1 cup freshly chopped pineapple

1. Place coconut milk, agave nectar and ½ cup pineapple in a food processor/blender.
2. Blend thoroughly until smooth and well combined
3. Briefly blend in remaining ½ cup pineapple, leave texture a little chunky
4. Place in fridge until its cold.
5. Process according to the directions of your ice cream maker.
6. Place in fridge until desire texture

This was so sweet and refreshing, just like a real pina colada without the alcohol. So perfect for the hot weather but be warned it doesn't make much. Well in this household only enough for 2  serves!  I wasn't sure if it would thicken without the arrowroot but it was fine.

Happy New Year everyone!

Gluten Free Xmas Pudding Ice Cream

The night before the potluck, I got the strongest urge to make ice cream, even though I had already started on the brownies. I decided to veganise xmas pudding ice cream, its strange because I don't even like xmas pudding, but everything tastes better in ice cream form!


Christmas Pudding Ice Cream inspired by bbc goodfoood recipe

 Fruit:

• 200g dried cherries, chopped (or sub raisins etc)
• 6 tbsp brandy
• 2 tbsp brown sugar

Ice Cream:

• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 4 cloves
• 2 cans of coconut milk
• 1 t vanilla essence
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 gingernut biscuits, broken into chunks (I used the leda gf ones)
• zest ½ lemon and ½ an orange 
•  2 teaspoons arrowroot

1. Mix all of the boozy fruit ingredients together in a bowl, then microwave or cook on stovetop for 3 mins. Stir, then leave to cool completely, for a few hours to overnight.
2. For the ice cream, put the spices in a saucepan and gently heat for 3 mins or so, stirring once or twice, until fragrant. Tip in the coconut milk (reserving 1/4 cup) and sugar and bring to the boil. Bring to boil. 
3. Pass the mix through a sieve and add in the vanilla extra, arrowroot mixture and zest. Place in fridge for a few hours until completly cold. 
4. Follow ice cream machine instructions. Place mix the cherries and ginger nut in last few minutes. 
5. Freeze til desired texture.

I had this great plan to give everyone small little tubs of this for xmas gifts which they could take home. Unfortunately it doesn't make a lot so ended up just serving it at the potluck. If you plan on serving it to several people, I recommend doubling the recipe. Despite not being a fan of xmas pudding, I still enjoyed this recipe, I think it had a good combination of fruit, booze and spices. Although I have to admit that I am a huge fan of the ginger biscuits which do have a strong flavour. So ginger fans stay away. I certainly think it is a better alternative for those us who celebration xmas in the southern hemisphere. The best thing about ice cream is you can make this well in advance too!

The potluck was great and included amazing things like vegan and gluten free prawn toast, ferrero rochers and lots more.

For other xmas dessert ideas, check out previously made candy cane ice cream,  candy cane fudge, and candy cane cookies (not gf) and xmas pudding bites.

Thinking I might try to fit in one more xmas ice cream flavour this year, any suggestions?

Lucuma Choc Chip Ice Cream

 Lucuma is a tropical fruit from south america and lucuma powder seems to be a popular raw food product. I bought some to make the raw pops and then wondered what to do with the rest? Of course my first instict was to make ice cream, this blog really could be called in the mood for ice cream. I made up this recipe:

Lucuma Chocolate Chip Ice Cream
2 cans of coconut milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon of arrowroot
1.5 Tablespoons of Lucuma Powder (taste accordingly)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a small bowl combine about 1/4 cup of coconut milk with arrowroot.

Combine remaining coconut milk, sugar and lucuma powder in saucepan and cook over low heat until begins to boil. Put aside and whisk in arrowroot mixture and extract and place in fridge too cool, approximately 3 hours.

Place in ice cream maker and freeze.



The flavour is quite hard to describe, its got a fruity but also caramel flavour. It goes really well with banana. I think I would omit the choc chips next time.

Balsamic Strawberry Ice Cream and eat.drink.picnic

There was a bloggers conference this weekend in Sydney called eat.drink.blog. Sadly one of the major sponsors was Meat and Livestock Australia with meat masterclass events which is disappointing on so many levels including health, environmental, corporation supporting independent bloggers etc and is really not inclusive for vegetarian bloggers. Thankfully Jill from confessions of a food nazi decided to organise an alternative event for those in Melbourne which she named eat.drink.picnic for those who couldn't attend the Sydney event with more of a focus on vegetables.

I've been to countless vegan potlucks but never been to an omni picnic potluck until yesterday. I have to admit I was a bit nervous, I mean not only am I vegan but also gluten free. I thought these people are really going to think I'm a freak and worst of all there will be nothing for me to eat. I also wasn't sure if I was going to get the barrage of annoying questions such as 'how do you get your protein?' etc or more aggressive attacks that I occasionally get. There is a misconception that vegans are argumentative but I often find it is the other way around. Thankfully none of that happened, I was pleasantly surprised with lots of food for me to eat and about an equal number of vegetarians including 2 other vegans and some friendly accepting omni bloggers.

I met western suburbs food blogger Kenny from consider the sauce and we both discussed the disappointing food scene in williamstown and Jill was super friendly and within minutes of me arriving allowed me to use her towel to clean my grease stained fingers from fixing my bike chain. I also learnt about the use of coconut powder in making ice cream from essjayeats and I had fun catching up with those already familar to me like Cindy and Michael from wheres the beef, Johanna from Green Gourmet Giraffe and Lisa Dempster. I didn't get a chance to have a proper chat with Ed from Tomato, Carla from Easy as Vegan Pie or Claire from Melbourne Gastronome but I did enjoy playing a few games with Claire's bocce set. These was so much yummy food, highlights included Jill's refreshing watermelon salad, Michael's caeser salad, Carla's risotto balls and both Johanna and Lisa's chocolate desserts. The picnic was lots of fun and left me filling super full and sluggish as all good potlucks show. It was also a great example of what a community building activity blogging can be and for once Melbourne behaved and gave us a nice summer day.

I took along some dips and this ice cream. Unfortunately I didn't have enough spoons or any bowls so resorted to serving ice cream on plates with plastic knifes. I really enjoyed the tanginess of the balsamic vinegar paired with the organic strawberries. I don't think many people sampled it or enjoyed it because it was the first time that one of my ice cream dishes wasn't completely finished at a potluck. Although Lisa gave it the thumbs up and Toby loved the leftovers.

Balsamic Strawberry Ice Cream adapted from Spabettie

3 cups soy milk
3/4 cup sugar2 tablespoons of tapioca flour
1 punnet of strawberries, sliced
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon of vanilla essence

Mix 1/4 cup soy milk with tapioca flour, stir until blended and set aside. Combine remaining soy milk and sugar saucepan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add tapioca mixture and vanilla essence. Place in fridge to cool completely- it takes a few hours.

Meanwhile, bring balsamic vinegar to a boil in a small saucepan, watch closely and stir occasionally. Reduce to a simmer and continue to stir until it reaches desired thickness, about 8 minutes or so. Set aside to cool.

Pour ice cream base into maker and prepare according to manufacturer directions. Add strawberries in the last few minutes and then mix in balsamic glaze to give it a swirly effect. Transfer to freezer til firm.

Read about Kenny's account of the event here.

Mint Choc Chip Ice Cream with Spinach Food Colouring-Vegan Mofo Day 30

This photo is a bit crappola but I was in a rush, can you see the pale green colour?

I've had this recipe bookmarked since Feb 2010, some times it takes a while for me to get to my bookmarks, does anyone else have that problem? This is the other dessert I am taking a way with us. I had a few issues with this recipes because I tried to use the food processor to blend it together and of course it leaked, so make sure you use a blender!!!! Also I found the texture to be not quite the same as the regular ice creams I make due to the absence of arrowroot but taste wise it is great and the spinach really does make it look a pale green and you wouldn't guess it was in it.

Surprise Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream from gluten free easily
2 3/4 cups full-fat coconut milk, chilled
1/3 cup to 2/3 cup agave (to taste)
1/8 cup fresh spinach (the surprise ingredient! I used baby spinach leaves and discarded the stems)
1 tbsp peppermint schnapps (or 2 tsp peppermint extract-also to taste)
2/3 cup mini chocolate chips (use only about 1/2 cup if using regular-sized chocolate chips)
Mix ingredients except for chocolate chips in blender until there are no visible particles from the spinach leaves. Pour into ice cream maker. Churn for 20 minutes. Add chocolate chips and churn another 2 minutes until chips are mixed in.

Chamomile Ice Cream with Agave Almonds- Vegan Mofo Day 5

I enjoyed the iced tea so much that I thought of combining chamomile in a dessert. This only makes a tiny amount as I was experimenting, so feel free to double or tripple the recipe depending on your ice cream maker. 

Chamomile Ice Cream (see note in regards to serving size above)

1 3/4 cup of coconut milk (1 can)
4 tablespoons agave
4 chamomile tea bags
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of arrowroot

Wisk arrowroot into 1/4 of coconut milk and set aside. Combine the remainder of the coconut milk, teabags and agave in pot, bring to boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Let it sit for 20 minutes. Remove tea bags and then stir in coconut milk.arrowroot mixture and vanilla essence. Allow to cool in fridge for a few hours and then place in ice cream maker. Mix in agave almonds once the ice cream maker has finished.

Agave Almonds
2 tablespoons of agave
1/2 cup of  almonds

Combine agave and almonds in frypan, fry over low heat until almonds are coated in agave.


Coconut and chamomile are friends, trust me. I'm quite proud of this little experiment. I think chamomile is so calming and as the weather becomes warmer here instead of sipping on some tea, this is a much better alternative. I was worried that the chamomile flavour would be lost but you can definitely taste it. I just wish that I made more as Toby and I finished it one sitting!

Salted Caramel Ice Cream- That Recipe Seems Familar

Planet VeGMeL is a a collection of Melbourne veg blogs, so you can read all of the blog posts in one place. To celebrate planet vegmel's 2nd birthday there is a blog event called that recipe seems very similar where we you try a recipe from one of the melbourne veg blogs and blog about it. There will also be a celebratory potluck held.

I'm hoping to do a couple of these posts, but given that it also coincides with Toby's birthday this week I'm not sure how we will go time wise. For my first attempt, it's probably no surprise that I went with a dessert- a ice cream dessert because I am just a tad obsessed with making dairy free ice cream. I chose cindy's salted caramel ice cream which I had the pleasure of trying at her ice cream potluck last year.


 Vegan salted caramel icecream
(adapted from David Lebovitz's salted butter caramel icecream from wheres the beef

mix-in toffee
spray oil
100g castor sugar
3/4 teaspoon sea salt, ideally some fancy fleur de sel

'custard'
300g castor sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (again, fleur de sel preferable)
60g Nuttelex or other vegan margarine
2 x 400mL cans coconut milk
1 generous tablespoon arrowroot
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line a baking tray with paper and spray it lightly with oil.  To make the toffee, place the sugar in a saucepan and melt it over moderate, even heat.  Don't stir it too often or vigorously, but go ahead and shift the liquid bits out of the way to encourage the solid bits to melt quicker.  Continue cooking the sugar until it is all liquid and brown, until it just starts smoking.

As efficiently as you can, sprinkle the salt over the caramel and pour it all onto the baking tray.  Lift and tilt the tray to get the thinnest layer of toffee you can - it doesn't have to be a pretty shape or single sheet.  Set it aside to set completely.

Now for the custard!  Repeat exactly the same caramel-making process with the sugar in a medium-large saucepan.  Take it off the heat when it's time to add the salt, and whisk in the margarine too.  Next, gradually whisk in the coconut milk.  Return the saucepan to a moderate heat to help evenly melt the coconut fat through the mix.  The caramel may harden again but be patient, it will re-melt over the heat.  Sift in a generous tablespoon of arrowroot and bring the mixture to the boil. Take it off the heat and stir in the vanilla extract.

Cool the mixture, refrigerating it overnight so that it's completely chilled.

When the custard is ready, churn it in an icecream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.  Crumble the toffee into little pieces (DL suggests 1cm in size) and stir it into the finished frozen custard.  Transfer it all to a container and freeze until firm, at least 4 hours.

I followed the recipe exactly except I couldn't find fleur de sel in Brunswick so used maldon salt flakes instead but I don't think it made a huge difference. It is so so so so amazing, definitely up there with my favourite ice creams of all time. However, be warned it is super sweet so avoid if you a wuss when it comes to sweet things. The ice cream base has a lovely caramel flavour but I particularly loved the salted toffee, am thinking about doubling the toffee and adding it to vanilla ice cream next time so that it can be an even bigger star. I had planned to bring this to the potluck but who was I kidding? I can't share this,  IT'S ALL MINE!!!! (said in evil character voice followed by evil laugh).

Root Beer Float Ice Cream in Chocolate Cups

I couldn't decide on a name for these even with the suggestions I got from twitter which included chocolate floats, root beer crunch, cups of brown joy, root beer cupiscles and brown cow cups. Leave a comment to help me decide and I'll change the title!

Cindy and Michael had a small potluck at their place to celebrate 5 years of blogging! My dish was obviously inspired by the trip to the US particuarly root beer floats and peanut butter cups. So I decided to combine the two things. First I made this root beer ice cream from bittersweet :

Root Beer Ice Cream

1 Cup Vanilla Soymilk
1 Cup Root Beer Soda (I used A&W which is gf)
1/2 Cups Sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons Arrow Root
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Root Beer Extract (I left this out)

Whisk together all the ingredients, except for the root beer extract, in a medium sauce pan. Beat vigorously to ensure that there are no lumps whatsoever before turning on the heat to medium. Cook, whisking every few minutes, until the mixture comes to a rapid boil, and immediately remove from the stove. Whisk in the root beer extract, and then chill thoroughly before churning according to your ice cream manufacturer’s instructions. Transfer the churned ice cream into an air-tight container, and stash in the freezer for at least 4 – 6 hours before scooping, or until frozen solid.

It is suprisingly refreshing by itself, but I had to take it to the next step. So I melted some dark chocolate with a tiny bit of coconut oil and lined foiled cups with the chocolate about half way up, added in the ice cream and then covered the top with more chocolate and placed them back in the freezer.

I really enjoyed the combination of flavours, the chocolate makes the root beer a little more mellow but because the root beer has such as strong flavour it works. Be warned though, not everyone likes root beer so it worth trying before making it. Root beer tastes a lot like sarsaparilla which I guess is an aquired taste as a few people at the potluck complained that root beer tastes like medicine. If that is the case then I think I missed out on some yummy medicine growing up!

Please note that you can find root beer in some asian supermarkets in Melbourne, I found it at the asian supermarket at Barkly Square in Brunswick.

NYC Day 2: One Luck Duck, Caravan Of Dream, Lula's and Mexican Radio

On our second day of our NYC trip, we went exploring the Chelsea area, including (the outside of the legendary) Chelsea Hotel, Chelsea Market and the stunning High Line Park.  

K was very excited when we saw One Lucky Duck at Chelsea Market.  They sell very healthy (I think they are all raw?) gluten-free vegan sweet treats and interesting juices.  We started with a Mallomar ($6, Chocolate coated peacan cookie with vanilla cream).  We both thought it was awesomely delicious.

 

K asked the friendly girl at the shop what's her favourite and she recommended the Tiramisu ($14, made with almond flour, coconut, cashews and SAKE!!).  It was sensational!  We also got the "Orreo" Cookies ($6 for two), K ate them all and thought they were fine but not as amazing as the previous two.

At lunch, we went to Caravan Of Dream near our apartment. I had a pretty decent gluten-ly Tempeh Rueben sandwich ($13 with free miso soup) and K picked the Cuban Delight ($19, grilled tofu, black bean, rice and grilled banana).  K thought it was really average and over priced.

Ater lunch we went to Lula's for some vegan ice-cream action. We picked the classic sundae ($7 incl tips, forgot how much it was). The staff were very helpful and told us what is gluten-free and suggested we get one scoop of normal ice-cream and one scoop of softserve.  The cashew based chocolate soft serve was very good and the strewberry ice-cream, which was made with real strawberries, was a bit subtle in K's book. In addition to choosing the ice cream, you also get to choose what sauce and what topping. We chose the  excellent hot fudge sauce and caramelised pecans and it was topped with some vegan cream.  She kept saying that she wanted to marry the shop afterward.

For dinner we went to a vegan-friendly Mexican joint Mexican Radio with our fellow travellers Matt  and Jess. Unfortunately, the atmoshphere was ruined by a big tableful of obnoxious alpha male types, who didn't seem to notice that all of their conversations were yelling.

They can make most things on the menu vegan (powered by grilled tofu, gluten-ly seitan and Daiya Cheese) and gluten-free.  We shared some homemade corn chips ($9, yellow, red and blue) and spiced guacamole, which was quite nice.

I had a pretty rad gluten-ly dish and K had the grilled tofu Enchiladas ($16, served with black bean and rice) with both red (roasted tomato jalapeño sauce) and Suiza (tangy tomatillo).  She was blown away by so many delicious flavours in one single dish.  Her Melbourne flavourite Trippy Taco pales in comparison.

I am enjoying our New York experience (3 days in) so far.  I fell in love with Brooklyn (next post) and East Village.  I had good coffee at tiny Abraco Espresso and gigantic Blue Bottle in Brooklyn.  Their cups of joe were as good as Melbourne if not better.  I'll make a separate blog post about coffee in New York later.

One Lucky Duck (Chelsea Market)

425 West 15th St.

New York (Chelsea), NY 10011

Caravan Of Dreams

405 East 6th Street

New York (Manhattan), NY 10009

Lula's Sweet Apothecary

 516 East Sixth St,

New York (Manhattan), NY 10009

Mexican Radio
19 Cleveland Pl, 

New York (SOHO), NY 10012

Choc Chip Cookies with Peanut Butter Ice Cream

I told you, it wouldn't be long til I tried making the gluten free chocolate chip cookies that I blogged about a few weeks ago. In fact it was only a week later but I thought it would be kind of boring to hear that I made the same cookies in one week. I do think it's worth sharing though because I made some changes, this time I used regular white agave and a mixture of white and dark chocolate. But I discovered that the strong after taste wasn't the dark agave but was the 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract, next time I will try with only 1 teaspoon to see how it compares. I do love the texture though and general flavour. I took some to a friend's house and then used the remaining leftovers to make peanut butter ice cream sandwiches using the recipe from vegan scoop. It is seriously my most used cookbook and this ice cream was another winner.

One Ingredient Vegan Soft Serve

This is ridiculous easy. So easy that I had my doubts when Tahn shared the recipe but I now agree with choosing raw that this will change your life. But the texture really is like soft serve and best of all it's surprisingly tasty, healthy and super quick.

So you cut bananas into pieces and freeze. Then place frozen bananas in the food processor and voila:

I have a confession to make though, I was lazy and a week ago froze 3 bananas with the skin on. Big mistake! I couldn't take the skin off frozen so had to wait til they were partially defrosted and then try to get the skin off when they were all mushy which took  quite a while. So save yourself the trouble people!

We served it to plain to Richmond Bec and then Toby and I tried some with chocolate peanut butter on top! Terry very kindly brought some of this over from the states because I was curious. It is so frigging amazing.  I just can't decide what to do with it next, although it's tempting to just eat it out of the jar, I want to do something special with it, any ideas?

And then we used a tiny bit of the leftover banana soft serve and added frozen blueberries to make blueberry flavoured ice cream. This was great too, although it meant the texture wasn't as smooth. I love a bit of crunch in ice cream though so enjoyed this.

I look forward to experimenting with this further will all of these hot days coming up.

Lazy Ice Cream Toppings: Mint Slice Biscuits and Halva

I'm obsessed with these Leda Minton biscuits, they are my fave g/f biscuits and taste exactly as I remember mint slice biscuits. Although, it's been so long that I can't really remember!



I came across these chocolate mint ice cream balls recipe on kidspot but I couldn't really be bothered making them into balls or covering with chocolate so I just used their recipe as a guide to combine these biscuits with ice cream. This is the laziest thing I've made in a while.

Just mix 1 scoops of softened vanilla ice cream with 4 crushed biscuits.



And that's it!



I love a bit of crunchy texture in ice cream, so I think it works perfectly and tastes great, although it does soften the mint flavour. It's really awesome when you can't decide if you want biscuits or ice cream!


Because it's such a simple recipe, I thought I would also share my latest ice cream topping: halva. Simply crush halva and serve on top of ice cream. My previous neighbour Sarah served this to us once and I've been hooked since. Halva while sweet has a slightly bitter flavour which works well with sweet ice cream. Here it is with chocolate halva but I think halva with nuts works best.



What's your fav lazy ice cream topping and what is your fav way to serve halva?

Nut Milk Bag and Peach Almond Ice Cream

Nut bag, Nut bag, nut bag! Yes I know it sounds dirty, so stop giggling so I can tell you about it.

I think technically they are called nut milk bags, but I called it a nut bag much to the amusement of friends. I've been wanting to get one  since I started reading about making your own almond milk but figured would be too tricky to hunt down. So I was quite happy to discover this asian style version for a couple of dollars at the IGA in Carlton:

Toby tells me that it usually intended to cook fish in chinese style soup. But I figured it's probably the same as a nut bag.

I made this:

Peach Almond Ice Cream from Elana's Pantry:

1 cup almonds, soaked overnight, discard soaking water
1 cup water
3-4 peaches
5 dates
4 drops stevia (I used agave)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice

1. Place soaked almonds and water in Vitamix (I just used a regular blender)
2. Blend on highest setting until smooth, about 1 minute, add a bit more water if blending is a challenge
3. Remove almond mixture from Vitamix and strain through a fine mesh paint strainer bag, discarding solids
4. Place almond mixture in rinsed out Vitamix container, blend in peaches and dates on highest setting until smooth
5. Blend in stevia, vanilla and lemon juice
6. Place mixture in ice cream maker and process according to instructions

The almond milk was so  smooth! It made a nice healthy ice cream, but it made far less than I am used to. Also I think it would have been better if i cooked the peaches first and I think it could have been sweeter. I've wondering if there is a pattern developing that replacing stevia with other sweeteners doesn't work or that I am just used to really sugary desserts.

I'm sure you will be seeing more recipes which use the nut milk bag  soon.

Vegan Ice Magic In Minutes

I used to love ice magic or magic shell as it appears to be called in the US but Toby has never had it. For those of you who aren't familiar it's a chocolate topping that hardens when put on ice cream to make a nice crunchy topping. I've been admiring a few recipes for vegan magic ice cream for a few weeks including Vegan Dad's recipe but quickly settled on this once because it is easier and I figured coconut oil was better for you. I had a hard time finding coconut oil but eventually found it at IGA (in Brunswick) so could give this incredibly simple recipe a go:


HomeMade Ice Magic or Magic Shell from the Accidental Vegetarian

1 cup coconut oil

about 1-2 cups semi-sweet, bittersweet, or dark chocolate chips or chunks

1. Melt the coconut oil over very low heat in a small saucepan.

2. A little at a time, whisk in the chocolate chips, until the mixture resembles very thin, chocolate syrup. We needed about 1 1/2 cups.
 
Pour over ice cream and allow it to set, took about 30 seconds:

The accidental vegetarian suggests keeping it at room temperature but I have been keeping it in the fridge for a few days and simply reheating it when I wanted more. I would suggest making half or even a quarter the amount since this makes a lot.

It tasted and felt just as I had remembered it. So making this again and again.

G/F Chocolate HoneyComb Ice Cream Cake

Cindy had a ice cream potluck for her birthday on Sat. So I made her this gluten free chocolate honeycomb ice cream cake with chocolate crackle base. I took inspiration from two online non-vegan, non-gluten free recipes and combined them. The chocolate crackle base idea was from Koali's life blog and the inclusion of honey roasted nuts was from the Eat Drink Live version of nigella's cake.

First I made the honeycomb, unfortunately I had tried a few more honeycomb recipes which all failed. Maybe due to the humidity before finally returning to the original recipe that I made last time. I covered in chocolate again and cut it into small chunks.

To make the chocolate crackle base. I simply copied Koali and followed the same recipe but substituted the chocolate for dark chocolate and the rice bubbles for g/f version of rice bubbles. YES STUPIDLY REGULAR RICE BUBBLES AREN'T G/F!

1 250g dark chocolate
roughly 1 1/2 cup of g/f rice bubbles
1. Line a 20cm spring form cake tin with baking paper (I didn't do this but it didn't seem to matter)
2. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler
3. Add rice bubbles a large serving spoonish at a time. Mix through until you get the consistency of chocolate crackles. You want enough chocolate to set but enough rice bubbles to give a constant crunch.
4. Spread the mixture over the bottom of the cake tin.

Then I made honey roasted nuts, but instead of roasting them or using honey. I followed this recipe from the sweet and salty life for agave walnuts and substituted peanuts:

Agave Glazed Peanuts

4 TBSP Raw Agave Syrup
2 TBSP Margarine
1 Cup Peanuts

Pour it all into a medium pan and sauté on medium heat.
When the Peanuts are hot, lower the flame and allow the nuts to simmer until the glaze has become thick. You will know the Walnuts are ready when there is no liquid in the pan and the nuts have completely soaked up the Agave and Earth Balance. Let them cool and then store the nuts in an air tight container to keep them soft and moist. I then cut them into chunks too.

For the ice cream, I just followed the vanilla ice cream recipe in Vegan Scoop but instead of adding vanilla essence I added a whole vanilla pod and cooked it with a combination of rice and coconut milk.  I don't think the vanilla was needed though and probably wasted with alll the other flavours combined.

In the last few minutes in the ice cream maker I added the chopped honeycomb and nuts. Then spread it over the chocolate crackle base.

And decorated it by making a C with some honeycomb and nuts that I had put aside.

I was pretty happy with the end result, especially given that it was a big experiment and I wasn't sure how it would all go together.  It was pretty sweet and had loads of crunch. I think you could easily reduce the nuts and/or honeycomb and just get rid of the chocolate crackle base or the nuts if you wanted to.

Instead of taking pictures like I normally did, I just relaxed and ate and ate and ate. There was so much amazing ice cream and g/f penguin waffles! Toby will talk about his ice cream dish next.

Gluten Free Frozen Margarita Pie with Tequila- Vegan Mofo Day 30

I really wanted to finish vegan mofo with something original and awesome and I think this easily fits the bill.

Toby gets the credit for finding this recipe after I stomped around the house saying that we need to make something amazing for the last day of vegan mofo last night. I found plenty of recipes but they all required a visit to Radical Grocery or the Asian supermarket and both were closed by this stage. This recipe actually comes from the examiner and rocks. Am I getting to old to say 'rocks'? It's salty, sweet, sour, alcoholic, creamy, crunchy all in one!

We used Eskal brand gluten free pretzels which I am addicted to. I hated them when I first went gluten free but now prefer them to gluteny pretzels. We also halved the recipe which made enough for four small ramekins and used less tequila but next time will use the full amount. Part of me thought I might hate this but it was fantastic and I think I am hooked on the idea of salty pretzels in desserts!

Gluten Free Vegan Frozen Margarita Pie with Tequila

 For the crust:

- 2 ½ cups of small salted pretzels, finely crushed (use a rolling pin or put them in the food processor)

- ½ cup vegan margarine, melted

- 1 tbsp sugar

For the pie filling:

- 6 cups So Good vanilla nondairy frozen dessert

- ¼ cup tequila

- 3 tbsp frozen margarita mix (or limeade mix) ( I just used more lime juice mixed with a teaspoon of icing sugar)

- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice

Directions for Frozen Vegan Margarita Pie

To make the crust, stir together the crushed pretzels, sugar, and melted margarine. Press into the bottom and against the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Freeze the crust for at least an hour. We only put it in the freezer for about 15 minutes but it didn't seem to matter.

For the filling, let the vegan ice cream soften so that it is easy to work with. Stir in the tequila, margarita mix, and lime juice and blend everything very well. (You can do this in a food processor if you like.) Spoon into the frozen pretzel crust, cover with waxed paper, and freeze until firm.

Let the pie stand for a few minutes before serving so it’s easy to slice.

 

Vegan Mofo has been a blast, we have managed to blog every day for a month, that's 27 posts by me and 3 from Toby, but who's counting? It has forced us to be way more creative and try more recipes than we regularly do and has been a nice distraction when other things have been stressful. But I now look forward to having a few days off blogging, having slightly more time on my hands, checking out some of the other mofo blogs that I haven't already and making tired old favourites that we have previously blogged about.

Chocolate Candy Cane Ice Cream- Vegan Mofo Day 25

I got really excited the other day when I saw vegan candy canes at Coles. I love candy canes because they are edible decorations which I think is incredibly cool. I made candy cane cookies for a xmas potluck a few years ago and so was thinking I need to find something else to do with them.

I stood in the supermarket with my phone and searched for vegan candy cane ice cream recipes, vegan ice cream paradise blog popped up straight away.  If you haven't already checked out her incredible blog I strongly recommend it. She hasn't posted as regularly for a few years due to health reasons but has so many great looking vegan ice cream recipes which everyone can access for free. I've also made and enjoyed the blueberry 'cheesecake' ice cream from her blog before.

2 c. soy creamer (or any non-dairy milk- I used soy milk)
1 c. soy milk (or any non-dairy milk)
¾ c. sugar
1½ c. chocolate chips (i used good quality bitter dark chocolate chips)
2 T. arrowroot
1 t. vanilla extract (i forgot this)
2 t. peppermint extract (i only used 1 teaspoon)
1 c. chopped candy canes (I used about 12 candy canes which was a little under a cup)

Mix ¼ cup of soy milk with the 2 tablespoons of arrowroot and set aside.

Mix the soy creamer, soy milk, sugar, and chocolate chips together in a saucepan. Heat gently until the chocolate melts, then bring to a boil. When the mixture has just started to boil, take off the heat and immediately stir in the arrowroot slurry. This should immediately cause the liquid to thicken (not a lot, but a noticeable amount; it will be thicker when it cools).

Add the vanilla and peppermint extracts.

Set the ice cream mixture aside to cool. Freeze according to your ice cream maker’s instructions. Add the chopped candy canes in the last 5 minutes of freezing.

I wasn't sure what would happen to the texture of the candy canes when frozen, but they appeared to maintain their nice crunchy texture which is great because I prefer some crunchy bits in ice cream. I halved the amount of peppermint extract because last time I made peppermint choc chip ice cream, I thought 1 teaspoon of peppermint extract was enough but the chocolate flavour is incredibly rich and slightly bitter which overpowers the peppermint flavour in the ice cream base. I think it really works though because the candy canes have a strong peppermint flavour which provides a nice contrast of flavours and textures. This was super delicious so I will have to make it again closer to xmas time.

Ginger Lychee Ice Cream & Posting Cookbook Recipes- Vegan Mofo Day 17

Yes it didn't take me long to continue with my ginger summer dessert theme. This is from Vegan Scoop I actually stuffed this up, I followed the recipe which consisted of heating a mixture of ingredients, adding arrowroot (mixed with soymilk) and then discovered that I was missing 2 cups of soy milk that were supposed to be heated before I put in the arrowroot mixture. I whisked it in though while it was still hot and it worked, yay!

I only used about half the ginger the recipe asked for, which I think is the perfect amount. The heat from the ginger just works really well with cold desserts. Why haven't I thought of ginger in ice cream before? Plus, it's so soothing for my sore throat. The lychee flavour is quite subtle though, so i think next time I might add more chopped lychees or just serve it with with lychees on top.

I'm not going to post the recipe since I've already posted a few from Vegan Scoop and it just seems wrong to post more. Actually I've been rethinking posting recipes from cookbooks. I never used to and then I started because I figured if people try recipes online from the cookbook it might inspire them to buy the cookbooks. Also I tend to skip over some posts without recipes. But if most are the best recipes from cookbooks are online, than don't some people think what's the point of buying it? Also I think vegan cookbooks are a niche market and most of the authors don't get enough money from the sales. I think I would probably be pretty annoyed if I was an author. What do you think?