I was in the middle of writing a blog post about the apple-blueberry-yogurt pie I made for the fourth of July, but then I tasted this ice cream that I just finished and changed my mind. It’s SO GOOD. The light avocado flavor plus the coconut milk and a teensy bit of lime and salt just make the creamiest indulgence. This still has cream in it, but could be done vegan (just use more coconut milk). I’m in love with this ice cream. And also, I’m in love with ice cream (I didn’t bring the ice cream maker with me to Boston, but since coming back I’ve made strawberry ice cream and strawberry-lime-mint sorbet which were both also awesome and I’ll put the recipes at the bottom of this post).
If I used maple syrup or agave or something instead of sugar, this would be paleo, right? It’s my husband’s birthday on Sunday and I want to make him something as good as the cake I made two years ago. I’ve been going through a big carb phase for the past seven months, so this would be a thank-you to him for putting up with all the pasta/bread/not-paleo-at-all stuff we’ve been eating. And what would be better than an avocado coconut ice cream cake with an almond-chocolate base? I’ll update if I do that!
Incidentally, let me brag about him for a second: he’s currently in the woods in Oregon, running in one of the world’s largest relay races from Mount Hood to the coast. I’m currently sitting at home with a bowl of ice cream and a laptop. This is exactly what I imagine we look like right now:
I’ve never been in a competitive eating contest. I’m more of an amateur-portion person- you can tell from this picture (both because of the size of the bowl, and because it’s not in PRO-portion)
Anyways. I picked up five small avocados for a dollar at the amazing produce shop down the street earlier this week, and I set them in a basket with some bananas waiting for them to ripen. The problem with buying five avocados at once when it’s just you at home is you have to use them all at once, or you’ll have overripe ferment-y ones (remember the raw avocado pie from last summer?). So I thought of ice cream or massive smoothies- avocado is definitely for sweets in Vietnam, with avocado smoothies being a huge thing (blend an avocado with ice and sweetened condensed milk. Drink.) I also didn’t have any milk at home, but I did have two limes and a can of coconut milk. Also some friends brought me chocolate with coconut in it. So that’s what happened!
Lately I’ve been very clumsy and stubbing my toe a lot. This makes me mix up things- am I an avocado for this ice cream, or an AdVOCAte? Stubbing my toe made me lose the extra ‘o’ (and also made me anagram)
Non-custard ice creams are so easy- just put everything in a blender. Plop your avocado pieces in (I cut avocados in half, then use a spoon to scoop out the flesh), some sugar, some cream, the juice of two limes, and a can of coconut milk. Blend.
Ah, the admirable avocado (certainly not PIT(i)ful in this picture)
She’s been in some complicated relationships-it’s still hard for the coconut milk to open up.
She’s just sick of all the li(m)es, but realizes that we all li(m)e sometimes to make life a little smoother (or perhaps more zesty- have i mentioned you look REALLY good in that?)
Blend that up til smooth, then toss it in the fridge while you go do other things. Also, cut up a chocolate bar into little chunks.
We could try to be honest all the time, but everyone has a DARK side- and BARing all might not be a great idea
People will CHOC up outcomes to what yOu say- so there’s no need to explain you’re LATE because you want to spend less time with them. Just blame traffic- a little li(m)e won’t hurt anyone.
This was my first time leaving the mixture in the blender instead of transferring to a bowl. It makes SO MUCH MORE SENSE because then you don’t splash all over when you pour the cream into the ice cream maker.
I’m not advocating lying all the time, but hey, any PO(u)Rt in a storm!
Note: DON’T put the chocolate chips, nuts, mix-ins, whatever in when you first pour in the mix. Wait until it’s about the thickness of greek yogurt so that the chips get evenly distributed.
Avocado coconut chocolate-chip ice cream (vegan, paleo options available)- adapted from David Lebovitz, who adapted it from this awesome looking cookbook Absolutely Avocados. Makes about 1 quart.
1 can coconut milk
3-4 small avocados or 2 big avocados
3/4 c sugar (or agave syrup/other sweetener for paleo)
2 limes
1/2 c cream (or more coconut milk)
pinch of salt
chocolate (I used a 3 oz bar of dark chocolate with coconut in it)
Blend all ingredients except chocolate together. Chill in a fridge for at least 20 minutes. Start your ice cream maker and throw in the blender-ful of stuff. Chop chocolate into small chips, and add in about 10 minutes into churning process. Enjoy!
Bonus recipe: Strawberry-lime-mint sorbet, adapted from the Cuisinart recipe book that came with my ice cream maker
Note: While for ice cream I just throw the sugar in, by now I’ve decided that simple syrup is the way to go with sorbets. Otherwise you’ll get grains of sugar ruining the smoothness of the sorbet
1 c water
1 c sugar
1 bunch mint leaves (I took them from my garden so I don’t know how many there were. Maybe 15)
3 limes
2 c strawberries (one pint according to this helpful website)
pinch of salt
Bring the sugar and water to a boil to make a simple syrup. Let it boil while stirring for a minute, then turn off the heat. Throw in the mint.
Meanwhile, cut up and measure your strawberries. Blend them with the juice and zest of the limes and the salt. Discard the mint. Add about 1/4 c of the simple syrup to your berry blend, and blend. Taste. This is probably too sour. Add more syrup 1/4 c at a time until the mixture is a little bit sweeter than you’d like. Chill in the fridge, clean up, and throw in the ice cream maker. Yum!
I used my leftover mint simple syrup (I had about 1/4 c) in a strawberry iced green tea. Delicious.
Baking and Math 