Peanut Butter Ice Cream with Coconut Milk

The richest, creamiest vegan ice cream I've ever made.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream, Baby.

It is sultry and steamy here. And, Babycakes, I am not cooking. I am not even boiling water for my habitual ritual of afternoon tea. I am sitting in front of a petite blue desk-top fan. Eating ice cream. Homemade ice cream, to be exact. With nary a trace of dairy or gluten. And apparently, it is the best homemade ice cream I have ever made (so says my ever willing, taste-testing husband).

The inspiration came via one of our favorite Los Angeles restaurants- Akasha, in Culver City. At Akasha you can always find a lovely gluten-free choice on the menu- as well as something vegan, which by default, is dairy-free. A sigh-of-relief option for those of us saddled not only with celiac disease, but a dairy intolerance as well. (As a side note, I have found it harder to dine out dairy-free than gluten-free-- chefs love their butter, cream, and cheese. And because they pre-prepare so many items on the menu, it is often impossible to find a dairy-free choice.) One of the gluten-free dessert choices at Akasha is vegan peanut butter ice cream. It. Is. Simply. Divine.

So I decided to try my hand at re-creating it.

Here's what I came up with.

You're welcome.

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Vegan Strawberry Chocolate Chip Sherbet

Ripe strawberries make delicious non-dairy sherbet

The Gems of June

Now is the perfect time for a sherbet recipe. Why? Because June is lush and abundant in strawberries. And how do I love these sweet ruby gems? Any way I can get 'em. Popped into my mouth straight from the colander. Rolled in brown sugar and nibbled. Baked into scones (have you tried my Strawberry Chocolate Chip Scones recipe?) and Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins. Nestled into Strawberry Rhubarb Crisp.

And this week- transformed into a bliss inducing non-dairy frozen confection.

Sherbet- berry pink and creamy and just sweet enough. Studded with vegan dark chocolate chips (darling you know I love strawberries and chocolate together, and I commingle the two every chance I get).

So I hope you dig it.

And dig in.

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Detox Green Soup Recipe with Ginger

Detoxing from your holiday sugar fest? Try this vegan green soup with ginger.

Detox Soup- Shhhh Don't Tell

I'm not perfect. Goddess knows. Especially during the long pale days of Winter. When I am a slug. Motivation is tricky to summon. I loll on the couch with my iPad and expend as few calories as possible, doing nothing more than watching House Hunters International as I read through your ever delightful comments. I scoop guacamole with homemade pecan crackers and conjure recipes for detox green soup as I follow tall young Cincinnatians ducking into tiny Italian kitchens the size of my corner sofa, daunted by the lack of plumbing but in love with the sun baked view of a tangled vineyard through open shutters. I mute the unintentionally absurd commercial for Cialis, trying to imagine why any woman over the age of fifty would even want to deal with 24-hour tumescence before I realize I have eaten a giant avocado.

All by myself.

I don't beat myself up. I know the bottom line. I didn't just fall off the turnip truck. I am not naive. Perfection is unattainable. No matter what the ad men tell you. And it's not perfection I seek. Though, in full transparency, I used to nurture an inclination toward seeking perfection in my long ago first marriage, but the wrecking ball named irony hit too hard to ignore. Turns out my first husband preferred someone decidedly not perfect. Someone sporting iridescent teal eye shadow and fond of dancing drunk with married men at Chamber of Commerce Christmas parties. That taught me a thing or two. Or three.

The thing about perfection is that no one cares.

And neither does your soul. In fact, your soul loves to throw a monkey headlong into your perfect plan. You know the monkey I'm talking about. The monkey who misses deadlines and loses car keys and eats an entire bowl of guacamole in one sitting (or laying down, as the case may be). So much for resolutions and diet strategies. Monkey WIN!

But just in case you're serious about cleansing those fat little liver cells and whittling away your holiday pie roll, I did make a detox soup. And yes, it was green. And cruciferously abundant in vegan veggie wonderfulness.

It made us feel happy.

And well fed.

Quite virtuous.

But not perfect.

Because perfection, Darling, is not only unattainable.

Perfection is highly overrated.


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Nectarine Ice Cream with Coconut Milk

Creamy and subtle coconut milk and nectarine ice cream.

Coconut Vegan Bliss

It's been hot and sultry here in West Hollywood. [One could argue, when is West Hollywood not hot and sultry, Babycakes?] We've been settling into our new apartment, hanging curtains (adios, vertical blinds), unpacking books, and doing laundry. So before I share the new coconut milk ice cream recipe I whipped up last night (after scarfing down vegan tacos like there was no tomorrow, which would be, today)...

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