Blueberry Banana Ice-Cream

After making Strawberry Rhubarb Gelato the other day, and discovering how easy it was, I decided to try a different flavour.  I only used coconut cream this time instead of coconut milk, to see if it would come out less icy - it did, a little!

I love how healthy and tasty this ice-cream is and the fact that it is vegan and lactose free means that anyone can enjoy it .... and you don't have to save it for dessert!

Blueberry Banana Ice-cream

Ingredients

1 cup fresh blueberries
2 small bananas - broken into small pieces
2 x 160g cans coconut cream - (You could use 2 x 400g cans of coconut milk, but only use the thick coconut cream from the top).


Place blueberries, banana and coconut cream into a blender. Blend until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a container and place in the freezer for approx 3 hours, or until it starts to freeze.

Transfer mixture back to a blender. Blend again, then pour mixture back into a container and refreeze overnight.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Strawberry Rhubarb Gelato

With the very hot few days we've been having and loads of fresh fruit around the house, I decided to make a fruity ice-cream dessert.  I don't have an ice-cream maker, but I figured I could still freeze my concoction and it would still turn out ok. ...... I still wanted something quite healthy and light, so didn't use cream or eggs and it turned out like a refreshing gelato.

Oh and another wonderful thing about this delicious treat is that it is lactose free, perfect for anyone with lactose intolerance! :)

Strawberry Rhubarb Gelato

Ingredients

1 cup (approx) fresh strawberries
1 bunch (approx) fresh rhubarb stalks - cut into small pieces
2 x 400g cans coconut milk
1/3 cup sugar
2 tbsp water


Place rhubarb, sugar and water into a saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until just tender. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.

Put the strawberries, rhubarb mixture and coconut milk into a blender. Blend until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a container and place in the freezer for approx 3 hours, or until it starts to freeze.

Transfer mixture back to a blender. Blend again, then pour mixture back into a container and refreeze overnight.

To allow it to soften, take out of the freezer a good 20-30 mins before serving.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Apple & Blueberry Crumble

Having harvested the last of our apples from the apple trees in our garden, I decided to combine them with the fresh blueberries I bought the same morning.  This makes a lovely dessert.

Ingredients

6 Apples - peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup Blueberries - washed
Brown sugar
Cinnamon

Crumble Ingredients

2 tsps Chia Gel
1/2 cup Plain flour
1/2 cup Oats
2 tbsp Hemp seeds
1 tbsp Demerara sugar
1 tbsp Cinnamon
Butter


(First, for the Chia Gel, see Caryl's Cooking Creations: How to make a Chia Gel)

Place the chopped apples and blueberries into a deep oven-proof dish. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon to taste. Mix well, but carefully.

In a small bowl, mix the chia gel with the flour, until it resembles bread crumbs.  Stir in the oats, hemp seeds, sugar and cinnamon until well combined.

Sprinkle crumble over apples and blueberries.  Dot with a very little butter.  Cook in moderate oven for approx. 20-30 minutes, until top is slightly browned.

Please note:  Apart from the chia gel, I am only guessing at the measurements for the other crumble ingredients, as I can't remember. (I will try to remember to measure next time I make a crumble).  Generally, I just shake in what looks and feels right at the time!

Enjoy, with custard or ice-cream, or both! ;)

Caryl ♥

Plum & Chia Seed Crumble

Every year, our ancient plum tree yields beautiful, sweet and juicy plums.  The only trouble we have is reaching the ones at the top of the tree, which usually get left for the birds and other flying creatures.

The other day, we collected this fabulous basketful of plums, so after eating a few just as they are, I decided to create a new dessert, using chia seeds.

The amounts for this plum crumble dessert are approximate.  After a few of the plums were eaten from the basket, I had just over 1kg left.

Ingredients

Just over 1kg Plums

1 tbsp ground Chia Seeds

2 tbsp Muscovado Sugar

Crumble Ingredients

2 tbsp Coconut Oil

2 tbsp Butter - chopped into pieces

4 tbsp ground Almonds

2 tbsp Muscovado Sugar

4 tbsp Oats

2 tbsp ground Chia Seeds

6 tbsp Plain Flour

2 tbsp shredded Coconut

extra Muscovado Sugar - for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.

Wash and de-stone the plums.  Cut them into quarters and put them into a deep casserole dish.

Sprinkle over the chia seeds and sugar and mix well to combine.

Mix all the crumble ingredients in a bowl with clean fingers until it becomes crumbly.  (You could use a blender if you wish and stir in the shredded coconut at the end).

Sprinkle the crumble mixture over the plums.  Add a little extra sugar over the top.

Pop it in the preheated oven for approx. 30 mins, until starting to brown on top.

Serve with a dollop of vanilla ice-cream, or custard.

Enjoy!

Caryl ♥

Ice-cream and Berries

Sometimes the easiest dessert is sitting right there in your fridge and the only work involved is washing, slicing and spooning (as in out of a container).

Let's face it, when you have a half opened tub of good vanilla ice-cream in the freezer, you may as well finish it (shared with others of course).

Add a handful of quartered strawberries and some blueberries and you have heaven in a bowl .... and there's not even one small piece of chocolate in sight!

Cheers,
Caryl ♥