With tomorrow being the Vernal Equinox and the official first day of Spring; I have a one track mind: Ice. Cream.
We have the most amazing local "ice cream" stand, Strickland's, which has been a landmark in Akron since 1936. Not only is this place historically significant to Akron, but it's historically significant to my family; both my grandfather and father worked there as teens, and almost all of my favorite childhood memories involve Strickland's Frozen Custard. Spring always marks the seasonal re-opening of the original Strickland's stand and I strive to never miss opening weekend.
With my new diary free diet it's pretty obvious that ice cream is out, and custard too, oh and don't forget gelato... Boo! Now this would be all fine and good if I could just stop the thoughts of smooth, velvety, soft serve deliciousness dancing through my head; but Strickland's takes this merciless taunting to the next level. Every day they feature a "flavor of the day" and thanks to social networking you can now have this information delivered straight to your Facebook wall, your e-mail or via the Strickland's App.
Last week (and I can still see the picture in my head) Strickland's featured a lucious, smooth strawberry cone, one of my favorites!! Gah!
So today I was inspired (or pinspired, you know where this is going). I'd seen a number of pins claiming that if you throw a frozen banana in a blender you have instant ice cream. I was VERY skeptical, but I decided to give it a shot. What do I have to lose!
Most of the recipes on pinterest include 1-2 cut frozen bananas + coco powder or bananas + peanut butter. I had no interest in experimenting with coco or peanut butter. I wanted the flavor of pure spring sunshine; STRAWBERRY!
STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM
Serves 1 (yes just one, don't judge)
- 1 to 2 (I used 1 1/2) frozen bananas, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
- 4 frozen strawberries, hulled and cut into 1 inch pieces
Place the bananas and strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor (I used my Cuisinart Mini Prep) or a blender. Blend. Devour.
Yup, it was really that easy.
The first thing I noticed was that it looked exactly like strawberry ice cream. The second thing I noticed was that it didn't really taste like banana. Hm!
It was creamy, smooth, bursting with strawberry flavor and just perfect! I decided to take it one step further though and top it with a cloud of whipped cream (you know how I get). He he he. Well, not really whipped "cream" but a suitable sub! I'm a big fan of this Soyatoo Rice Whip as a convenient sub for canned whipped cream and I can't tell the difference though my hubby says it tastes "different."
The most amusing thing was that I even fooled the cat. Our 9 year old tortoise-shell tabby, Bella, is a dairy loving fool. She will sit and patiently wait to clean out your cereal bowl, yogurt cup or ice cream dish (at least she did). These days she doesn't seem to care what I have because she knows it's not her beloved dairy. Today she couldn't wait to get her face in my bowl!
Eventually I'm sure I'll try the cocoa and peanut butter versions, but for now I'm content with my delicious strawberry "ice cream!"
Peace,
Laura
