Vanilla Ice Dream (ice cream maker not required), Plus a Giveaway!

60 Comments

april-24-2009-072

***Congratulations to random commenter #16, Motherhen68. You won the Garden of Eating giveaway. I will be contacting you :)***

Ice cream is probably one of my favorite foods. Unfortunately almost all commercial ice creams are made with conventional dairy, white sugar, high fructose corn syrup and weird additivies that are difficult to pronounce.

For this reason I was thrilled when Rachel Albert-Matesz told me about her new book The Ice Dream Cookbook.

The great thing about this book is that not only are the recipes dairy and gluten free, they are also low in sugar. All of the recipes are sweetened only with honey or agave and stevia. So, for anyone who can not tolerate cane sugar, or tries to stay away from too many sweeteners – you can enjoy ice cream (dream) again!

This book not only includes recipes, but an entire section titled “What You Need to Know to Get Started.”

In this first section their are three helpful chapters:

  • Essential Ingredients & Shopping Tips.
  • Equipment.
  • Essential Techniques.

All three of these chapters are quite detailed and a helpful background for all of the recipes.

A note on equipment: I do not own an ice cream maker and currently it is not in our budget to purchase one. I have found that you can make a good-textured ice cream/dream without an ice cream maker. I have been informed by Rachel, and others, that ice cream makers do creat a superior textured ice cream/dream.

The second part of the book contains ice dream recipes in four categories: the basic flavors, beyond the basic flavors, coffee, tea & nut flavors, and fruity favorites.

In these sections you will find everything from basic vanilla (which I will share with you today), to basil, to chai to dried cherry pecan – all flavors I can’t wait to try.

The ingredients use in these recipes are basic, nourishing foods such as coconut milk, gelatin, sea salt, real extracts, honey, stevia and spices.

Gelatin may seem like a strange ingredient in an ice cream dessert, but it works fantastically as a stabilizer. It is also a nourishing food. I keep 100% bovine gelatin on hand for homemade baby formula, but it is easy to find online or in some health food stores.

Rachel goes beyond ice dream in the last three chapters of the book. She gives us recipes for sauces, (hot fudge, anyone?), a la mode (mmm apple crisp), and additional indulgences (how about an ice dream sandwich made from gluten free cookies?). All of these are sweetened naturally with fruits, honey, molasses and stevia.

Let me give you a sneak peek at one of the recipes from the book. I made this for my father-in-law who is a fellow lover of ice cream, but can not have dairy. He loved it. I chose vanilla because he said that is one of his favorite flavors. I personally prefer chocolate and found this to be delicious sprinkled with unsweetened cocoa powder.

Vanilla Ice Dream (no ice cream maker required)

from The Ice Dream Cookbook by Rachel Albert-Matesz

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Recipe Notes: Some people love the flavor of coconut. I am not one of them. I don’t mind it, but I don’t prefer it. This recipe is supposed to have the strongest coconut flavor and I loved it. You could taste the coconut, but it was not the star of the show. I can’t say for sure, but I imagine that the other flavors will not have much of a coconut flavor.

Ingredients

  • 1/3 cup cool or cold filtered water
  • 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin or 3/4 teaspoon agar agar powder (not flakes)
  • 1/4 cup honey or agave nectar; additional 1 to 2 tablespoons as needed
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pure stevia extract powder or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon clear stevia liquid (start with less; add more only if needed)
  • 1/8 teaspoon finely ground, unrefined sea salt
  • 3 1/2 cups (two 14-ounce cans) unsweetened, preservative free coconut milk (regular, not lite)
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract or alcohol-free vanilla flavoring

Directions

  1. Add 1/3 cup water to a small saucepan. Slowly sprinkle with gelatin or agar agar powder. let stand for 2 to 5 minutes to soften. Warm over medium-low heat, without stirring, until gelatin or agar agar dissolves. Scrape the mixture into a blender, vita-mix, or food processor. (Shannon’s note: I used a stick blender). Cover and process until smooth.
  2. Add honey, stevia and sea salt. Blend. Add the coconut milk and vanilla, and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape the sides with a spatula. For a sweeter taste, add an additional 1/8 teaspoon stevia and/or 1 tablespoon honey. Blend, taste and repeat if needed.
  3. Pour into one or more wide-mouth jars. Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours before churning.
  4. Scrape the chilled custard into the canister of your ice cream maker. Churn according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
  5. Serve immediately or spoon into several 8- to 16-ounce freezer-safe containers. Cover and freeze for 3 or more hours for a firmer texture.
  6. Soften solidly frozen dessert by placing it in the refrigerator for 30 to 45 minutes or on the counter for 15 to 30 minutes before serving.

My Tip For Making Ice Cream/Dream Without an Ice Cream Maker

  1. Follow directions above through number 3.
  2. Scrape the chilled custard into a glass or stainless steel container. The more shallow the container, the faster the freezing process. Freeze for 45 minutes.
  3. After 45 minutes remove custard from freezer and use a fork or other device to mix the custard well. Break up all of the ice crystals. The smaller the ice crystal structure, the better texture your ice dream will be.
  4. Place custard back in freezer and repeat process every 30 minutes until ice dream is the texture of a firm soft serve, approximately 3 hours.
  5. If a firmer texture is desired, place the ice dream back in the freezer and remove 15-30 minutes before serving.

Rachel has kindly agreed to give away one copy of The Ice Dream Cookbook to one of my readers.

Here are the guidelines for the giveaway:

  • U.S. or Canadian residents only, please.
  • For one entry: simply leave a comment on this post.
  • For a second entry: blog about this giveaway. I will receive a link back so there is no need to let me know.
  • For a third entry: subscribe to nourishing days and leave a second, separate comment. If you are already a subscriber leave a second, separate comment letting me know.
  • The giveaway will run through the morning of Friday, May 22nd.
  • I will close comments and randomly choose the winner who will be notified by email.

I hope you win!

**this post is a contribution to Real Food Wednesday and works for me wednesday**

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60 Comments

  2. I LOVE the idea of making the ice cream without an ice cream maker! We are going to try this — thanks for the great info!

  3. I am also an ice cream lover but can’t do dairy and hate all the additives in commercial ice cream. Your ice cream looks delish. I do have an ice cream maker that my DH got me last year for mother’s day and I love it. I have never tried to make it without one yet:) I have heard that book is really good:)

  5. Thanks so much for including the “no ice cream maker” instructions! This book sounds amazing. What great ideas for making a favorite treat more wholesome!

  7. Wow – what a great sounding book. I love ice cream, but like you am not happy about all the additives, etc. This would be great!

    I am curious what brand of coconut milk you use. It seems that most brands have something unpronounceable. I am going to devote some time to reading all the labels in a Chinese grocery store near home. It’s amazing to me how many coconut products they have!

  8. Great recipe. I’ve become addicted to coconut milk ice cream in the past few months. I started making my own, b/c the brand at the store is a bit pricey, but have been having a problem with it getting too hard and icy when I make it (it’s perfect right out of the ice cream maker, but gets too hard after it goes in the freezer). I can’t wait to try the gelatin. Thanks.

    P.S. Chocolate’s more my style too 🙂

  9. What a nice blog you have!!
    I would love to win a copy of this book since as you listed– I can’t tolerate cane sugar or dairy or gluten. Anyway, I’m going to go look around your blog, thanks for the chance to win!

  10. P.S. I subscribed to your blog– I was going to anyway as I really liked your “About” section and its a bonus for an extra entry. Thank you!

  11. I have an ice cream maker that hasn’t been getting much use since I’m trying to lower my sugar intake, this recipe sounds perfect!

  13. I love icecream, but am allergic to
    dairy and have low blood-sugar so
    I must stay away from large amounts of sugar–this recipe book
    sounds remarkable, exactly what
    I’ve been looking for! Thanks so
    much :-))

  14. I also just signed up for your
    newsletter, looking forward to seeing more great natural recipes!

  15. This sounds wonderful! And I don’t have an ice cream maker, so this would be one book I could definitely use!

  17. Can’t wait to try this recipe! I have one for chocolate ice cream using coconut milk – but I love vanilla just as much as chocolate!

  23. This looks like a true and delicious ice cream!
    I haven’t had ice cream for eons, especially since I’ve been on a nourishing gluten free diet.
    Commercial ice creams are full of questionable ingredients, even the so-called healthy ones. And of course the sugar content is always high (even though I’e had hypoglycemia since childhood – probably due to my building gluten intolerance – I find that I do better on with low sugar/sweet intakes).
    Making ice cream at home with non dairy milk and without an ice cream machine can be tricky…So I usually stick to sorbets in popsicle molds ;).
    I’d love to win a copy of this book (I’ve read and heard many good things about it).
    I am already a suscriber and follower of your blog, which I truly enjoy reading.
    Thank you for the giveaway ;).

  27. I love ice cream. but I love ice cream more when it is all natural . Thanks

  28. As someone who has been on a lowcarb diet if I could get recipes using stevia that would be awesome. I definitely want to enter to win this. It looks AWESOME! Thanks so much!

  29. Yum. Would love to make something special for company! This would be just the key.:)

  32. I do not have an icecream maker, and this looks so easy and yummy, love to try it.

  33. Thanks for this recipe! I’m hoping to try it sometime this summer. My neighbor has an ice cream maker and said they could be purchased on sale for only about $40, but since this recipe doesn’t require an ice cream maker, I think I’ll hold off on purchasing one for awhile longer to save $$. Great giveaway too! Thanks! Love your blog.

  37. I love home made ice cream. Yum! This sounds like an interesting book. Other than my vegetarianism, we don’t have any dietary restrictions. I have several friends who do though, and it would be nice to be able to make them a treat.

  40. Looks like a fun book. I’m curious about your homemade baby formula… we’re adopting our child and I would be very interested in your formula recipe.

  41. This looks like a awesome book. I know someone who is allergic to wheat so this is perfect

  42. I’d love to enter. I eat dairy products (and have a local source of good ones), but my mom’s allergic to them so it would be nice to have frozen desserts to share with her.

  47. What a great cookbook! My husband is lactose-intolerant, and LOVES ice cream, but is in pain every time he eats it!

  50. I always ask for homemade ice cream for my bday that is coming up so this would be great to have!
    Thanks

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