This recipe might be a game changer. This was one of those recipes where I had absolutely no idea what to expect. I know that people make ice cream, I’m pretty sure when I was really little we might have had an ice cream maker, but it was a pain to work with and never quite turned out right. At least I think I have some vague memory of that. Being vegan, I used to really miss ice cream. But R and I discovered DF Mavens dairy-free ice cream at our local health food store and that has largely filled the gap very very well. But it is also pretty over priced, and I can rarely justify the purchase (especially when I know we’ll likely eat it in one or two sittings. Self-control is not our strong suit when it comes to ice cream).

I decided I should be able to figure something out on my own. I mean, how hard can ice cream really be to make? (Actually I thought it was going to be really hard). Well it turns out – it is actually ridiculously easy. Who knew?! This recipe is perhaps one that I am the most excited about in a long time. I think it’s because it actually turned out on the first try, and it makes me feel like the possibilities are endless. Endless! If I can pull off raspberry banana, what can stop me from pulling off salted caramel or cookie dough ice cream?

I started with a frozen banana and some frozen raspberries. I had an idea that I’d try to do the ice cream over the weekend, so before bed one night I just peeled the banana and tossed it in a mason jar and tucked it in the freezer so it would be ready to go when I wanted to whip it up.

For a cream, I decided to use whole fat coconut milk. Did you know if you don’t shake the can, you can open it up and there’s this rich, thick cream on top before you get to the milk? It’s amazing – it has the same consistency of whipped cream. It’s simply decadent.

All I did was use my food processor to blend everything together. Eaten immediately out of the processor, it has a soft-serve consistency. But you can also throw it in a container and put it in the freezer overnight (or for a week if you forget about it like I did). Frozen, it has a harder more traditional ice cream consistency. Both ways were terrific – but the idea of being able to freeze this and have it on hand makes me so excited I may start going that route every time.

Maybe the best part about making my own is that I also know all the ingredients that are in it and can pronounce them. There are sometimes things listed on labels that I’m not quite sure what exactly that is. And should I really be eating things I can’t pronounce? Probably not, though I know there are many times where I cave and buy things out of sheer convenience. But this time around, I may actually have found something that’s both so convenient and delicious that I may stick to making it at home.