Tag: dairy-free

Chocolate “Ice Cream” with Dark Chocolate Shavings

Chocolate is decadent. It’s romantic. It’s indulgent. It’s perfect for Valentine’s Day and, as far as I’m concerned, perfect every day of the year!

I love chocolate. I also love ice cream. If you are like me, you are going to love this mock chocolate ice cream. It’s so good. It’s unbelievable actually. You’d never know it was healthy and dairy free!

It’s made with frozen bananas, cocoa powder, a hint of maple syrup, and, in this case, dark chocolate shavings (but you can add anything to your ice cream, e.g., nuts, fruit, etc.). This dessert is dairy free so it works for so many of you who are lactose intolerant or for those who have omitted dairy from your diet for other reasons.

To be honest, I’m still amazed that frozen bananas can yield a frozen dessert so close to a dairy-laden ice cream. All you need is a food processor.

So, here’s my new favorite chocolate ice cream recipe! I hope you enjoy it — you may even want to make it for your valentine this year.

Chocolate Ice Cream with Dark Chocolate Shavings
Serves 4

4 bananas, sliced and frozen
1/4 cup of cocoa powder
2-3 tablespoons maple syrup (grade B)
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/3 cup of shaved dark chocolate (or anything else you’d like to mix into your ice cream)

In the bowl of a food processor add the frozen bananas, cocoa powder, maple syrup and pulse until the bananas break down into a smooth, ice cream-y texture. Add the dark chocolate shavings (or your favorite candy, fruit, nuts) and mix until incorporated (depending on what you add, you can either pulse in the food processor, or transfer the ice cream into a bowl and mix the ingredients). Pour the mixture into a loaf pan and pop into the freezer until it hardens. The mixture, right out of the food processor, will likely be too loose to serve. One the ice cream sets, scoop and serve!

February 13, 2016
Banana Maple Walnut “Ice Cream” (Dairy- and Gluten-Free!)

I had heard you could make mock-ice cream out of frozen bananas. I was skeptical, but I had a few spotted bananas on my counter, and I figured why not try! So, I peeled them, sliced them, wrapped them up and popped them into the freezer.

While they were freezing, I contemplated what type of ice cream I would make. You could easily make one-ingredient ice cream with just the frozen bananas, but I wanted to jazz it up a bit. While the ripened bananas are sweet on their own, I wanted to add a little more sweetness. I’m particularly fond of using maple syrup as a sweetener. I thought I’d also throw in some nuts — walnuts to be exact. Maple Walnut ice cream sounded pretty good to me — plus I figured the flavors would complement the bananas (think banana walnut muffin!).

I threw the chopped, frozen bananas into the food processor along with the maple syrup and pulsed it until it was smooth — like a softened ice cream texture. I then mixed in (by hand) the chopped walnuts.

The texture is definitely looser than ice cream, so you may want to put it in the freezer to set up a bit. If so, a loaf pan covered with plastic wrap works out nicely.

This is a great mock-ice cream. It’s creamy and delicious, and it is a perfect ice cream substitute. It’s also ideal for those who follow a dairy- or gluten-free diet.

As far as my family goes, they really enjoyed it — in fact, they were asking for more!

While an ice cream aficionado might turn their nose up, a health-conscious ice cream-loving mom will love this recipe — not only will she get rid of the spotted bananas in the house, but she will reap a healthy frozen dessert in return!

Banana Maple Walnut “Ice Cream”
Serves 4 people

4 ripe bananas cut into 1 inch slices and frozen
3-4 tablespoons maple syrup ( I use grade B for thickness)
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts

In the bowl of a food processor add your bananas and maple syrup (you can adjust the amount of syrup based on your desired level of sweetness). Pulse until the bananas break down, resembling a smooth creamy consistency. Remove mixture and add to a bowl. Mix in the chopped walnuts. Serve immediately or pop back into the freezer for a more solid consistency.

August 7, 2014
Roasted Potato Leek Soup (Gluten- and Dairy-Free!)

Leeks are a spring vegetable. And, now that they are in season, it’s the perfect time to incorporate them into into your cooking.

If you’ve never cooked with leeks, this roasted potato leek soup is a great, and simple, introductory recipe. The roasted vegetables offer depth of flavor and compensate for the lack of dairy in the soup (potato leek soup usually contains cream). It’s also gluten-free!

Leeks have a mild onion flavor. The dark green portion of the stalk, which is too tough to eat, is removed (wash and save it for stock!), using only the light green and white portion. Learning how to clean the leek is important since sand tends to get caught in the stalk. Therefore, you need to take a few steps to prep the leeks before proceeding with the recipe.

First, remove the dark green portion of the stalk.

Then cut about a 1/4-1/2 inch from the bottom, white portion, of the stalk.

Next, cut the leek lengthwise.

Rinse the leek under cold running water to remove the sand.

Then, put the leeks cut side down and cut the leeks in 1/2 inch slices.

Toss the leeks into a colander, separate the layers and run under cold water to make sure all of the sand is removed.

Now you are ready to prepare the soup.

Here’s the full recipe:

Roasted Potato Leek Soup

4 leeks, washed and prepared as noted above (1/4-1/2 inch slices)

3 large russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch dice

1 teaspoon of salt

1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme

1/4 teaspoon of black pepper

3-4 tablespoons of olive oil

6 cups of organic, gluten-free chicken stock or vegetable stock (non-tomato based)

chopped chives for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Arrange sliced leeks and diced potatoes on a large cookie sheet. Top with salt, thyme, pepper and olive oil (feel free to add more olive oil if necessary) and mix to coat. Roast the vegetables for approximately 50 minutes, stirring them frequently. Once potatoes are tender, remove from oven. At this point, you might notice a few dark pieces of leek, you can toss those. Transfer roasted leeks and potatoes to a large stock pot. Add the six cups of chicken stock and bring to a boil over medium heat. Remove mixture from the heat. Blend the soup in two batches in a blender (please note, a Vitamix or other high powered blender, may be too strong for this job — you do not want to over-blend the soup. It will yield a gummy consistency).

Serve hot or at room temperature. Top with chives.

Yields two quarts of soup.

April 12, 2014
Simple Broccoli Rabe Pesto

Do you ever get sick and tired of the taste of your own recipes? Some days, I feel like all of my meals taste the same, even if I change most of the ingredients. When I fall into this kind of cooking funk, I call up my childhood friend, Kate, for inspiration. I know that Kate will have a delicious recipe for me that can be modified to fit my diet, even on its strictest days. She also has an amazing knack for creating meals that my children find just as delicious as I do. This recipe is no exception and will become a staple in your house, as it is in mine.

Today, I want to introduce you to a versatile, easy-to-make sauce: broccoli rabe pesto. In the summer, we generally turn to herbs like basil and parsley for pesto, but this time of year, let’s work with a cold weather green like broccoli rabe.

Broccoli rabe is known to be a little bitter, however, blanching it takes away the bitterness and makes it perfect for blending into a tasty pesto.

Traditionally, pignoli nuts (and sometimes walnuts) appear in pesto recipes. This recipe, however, is nut free. Feel free to experiment and make this recipe your own! Throw a handful of toasted nuts into the food processor along with the rest of the ingredients.

This pesto can also be used as a condiment on sandwiches, a marinade for fish and poultry, or a sauce to toss with pasta. While Kate’s original recipe was made with cheese and wheat pasta, we were able to modify it so that it was both gluten and dairy free.

Enjoy!

Broccoli Rabe Pesto

1 large bunch of broccoli rabe (stems removed)

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

¼ cup of olive oil

Salt

Pepper

1 lb of cooked pasta of your choice

Cook broccoli rabe in a large pot of salted boiling water for 3-5 minutes – until just tender. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop cooking. Pat dry with a towel/paper towel. Add broccoli rabe to the bowl of a food processor, add crushed garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper. Pulse until emulsified.

If you would like to add cheese, feel free to mix in ¼ cup of parmigiano reggiano cheese after the mixture has been pureed.

Serve over pasta — or any other way you would like!

Yields 1 healthy cup of pesto (enough to top approximately a pound and a half of pasta)

March 19, 2014