Thursday, January 10, 2008

Ice cream sundaes on a Thursday


As you probably already know, my husband agreed to a raw dinner tonight, which happened to consist of a raw "n'ice cream" sundae buffet, complete with a fixings bar (the stovetop sufficed; I don't use it as much anymore).

I chose to use banana-based frozen desserts, since a) both my boys like bananas, b) most of the toppings were a little nut and sweetener heavy and c) I had to sneak some more fruit in there somewhere (even if this is one fruit I can get them to eat anyway).

Unfortunately, I had a lot on my plate today (in reference to my "to-do" list), so I didn't get around to making the actual "n'ice creams" (my term for raw nondairy ice cream) until after my husband got home from work (thank goodness he doesn't work late). I had to whip everything up in a jiffy, and as a result, they didn't get much time to set up in the freezer (which was my husband's ONLY criticism ... I guess I can call it almost a success or not bad for a first attempt).

But, that's okay. It still tasted good, especially with all the toppings piled on it. I felt like a kid at Friendly's again (I used to be a huge fan of the Reese's Pieces Sundae; I could eat a whole one myself).

Choice of embellishments included chocolate ganache, caramel sauce, vanilla cream, cookie dough balls, pecans, sliced almonds, cacao nibs, coconut flakes, dried cherries and pistachios, all raw of course, as well as some fresh sliced strawberries and bananas. These topped off the strawberry, peach and chocolate flavored frozen desserts quite nicely.

I put a little of almost everything in and on my sundae (pictured at the top of this post), while Matthew (my hubby) chose to accent his chocolate and strawberry scoops with fresh strawberries and bananas (his favorites), almonds and pecans (he is more of a purest). We both went back for seconds.

Jacob (my son) on the other hand, only took one bite of his plain chocolate n'ice cream and quickly recognized that it wasn't his usual frozen treat of choice. Hey, at least he tried it. We're taking baby steps.

12 comments:

Charis said...

Oh, you make me hungry! Ha ha, no no, I have to wait two more days for raw ice-cream! :0)
What do you use as a base for your n'ice creams?

shannonmarie said...

For these, I used frozen bananas. Just blend them in your food processor with some nut butter, agave, sea salt, vanilla and whatever flavoring you chose. The possibilities are endless.

I also like using the nut/coconut recipes from the Raw Food Real World book, Raw Food Right Now's ice cream course (also featured on Freshtopia.net) and in Juliano's uncook book (he uses a cashew base).

I have a soft-serve machine (seen in a past post) that I didn't use this time. I like pouring my favorite nutmilk and smoothie combinations through it. It looks a little crazy when I use a green one.

Unknown said...

What a fantastic idea! You are so creative! And I have tried your Chocolate Cherry "ice cream" recipe on Gone Raw, LOVE it! My husband loves it too! (And the "My Favorite Dipping Sauce" is great as well).

I would love to post one of your recipes sometime on green-lemonade.com, what do you think? It's not strickly a raw food site obviously but it is about being healthy and good to your body, so your recipes are definately appropriate. Shoot me an email and let me know what you think.

Kristen's Raw said...

ShannonMarie,

You're truly talented. I mean that! Just because there are a bunch of Raw books out there already doesn't mean we don't need yours. Even the way you wrote "n'ice cream" --- brilliant!

You know how you wrote about Thrive still being a book (even if you know it all already) that can inspire you? That same idea applies to you. Think of how many spaghetti recipes are in the world! That doesn't stop Giada (spelling?) or Rachel Ray from putting them in their books, right? Even a little twist on a recipe can make all the difference in the world. And make it more fun. If mine and everyone elses books are the only ones ever out there from here on out...that would be really BORING!!!

BTW...Reese's Pieces...used to be my favorite, too :)

Cheers and Hugs Talented Lady!

Charis said...

Yummy, Shannonmarie! I do that too, use frozen bananas for a creamy dreamy ice-cream, but my all-time favorite is the young coconut base (like you said, raw food, real world).
I second Kristen's comment! You are very talented!
I'm going to do the sundae thing on Sunday. ;0)

shannonmarie said...

Liz, I haven't posted anything on Gone Raw since it started, but I'm glad you enjoyed my contributions.

You can definitely have a recipe for green lemonade (remember, I am a fan). What did you have in mind? How about the super donut holes I made today?

Kristen, you make me blush sometimes. If you really think I should do a book, what tips do you have to offer? You've been so successful with yours. I don't know where to start.

Reese's Pieces Sundae, there we go thinking alike again.

Charissa, you're doing it right. Sundaes were made for Sundays. You should blog about it :-)

B said...

OK. Next time you have a spread like that, I'm coming over. Damn girl! You rocked that one.
x b

shannonmarie said...

Thanks b. We've gotta get together with Carrie after the two of you finish your juice feast to do some yoga and then reward ourselves with all the raw sweets we can eat.

B said...

I'm with you on that. Have a great weekend.
x b

shannonmarie said...

You, too :-)

Heather Pace said...

Oh no! I feel a Nice Cream craving coming on! See what you do to me?!

shannonmarie said...

I'm sorry. At least raw desserts are better for you than their raw counterparts. And, they're so easy to make.