Pineapple Coconut Ice Cream

Anyone out there interested in participating in the Vegan Month of Food 2013?  (VeganMoFo) The fun starts in September. You can see my VeganMoFo2012 posts by clicking here. 

Becoming vegetarian/almost vegan has come naturally to me – I guess because I love food and I love to cook and I love to experiment in the kitchen. Using new foods and flavors was not really that difficult for me.  I can understand, however, why people might think it’s radical to have so many beans and grains in the pantry, and not one slice of cheese in the fridge. Some might comment that new foods are strange or unappetizing, but I think that’s just because they haven’t attempted to incorporate them into their diets. Tofu is an example of one of these foods I am talking about. It’s still pretty new to me, but I no longer FEAR tofu!! I actually EAT it !!

And this is where the idea of a learning curve comes in. Remember learning how to cook a boneless, skinless chicken breast…. how to keep it juicy and tender….. how to create the various sauces and flavors to overcome the ‘sameness’ of the meat? Remember all the dry, unforgiving chewy chicken early in your cooking career? Well, it’s kinda the same when using any new food, like tofu. There is a learning curve. Some failures at first, true, but then you get the hang of it.

I will publicly admit that only a year ago, I had no idea what tofu even was! Talk about growth and learning! I now not only know what it is, I understand the different types of tofu and I’m even starting to use them in my weekly menus.

Come on, try a new food. Don’t be put off by the thought of failure. Just remember the early days of the boneless skinless chicken breast staring you in the eye and the dread of creating something appetizing from that dull piece of meat. If you can conquer that, you can conquer anything. 

The weather is pretty cool up here in Michigan today, but it's never too cool for ice cream. This one is fantastic! 

Here’s what you need:

2 C fresh pineapple chunks

1 can coconut milk (full fat)

1/3 C agave nectar

½ C coconut milk beverage (Silk brand, for example) 

1 t vanilla

Here’s what you do:

Blend in high speed blender until smooth. Chill for at least 3 hours. Freeze in an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer’s directions.