Hard Core Soft Serve

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered banana soft serve. My life is changing. I'd position this confection a little closer sherbet than soft serve, but who cares what's like; it deserves its own dessert category. Freezey flavor bombs? Raw fruit cream? Whatever you call it, it's so easy to make, so pretty-good for you, and so swear-inducingly tasty! Here are a few variations I’ve come up with since I stumbled across Gena Hamshaw (of choosingraw.com blastasticalness)’s Raw Blueberry Ginger Ice Cream recipe over the 4th of July.

Apple Pie Banana soft serve (raw, vegan)
Makes 3-4 servings

2 frozen bananas

2 small red delicious apples, chopped and frozen (I’d have prefered something closer to Fuji, but this is what I had on hand)

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

3 Tablespoons almond milk

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 oz crushed pecans

2 Tablespoons ground flax seeds

Blend everything together until texture is creamy, top with nuts or whatever you'd like, and devour. 

This one could have used some sort of crust, but I still enjoyed it mightily. Also, it didn’t do quite as well as a leftover as the Blueberry Ginger. Might just have to eat the whole thing next time.

Next up: I friggin love bananas. Their flavor, their nutritional content, how you can do next to anything with them... but my fella just can't abide this wonderfruit (also on that list: Elton John, Disney movies, and “The Final Countdown.” Somehow we're still together). I wanted to bring the magic of raw soft serve to him, though, so I put our differences aside and made the following variation, using mango instead of banana as a base.

Tropical Soft Serve Night (raw, vegan) (recommended listening)
Makes 3-4 servings

2 Cups (10 oz) frozen mango, chopped

1/2 Cup frozen pineapple, chopped

1/2 Cup frozen peaches, chopped

3-4 Tablespoons full-fat coconut milk

1/4 cup crushed macadamia nuts (I soaked them for about 30 minutes first)

1/2 Tablespoon lime juice

Blend to perfection for a flavor explosion. 

One thing to consider: this variation is super sweet. This wasn't a deal-breaker for me, but next time, I'll try subbing peaches for some or all of the pineapple to take the sugar factor down a notch. The texture for this one was on point, especially when covered with crushed macadamias. 

You'll just have to use your
imagination on this one.

Food52.com (via Hamshaw, of course!) has a ton of other variations to try, and here are some more ideas that have been floating around in my head with summer fruits in full swing:

Chocolate Cherry, with frozen cherries and cacao nibs

Melon, with cantaloupe, honeydew, and maybe some cucumber

Lemon Strawberry

Hyatt Riot Tomatillo Salsa

The Hyatts, my fella’s folks, brought us about a pound and a half of tomatillo peppers from their garden last week. I’d been meaning to make a foray into homemade salsa for ages, so this was a fabulous surprise. I turned to Mark "Food Matters" Bittman’s Tomatillo Salsa recipe, which I doubled, blend-ified, raw-ified, and tweaked for heat and flavor.

Hyatt Riot Tomatillo Salsa (raw-able, vegan)

Makes about 4 cups

4 cups husked, rinsed and quartered tomatillos. They’ll be a little sticky once peeled, the rinsing will take care of that.

2 large jalapenos, chopped

A couple cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 cup chopped white onion

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 a lime’s worth of juice

1/2 cup tightly packed fresh parsley (Fresh parsley or carrot tops are my go to sub for cilantro, which I just can’t get down with.)

Optional: 1/4 C pickled jalapeno or pepperoncini juice, if the heat in the peppers isn’t gonna do it for ya. Note that if you’re going for raw, the vinegar used to make most commercial pickled items was likely boiled at some point. Raw pickled foods are available, though (also totally better for you for), and of course, adding some extra kick via more fresh peppers, chili powder, wasabi, whatever, is encouraged.

Put everything in a blender and blend to preferred consistency.

Hey salsa, you seasick?
Cuz you are GREEN.

Typically, I do a lot of tasting when I blend or cook up something new, adding a little of this (or of that) to get the recipe where I want it. With this one, though, it was perfect on the first try. For me, this means that the flavors of the vegetables really come through for a green, planty taste, there’s just enough tang from the lime juice, and whoa nelly, is it spicy!

The next time the Hyatts grace us with some tomatillos from their garden, I may add a small avocado, a cucumber, a tomato, or some cumin to this recipe and see what happens. Not that it’s lacking on its own!

2 Coconut Water Hydrators

Since my last post, I've relocated to a new house, and in fact, the move inspired the following two variations on coconut water-based hydrators. Because when you're moving, you sweat. And when you're moving in Texas in July, beer and pizza ain't cuttin it.

Blueberry Secret Weapon (vegan, raw) 

Makes a pint 

1 Cup Coconut water 

1 Cup filtered water (or, ya know, tap’s cool) 

Pinch of salt 

Drop or 2 agave nectar 

handful of frozen blueberries 

Put everything in a water bottle (mine’s about 16 oz) and shake shake shake. It’s ready! Added bonus to this hydrator: blueberry treat at the end.

I first tried this little number with my second attempt at yoga sculpt (yoga + weights, for the sadistically inclined). The last time I had taken this class, it killed. So for the second run, I brought my Blueberry Secret Weapon. It didn’t help me survive the class any better, but I did notice I felt a little more lively afterward. So we can say that it worked! I had another one of these fellers after running some errands, with a peach sliced into it and strained. Yurm.

Not a berry fan? Have a go at...

Summer in a Glass (vegan, raw)
Makes about 2 pints

1 Cup Coconut water

1 Cup filtered water (tap’s still cool) 

1 Cup fresh watermelon, chopped up a little 

1 Cup cucumber, chopped up a little 

Optional: Couple leaves of fresh spearmint 

What is that, a halo over the glass?

Blend all ingredients together. I strained the mixture, so it was more juice than smoothie, but there's no shame in keeping the pulp. Everything I used had been refrigerated, except for the mint. If more than one or two ingredients had been at room temp, I'd have added a couple ice cubes before blending.

My fella and I shared this concoction during some major unpacking (and... after a late night of frivolity). It hit the spot!

For more totally delicious coconut-water based hydrators, plus a little insight into the nutritional science behind them, head over to Thrive Forward's Sport section. Thrive Forward is like youtube + wikipedia + allrecipes for a plant-based clean living lifestyle. It overflows with info and goodness.