90% Fruit Soft Serve “Ice Cream” (In Minutes, No Ice Cream Maker)

(Becky, the Mama)

I have no idea if you’ve noticed this, as I have, but it is HOT out there.

The thing is, Colorado can very tricky when it comes to heat.  In Texas or Alabama, it is equally as miserable in the shade as it is in the sun. But in Denver, if you walk out under the awning to, say, contemplate taking a little walk, you will be deceived into thinking, “What a nice day it is, with such pleasant temperatures!”  Because of the dry climate,  it is easy to experience this false sense of breeziness when standing in shade, unaware that if you leave covered shelter you could instantly be fried like an ant under a magnifying glass..

So off you may go on a walk, if you are like me and so naive you are still trying to figure out jokes you didn’t get in the 7^th grade

But what you will find, as I found today on my walk-about, is that the sun in our great state is actually a giant heating lamp and because we live at high altitude, this means that it hovers about five inches above your head.   By the time I’d walked about twenty minutes, the sun had risen to high noon, and I was still a mile away from my air-conditioned home on a stroll-turned-death march.

Greg and I once dog-sat an pudgy old beagle who, when we took him for a walk, would park himself under every shade tree, lie down and refuse to budge unless we carried him. This was me today, only with no one to carry me, I had to do my own trudging from tree to tree.  By the time I got home I was exhausted, sweaty and crying.

There is a picture of a lean mean woman athlete that is going around on Pinterest. The caption under her says:”Sweat is fat crying.”

May it be known, far and wide, that I do not want my fat to cry.  Ever, ever again.

At age 53, I had to admit to myself and my husband that I will never be the Summer Olympic Champion of anything except cooking and napping. I will continue to walk, for my health, but it will be in an air-conditioned gym or mall.  I will reserve the Great Outdoors as my place to sit and sip a cold drink or eat ice cream under a nice big umbrella, the way God intended girls like me to enjoy nature.

I am open, however, to eating a healthier form of ice cream under the shade. Which is what brings us to today’s recipe: an ice cream you can spin up in your food processor in minutes that is 90% (maybe more!) fruit.  I went a little crazy with this recipe  once I discovered how delicious it is and easy to make, trying a new flavor every night for several evenings in a row, beginning with Sweet Black Cherry:

Sweet Black Cherry “Ice Cream”

Followed by Blueberry:

Which inspired Peach:

Then strawberry with a little chocolate syrup:

The basic recipe can be adjusted and played with dozens of ways.   My daughter Rachel inspired this dish when she made me a bowl of soft serve out of frozen bananas in her food processor.  It was amazing. (See her recipe for vegan  Mint Chocolate Pistachio Blizzard.)  The texture was just like that of soft serve ice cream or yogurt. I wondered if it could be done with other frozen fruits and sure enough, it worked!

I’ve only just begun to have fun with this recipe and want to hear what combinations YOU come up with as well.

90% Fruit Soft Serve “Ice Cream”

Basic Recipe to Serve Two to Three 

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups frozen fruit

¼ cup of yogurt or almond milk or juice (really, any liquid you like)

1 t. vanilla or any extract you desire (zest of lemon or lime or orange can also be used)

Pinch salt

2 – 4 T. sugar or agave nectar or any other sweetener of your choice, to taste ( I like half organic sugar and half agave. )

Any “stir-ins” you may like such as chopped nuts, chocolate chips, coconut, peanut butter, etc.

Directions:

Put all ingredients into a good  food processor. Begin to pulse it,  scraping as you go.  Once the fruit is starting to pulverize, let the processor run several seconds as it works to turn the frozen fruit into a creamy texture. You will have to pause, and scrape the sides of the food processor a few times and you may have to add a bit more liquid.  Repeat this until you have a nice soft-serve fruit-based ice cream.

Fruit will gradually get from chunky to pea-sized bits, and with patience and scrapping down the sides, turn into a smooth soft-serve ice cream.

It takes a little patience.  You can put the whole thing in the freezer for about 5 minutes to firm it up a bit more, or serve as is, right away.  Add any stir-ins you might want, if you want them,  or any toppings.

Enjoy! And if you come up with an especially yummy creative combo,  do drop us a comment and share.

Variations:

Aside from the flavors pictured above, you might want to try:

Bananas and chocolate syrup

Bananas with rum flavoring and a stir-in of plumped raisins

Pineapple with coconut milk

Mango with orange juice

Cherries with almond flavoring and chopped nuts

Frozen apples with cinnamon

Kiwi and watermelon with green tea

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