Mango-Lime Sherbet (Vegan)

Here's another yummy flavor for my summertime standard, "rice cream." It's made with lots of fruit plus rice milk instead of actual milk--although you could easily use real milk if you want. Like watermelon, mango sherbet can be too bland unless you add an extra flavor, such as lime. And since the sweetness of mangoes varies quite a bit, taste the mixture before freezing, so you can add more honey while it's still possible to blend it in. After the sherbet is frozen, added honey just globs up.

MANGO-LIME SHERBET (VEGAN)

1 lg. mango
2 tsp. lime juice
1-3 tsp. honey or vegan sweetener (to taste)
1 cup rice milk

Peel the mango and cut the fruit off the fibrous central pit area. Be sure to cut off just the soft fruit--chewy mango fibers aren't great in a mouthful of sherbet.

In a large measuring cup, mash the honey, lime juice, and fruit together with a fork or hand-held blender. Taste, and add more honey if needed. Add rice milk up to the 2-cup mark and stir well.

Freeze in an ice cream maker, according to directions. I use a Donvier.

Makes 4 servings, or 2 large servings.

Cinnamon-Banana Rice Cream

I love this stuff! Since bananas are so sweet, there's no need to add honey, and the cinnamon fools your brain into thinking you're having a heavenly, sugary dessert. Well, you are... without the sugar.

CINNAMON-BANANA RICE CREAM (VEGAN)

1 med. ripe banana
1/2 cup rice milk
1/16 tsp. cinnamon

In a large measuring cup, mash the banana with a fork. Add rice milk up to the 1-cup mark and stir well.

Freeze in an ice cream maker, according to directions. I use a Donvier. Sprinkle each serving generously with ground cinnamon.

Makes 2 servings, or 1 large serving.

Watermelon-Lime Sherbet (Vegan)

This is a marvelous combination of sweet, cold, and tang, served up in my husband's great-grandmother's china. I tried making it without the lime and honey, but it was very bland, so a touch of key lime juice and a dab of honey fixed it right up.

WATERMELON-LIME SHERBET (VEGAN)

3/4 cup fresh watermelon chunks
1 tsp lime juice
1 tsp honey or vegan sweetener
1/4 cup rice milk

In a large measuring cup, mash the honey, lime juice, and watermelon together with a fork or hand-held blender. Add rice milk up to the 1-cup mark and stir well.

Freeze in an ice cream maker, according to directions. I use a Donvier.

Makes 2 servings, or 1 large serving (pictured).

Detox Decadence

Okay, so I'm on this allergy detox diet, and for 4-6 weeks I have to avoid foods that I have allergies or sensitivity to. So that means most of the fruits I use in my non-dairy rice cream are out. It's pretty much bananas... because apples are weird for a frozen confection, and I don't have ripe pears right now. Imagination to the rescue! This isn't super nutritious, but it allows me to stay true to the diet.

HONEY VANILLA RICE CREAM

1 Tbsp. honey or vegan sweetener
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup rice milk

Stir all ingredients together until honey or sweetener is dissolved. Freeze in your favorite ice cream maker.

1 lg. serving

I Scream, You Scream...

... we all scream for rice cream! Wha?? This is my can't-digest-milk version of homemade ice cream. It's made with rice milk instead of cow's milk or cream, but you can use the real milk-stuff if you want. The peaches are from our local farmers' market. Yum.

FRESH PEACH RICE CREAM

1/2 cup fresh peach pieces
1-2 Tbsp. honey or vegan sweetener
1/2 cup rice milk

In a measuring cup, mash the honey and peaches together with a fork. Be careful not to add too much honey, because it can overpower the taste of the peaches. Add rice milk and stir well.

Freeze in an ice cream maker, according to directions. I use a Donvier.

Makes 2 servings, or 1 large serving.

First Flop of the Season

Owie! Here's a fact: if you add enough honey to make your lemon juice, pulp, and rice milk sweet enough to tolerate... not enjoy, just swallow... it won't freeze like ice cream. The best you can do is make slush, and regret it. Ew, bad, bitter slush.

Last night's success: banana rice cream.
Before that: strawberry sherbet.

Don't Try This

How come banana and peanut butter sandwiches taste great, but the combination in ice cream is terrible? I even added some cinnamon. The peanut butter gives the ice cream a sort of grainy texture on the tongue... all wrong.

Forcing--myself--to--eat---ugh.

The Black Plum

Jack Sparrow had his Black Pearl, and I have my black plum, or at least until I've gobbled it up. This is my favorite flavor of homemade vegan sherbet so far this summer. It tastes like sweet, sweet wine.

Strawberry Bliss

What else can I say? 1/2 cup ripe strawberries, mashed, 1 Tbsp. honey (or vegan sweetener), 1/2 cup rice milk, freeze in an ice cream maker, enjoy! I did. Mmmmm.

Just Made Orange Sherbet

Tonight I'm eating yummy, freezing-cold orangeness.

For one large serving, mix up 1/2 cup orange juice (some chunks of fruit too, if you have 'em), 1/2 cup rice milk or regular milk, and about 1 Tbsp. honey or vegan sweetener. Stir well to mix, and then freeze in your favorite ice cream maker. I use a little Donvier hand-cranked version that works like a charm.

UPDATE: Don't add orange zest or peel unless you want a bitter bite to your sherbet.

Best Friends

My kids gave me this little jewel years ago as a birthday present. I keep the metal cylinder in the freezer, so whenever we want to make some chilly goodness, it's ready. Tonight we had cinnamon-fig rice cream. That's a non-dairy confection I made up, using fresh fruit, honey (unless the fruit is really sweet like bananas), and rice milk. It's awesome, because the bulk of it is crushed fruit.

To make, just mix up about 1/2 cup of crushed fruit or fruit juice, 1/2 cup rice milk, and a couple tablespoons of honey or vegan sweetener. Then process in an ice cream freezer.

Maybe tomorrow I'll remember to take a picture of the resulting yum before rushing to eat it.