The catalyst for this naturally sweetened, vegan, gluten free ice cream (don’t be scared by all the descriptors) is a recipe from Karina’s Kitchen for Maple Roasted Banana Ice Cream.  Thanks Karina, your creativity, spunk and inspiration continue to be contagious!

This ice cream is not the easiest to make, given that there are a couple of steps involved, however it’s mighty tasty and my children love it –we hid it from my husband because we wanted more for the 3 of us.  And he’s been traveling a ton, so it was easy to keep it a secret.

Roasted Banana Coconut Ice Cream
4-5 medium bananas, sliced into 1″ pieces
2 dates, chopped
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon coconut oil
1 (13.5 ounce) can coconut milk

1. Place bananas and dates in a 7 x 11 inch baking dish
2. Drizzle with vanilla and coconut oil
3. Bake at 375° for 35 to 45 minutes, until bananas begin to caramelize and smell fragrant
4. Place banana fixins and coconut milk in vitamix and puree on highest setting until smooth
5. Place mixture in ice cream maker and freeze according to directions
6. Top with nuts, berries or sprinkles and serve

I am very happy to announce that I have been chosen as Chef of the Month by The Organic Dish.  They are a business that creates ready to eat meals from organic and farm fresh ingredients and the owners are amazing, fabulous people.

For July, (amongst their many other delicious entrees) they are featuring my Roasted Salmon with Anchovy Olive Tapenade.  Beckie, the owner, asked me to contribute this recipe since wild salmon is in peak season during July.  This is the way these people think and I like it!

During my visits to the Organic Dish, just around the corner from Whole Foods and Vitamin Cottage in Boulder, I picked up some other meals in order to get an idea of their food.  My children scarfed everything I brought home, especially the latkes.

Thanks Beckie and Toby.  I think your zero waste business using organic ingredients is a fantastic model and I love working with you!