Monday, May 14, 2012

Pistachio Ice Cream!

So...incidentally, this is my 100th post, and I am so excited to share it!!
Mainly because it involves ice cream :)

And with the summer months, I crave this more and more. Except this is not just any ice cream...I haven't had "real" ice cream in years. Determined to learn how to make my own dairy-free, refined sugar free ice cream, I finally got my parent's old-fashioned ice cream maker from their attic, and began my adventure. After several attempts at trying to get the ice cream maker to work correctly (mind you, I'd never done this before!), and then a pretty horrible flop, I finally hit the jackpot!

One of my mom's favorite kinds of ice cream is pistachio...and this past Mother's Day weekend, I was determined to make her some dairy free pistachio ice cream. First try was with coconut milk...which works great for flavors like Coconut Chai and Strawberry Coconut (both of which I'm hoping to try out soon!)...but for pistachio, not so much. The coconut taste was just too overwhelming. I also was determined to make one that you could just toss into the blender, and then freeze with the ice cream maker....no heating over the stove and refrigerating overnight for this one. So, after much trial and error, here is my own version of Pistachio Ice Cream! It tastes just like the pistachio instant pudding--except frozen. :)

(p.s. I figured out that the secret to creating good ice cream flavors is to taste-test it out of the blender...if you don't like the taste of it then, you won't like the taste of your ice cream!)

Pistachio Ice Cream (Dairy free)
2 c. almond milk
1 c. shelled, unsalted pistachios
1/2 c. (150g.) agave nectar
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. almond extract
A large handful (about 1 c.) of fresh spinach leaves (you can't taste them, it's just for color)

Throw all ingredients in the blender and blend until smooth (you will still have chunks of pistachio nuts in it, but that's how I like it!). Freeze according to ice cream maker's directions. Now try not to eat half of the batch all at once :)

Makes about 1 quart.
Shared on Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Allergy Free Wednesdays.

9 comments:

  1. Yum! Pistachio ice cream is one of my favorites! I just bought an ice cream machine last week because I can no longer bring myself to buying the overpriced store non-dairy ice cream. I can't wait to make this soon!

    I'd love for you to share at my blog hop tomorrow that I host with 6 other bloggers. You can find it tomorrow (or late tonight) at willingcook.com.

    Thanks!

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  2. That's awesome, Michelle! The ice cream maker will be well worth it! I hope to have more ice cream experiments up on the blog soon...Thanks for the invite to your blog hop; I'd love to share this recipe :) Have fun with your ice cream maker! ;)

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  3. I tried to pin it, it looks so yum! I am having a hard time getting it pinned though. Do you know if there is a block?

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    1. Hmm, I don't think there's a block...I didn't have trouble pinning it, anyway...You can look me up on Pinterest (Heather Dillard), and then repin it from there, if you want. I have a board specifically for my blog. Hope that helps! :)

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  4. I grew up making ice cream, but have been afraid to try it dairy free. I'm trying to avoid coconut products due to the fat contact. Good to hear it can be done with almond milk and agave nectar. Will have to give this a try.

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    1. Have fun with it! I'm glad you can make your own now :)

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  5. Wow this ice cream looks awesome! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe on Allergy-Free Wednesdays!

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  6. Heather, I just wanted to let you know that I featured this recipe at this week's Allergy-Free Wednesdays. Come on over to check it out and link up a new recipe. Thanks! I can't wait to make this favorite ice cream.

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    1. Oh, wow, thanks so much Michelle, for featuring my recipe!! I feel so privileged! :D

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