Coconut Oatmeal Ice Cream

Whats summer without some ice cream?  That is no summer, that just sounds like Hell. And this past weekend I was pretty sure I was in hell because it was so mother f*ing hot and for a while, I had no ice cream (and no air conditioner)

We used to have an air conditioner. My mom gave us one a few years back because she was worried about washer (so nice she was worried about the dog and not me, but that's cool) And we used it, not often, but when the temps got above 90, we would bust that mother out, hang blankets from the ceiling and create a little frozen ice box. Washers bed, the couch, and the tv were the only things in the box and it was fantastic.We would spend all day hanging out in the dark little ice box, cuddled on the couch watching tv. Washer would just lay there and I am pretty sure that he loved it just as much. But a couple years ago that air conditioner broke so now we don't have one. So now when it's mother f*ing hot, we are just really fucking hot. As for Washer, I send him over to my moms house. She has like 10 air conditioners. And the mr and I.. we bitch and complain and sweat and eat ice cream.

So I made this is my ice cream, a Colleen approved, oh so good I want to eat it for ever meal, type of ice cream. Nice and creamy with nice coconut oatiness. Its really pretty great.

And if there was ever a time when you woke up so hot that all you for wanted for breakfast was ice cream, well that's completely cool, especially with this kind cause it's kinda really healthy and made with oats and so it it definitely ok.

Here's to ice cream all day, every day.

The stuff. We got a can of coconut milk, some old fashion oats, a few dates and salt. ( we need just a pinch) Also need a little water.

Pretty simple here, just dump the coconut milk, oats,the dates(make sure they are pitted) and a pinch of salt to a blender and blend the crap out of it. And keep blending until its all creamy smooth and oh so nice then stick the blender in the fridge.

After about an hour or so the mixture becomes super thick. Stick it back on the blender stand and give it one last swirl to make sure it's all mixed up.

Pour/scrap mixture into a freezer safe container and stick it into the freezer... lick blender clean, watch you tongue and fingers.

After a hour or so, remove the kinda frozen ice cream and give it a good whip with a stick blender or if you don't have, scrap the ice cream back into the blender, and give it a swirl, stick back into freezer container hen back into the freezer until frozen.

And when you are ready to eat, remove from freezer, let sit out for 5-10 minutes to soften enough to scoop and do what needs to be done.

Look at that. So good.

And not only dessert, but this could be your breakfast tomorrow....and every day from now on.

-C

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Coconut Oatmeal Ice Cream

• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 1/2 cups oats (gluten free if needed)
• 3-5 dates*
• pinch of salt

*Note. I used 3 dates and found it sweet enough but I don't like things too sweet. If you know you like things sweet, do 5. Also, if the dates are not super soft, soak them water for a little bit.

Grab your blender and place all the ingredients in it. Start blending and blend and blend and blend until all smooth and creamy. (It might take a few minutes.) And once it's all blended up, stick the blender into the fridge .

After about an hour or so the mixture should have gotten nice and thick .Remove and blend the whole thing up once again and transfer the mixture to a freezer safe container. Place said container into the freezer. Let the mixture set up and get pretty close to frozen and remove from fridge and give it another good blend (I use my hand blender, but you can always scoop back into the regular blender to do it) Place back into freezer until frozen.

When you are ready for ice cream, remove for freezer and let sit out for 5-10 minutes until soft enough to scoop.  It might be super hard at first but don't worry, it soften up quick enough. I find scooping it easier with a ice cream scooper dipped in hot water....

Scoop it, add any toppings you want (toasted coconut and toasted oats are great) and then eat it.

Store left overs in freezer (duh) but place a piece of wax paper over the top to keep from freezer burn.

Beet- Sweet Potato And Lentil Casserole

Once in a while I make a dinner that the mr does not want to eat, like anything with too much corn or things made with lots of vinegar... not his taste. Don't get me wrong, most of the time, he will eat what I make (casue he loves me) but he clearly doesn't really like it. And that's when pup usually gets left over for dinner. (He always likes everything that I cook)

One of those things that I know the mr doesn't like are beets. Sure, he will eat things that has a few beets in it, but once he found out that this casserole starred beets, his eyes widened and he looked worried, like "oh great, but please don't make me eat this". Not to worry. He was getting pasta for dinner because this casserole was not for him. It was for me. It has everything that I love in the word (food wise ) tossed together and baked into a pretty skillet, just for me. Plus the beets, sweet potato and kale were the last from the farm share.  So it was my good by farm food, casserole of greatness. And I didn't want to share.

So yeah, if you are not a fan of beets, or any of the other stuff in this casserole for that matter, then don't make it. But if you are awesome and know the greatness of the beet, especially paired with lentils and sweet potato, well I suggest you go and make this right away. And bonus... it's super healthy and hardy which make for a great dinner on a cold night and after all the holiday food last week. 

The stuff. A large sweet potato, a couple of big beets and some dried lentils.  Gonna want some veggies, like an onion, carrots, cabbage and kale. Also want garlic, some salt and pepper, water and tiny bit of olive oil.

First thing first, get the beets and the sweet potato in a pot to boil* Just dice then up and toss into a pot with enough water to submerge the roots. Sprinkle in a bit of water ad bring to a boil, stick a lid on pot, and turn hat to medium. 

*Note. I boiled my beets and sweet potato in one pot because well, I just didn't want to have one more pot to wash. But if you do this, your sweet potato will turn slightly pink, whichI think is really pretty. If you want your sweet potato puree to look orange, gonna have to dirty another pot and boil the beets separately.

And chop up our veggies and mince the garlic. Drizzle a tiny amount of oil into a skillet or pot, toss in veggies (minus the kale) and cook on medium heat just until they start to soften a tiny bit. Once the veggies are cooked, remove them from heat, add in chopped kale, and set aside.

And make your lentils. (i used the pot I just cooked the veggies in. The less dishes the better!) Water and lentils into pot with a pinch of salt, bring to boil, cover and place on low until lentils are tender.

Cooked and ready to go!

When the beets and sweet potato are fork tender, drain water into a jar and separate the beets from the potato (if you boiled them together). Blend the beets then the sweet potato until it’s the consistency that you would enjoy eating it (I like a little bit of chunk, not completely smooth) Use the drained water to thin out as much as you need/want.

All the stuff ready to compile.

Grab the cooked veggies and toss them into a oven safe skillet or casserole dish and mix together with the lentils. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Now evenly spread the beet puree on top of the veggies

Then ever so gently, spread the sweet potato on top of that.

Give the top a good pinch of salt and pepper and stick the thing into the oven.

Remove from oven when the sweet potato has browned andis slightly crispy.

And scoop a big old scoop into a bowl, grab a fork, and stuff your face!

Happy today day!

-C

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Remove from oven, let cook for a few minutes then eat it with a fork, a spoon, or your fingers.

Beet Sweet Potato and Lentil Casserole

Make 3-4 servings (or one serving for me!)

• 1 large sweet potato
• 2 medium beets
• 1 cup cried lentils
• 2 cups water
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• a medium yellow onion
• 2 carrots
• ¼ head of cabbage
• a few kale leaves
• salt and pepper
• olive oil

Note.. I did not add extra seasoning to this because I love the taste just as it is. But if you are feeling like it needs some seasoning, just add some in.

Start by chopping the beets and sweet potato into medium sized chunks and boiling them until they are fork tender. You can do this either in two separate pots or in one large pot. (if in one pot, the sweet potato will turn a little pink)

Once those are boiling, chop up all the veggies (not the kale yet) and the garlic and toss into a pot or skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and cook on medium heat until the veggies are slightly tender. Remove from heat, add in chopped kale and set aside.

And make the lentils ( I cooked the veggies in the pot, removed them ans used the pot to make the lentils... less dishes). Dump the 2 cups water, a pinch of salt, and the lentils into a pot.  Bring to boil, cover, then turn heat to low. Cook for about 20 minutes until the lentil are tender.

Preheat oven to 400

Once everything is cooked and ready to go, dump the lentils and the veggies into oven safe skillet or casserole dish and mix around. Take beet puree and spread evenly over the mixture. Then do the same with the sweet potato puree.  Sprinkle the top with salt and pepper and stick the casserole into the oven to bake until the top is all browned and slightly crunchy (about 30 minutes)

Remove from the oven, let it cool for a few minutes, then eat it. Fork, spoon, or your fingers work.