Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Summery Strawberry Salad + Peanut Butter Coconut Ice Cream

Alright, so maybe these two recipes don't exactly combine to make the perfect meal, but peanut butter and strawberries do go together, right?!

No matter, I guess, because each of these dishes is delicious in its own right.

First, there's the refreshing Summery Strawberry Salad, which is the ultimate meal after a long, hot day in the summer sun. Then, there's the Peanut Butter Coconut ice cream, whose delectable sweetness makes it the perfect end (or beginning) to almost any day!


As for the salad, it's healthy, easy to throw together, and is wonderfully fresh. And because salads should always be based upon the ingredient measurements that you prefer, I've simply listed the necessary components for my summery salad, as well as a few tips.

Ingredients: Summery Strawberry Salad
  • In a large bowl, toss a heap of baby spinach together with a bit of poppy seed dressing. Feel free to use a homemade dressing, or Briannas Rich Poppy Seed Dressing, which is what I used, here.
  • Next, throw some thinly sliced red onion into the mix.
  • Then, add some strawberries & mandarin oranges. The individual-sized servings of oranges work great; just make sure you're using the kind without syrup (or with light syrup, at least).
  • Finally, sprinkle a small handful of raw sunflower seeds over your salad, adding more dressing if necessary.
  • Toss all of the ingredients together, completely, and serve.
(Thanks to my smarty-pants mom for the salad inspiration!)

As for the vegan ice cream, when I came across this recipe in the June issue of Vegetarian Times, I just knew I had to try it. The mere thought of peanut butter and coconut together sends my heart aflutter...

Luckily, the ice cream was easy to make, although it did take a lot of time, mostly because I don't own an ice cream maker. (I can't justify purchasing one, especially since it would end up either collecting dust in my pantry - or adding weight around my midsection - and frankly, I can afford neither!)

Thus, I opted to bring this homemade vegan dessert to life with a few standbys: my trusty old blender, a couple of ice cube trays, and a plastic freezer-safe container. There was nothing fancy about it, but the end result was nothing short of delicious.

Recipe: Peanut Butter Coconut Vegan Ice Cream
(from Vegetarian Times magazine, June 2008 issue)

1 13.5-oz. can light coconut milk (1 1/2 c.)
1/2 c. maple syrup
1/2 c. crunchy natural peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. French vanilla soy creamer, divided

1.) Puree coconut milk, maple syrup, peanut butter, & vanilla in blender until smooth.
2.) Pour mixture into 2 ice cube trays, & freeze solid.
3.) Place half of ice cream cubes & 1/2 c. soy creamer in blender, & process until smooth & creamy.
4.) Repeat with second tray of cubes & remaining 1/2 c. soy creamer. Serve immediately.

Serves: 6

*Tip: If a more traditional ice cream-like texture is preferred, freeze your vegan ice cream in a well-sealed, freezer-safe plastic bowl for a few hours. Be sure to periodically remove the ice cream & stir (to avoid the formation of ice crystals). Then, serve when the desired consistency has been met.

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16 comments:

  1. I love the salad.... but I LOOOOOOVE that ice cream!! ;0)

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  2. Oh my goodness, that ice cream sounds and looks amazing. I love peanut butter, and I love coconut... so why not together?

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  3. Salad looks perfect for a summer evening.. and the icecream looks delectable and tempting,co incidentally I myself just tried making ice cream this past week,but I made banana icecream though ...:)

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  4. Thank you for the ice cream recipe! I love finding ones that don't rely on an ice cream maker.

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  5. i love a good strawberry salad.

    never heard of pb and coconut together in ice cream...interesting!

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  6. The salad and ice cream combo sounds nice for a warm summer day.

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  7. that icecream looks amazing! what an innovative way to go about making it! i don't own an icecream maker either but this recipe makes me a lot less scared to try it anyway! :)

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  8. Your ice cream looks delicious! I saw that recipe too in Vegetarian Times and wanted to try it but haven't gotten up the courage to give it a try. Maybe this will be my inspiration since someone else did it! :)

    PS I'm addicted to Big Brother too!

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  9. Oooh, peanut butter and cocount, what a great combination! Well actually, anything and peanut butter.... drool...

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  10. Peanut butter and coconut are my father's favorite ice cream flavors. I cannot wait to make this for him when he visits. He would LOVE it!
    Thanks!
    Natasha

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  11. The combination of a strawberry salad and peanut butter ice cream is almost enough to make me forget that it's 50 degrees at night! Delicious!

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  12. that ice cream sounds IDEAL to me.

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  13. jd... there's so much nice stuff on yo`ur blog, love the salad and lllooove the ice cream - will try a non vegan version soon! cos i am in kerala - land of the coconut!! so fresh coconut cream is defnitely something i can get my hands on!

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  14. Th eice cream looks wonderful... I'm more of a salad guy, but I think I could make an exception for that.

    Good to see you around, and it's great to hear that you have the dreaded bar exam behind you (although the waiting is indeed excruciating, I hear).

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  15. Wow, that ice cream looks incredible! And so simple, too. I must try it! I'd say that plus the salad makes a perfect meal.

    Thanks for visiting my blog, by the way! I will see you again soon, I'm sure. :-)

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  16. yumm..yumm..yum ice creams....Your blog look similar like my blog ..visit myblog @ Becoming a VegetarianDont forget to add me to your site ..Thanks..

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