If you guys saw my last post, then y'all know I'm basically melting right now. I just can't hang with these ridiculously hot temperatures. When my hubby moved us from southern CA to northern ID two years ago he was sure we would have cooler summers. Wrong. Now we get to melt in the summer as well as freeze in the winter. Oh well. I can't change the weather, but I can find ways to cool down.
That usually involves staying inside (or in water, or both), and eating copious amounts of ice-cream. But, since the quality of frozen treats you can find in the stores is severely lacking, I've taken up making my own at home.
One of my favorite childhood flavors is Mint -n- Chip from Thrifty's. You know the kind right? It's green with shavings, not chunks, of chocolate. It's minty and helps cool you down like nothing else. Well, I wanted to recreate that childhood memory. But what is a girl to do, to make a hulk-like green ice-cream without food dyes? My secret may scare you away, but don't let it. You can't taste it, and if you served it up to people they would have no idea what gives this ice-cream it's lovely verdant color. (I know, because I served it to some friends and they thought my hubby was joking when he revealed the secret ingredient.) Are you ready for it? . . . . It's spinach. Now don't leave me just yet. I promise, you can't taste it. You can't see it (no pieces marring the ice-cream). And you definitely can't smell it. All you'll be able to taste is the mint and chocolate. That's it. Are you brave enough to try it? Even if you're not, you can make this recipe without the spinach. It will just be white instead of green. No crime in that. It just doesn't bring me back to being a kid like the green hue does.
This cone has a scoop of my Mint -n- Chip and a scoop of my Homemade Rainbow Sherbet.
As a disclaimer, I use DoTERRA essential oils in this recipe, but it can easily be switched out for peppermint extract. If you are going to use essential oils, make sure they are pure, you get them from a reputable source, and they are safe for internal consumption. If you are worried at all, just play it safe and use the pure peppermint extract you can find at any grocery store, right next to the vanilla extract.
I have a large ice-cream maker, so if you have a small one, you will need to half the recipe or make two batches.
After the ice-cream is frozen, I like to keep them in cardboard containers (like the professionals do). I use these containers but anything freezer safe will work. (I think the cardboard helps the ice-cream to not freeze so hard, like it does when I store it in glass.)
Here's the recipe:
Homemade Mint -n- Chip Ice-cream
6 cups organic cream
2 1/3 cups organic cane sugar (can reduce if omitting spinach)
5 oz clean, organic baby spinach
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup water (just enough to blend the spinach - You can omit this as well if you're not using the spinach.)
2 tsp pure organic vanilla extract
7 drops peppermint essential oil (or 1 to 2 tsp peppermint extract to taste)
2 large bars of high quality dark chocolate, grated or finely chopped (the lower quality stuff tends to taste waxy after freezing)
Blend together spinach, water, and sugar until completely smooth. Pour the spinach mixture into a large bowl and stir in the cream. vanilla, and peppermint. Chill in the fridge for as long as you can. The colder your mix, the smoother the ice-cream.
When you are ready to churn, follow the directions for your ice-cream maker. When the ice-cream is mostly set (like soft serve consistency) add in the grated/chopped chocolate and continue churning. (If you forget, you can always stir in the chocolate when the ice-cream is finished churning.) Scoop into freezer safe containers, and freeze until ready to eat.
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