lavender ice cream with dark chocolate

Luscious, light, and lovely. That's what this ice cream is.

Oh my goodness. It's better than any ice cream I've ever made; and guess what. It's full of raw whole foods that will bring you closer to excellent health. There's not much else to say about it. I suggest you make it ASAP, and enjoy the wonders our planet full of plants has to offer. 

No stealing the milk of another species here! Nor is there any disease-causing refined sugar, or freaky-deaky preservatives and stabilizers. Just some coconut, cashews, chocolate and lavender!

Before I made my lavender cheesecake, and now this ice cream, I didn't think I'd dig the taste of lavender in my food. 

I was wrong.

It's divine! I've grown up with the smell of lavender emanating through the garden and home. My aunt is also a lavender NUT, so whenever we visit each other you can bet there will be lavender gifts involved. 

I also use lavender oil to calm my nerves, keep my skin clear, scent my baths, and put me to sleep! It's a wonderful flower with endless uses. One of which being flavour! I want YOU to experiment with lavender in your food. Seriously. You won't regret it. 

It brings out this dimension in desserts I didn't know existed. Light, summery, delicate notes that remind you of the sun, wicker chairs, and busy bees traveling from flower to flower in the afternoon light. 

Okay so I said there wasn't much else to say and then wrote a paragraph... my bad. 

Bottom line: make this ice cream! 

(By the way I'm just using my basic raw ice cream recipe and adding a few things.)

lavender ice cream with dark chocolate: makes 3-6 servings

2 cups soaked raw cashews 

Coconut meat from 2 young Thai coconuts (1-2 cups)

1 cup of water

1 cup agave/honey/maple syrup

Seeds from vanilla bean

2 Tb vanilla extract 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup plus 1 T or so of coconut oil, melted

3 teaspoons dried lavender

1 bar dark chocolate, roughly chopped (optional)

Blend all ingredients except coconut oil and chocolate in your blender (Vita-Mix works best!) until smooth and creamy. Add in the coconut oil and blend until the chocolate chunks are the size you want, and the oil is mixed in. 

Try it now... Yeah. I know. 

Feel free to add some lemon to this - I bet it would taste heavenly.

Now try to resist eating it all before it's frozen: if you have an ice cream maker use that. 

If not, stick it in the freezer and stir it every 30 or 60 minutes until it's solid.